Here is a mini-review of my recent rental 2007 Pontiac G6 GT Sedan. Let me begin with the positive aspects of the G6. It had a 3.5L V6 rated for 224 hp and I was getting 28-30 mpg with the A/C on, cruising the highway at 70-80 mph. The headlamps were surprisingly bright and the foglights were pretty nifty as well. The interior room was very good, and I have no complaints about the trunk space. The cupholders had a rubber lining so your cups were gripped more tightly. The moon roof control was easy to manipulate, and the leather wrapped wheel and shifter were a welcome change to standard crappy plastic rental interiors.

Now I shall delve into the negative aspects of the G6. The visibility is absolutely horrible especially for such a small car. The rear spoiler and rear end is jacked up, so you cannot get a good feel of what is behind the car. The C-pillars are a bit thick/wide and the headrests sort of get in the way while trying to see what is behind the car. The side view mirrors have a rakish angular shape that cuts down on the usable size of the mirror, further reducing their effectiveness. The Monsoon audio system (non-MP3 capable) lacked an auxiliary audio input jack (GM is not winning me over so far) and exhibited mediocre audio quality. The auto headlight system was annoying and would beep whenever you manually shut of the headlamps. The auto-unlock feature seems a bit unsafe because it would unlock ALL of the doors when you shifted back into PARK. When I disabled it, I could not open the driver’s door unless I unlocked it first. The ergonomics were so-so. In order to see the fog lamp switch LED, you had to turn the wheel 10-20 degrees off-center because one of the spokes blocked it. My arms got tired quickly because the steering wheel was not designed for telescoping adjustments. The seats had decent side bolsters, but the material was stiff enough to cause uncomfort after a few hours on the highway. The OEM Continental ContiTouringContact tires were uninspiring in the ride quality, handling, and traction departments. You can read more about them here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....nSpeedRating=S

I could easily cause them to squeal on clean and dry pavement. Speaking of which, the torque steer was absolutely horrendous. It felt like I was fighting the steering wheel every time I opened the throttle. This brings me to the worst aspect of the car: the drive by wire system. I had thought Ford’s drive by wire was too slow until I met up with this GM contraption. It literally takes a moment for the throttle to open whenever human input was given. It got to the point that it became extremely annoying and noticeable. The best way to describe this is through dialogue:
Driver: WOT!!!
G6: (sips a cup of tea)
G6: (refills cup of tea, squeezes some fresh lemons, and refills the scone tray)
G6: OMFG, you wanted to go WOT?
(opens throttle)
G6: Is that better?


Using the manual tiptronic-style shifting system was rather fun for the first few times until the delay between upshifts/downshifts was unbearable. The windshield had quite a bit of distortion all over the glass, making me feel like I was driving with a pair of cheap safety goggles.

My overall impression of the G6 is that it’s an acceptable rental car, but I wouldn’t buy one, not even the GTP Coupe or GT Coupe w/ the 6-speed manual. The torque steer is a constant reminder of why I’ll never buy a FWD car regardless of how cheap they are.

I managed to watch the Transformers Movie during this trip and it was an absolute pleasure to see the scenes with Barricade (the Saleen Mustang) and Bumblebee because of the V8 exhaust sounds, burnouts, and a reminder of how much fun it is to drive my Stang instead of this POS rental FWD GM.

 

I had an '06 G6 4 door last year for few days as a rental car and I came to the same conclusions. I'd give it a "C" average.

I thought the steering was way too quick and overboosted for the tires and suspension -- as if they were trying to give the impression that the car was a great handler although the squealing of the skinny tires and the soft suspension told me otherwise. The grain pattern on the interior plastics reminded me of a basketball . Another thing I remember was that the trip computer, MPG readout etc all displayed on the stereo....

 

Yep, the trip computer stuff all displayed via the stereo. The controls were very unintuitive. I finally figured out holding ENTER (or whatever key) would zero out the trip odometer, avg speed, etc...

The leather used on the wheel and shifter were the cheap chinese leather material, similar to the stuff used on the IUP shifter for the S197. I wasn't expecting much, but the Wheelskins genuine leather has spoiled me.

 

Here's my mini-review of the G6: Piece of crap.

 

when i lived with my ex, he had an 06... i will def. agree with the visibility statements.

 

I drove a G6 convertable not too long ago, although its nicer then a Sebring, all the numbness is dead on. Its a good looking car, just feels like its unfinished, like a 96 grand am hiding under a handsome shell. Its the domestic version of a Solara.

 

Oh I dunno......I love my G6!




http://www.myspace.com/robertmccaskill

 

Is that the GXP? I haven't driven(or seen) any of those yet. I thought they were supposed to do a performance version of the convertible too