CD Article: 2008 Pontiac Solstice GXP

[CD_Editor]

Test Drive:


Touring British Columbia's Okanagan wine country in a turbocharged Pontiac Solstice GXP roadster, author Peter Bleakney and band buddy Gary Craig, enjoyed the roadster's extra power and comfortable ride, but berated its lack of trunk space for a weekend journey.

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Read the article | View the photos | All The Test Drives

[articsteve]

Nearly three years on, the Solstice remains one of the finest sculpted roadsters around.  The Solstice GXP may not be as cat-like as the Mazda MX-5 or as sublime as the Porsche Boxster, but it is still a fine expression of a compact rear-drive roadster, and arguably better looking than either.


All I've seen so far is middle aged ppl driving these things with the top up, two hands on the wheel looking fairly stunned wishing that they could stop and actually buy something.  The vehicle has no soul; it's so over bling'd.   


 

[rrocket]

Don't even get me started on how you have to get out of the vehicle to put the top up/down....

[Mitlov]

Oh boy!  It's another Solstice GXP thread which will be filled with 65% hating on the trunk, 30% hating on GM in general, and 5% stopping to acknowledge what a mind-blowing performance car this is for the price.

[initial_D]

Something wlong lith tis picture, somthing no stick wling.

[rrocket]

A local guy who hangs with the import crowd just bought one.  $39K before taxes!!!  (granted it is loaded).  What do these things go for in the states?? 

And I'll hate on the interior for being the ONLY car I EVER cut my finger on and drew blood from the serious plastic flash....


Sorry if I'm not "blown away" by a 14.4 second quarter mile or 127 ft. 60-0 braking.  Seems to handle nicely though.  Maybe it's a better value in the US though...

[initial_D]

You really  did try to give it the finger ... 

[rrocket]

You really  did try to give it the finger ... 

Yea...we were at the car show and I said (while running my finger over the panel) "Look at this flash.  This is from a cheap mold. Should never make it into production like this".  Next thing I know, my finger is bleeding.  Guess that's what I get for talking $hit, eh??   

[Mitlov]

A local guy who hangs with the import crowd just bought one.  $39K before taxes!!!  (granted it is loaded).  What do these things go for in the states?? 

And I'll hate on the interior for being the ONLY car I EVER cut my finger on and drew blood from the serious plastic flash....


Sorry if I'm not "blown away" by a 14.4 second quarter mile or 127 ft. 60-0 braking.  Seems to handle nicely though.  Maybe it's a better value in the US though...

I just looked it up.  Starts at $28,755.  I remembered it being closer to $24k or $25k...guess I was mistaken on that one.  $29k doesn't blow my mind.

[articsteve]

If you only order AC and delete the bling chrome wheels it comes in at ONLY 37K.  

Once they offer it with the slush box it becomes a Colbalt sans roof.  What GM should have done is deleted the top, included a tonaux cover and a set of matching rain gear.  At least that way there would be a cargo area for a set of dry clothes.  

[Schmengie]

Nearly three years on, the Solstice remains one of the finest sculpted roadsters around.  The Solstice GXP may not be as cat-like as the Mazda MX-5 or as sublime as the Porsche Boxster, but it is still a fine expression of a compact rear-drive roadster, and arguably better looking than either.


All I've seen so far is middle aged ppl driving these things with the top up, two hands on the wheel looking fairly stunned wishing that they could stop and actually buy something.  The vehicle has no soul; it's so over bling'd.   


 

  Around here it's mostly 20-something blondes who think a clutch is something they do with their BF. GM's last truly sexy roadster was the stunning '63 - '67 Corvette. That car is still the epitome of the American sports car and arguably one of the most beautiful of all time. People will lust after it long after the Solstice is forgotten.

[rrocket]

  Around here it's mostly 20-something blondes who think a clutch is something they do with their BF. GM's last truly sexy roadster was the stunning '63 - '67 Corvette. That car is still the epitome of the American sports car and arguably one of the most beautiful of all time. People will lust after it long after the Solstice is forgotten.

You mean OLD people will lust after it....many younger people don't care (or even know) what an older Vette is...

[Schmengie]

  Around here it's mostly 20-something blondes who think a clutch is something they do with their BF. GM's last truly sexy roadster was the stunning '63 - '67 Corvette. That car is still the epitome of the American sports car and arguably one of the most beautiful of all time. People will lust after it long after the Solstice is forgotten.

You mean OLD people will lust after it....many younger people don't care (or even know) what an older Vette is...

Well, that's too bad for them. The Solstice will never be the classic the Corvette is, and that's the point.

[Leviathan]

Oh boy!  It's another Solstice GXP thread which will be filled with 65% hating on the trunk, 30% hating on GM in general, and 5% stopping to acknowledge what a mind-blowing performance car this is for the price.

Something for everybody 

[PJungnitsch]

If you have the cash there are lots in the Trader with very low km at a substantial discount over new. OTOH reliability hasn't been good.

[TopGun]

The Solstice will never be the classic the Corvette is, and that's the point.

I thought the point was to make money...if a classic is created then that's a bonus.

[initial_D]

Nearly three years on, the Solstice remains one of the finest sculpted roadsters around.  The Solstice GXP may not be as cat-like as the Mazda MX-5 or as sublime as the Porsche Boxster, but it is still a fine expression of a compact rear-drive roadster, and arguably better looking than either.


All I've seen so far is middle aged ppl driving these things with the top up, two hands on the wheel looking fairly stunned wishing that they could stop and actually buy something.  The vehicle has no soul; it's so over bling'd.   

Agree with you there, Artic. However, even with all of its short comings and flaws, the Solstic is still probably better looking, have much better driving dynamics and handling, even more fun than any of the current vehicle lineup that Toyota has to offer.   

[Schmengie]

The Solstice will never be the classic the Corvette is, and that's the point.

I thought the point was to make money...if a classic is created then that's a bonus.

 I was trying to make a point with rrocket -  that a few years from now the Solstice will be a distant memory, with about as much chance of becoming a 'classic' as the Fiero had. Remember it? 

[articsteve]

Toyota/Lexus/Scion et al are in business to make money; 12 BILLION at last count.  In order to do that they don't bring half assed efforts to market.  

The Solstice is a half assed effort.  You just half to provide some sort of cargo area, otherwise it's useless especially to the type of poser/consumer types that are attracted to these cars.

 vowed a long time ago, after reading many a review of the Solstice, that if I ever had the chance to test drive one I would not speak about the lack of trunk space. But I can’t resist: there is small and then there is useless-to-zero space and, well, the Solstice is the latter.

You can see in the picture of the trunk here and in the gallery, that my camera bag barely fit! That is all I’m going to say about the trunk; it’s too bad

Every convertible needs a functional top.  The Solstice's top seems to be an early 60's Russian design.

The Solstice gets made fun of for its complex system that requires flipping and folding and latching and getting in and out of the car. It really isn’t that bad for dropping the top. Swing the latch down, hit the “trunk” release button, hop out and flop the top down and slam the “trunk” down and you are away.

Putting it back up, though, is another adventure all together and probably why most all Solstice and Sky roadsters I see running about have the top up. The process is simple enough: pop the “trunk,” pull the top out and slam the trunk down, re-latch the top and clip the top back onto the “trunk” lid. Sounds simple until you try it. The top never aligns itself with the window frame, so you flip it up and get in and realize it’s misaligned, move it around a bit and get the pins lined up — then comes the hard part — latching it down. The latch does not fit well at all, at least not on my tester, and it requires a good pull a whack with your hand and maybe some prying.

99% of the buyers of these cars couldn't change the oil if their life depended on it.  The top is going to be a no go for most and the main reason ppl dump them after a short time or just drive with the top up until the lease is over.  




  

[drederick]

Artic artic artic ever heard of a company called Toyota? and the cars they have produced?

Hmmm lets compare the Solstice to the only contemporary 'Toyota' that would compete with the Solstice: MR-Spyder

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=44465/pageId=4
"Trunk space is an absolute joke, with a tiny little cubby behind the seats providing 2.8 cubic feet of unaccommodating space. Loading it is a multi-step process and a royal pain in the patootie - you have to exit the car, fold the seat, then open the door of the bin. There's also a dismally sized well beneath the front hood that shares space with the spare tire, but it seems more of an afterthought to disguise a design flaw."

Sure it had a better top design..... but it was still U G L Y top up or top down.

At least GM traded off the trunk size for looks.

PS - the same Edmunds comparison review has yet another example of that awesome fanboy 'Toyota' quality......
"As noted in the introduction, we had problems with a recalcitrant linkage problem, which took 10 minutes at the Toyota dealer to solve, but it was disconcerting nevertheless, having to drive for about seven miles on hilly curves stuck in fourth gear." LOL