Thing is you're comparing that Nova SRi based on nostalgia, compared to what was around at the time, and probably what other cars you had driven, which probably wasn't many back then (wasn't for me)? I drove a car without power steering for about half a mile about 10 years ago, and it was like going back to the horse and cart, it was horrible.
The SRi was 0-60 in about 10 seconds, about 30mpg, 100hp and pretty much a guaranteed death if you crashed at any sort of speed. If anything like that came out in the last 20 years, never mind now, without the Nova SRi badge, everyone would be saying it was a pile of junk.
Very good for the time, awful by today's standards.