For our recent trip in Phoenix, we decided to rent a midsize car. Unfortunately, the dates we booked the car were not ideal, as all the rental companies raised their prices to coincide with the football bowl games in late December. So, just for fun, we decided to ask around at other airport car rental companies' kiosks to find out how much they were charging as compared to what we were quoted beforehand with our booking. Our two quotes were both for US$99 from Thrifty for a minivan - all they had left. The customer service rep. also called an off-site friend to see if their rates were any lower and/or to see if they had any other vehicles on offer. No dice.

Eventually, the only choice we had to make(besides the easy ones : declining prepaid gas and unnecessary insurance) was whether to get a Pontiac G6 or a Chevrolet Classic. You read that right. I also didn't know what a Chevrolet Classic was. But upon walking the rental lot I'm pretty sure it's the Chevy HHR. I'm glad we chose the G6.

Our G6 was red in color and definitely stood out from the crowd in terms of the exterior. We found it had power everything, air conditioning, cruise control, a trip computer and a trunk button on the key fob. We had the car for the better part of five days.


Thumbs down
I'll start with my dislikes. The climate and radio controls had cheap knobs with cheesy accents. These were no better than what you'd find in one of Pontiac's entry cars, the Pursuit. Also, the radio controls do not include a scan button. You have to press and hold seek for a few seconds to compensate. The G6's mirrors are cheap and flimsy looking, and are no comparison to the Mazda 3. Again, you'll probably find these have been recycled from the Pursuit. Our car had two cupholders in front, and the same in the back. The glovebox was quite small. The steering wheel was not leather, but was still fairly comfortable. The shifter was made of the same material, with parts of it made from aluminium, I think. The G6 has cruise control buttons on the steering wheel, which was a surprise to me. However, you have to press the buttons quite forcefully before they register. Something else that was unexpected was the trip computer. It shared the screen with the radio, and kept track of fuel range, economy, average speed, outside temperature, oil life(as a %) and mileage for trip A & B. I found for most of the readings that the trip computer updates a few times each minute. Another nice thing about the car was the auto-on headlights.

Gas
On our daytrip to Sedona, I found our economy worked out to roughly 30 miles per gallon for mostly freeway driving. Not too shabby if you ask me. I kept notes on our city mileage as well, but I'm not certain they're correct. If they are, they show an economy of about 13mpg , and given the highway economy I'm not sure that's correct. The stated fuel economy for the G6 is 22mpg in the city and 32mpg on the highway for the V6 sedan.

Seating
The seats were fairly comfortable, nothing extraordinary. We were in the car for about three hours each way going to Sedona, and at some points I really felt like my back was suffering from the trip. The front seats are grabby in the style of the Dodge SRT-4, but not to that extent. I really prefer normal seats. Both front seats were not power operated.

Engine
On one afternoon I got to drive the car from our hotel to the hockey rink. It's about 24 miles each way, most of which is on the freeway. Accelerating up to 55/65mph on the onramps before the freeways did not present a problem at all. If I had to guess, I would think that this car takes about 7-7.5 seconds to 60 mph. The G6 is a very capable and quiet highway cruiser. Passing during these conditions also didn't seem to tax the engine. I generally took it easy on the gas pedal to see how the 'miles to empty' figure differed. On the way back, I found it started at about 232, and when we arrived at the hotel it was at 245 miles to E. I should mention that I used the cruise control whenever possible, and I believe that helped. The stated mpg figure in the trip computer is presently at 23.

In my experience with the G6 I found it had enough power to move adequately on city streets and on the freeway. The engine never felt like a monster - it certainly didn't feel overly powerful. The G6 might have the same size engine as the Chrysler 300 or Dodge Magnum, but it doesn't feel nearly as powerful. Again, I never had a problem merging onto the freeway, or keeping my speed up while cruising. Last year with the old horsepower ratings, the G6 claimed to have 220 horses. With the new system, it's down to 201, and I didn't think it felt that fast. The car's brakes performed well when required. I'm not sure if our model was equipped with ABS, as I never felt it kicking in.

The cruise control buttons are on the left side of the steering wheel. Unfortunately, two of the four buttons are small and are right next to each other. Once you turn the cruise control on and set your preferred speed, a light comes on in the dash panel. This is in contrast to my Mazda 3, which has a light to indicate that the cruise main system is on, and another to show that a set speed has been programmed. I used the 'accel' button once or twice and found it didn't race the engine as I've been accustomed to in the 3.


Storage capacity
We found the trunk was only big enough to fit one of our large suitcases. There was some space left over, but most of the other luggage found its way to the back seat. Parking this beast wasn't tedious. It feels slightly bigger than my Mazda, but not by much. The G6 handled well, and took corners with enthusiasm when demanded. Performing U-turns at slow speeds was not a problem.

Safety
Safety wise, the G6 really does not stand out. Our model only had two airbags, including a sensor for the front-passenger's airbag. At a time when even the Honda Civic comes with six airbags, and sells for considerably less than the G6, two airbags is just not enough. The doors were fairly heavy, and did close with a solid noise. Is the extra weight and reinforcement in the door beams any better in the G6 than the Civic? That I cannot say. Also, compare the automatic transmissions. The Civic has a 5-speed. The G6? Only 4. Doesn't sound like much, but it makes a big difference. And when it comes to value for money, I would take the Civic over the G6 any day of the week - not to mention a better expected resale value.

Summing up
I like the exterior styling of the G6. It's a step in the right direction for GM, and they seem to be turning over a new leaf styling-wise with this car and the Solstice. Some of the newer Saabs aren't too shabby looking either. If I didn't know any better, I might have mistaken the G6 for an import sedan. They've definitely taken some styling cues from cars like the Mazda 6. Inside the car, it seems GM still has a lot to learn. I believe the G6 has a starting price here in Canada of around $25,000 or $26,000. That puts it up against the Accord, Camry, Mazda 6 and domestic competition. In all of those cars, the materials used are better and more comfortable to work with. I also wouldn't put the G6 in the same class in terms of expected reliability. Overall the G6 is a step in the right direction, but there's still plenty of improvements to be made before it can reach the same level as its competition.

I don't pretend to be part of the target audience for this car. That might be part of the reason I'm not ecstatic about it. But really, feature for feature, and even with Pontiac's "built for drivers" slogan, the G6 does not stand out. Even with the V6 it isn't overly powerful. It is a capable, quiet highway cruiser - there's no doubt about that. Pontiac had to replace the Grand Am, and improvements have been made with the G6. I just don't feel like they have done enough. According to ConsumerReports.org, reliability for the G6's first year has been average.