REVIEWS AND ROAD TESTS

Too sedate to be a Pontiac

You have to be strong to resist the temptation the Pontiac Grand Prix brings your way. Sleek lines, an impressive cockpit, supercharged mechanics – this Pontiac has major assets to console new fathers who’ve had to give up a Firebird in favour of a family-oriented vehicle. All this to say that the Grand Prix promises a lot, but in the end, doesn’t deliver so much. Pontiac is already shifting its focus to the future generation, scheduled to come along in 2003..The strong and silent type, this model looks rock-solid. In spite of its smaller appearance, the Grand Prix is still as roomy as a Taurus, for example. Pontiac refers to it as a five-passenger vehicle, on condition that the fifth person agrees to put up with a hard seat back that doubles as a housing for a plastic shelf with cup holders. The front seat passengers don’t have much to complain about. Bucket seats are inviting, but they offer minimal support for thighs. The cumbersome dashboard groups together detailed instrumentation that’s easy to read and the console is oriented towards the driver to make it easy to use various controls. Now comes the criticism: the vehicles we test drove were very poorly assembled and the passenger compartment was filled with the kind of noise you really shouldn’t have to endure at this price level. Among other things, the trunk’s narrow opening makes it awkward to load heavy or large items.To keep its sporty image intact, the cornerstone to its success, Pontiac had to give the Grand Prix the means to fulfill its ambitions. Despite the fact that a supercharged engine is available, statistics show that most buyers choose the standard Series II 3800 V6. The four-speed automatic transmission helps it achieve acceptable performance levels while keeping fuel consumption reasonable, unless you drive in the city, where the Grand Prix develops a powerful thirst.

There’s good reason to question the suspension’s efficiency. It’s harsh and it shakes up the Grand Prix at the slightest bump or irregularity in the road surface. The power steering system is heavy and rarely lets you negotiate a corner without having to correct the initial trajectory. Wide tires delay the car’s tendency to oversteer and provide optimal adherence when roads are dry. Although we didn’t have the chance to test them thoroughly, the brakes seemed to be efficient, but nothing special. There isn’t much else to say, except that this model’s assembly quality should be reconsidered seriously. On the other hand, hats off for a style that doesn’t age rapidly.

PROS
Attractive lines
Detailed instrumentation
Good engine choices

CONS
Oversized dashboard
Marginal manufacturing quality
Stiff suspension (GTP)