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With the Grand Prix,
Pontiac attempted to blend the virtues of a sporty coupe with those of a
family sedan, and failed spectacularly. Instead of mixing the two vehicles’
strong points, it incorporated their weakest ones into the vehicle, leaving it
with the poor visibility and rear seat space that results from the car’s
coupelike styling, and the stiff ride that results from the firm suspension
tuning. But the Grand Prix is still a rather large car, and still handles like
one. The only positive sporty quality that made it into this vehicle was the
reasonably powerful V6, and even that is only a standard-issue GM powertrain.
As noted, the Grand Prix rides very stiffly.
Bumps and other road imperfections are poorly filtered, and the ride feels
unsettled even at highway speeds on smooth pavement. Road and engine noise are
pronounced, but wind noise is reasonably well-muted. The car's firm suspension
tuning prevents excessive body roll in cornering, but the slow and
unresponsive steering keeps the car from feeling sporty, and it feels its size
in fast turns. The 3.8-liter V6 at least delivers prompt acceleration, the
only remotely sporty aspect of the driving experience, but even that area it
falls well short of many competitors. Fuel economy is good, especially
considering the car’s competitive acceleration.
Inside, the front seats are adequately
comfortable, but the poorly-contoured seat cushion feels lumpy, and a bit too
firm. And the rear seat is one of the worst in this group, less-comfortable
than most compact sedans'. The sporty roofline eats into the headroom, and the
seat had to be mounted quite low to compensate, which, along with the short
cushion and minimal leg and footroom, destroy any levels of seat comfort. The
high window line further diminishes rear passenger visibility, especially for
smaller occupants. The dash is coated in cheap, hard plastic trim pieces that
at least fit together well. The instruments are angled towards the driver, and
are generally simple to use. The gauges are quite clear and notably large.
Getting in and out of the front seats is fairly easy, but the low roof and
small footwell greatly complicate entry/exit to the rear. The driver sits
comfortably, but the sloping windowline inhibits rearward visibility. The
trunk is roomy.
The Grand Prix did not excel in crash testing.
It earned five stars for the driver and four for the front passenger in the
NHTSA frontal crash test, but an three stars for both the driver and rear
passenger in the side crash test (tested without the optional side airbags).
It earned a Good rating in the IIHS offset crash test, the highest of four
ratings, but its head restraints were rated Poor, the lowest of the four. The
IIHS has not evaluated its side-impact protection.
The Grand Prix reviewed here came in at
$24,947, good for this class, and includes the GM-exclusive OnStar system and
a remote-starting system. However, the Grand Prix does not offer such items as
a power passenger’s seat, torso-protecting side airbags, or stability control
on the trim reviewed here, the only one with the standard naturally-aspirated
V6.
Overall, the Grand Prix
is a large sedan priced among midsize ones. Yet in favor of sporty
pretensions, it eliminates all possible large sedan benefits, such as a
comfortable ride and a roomy interior, and still isn’t inexpensive. Its
standard V6 does provide a decent mix of acceleration and fuel economy, and
the trunk is adequately roomy, but those not-uncommon strengths alone are not
nearly enough to elevate it from the back of this group.
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