Until Pontiac bit the dust in the wake of GM's 2009 bankruptcy fiasco, the Pontiac G6 was the company's go-to midsize car. In a constant battle to steal sales from the class favorites, the G6 offered unusually tactful styling by Pontiac standards, solid performance from its V6 engines and the availability of a four-seat retractable-hardtop convertible body style. Volume-selling models were the five-passenger sedan and four-passenger coupe.Most Recent Pontiac G6
Coupes were either GTs or GTP/GXPs, convertibles GT only. The GXP topped the range with items like sporty exterior styling tweaks and automatic climate control.
At the time of Pontiac's demise, the Pontiac G6's engine lineup included a base 2.4-liter four (164 horsepower), a 3.5-liter V6 (219 hp), a 3.9-liter V6 available on the convertible only (222 hp) and the GXP's 3.6-liter V6 (252 hp).
The dealer was kind enough to permit me to take the vehicle home Saturday night to Monday morning. I was mainly interested in seeing how the seats felt over a longer drive than the dealer test drive permits, what the dash lights were like at night, and the night time visibility.
I have always liked GM interiors and driven GM cars since 1981 including a Cadillac Sedan de Ville, a Buick Le Sabre Limited with a "T" package, a Firebird with a small underpowered 2.8 V6 and five speed which my wife drove for 12 years and loved, a Bonneville which was nice and dependable, a Montana van, and an optioned up base Malibu. I walked from that vehicle at the end of the lease term.
Options on the vehicle included a rear spoiler (handy for opening the trunk), a sunroof, something I have always wanted but never had in a car, anti-lock brakes. Price, terms and comfort were the biggest issues followed by style, dependability and gas mileage. All a test drive tells you is comfort for a short trip, ergonomics and handling within reason. The sunroof is cool though and the air conditioning works well. Very cool.
