For 2007, General Motors developed a new 260-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder to create high performance variants of its small roadsters, the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn SKY. With prices that start in the high 20s and top out in the low 30s, these are easily the least expensive high performance roadsters you can buy. The least expensive alternatives, the Honda S2000 and Nissan 350Z, start in the mid-30s, and alternatives from Germany start in the mid-40s.
Of course there are tradeoffs. But what are they? How well can the small roadsters handle so much extra power? I test drove a Solstice GXP with the standard five-speed manual to find out.
Styling
I personally prefer the crisper, more complex, somewhat futuristic lines of the Saturn SKY to the more organic and more classic lines of the Pontiac Solstice. But either is a very attractive car. The GXP is hard to distinguish from the regular Solstice; the tip-off for me is that the foglamps on the GXP are set within a black piece of trim. There's also a small lip spoiler on the trunk.
Inside, the Pontiac is again more organic and more classic than the Saturn, and again I prefer the Saturn. But this is purely a matter of personal preference. Some people might describe the interior ambiance as "cheap," noting the vast amounts of hard plastic and optional leather that has the look and feel of vinyl. But I can see how the interior fits the minimalist character of the car.
One aspect was higher in quality than I expected: the door pulls are upholstered in stitched vinyl. I expected hard plastic.
Accommodations
The Pontiac Solstice is a moderately tight two-seater. Some roadsters are tighter still, but no one would describe the Pontiac as "roomy." More than in other small roadsters, you sit low behind the hulking instrument panel. When I drove the SKY, I wished for a height adjustment to the seat. Apparently other people wished for the same, for GM added a power height adjustment later in the model year. It helps.
The seat itself is comfortable and provides very good lateral support.
As many reviews have mentioned, the Solstice has very little room for cargo when the top is down, as the top occupies nearly all of the small trunk. There's also very little storage room inside the cabin. So you'll have to pack very lightly for even a weekend.
On the Road
I should make one thing clear: the Solstice GXP was not designed to be driven with the top up.
Driven with the top up, the Solstice GXP comes across as noisy, bumpy, clunky, and generally unrefined. Combine this with the low seating position and the long hood that rises up over the front wheels, and I was reminded more than a little of a 1980s Corvette. Visibility with the top up is very poor to the rear.
So put the top down. Putting the top up and down is more complicated than in any other recently manufactured convertible I've driven. But still not all that difficult. The main inconvenience is that you must get out of the car and walk around it to put the top up or down. I'd rather the car had a simpler top, without the flying buttresses that must be snapped down. Why are they here? They don't look all that good.
With the top down the car's lack of refinement is far less evident. This isn't only a trait of the Solstice. I've noted a similar difference with the Honda S2000, and likely would have with the Lotus Elise if I'd driven it with the top in place.
Now about the engine. Heading into the test drive, I was wary of the turbo, as the boost lag in the turbocharged MazdaSpeed Miata was totally at odds with the otherwise immediate character of that car. Well, there's much less lag and much more midrange in the Pontiac turbo. (Can't say much for the low end, though.) Direct injection, which enables a higher than normal compression ratio, helps here.
I'd also worried that 260 horsepower might prove a handful in such a small roadster. Well, I needn't have worried. First, the Solstice does weigh about 3,000 pounds, so it's not exactly a featherweight. (The current MX-5 Miata weighs about a quarter-ton less.) Second, while the engine feels powerful when the boost is up and the tach is over 3,000, it doesn't feel crazy, hair-on-end, white-knuckle powerful. Instead, it feels appropriately powerful for the car. Finally, unlike the tail-happy pre-2007 Honda S2000, the Pontiac doesn't snap into oversteer with minimal provocation and has stability control standard.
I found that I could predictably and controllably elicit oversteer with my right foot, and that the stability control intervened appropriately and unobtrusively.
This made the Solstice GXP tremendous fun to drive.
Even with the top down, and especially with it up, the turbo is very loud. You hear its every whine and gasp. Some people might mind this. For me, it brought back memories of a turbocharged Pontiac convertible I owned back in the 1980s. The engine is also fairly loud, and at best average in sound quality for a four. I wouldn't take this one to the redline just to hear the engine.
The five-speed manual was borrowed from GM's compact pickups, and it could well be the worst compromise the corporation made to keep the cost low. The ratios are too tall for an engine that lugs under 2,000 RPM and prefers to be over 3,000. Fifth gear is useless below 60, and even on the highway and with the turbo you'll want to downshift to accelerate quickly. The Solstice (and SKY) deserve a close ratio six-speed manual.
The transmission's shift action lacks the ultra-short-throw snick-snick of a Miata or S2000. Still, throws aren't too long, the gears are easy to find, and the action is reasonably smooth. All in all, the feel of the shifter neither adds to nor detracts from the joy of driving the car. Clutch effort isn't too high, unlike the G35 I drove earlier the same day.
I noted that the Solstice is no featherweight, and this carries over to the car's handling. Like many GM cars, this one feels larger and heavier than it is. The suspension tuning is much stiffer than on the base SKY I drove last year. So the car reacts more quickly to inputs and corners with very little lean.
A lot of tire for a car around 3,000 pounds--the wheels are shod with 245/45WR18 high-performance treads--ensures that there's always plenty of grip. Too much, in fact for the base engine. Rather than overpowering the car, the GXP's extra 83 horsepower serve to bring the chassis alive. But tossable it is not. "Chuckable" is a much more apt descriptor. I didn't slice through curves with surgical precision so much as throw the car through them, steering as much with the throttle as the nicely-weighted but not very communicative steering wheel. And, as mentioned before, the stability control only intervenes as needed, and even then with a light touch.
The downside of the stiff suspension is one of the roughest rides I've experienced in recent memory. This car could prove tiresome on commutes or long drives.
With the top down, the amount of buffeting becomes uncomfortable above 40 miles-per-hour. So at that point I put the side windows up, and they work wonders. With the windows up, buffeting is minimal even at highway speeds.
Pontiac Solstice GXP Price Comparisons and Pricing
The GXP starts $5,000 higher than the base Pontiac Solstice. However, optioning the base Solstice up to the level of the GXP costs nearly $2,300. And even then the GXP has about $850 in additional features (including stability control). So in the end the turbocharged engine and sport suspension add about $1,850 to the car's price. Seems reasonable.
The Solstice GXP starts nearly $7,700 below the Honda S2000. Optioning the Pontiac up to the feature level of the Honda adds about $2,200. Additional features on the Honda (power top, Xenon headlights) narrow the gap another $400. Even then the Pontiac Solstice GXP is about $5,200 less at MSRP and $3,500 less at invoice.
Other alternatives are more expensive than the Honda.
Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)
TrueDelta's page for the Pontiac Solstice:
http://www.truedelta.com/models/Solstice.php
Last Words
The Solstice GXP doesn't try to be like any other roadster. (Well, unless that roadster is a C4 Corvette.) It lacks the refinement and precise feel of imported competitors, and in some ways is more fun to drive as a result. Blasting along a curvy road is, well, a blast. As a daily driver it would be awful, with the busy ride, lack of storage, and clunky feel with the top up. But as a toy for enjoying on the weekends, I'd love to have one.
A Note on Pontiac Solstice GXP Reliability
I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.
Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Solstice rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Pontiac Solstice reliability comparisons.
Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the Solstice--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive
free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.
For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.
A link to this website and alphabetized links to
my other vehicle reviews can be found on my
profile page.
Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Saturn SKY review (non-turbo Solstice twin)
BMW Z4 review (old review)
Honda S2000
MazdaSpeed Miata review (old bodystyle)
Mazda MX-5 Miata review (current bodystyle)
Nissan 350Z review (hatchback)
Amount Paid (US$): 31,0000
Model Year: 2007
Model and Options: GXP 5-speed
