The Good :)
Hot exterior looks. Feels like a
performance sedan.
The Bad :(
Needs more exhaust note.
Should
have navigation map as a option.
Engine
6Cyl 3.6 Liter
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Output
256
hp @ 6300
rpm
248 lb-ft @ 2100 rpm
Top Speed
150 mph
0-60 mph
6.9 sec (est.)
Weight
3,885 lbs
Price As Tested
$29,765
With new car sales weaning from their
high’s GM is making better and better products hoping to lure new
customers. The new Pontiac G8 is just one example of the new
machinery that has taken a while to come to US shores from GM’s
european and australian assembly plants. Being made in Australia
with many components from France, the G8 is a good mix of European
flair and American muscle. For the first time in more than 20
years a Pontiac performance sedan will have rear wheel drive. And
it has been even longer since we have seen excitement from
Pontiac.
“With Pontiac’s commitment to producing vehicles with both style and
performance, the G8 is the ideal flagship for the brand,” said Craig
Bierley, Pontiac marketing director. “But, more importantly, the G8
provides a level of sophisticated power and handling normally reserved
for those paying far more.”
With a aggressive front profile using the signature pontiac dual hood
scoops, the G8 offers nostalgic pontiac agressiveness and head turning
good looks. New projector beam headlights are placed in sharply
styled headlights and large oval fog lamps are placed low in the front
valence. A sleek sloping front windshield and flared front wheel wells
give you the impression of a high performance Euro sedan. Slight
touches of chrome around the front grille makes for a more upscale
appearance, and this upscale appearance is carried nicely around the
entire Pontiac G8.
The side profile is large and smooth offering you a sense that you are
sitting in a large sedan with muscular grab style door handles and a
high roofline. The overall look is very modern and balanced, not
the usual we have seen from Pontiac in prior years. Wheels gaps
have been lessened and arches slightly widened to offer a more
aggressive stance. Large wheels in 18 inch double spoke design
make this car look like a Audi of much higher price points.
The rear end is both curvaceous and aggressive. The single piece
bumper is large and smooth at the edges yet offers sports car like fins
at the tail pipes and large dual chrome tipped exhausts. A
spoiler on top of the trunk adds to the sporty appearance with a sleek
Pontiac medallion and the wording Pontiac G8 in chrome. Tail
lamps are small and smooth with a circular interior lamp. When
you get close you can see the detail in the lamps which offers a nice
glittering effect at night.
The interior of the G8 is styled with a great deal of precision and
sporty character. Because the G8 comes from Australia, the
interior is much more upscale as compared to other Pontiac models from
the U.S. Just like the outside seems kind of toyish, so is the
interior. The cabin flows away from the center dash and surrounds
you at the doors. Materials used are a combination of dotted
textured plastic on the upper dash, smooth plastic trim on the console
and silver plastic trim as accent pieces. Leather is used where
you would touch the car, as on the thickly wrapped steering wheel, the
nicely rapped gear shift lever, as well as the thoughtful use of
leather on the door panels and armrest.
Many design cues seem to come from Audi cars amazingly enough. On
the central dash, dials are similar to those found on Audi vehicles
with a ribbed metal look and a segmented feeling as you turn the
button. In Audi’s the buttons are really made of metal not
plastic as on the G8. The parking brake handle is built into the
center console design. Window switches are located here near the
shift lever as on BMW’s. The instrument cluster also houses a
information display as seen on Audi vehicles as well. Even the
steering wheel has jog dials similar to those found on Audi
vehicles. The one strange thing was the location of the trunk
release button, inside the glove compartment. Also there is no
button on the trunk itself to open it, which became quite
annoying.
On top of the central console lies a large digital meter showing you
the battery condition and engine oil level. This readout was
rather large and was not changeable therefore became somewhat of a
overdo. We would have preferred this to be a real computer
capable of showing us a trip computer, outside temperature and other
functions rather than things which people would never really care
about. The main central screen shows you a large amount of
functions all bunched together in a somewhat confusing layout.
Climate control settings and stereo settings are shown here. The
G8 does not offer any map based navigation system, something that would
be have been perfect here. The stereo system offers a ASM button
for automatic storing of the six strongest stations in what ever area
you are in, a feature common on Blaupunkt units found in Europe.
230 watts using 11 speakers make the sound quite good. 6 CD’s can
be loaded into the unit and a audio auxiliary jack enables you to use a
music player easily although the location of this jack means that you
will have wires hanging all over the place, we would suggest inside the
glove box for a input jack.
The climate control system is a automatic dual zone system with
electronic sun sensor and electronic ventilation control. Both
front seats are also heated by a 3 way switch. The display for
the climate control is located at the top of the large information
screen and more on this can be seen in our photos and videos.
The front seats are large and quite supportive while being easy to get
into as well. They are powered in their height and sliding
motions only. The backrest must be manually moved by way of a
dial that was quite hard to grab. There is also a manual
lumbar support dial on both front seats. Windows are also not
automatic up and down, something we would like to see on all doors in
the year 2008. Only the driver’s window is automatic going down.
The glovebox is large and offers storage for more than just the owners
manual. The storage box in the armrest is also useful and quite
large. Doors offer large storage areas and bottle holders as
well.
The rear seats are deeply angled and have very deep lower
cushions. This makes for a very comfortable seating position, one
that seems lower than that in the front due to the roof being closer to
you in the front. You have a view in back of a tall sloping
roofline. Legroom is very good when you have average sized adults
sitting in front. Doors are missing the required grab handles
that are so good in the front compartment. However soft leather
door panels feel great. All seats look great as well with a
perforated leather being used in the central cushions and smooth
leather being used on the sides. The roofline is probably going
to be low for taller adults in front due to its deeply angled nature
however in back there is more room and the view ahead is of a tall roof
making it look like there is more room inside.
Good features like seat belts which are loose as in German makes is
another good trait borrowed from the Germans on this GM vehicle.
We just wish GM would learn quicker and perhaps lead in car design and
functionality. A pass through to the rear trunk is located in the
rear seatback where the armrest is. However seats do not fold
60/40. We would have liked all interior door handles to be made
of metal rather than plastic on the interior for a more upscale
feeling.
Handling is sharp and quite precise with good feedback to the
driver. The rear wheel drive nature of the G8 is felt quite
nicely every time you launch from a stop. Tires are a wide 245
size which provides great traction. Exhaust sounds come from
underneath the driver’s seat and we suppose this offers more feeling
but it did feel a bit fake. If the exhaust note was coming from
the rear end of the car it would have felt more real. It was fun
to have a exhaust note in any case. Power is plentiful and the
sporty nature of the G8 makes you feel like having fun while
driving.
The G8 is offered with 2 engine choices. The base sedan we tested
had a 3.6 Liter DOHC V6 engine which generates 256 horsepower and 248
lb.-ft of torque. This is linked to a five speed Hydra-Matic
transmission. The driver can shift manually and a sport setting
is also available for higher shift points. In manual mode the
engine will go to redline and stop there, not moving up the next gear
unless you push the shift lever. This engine gave us a average of
19 miles per gallon in mixed driving, a figure that is quite low
considering that most other cars in this class are getting 30. We
found that the window sticker shows a rating of 17 in the city and 25
on the highway.
In real world conditions the G8 is very stiff and this makes driving it
on curvy roads very enjoyable. A long wheelbase at 114.8 inches
and with wheels set at wide tracks of about 63 inches makes the G8 very
comfortable and flat on most any road. Four wheel disc brakes
with large 11.7 inch front and rear rotors make stopping easy. 18
inch wheels with wide 245 sized tires are also quite helpful at
achieving the great handling we witnessed in the Pontiac G8.
Backed by a sturdy, crash-absorbing body structure and state-of-the-art
passenger protection technology, the G8 is designed to offer superior
passenger safety before, during and after an incident with an extensive
list of safety features:
* StabiliTrak electronic vehicle stability system
* Tire pressure monitoring system
* Dual-stage frontal air bags with a passenger
sensing system
* Head curtain side air bags for front and rear
occupants
* Side thorax air bags for the front passengers
* Three-point safety belts in all seating positions
* Front safety belt pre-tensioners
* Rear-seat LATCH child safety seat provisions in
all three seating positions
The G8’s also benefits from OnStar’s Turn-by-Turn Navigation function.
With the touch of a button, an OnStar advisor will route the driver to
a destination and download the directions directly to the vehicle,
where a combination of voice-guided and DIC-displayed instructions
provide guidance. If the driver misses a turn, the system automatically
updates itself to revise the directions.
Our G8 starts of at a base price of $26,910. Added to this are
optional items such as the low cost Premium package which truly changes
the interior for $1,375 upgrading everything to Leather and offering
heated seats, power driver and passenger seat as well as a leather
wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. It is a must have.
Optional on our car was the comfort and sound package for $795 which
ads dual zone air conditioning, and the 6 disc stereo system.
Destination charges of $685 bring out total to $29,765. 61%
of all parts on this car come from Australia while 7% come from the US
and canada. The final assembly point is Elizabeth
Australia. The engine comes from Australia and the transmission
from France.
While we have not seen many G8’s on the road, the vehicle is one of the
best we have seen coming from GM. The car handles very well and
the interior is luxurious and fun. With gas prices reaching $4.50
a gallon, we think that most consumers are worried about its poor fuel
economy of 19 mpg. Having a car that gets you 30 really makes a
big difference in your weekly fuel costs and so we think GM better end
its cozy relationship with Oil companies and start making cars with
very high fuel economy. The world needs a greener exhaust pipe
and we need cleaner air as well. Global warming is for
real.
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