2005 Pontiac Grand Prix - is wider really better?

A second chance for an old foe

I've had an opportunity to drive the 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix recently. My own car was at the dealership (again) and I was given a base model Grand Prix with under 500 miles on the clock for the day. The 'day' turned into three days.

My last encounter with a new Pontiac (Grand Am) was so moving that I joined Epinions to let the world know what a pile of junk it was. This time I insisted on the Altima but the (extremely pretty) girl behind the counter convinced me that a Grand Prix was a much better pick than an Altima.


From the curb

The Grand Prix is a bit of a pig in the mid-size class that it calls home. It has a Taurusy, egg-like shape to its profile. The four door, eight window (split rear windows) sedan offers color keyed bumpers, rockers, mirrors and door handles in the lowest of trim levels. Enormous fog lights sit under the aerodynamic looking headlights. It's wider than its competitors - at least visually A long, low, wide stance is held up by 16 inch steel wheels which are painted black and masked by silver painted hubcaps which, from a distance, to a fair job of impersonating five spoke aluminum rims. A dealer installed spoiler is narrower than the width of the trunk, flat and is lying parallel to the trunk lid. It looks ridiculous and I question its ability to add stability. This piggy looks every bit of its 3500 pound curb weight.


Behind the wheel

At first I was very impressed with the seats. The cloth upholstered fronts seats wrap around you and hug you tight. The seat bottom is firm and also cradles you. Within half an hour I knew what was missing. There is a complete lack of lumbar support in these seats. None whatsoever. The interior materials are GM plastics of beige and a brownish grayish color. It's the exact same color scheme as in my wife's Saturn VUE . The driver's door sports window and lock controls as well as dual power mirror controls and a trunk release. The center console has two well placed cup-holders, a slightly useful storage compartment and the gear shift. Behind an oversized steering wheel a clear and 'race-inspired' dash provides the necessary stats in analog format. The center speedo tops out at 140 which is a far cry from anything a Grand Prix will ever see. On the left a 7000 RPM tach (with the word 'w i d e t r a c k' stretched across it) redlines at 5600. On the right, the temp and fuel gauge share a housing equal in size to the tach. In the center stack along with the stereo and HVAC controls a small LED screen tells you which gear you're in, is a trip-meter (two actually) and offers the usual trip computer functions that no-one ever uses. The six speaker stereo is decent if you're not real picky. A couple of speakers in the rear deck-lid balance out the two speakers and two independent tweeters located in the front doors. Its got a weak version of RDS and only displays the radio call letters as you program a station into the memory. A single CD player is incorporated into the head unit. No matter which of the six preset EQ settings I picked the music I was listening to always sounded too loud - even when it wasn't being played loud. I remember the awful Grand Am giving me the same impression. The HVAC has no digital readouts or automatic climate control feature. Old fashioned, simple dials operate the system brilliantly. You'll have no complaints there. The back seat is comfortable enough for two adults or three kids. The trunk is absurdly huge. You could fit two bodies in it no problem and three if you get creative - if you're so inclined. The overstuffed dashboard robs the glove compartment of any usefulness. It opens awkwardly and you actually need to reach down under the dash to access a space not even large enough to stow a flashlight. I'm spoiled by ten way power seats and an easy-out system on my car and I seriously missed that while driving the Grand Prix. As big as it is I still needed to manually raise the steering wheel and back the seat up to make it easier to get in and out of the car. The interior light can only be turned on by a dimmer switch which is perfectly hidden by the steering wheel no matter your vantage point. Must've taken weeks for them to find the sweet spot like that. Also, the cruise control system is operated by a mini stalk on the lower right hand side of the steering wheel that you won't notice until the first time you make a U-turn and spin the wheel all the way. The interior is comfortable for short trips but would be punishing (for me anyway) on long trips.


A stupid quirky bit of technology that's bound to break

The boys at Pontiac got themselves a new fangled switch mechanism. A few of the switches use the new system and I predict it will anger many folks. You heard it here first. Instead of traditional two position (as in 'on' and 'off') switches they've incorporated these new switches that are one position and spring actuated. For instance on the stalk on the left side of the steering wheel, there are several layers of dials to operate different things. To turn on the fog lights you turn one of the dials until the fog lights come on and then you let go of it and it springs back to its starting position. Turning on the marker lights (incorporated in the fog light housings) is done the same way. You also perform the same action to shut these lights off. If you're doing this in daylight you need to do it at a red light behind a car with good reflective qualities. There is an 'on' indicator on the dash but good luck seeing it in the daytime! The traditional switches would be a wiser choice here. Incidentally, the trunk opens remotely by holding the door lock switch in the unlock position for a few extra seconds and then releasing it. This is bad technology.


No matter how you shake and dance the last few drops go down your pants

Ever hear that as a little kid - speaking to the men here of course. Here's another bit of bad technology. There're no washer jets on the hood. Windshield washer fluid is applied through the windshield wiper arm and comes out of an opening mid-stalk. It seems like a sensible idea except for the leakage. After the three or four wipes that are made after squirting the cleaning fluid on a little extra fluid is thrown from the stalk due to the centrifugal force created by the motion of the wiper arm. So then you push the steering wheel stalk down for a single wipe to finish the job and as it wipes the window dry a little more washer fluid is released again. It's a vicious cycle that plays on until you concede defeat and let the windshield air dry.


Driving the boat

The base Grand Prix is equipped with the naturally aspirated version of GMs classic 3.8 liter V6. This one is touted as the third generation (yawn). The engine produces an uninspired 52 HP per liter, or 200 HP and 230 foot pounds of torque. The transmission was adept at knowing when to redline and when to shift lower in the band. Off the line acceleration is adequate. Some may even call it exhilarating. I wouldn't. The most satisfying part of the power band comes during passing in the 30-50 MPH range. Whether or not the widetrack handling system is real or just hype I don't know but I will give the car props for stability at speed above and beyond its competition. It's not surprising that a heavy, low, wide car feels like its going 60 MPH as the needle races north of 90. Steering is numb in a luxury car sort of way. The Grand Prix stayed more level than expected while cornering but I found it all too easy to push the Goodyear Eagle LS (225/60 R16) tires beyond their capabilities on this FWD family hauler. Four wheel discs made for confident braking even without ABS and the standard air bags and crumple zones add to the safety of the vehicle. I only had the car for 3 days but I have no reason to doubt GM's claim of 20/30 MPG. Worth mentioning is the satisfying grumble that can be heard when you nail the gas. I imagine that sound brings a smile to the face of plenty of Dads driving with a car full of screaming brats, daydreaming about the Corvette he could have had if only he didn't have kids…


Last thoughts

This is a perfectly acceptable family car for the family man who hasn't yet sunk to the depths of Buick. I understand the allure of the car. If I were in that situation and this was in my budget I could learn to live with it too. Overall this is a much better effort than the bottom of the barrel Grand Am and it leaves me wondering if the Bonneville is even that much nicer than the Grand Prix.