This strange beast performs best when flogged mercilessly
Written: Aug 08 '03 (Updated Jun 22 '05)
Product Rating:
Pros: Power, handling, HUD and TAPshift work well, front seats, interior versatility
Cons: On-center steering feel, rear seat, front wheels can only do so much
The Bottom Line: The Grand Prix offers a strange mix of attributes. A second test drive proved great fun, but I still perceive a limited market for the car.
After years of concentrating on trucks, GM has vowed to focus again on cars, where it has been steadily losing market share. Leading GM’s charge to regain share in this segment is the 2004 Grand Prix.
The best Grand Prix for enthusiasts is the “Comp G.” Available on the top-line GTP model, the Competition Group package includes specific suspension tuning, TAPshift (GM’s first manumatic), a trip computer, a head-up display (HUD), sport-tuned stability control, Magnasteer II (GM’s unique magnetically-assisted steering), V-rated rubber in the same 225,55R17 size as the regular GTP, ten-spoke lightweight alloys, red brake calipers, and a shorter final drive. This strikes me as a very comprehensive package for $1,395.
This review expands upon my first based upon a second test drive. This time around I drove the car harder and got in the right frame of mind by driving a 2003 Grand Prix GTP on the same roads immediately beforehand.
Epinions has recently begun providing cars with multiple listings that are not mutually exclusive. After much discussion with the category Leads and Advisors, I have decided to make the best of a messy situation by posting reviews of varying detail under the duplicate listings. This is my relatively concise Grand Prix review. For my more detailed review, click here.
Pontiac Grand Prix Reliability
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Styling
I’m not so crazy about the looks of the new Grand Prix. The previous car when shod with classy five-spoke alloys was among GM’s best looking sedans of the 1990s, with good proportions and unforced, pleasantly flowing lines.
The new Grand Prix to my eye is an MTV-style caricature of the old one. The front and rear, though a bit heavy, are not bad. Heck, I even like the front in some shades. But I strongly dislike the pinched-in rear side window and the very high mounting of the protective bodyside molding on the doors. I prefer the more tasteful rendition of a similar theme on the old car.
Inside, the quality of materials is significantly better. Worthy of praise are switches with a higher quality feel (they could still feel better) and the flush mounting of the sound system and HVAC control panels. American cars have stuck with recessed panels for far too long because this avoids the need for precise fits. The problem is, recessed panels have a cheap, slipshod look to them. On the downside, the interior still seems plasticky. The prevalent hard plastic surfaces look and feel solid, but together with the idiosyncratic interior styling these surfaces contribute an artificial, antiseptic, even alien ambiance to the interior. Granted, this unique ambiance with strongly appeal to some people. It even grew on me during my second test drive.
Accommodations
The driving position is significantly higher than in the 2003, if still lower than that in most current family sedans. Given the ultra-sporty interior styling I felt that it should be lower. I cannot imagine driving this car with the power seat above its lowest position—eliminating the value of the height adjustment except for short people. One benefit of the driving position is very good visibility forward. Your sightline is well above the top of the dash. In the front seat I did not feel at all buried in the car.
GM has offered head-up displays (HUDs) for years, but this is the first car I've driven with one. I’ve always thought of HUDs as a gimmick, so I was surprised to like this feature a great deal. The numbers appear to be floating above the leading edge of the car’s hood even though they're being projected onto the windshield. As a result, your eyes do not have to refocus to read the display. The road and the HUD can be viewed simultaneously. Within minutes I intuitively relied on this display for information on vehicle speed and the current gear (helpful when using the TAPshift).
The new front seats are far superior to the flat, hard, minimally bolstered and padded seats found in the 2003. Compared to those seats, they feel downright plush. They also provide far better lateral support. The seats in the new 2004 Nissan Maxima lag a bit in comfort and a lot in lateral support. One very welcome feature found in other GM products is four-way lumbar support adjustment. Too often a prominent lumbar support is too high or too low. Not here.
In the rear seat things turn ugly. With the 1997-2003 Grand Prix, GM’s logic was that people who wanted a good rear seat would buy an Oldsmobile Intrigue. The Oldsmobile Intrigue is gone, but an inhospitable rear seat makes the journey to the new Grand Prix. This even though the GP is no longer available as a coupe.
By my logic, cars with rear doors should have a good rear seat. Especially those as long as this one. The Grand Prix’s problem begins with the styling. That steeply sloped rear window forces the rear seat cushion to be mounted very low to provide even marginal headroom. The cushion’s low position makes for zero thigh support and limited legroom. My knees made extensive contact with the front seatbacks. The styling also severely constricts the view out for rear seat passengers, especially if these are children. All in all, this is among the worst rear seats I can recall among all of the sedans I've driven.
With the new Grand Prix, GM has sought to reinvent the sedan for an age in which the SUV reigns supreme. The rear doors open to a 90-degree angle, to provide very good access to the rear seat. Said seat might not be good for humans, but a TV or CRT computer monitor will slide in easily. In GT2 and GTP trim, not only does the rear seat fold but the front passenger seat does as well, enabling a nine-foot object to be carried inside the car.
The sedan-as-SUV thing doesn’t work out so well in practice. Once folded all of those seatbacks do form a large flat surface. The first problem is getting them folded. Owing to the low rear seat cushion there is no need to tip this cushion forward as in some other sedans with folding rear seats. There is also no need to remove the rear seat headrests—they aren’t removable. However, these headrests hit the front seatbacks when the rear seats are folded. To get the rear seat to fold flat, the front seats must first be moved about half way forward, a major inconvenience.
On the Road
For my second test drive of the 2004 Grand Prix I visited a Pontiac dealer near my favorite test route, one that contains an industrial park full of imperfectly paved, curvy roads. This route is very hard on a car. In both the Maxima and Grand Prix I took these test drives just before the dealerships closed at nine, so the industrial park was empty. I had the opportunity to flog both cars mercilessly.
The Maxima did not fare too well, as the seats offered little in the way of lateral support and body motions were not well controlled. The 2003 Grand Prix was similarly in need of better suspension damping, and the sound of dozens of trim pieces rubbing against one another seriously detracted from the experience.
In comparison to either of those cars, the 2004 Comp G fared far better. Drive the new GP in a relaxed to moderate fashion, and the powertrain response lacks linearity, the handling feels dull, and the ride feels a bit busy. Drive the slop out of the new Grand Prix, and suddenly it feels much, much better. Although the boost still kicked in a bit heavier than I wanted every once in a while, producing moderate torque steer and burning serious rubber in the process, generally the powertrain reacts very well to driver inputs when you’re really pushing it. Generally boost comes on very smoothly if quickly, belying the power of the engine.
I circled the industrial park with the transmission in D and using the TAPshift. Drive the car hard, and D actually does okay. I did not mind the lack of a fifth ratio as much this time around. I believe the transmission is supposed to learn from your driving pattern. If so, this one seemed to learn better than that in the first car I drove. At any rate, TAPshift remains the way to go if you plan to tackle some very curvy roads. It is the best such system I’ve sampled. The transmission reacts instantly. I noted the plus sign that appears in the HUD as you near the redline this time around. It helped, but I’d still prefer a tach in the HUD.
The real revelation is in the Comp G’s suspension. It controlled body motions over rough patches far better than the suspensions of the other two cars. The Comp G handles in a very balanced fashion for a large, nose-heavy, powerful front driver. Understeer in minimal, even when taking the car very hard through sharp turns. In the same turns taken at a lower speed the Maxima plowed and its tires shrieked. Hit a bump in said turns in the Maxima and the body was all over the place while the front tires fought for traction. The Comp G absorbed said bumps and maintained its line. The rear dutifully tracked the front. Never was there the slightest hint it might come around, even if I nailed the brakes in a turn (something that used to be a huge no-no in GM’s front-drive cars). The stability control kicked in from time to time, but it did so unobtrusively.
I enjoyed the steering’s weighting and level of effort, but I wished for more road feel, especially on center. In on-center feel the steering of the 2003 Grand Prix was actually superior. On the other hand, the greater smoothness of the steering in the 2004 does lend the car a much more upscale, higher quality character.
Especially when I was flogging the car the ride quality felt very good, even over rough patches and severe expansion joints. When driven more casually the ride did feel a bit busy over some roads, reinforcing my conclusion that the new Grand Prix comes across by far the best when it’s driven very, very hard.
Pricing
For quick, up-to-date pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.
The GTP Comp G I drove the second time around had every option except XM satellite radio. The retail price was $31,035. Edmunds suggests that the typical price after dealer discount is about $29,056. Figure $27,500 after discount and rebate for a loaded Grand Prix, less if you don’t need so many options.
Among Japanese cars the Nissan Maxima comes closest in terms of power and bizarre styling. Equipped like the Grand Prix I drove it lists for $31,640. The typical dealer discount (according to Edmunds; I’d expect a larger discount) brings this to $29,700. Once so close to $30,000 I’d probably look elsewhere, if only to Infiniti’s G35. The Maxima’s seats and suspension simply are not up to hard driving. A shame, since the new styling is upscale and distinctive, the engine is wonderful, a manual is available, and the rear seat is large.
I would suggest taking a look at the Cadillac CTS, but its price keeps going up and no rebate is currently offered, so similarly equipped it will cost at least $8,000 more than the Comp G.
My current favorite midsize sedan is the Mazda6. Equipped as close as possible to the Grand Prix (no stability control) it lists for $26,465 (2003), and typically costs $24,900 after the dealer discount. To save more money go with the manual transmission. The Mazda offers sharper handling than any other midsize front-drive family sedan. On the downside, it feels less substantial than the Maxima or Grand Prix and has a significant power disadvantage.
Any of the above competitors has a much better rear seat than the Grand Prix. None is quite as quick as the Pontiac when equipped with an automatic, but all save the Chrysler still feel plenty quick. Among the front-drivers, the Mazda is the sharpest handler, but the Pontiac feels the most composed.
If the Pontiac’s unusual mix of strengths and weaknesses appeal to you, then the price is not bad. But I don’t see anyone buying it because of the price, at least not until GM’s typical $3,000 rebate gets thrown onto the car.
Final Words
If there’s anyone this car should appeal to it’s me. With three children I need a good-sized sedan with the flexibility to carry a lot of cargo. Yet I want a car that’s very fun to drive. A second test drive did find the Grand Prix great fun to drive when it is possible to drive it hard. In more casual driving I again found the Grand Prix insufficiently satisfying. Worse, my issues with the car’s utility remain. A sedan this large should have a much better back seat.
Ultimately, the Grand Prix offers a strange mix of attributes. It’s front-drive, but very powerful and tuned for performance driving. It’s large, but does not treat rear seat passengers well. In some ways it’s a very good car, but this cannot disguise the fact that it’s crying out for two major changes: power to the rear wheels and a much better rear seat. If for whatever reason you get turned on by having the front wheels go far beyond the call of duty, and do not care about rear seat comfort, then by all means add a star or even two to my rating and buy this car.
To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, or to perform thorough new car price comparisons, visit www.truedelta.com. A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
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