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Road Test: Pontiac G8 GT
G8 GT: Quiet cruiser
As I mentioned in my First Impressions of the G8 GT, this car is a true American sports sedan. After a mix of city and freeway driving, the G8 proved itself to be not only a great family car but terrific fun for a car guy like me.
Yes, for the enthusiasts out there, you can convince your significant other that the G8 will be a safe and reliable family hauler, knowing full well that during alone time behind the wheel, you'll have the performance you crave.
I've mentioned a few times now how quiet the G8 can be, both around town and highway driving. I think I was expecting this car to be "louder", but not in a bad way. The G8 GT has a 6-liter V8 with 361 horsepower. At idle, you barely hear it. I drove this car a lot but took a moment to just sit in it while the engine was running. The sound was barely perceptible. The only thing tipping you off was the subtle shake to the car as the big V8 loped along at a mere 500rpm.
The only quibble I have is the G8's interior was so serene that I noticed a slight driveline hum. Splitting hairs? Probably. Annoying? Not at all. But again, I'm a nut. And it may not be common across the model line.
G8 GT: Powerful sports sedan
So great, the G8 is quiet. You don't need to worry about any outside intrusions spoiling your favorite satellite radio station. But what about the car's performance?
It goes without saying the 6-liter is powerful, but it's muscle is truly realized with the stump-pulling 385 lb-ft of torque. The six-speed automatic has no problem putting the power down as you are being pushed back in your seat.
If you're like me, you're hankering for a six-speed manual. Patience will reward you once the G8 GXP goes on sale in 2009. Enthusiasts will also be thrilled with the GXP's 6.2-liter V8 and 400-plus horsepower.
The G8 GT's transmission, like many of today's slush-boxes, has a manual function, allowing you to shift up or down with a push or pull on the center console lever. No flappy-paddle gear boxes here. But because it's an automatic at heart, your still relying on hydraulic fluids and computers to make the gear changes for you. For enthusiasts it is, of course, lacking a little. Manual shifts take too long to complete and can be abrupt at times. But given the option, I'll take a manumatic transmission over a standard automatic any time. I drove in manual-mode most of the time, with the upside being able to hold a gear and listen to the unmistakable sound of a big American V8.
We can't get around talking about gas mileage though. The G8 GT is thirsty, getting an EPA estimated 15 miles per gallon in the city and 24 highway. I averaged close to 17mpg with a mix of highway and city driving. Admittedly, my highway driving was pretty mellow, with city driving being more aggressive. I figured I did pretty well. But be prepared to be hit in your wallet keeping this car filled up.
Family hauler
The interior of the G8 is quite roomy, with my 6-foot frame having no problem getting comfortable behind the wheel. Kids will have plenty of room in the back seat to spread out and get comfortable for long trips. Adults should find leg and head room acceptable as well. Separate air vents at the rear of the center console will help keep said kids or adults cool or warm, depending on the time of the year.
The leather seats, particular for those in front, are supportive and firm. I appreciated the aggressive side bolsters holding me in place during sport-minded driving.
And of course the car's CD-player and XM satellite radio will help on extended trips as well.
For the performance-minded family guy
This car is not your grandparents Pontiac. It is definitely geared toward performance enthusiasts who also need to move family and friends. This is a true four-door sport sedan that can compete with any other on the market. For a well-optioned G8 GT, you're looking at a little over $30,000. Pretty good, considering any European counterpart will be thousands more.
And it's an American car we can get excited about. I haven't been bashful in my support lately of the American car makers, evident in my posts about the Cadillac CTS Coupe and SRX crossover.
The G8 may not be breaking any new ground in styling as I've discussed in those previous articles, but it is breaking ground for GM as a quality vehicle, further dispensing with the myth that GM can't produce exciting cars.
I like the idea that the G8 is regarded as a true American sports sedan. Which would be all well and good, except that it's not an American car, it's an Australian one. Possibly, given the bizarre goings on at the moment in US auto manufacture, that's not a bad thing. I see it as indictment on the US auto industry and its failure to genuinely connect with what its customers truly want.
G8, sadly, was wholly designed and built Down Under for the left-hand drive export market and rebadged as the G8, but even the subtle styling changes for the US market originate at Holden, and it's just the US captive-export version of Holden's Commodore that Bob Lutz thought was good enough to export to the US. The plus here is this: Holden developed the Zeta rear-wheel drive platform because of its expertise with RWD, and granted, North Americans and Australians want the same things in a big family sports sedan: RWD, plenty of power, nicely appointed interiors (for five passangers), good open road ride for long-distance freeway and B-road driving, and great handling.
But the car's DNA is purely Australian and has no American input, believe it or not, except for the powerplants, although given GM's global parts bin, they're similar on both sides of the Pacific; Holden is an independent subsidiary that has been designing its own vehicles for Aussie conditions and preferences since the late 1940s. Luckily in this case (and in most cases, if you were to look back), they correspond to what Americans like.
Nevertheless, the latest word is that GM is going to let the concept go after a five-year run, which might be madness right now given that the value of the Aussie dollar, previously almost one to one with the Greenback, has dropped markedly in recent weeks over fears the global financial crisis will hit the resources-driven Aussie economy that has been feeding the developing Asian markets with raw materials for industry. That may well translate, however, to slightly lower prices for G8 in US showrooms. We'll see, though.
Should oil prices rise insanely again in the foreseeable future, that might also put a dampener on sales of the G8 in the US, as it's already affected sales of the Commodore in Australia. Holden is already talking about rethinking its family cars in Australia, as is Ford, which also does a locally designed Falcon RWD that is the direct competitor there of the Commodore.
In the future, I'd expect some slight downsizing of both (not quite to compact standard though), heading more towards European thinking, and with the same thing happening in the US as manufacturers go back to the drawing board for a long-overdue total rethink.
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