2008 Pontiac G5

Exterior:

As you would expect from Pontiac, this car is a looker. It's sleek and sexy. The swoopy lines and profile of this car just screams, "Drive me fast, honey!"

4.5 stars

Interior:

The interior was equally sporty. The dash was well laid out, and a computer readout gave you pretty much everything you'd want to know when on a trip. This car was equipped with XM radio, and the controls were easily assimilated. The knob to change the stations was easy to operate both searching one station at a time, and looking to traverse several stations at once. The heating/cooling controls were also easy to operate and very handy.

The power mirror controls were on the armrest and easy to adjust both sitting still and when in motion. This car was not equipped with cruise control (which sucked, but I won't hold that against the car.

The driver's seat was... sporty. Firm but comfortable. I did have to shift around a bit after driving a few hours, as the firmness didn't quite suit me, but it wasn't horrible. The cup holders were ample, although when I used one as a change holder, it was hard to pick up the coins from the bottom. Not a huge deal, but a coin holder would have been useful.

4 stars


Performance

This engine wanted to go. For a 4 cylinder, it was happy to jump off the line and giddy up. Acceleration smooth all the way up to the speed limit. The engine was a bit throaty, pleasing, if you like to hear your engine roar. As I recall, when I arrived going both ways, my ears were ringing from the noise level, and it took a bit of time for that to go away. I blame this in part on having the windows open, but this was the only car I experienced this in. Cruising down the highway was smooth. Even going through the mountains, I didn't experience a lot of downshift to go up the hills. Passing on the 2 lane highways was a breeze. Just push down, and hang on!

4.5 stars

Handling

This is always hard to evaluate. I drove this car on dry pavement and wet. On dry, this car was solid and responsive. The steering ratio was excellent. I felt confident going around a mountain corner at the speed limit, with zero worry about whether it would stick. I didn't make the car drift, but it appeared to be well balanced.

On wet pavement, I was less confident. The wider tires seemed to want to slip a bit on wet pavement. Nothing serious, but the feeling wasn't as solid as on dry. Nothing huge, but something of note.

Overall, I felt connected to the road and I felt as though I was in control and the car was predictable both wet and dry.

4 stars


Miscellaneous

The computer said I got about 32 MPG, all highway.
No issues filling up the gas tank.