How many miles on this car? An 02' sounds like it's ready for new shocks.
I was skeptical about the shocks thing but on Spyderchat people swore that the ride of even 50k old shocks is much worse. I decided why not, swapped them for new 10% stiffer shocks + 25% stiffer lowering springs, and the ride quality turned out...better? It moves over small bumps more but soaks the bigger ones up much better. I might be biased because I kind of like how it's stiffer and jittery. Change the shocks, and lower it a little!
Stiffer springs make cornering much more confidence inspiring, and the vacuum readings at cruise seem to be marginally higher.