While the exterior does look bloated and the interior has quite an odd-looking air about it, it is quite functional. The doors open really wide and the trunk opening is large. Inside, everything is placed in the perfect location, save for the trunk release which is on the lock switch. Also, most of the interior plastics are actually soft touch and feel quality, unlike those in the new gen Camry’s or outgoing gen Accords, which are cheap, hollow, hard shit. The center stack in the GP has this plastic, but everywhere else is a nice, rubberized, soft material. Who the hell said the seats suck – the seats are INCREDIBLE! Tons of side-support and good lumbar support and they have a very wide range of adjustments. What gets me, for a car so damn big, the back seat is so damn small, though it’s still large enough for someone my size (6′ 215 lbs) to sit in for 30 min, maximum.

While some 04 GP’s had slightly clunky steering as the miles got on (umm just about every camry, highlander, etc from that platform’s last generation has very clunky steering, which is way worse than this pontiac’s), the steering’s pretty solid. Good effort levels, especially with the Magnasteer II, but as most have said, it is numb, which isn’t a bad thing, as it won’t turn on its own when you hit a bump, unlike some (CAMRY). It’s better suited for regular driving than sporty driving.

Then there’s the suspension. On the base models, it is very soft, giving a nice ride, but not too pillowy. In the corners, it does lean way too much and understeers too early. The mid-level suspension does a much better job of keeping things even-keeled, without having a jarring ride. The GXP suspension is actually sporty and exhibits very little understeer, which is mainly do the unequal tire sizes in the front and back.

Now to address the creaks/rattles. Some early build models had some creaks in the seats, console, and sunroof (if equipped), but now, these damn things are more solid and quiet than any honda or toyota or even other gm w-bodies.

Anybody taking the time to read this post probably wonders how I can compare vehicles like this. I’m sure most of those who posted and compared probably haven’t driven more than 5 or 6 different vehicle made in the last 10 years. I have driven almost every car on the market currently or that was on the market within the past 10 years – I do valet parking. I know what they are all about and which ones are hyped and which are much better than most people think. I see all the flaws in vehicles that get nothing but praise and can’t understand why the hell people think they are so great, for example, Camry, Accord, the entire Lexus lineup, Passat, Jetta, Rabbit, A4, Fusion, Pilot, Odyssey, Ridgline, Mustang, etc. Then there are the way underrated vehicles, such as the Grand Prix, Galant, SRX, Lucerne, 7-series, Avalanche, and so on. Then there are vehicles that have praising reviews by some and horrid reviews by others, such as the Malibu (which is horrible), or the GTO (which is incredible). I have a well-formulated opinion on every car, which unlike most people, is based on a first-hand experience.

First impression, formed while reading my rental agreement while walking: “Holy crap, this thing has almost 19k miles!” It’s going to be bad I said to myself. The Charcoal Pontiac didn’t look bad sitting there with twin spoke 17″ rims and a “GT” badge on the trunk. The interior reminds me of an 88 Grand Am that I drove for a bit back in 89. Same feel and smell too. Weird. Auto down on only the drivers window! It doesn’t get any cheaper than that. The drive is shaky/shuddery while accelerating as well as stopping. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that my car is about at the end of it’s rental life. The stereo sounds good as long as you don’t turn it up too high. The car drives well enough as long as you don’t go too fast. I think I can smell the catalytic converter. I got a flat. In short, I can’t wait to dump this thing and go home.

But it’s a conservative tune for a lawsuit averse GM family sedan: you can boost the heck outta the 3.8L with a smaller pulley and ECU recalibration, I wouldn’t be surprised if its on par with the gains you see with your Saab.

Not that I’m recommending you tweak a GTP and sell your Saab. :)

My favorite part was the uniquely hoary, gurgly, hole-in-the-muffler exhaust note that Pontiac (still) seems to equate with “sport.” 1980s Firebirds with the 2.8 V6 sounded almost identical.

The drive wasn’t bad compared to a like-priced Camry. Aside from the bobbly, oversprung ride (ooh, sporty!), it went where it was aimed and didn’t take much acclimation. The ancient four-speed didn’t even bother me; its crisp gearchanges and lack of torque-converter slop offset its missing gear vs. Toyota’s five-speed, IMO. That said, I’d like to know how GM judged a 200-inch-long car with sub-Corolla-sized rear-seat and trunk space competitive.

Any “revival” cred Pontiac might have gained with the Solstice and upcoming G8 was largely squandered when they coughed up the G5 and Torrent for whining dealers. Classic Roger Smith stuff.

For the forseeable future, I can’t see how Pontiac will be viewed as anything but GM’s chest-wig division. Or is that Hummer now?

what a coincidence, i rented one of these last week, and my wife also cut herself not only on the trunklid, but also on the edge of the door. Exposed metal everywhere.

Truly terrible, and GM execs wonder why people think their cars are trash. Note to GM: rentals are free advertising. Treat them as such.

And Ashy Larry:
Couldn’t agree more on the seats… in the GP or anything. I don’t know why more manufacturers don’t put in decent seats. Saab and Volvo have done it for years, and German car seats are generally quite good, too. I’ve had German or Swedish cars for 40 years and find domestics and Japanese cars sorely lacking (pardon the pun) in the seat department. There are exceptions, but darn few.

I’m told seats are expensive to engineer and build, something I find hard to believe since there’s not a whole lot of technology involved and how to make them is well known. IMHO it’s just something most manufacturer’s don’t care about. And that makes me not care about buying their cars. I’ve walked out of dealerships because the seats in models I’ve been looking at were not up to what I’ve gotten used to.

Noley: what you noted is typical of a low boost, roots-type supercharger. They make awesome amounts of torque, but HP is not their strong point. (unlike most turbo applications)

I’m pretty sure the blown 3.8L doesn’t churn out 14psi from the factory, but you can get it there and make highway passing a lot more interesting. Once you do that (and address the weak points of the FWD layout) I’ve seen GTPs run 12s in the quarter mile. That’s seriously fast.

When carmakers like Volvo can create incredibly comfortable, supportive, throne-like seats in their cars, why can’t GM get with the program? Of all the things to cost-cut, why go for the one thing that is most likely to make people happy — comfy seats? Chrysler and Ford are also incredibly guilty here. I tend to find the Japanese of varying quality, and the Germans are good if you opt for sport seats, but base seats in German cars are barely a step above coach class airlines seats.

Whenever I car shop I rule out scads of cars based simply on the fact that my back and a** can’t stand to sit more than ten minutes in them whethout aching, let along 5-8 hours.

You can have all the aluminum parts, camshafts and valves you want, I’ll take cast iron.

My lawn tractor is a one lung Cub Cadet Kohler iron flathead.

Yes, the “preformance” marque at GM is an entirely hollow proposition. Yes, this vehicle is rental fleet fodder. What else do you expect from such a struggling brand? Perhaps this is yet another brand that GM plans to kill off. Clearly, Pontiac hasn’t meant much of anything for decades now, other than retarded design and execution. I have never been so repulsed by any other brand’s interior and exterior design. Never mind how it drives, because you could never get me in one. I have never seen a more clueless attempt at “performance” styling and execution than what Pontiac has crapped out, year after year, for as long as I can remember.

I don’t even blame GM’s engineers. They are undoubtedly struggling along, with no leadership, no budget, no direction. Rather, GM has some real lackluster folks in their marketing department, that’s for sure. And their auto stylists ain’t so hot, either. If you’re going to just re-skin an aging platform that screams third-rate status, at least do it in a compelling way! I don’t care if it’s retro or futuristic or outlandish, or whatever. Just don’t put out another bloated Circus Peanut-looking monstrosity (with bulging this and humpbacked that) and have these blaring, “performance”-oriented commercials with the Matt Dillon voice-over, pretending like you’ve got this line-up of bad ass rides. It’s just kinda embarrassing and sad that this huge flagship manufacturer, with such a rich history, has come to this.

I could not agree more.
My friend, the 3800 V6 dates to 1988, and shares much in common with the ancient 231cu Buick 3.8L it was based on, dating back to the mid 1970’s (eg 1975 Skyhawk, Apollo, Century, Regal, Skylark), right down to its 90 degree layout.

What decade are we in?
Why can’t Pontiac ditch corrugated plastic?
Or the 1000 tiny plastic buttons and knobs that fill the cockpit?
Drum brakes in a ‘performance’ car?
Or the chronic understeer?
Sheesh!

Damaged brand, indeed.

Here’s something I’d like to add to the debate: make Pontiac GM’s TUNERZ division. Design platforms so that they are simple and serviceable (RWD). Clean up the junk under the hood -those ancient GM crate-engines will find a home here. Keep costs down by avoiding techno-gizmos (leave those for another division), and cultivate a wide range of after-market parts (at a premium price). Offer base models as stripper cars for future hot-rod customization.

Think of converting ‘68 Tempests into fake (but desirable) GTOs and you get the idea.

One of the housekeepers here at work showed up in a new Grand Prix. She was so proud. We all felt sorry or her ignorance. It’s been a constant source of suffering and horror for her. She now hates it. We tried to warn her.