Day-by-Day Review: 2009 Pontiac G8 V6

By James Bergeron

Photo Gallery:
2009 Pontiac G8

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With most vehicles these days being front-wheel drive, it is odd to have been driving all-wheel drive vehicles for a few weeks, and now one that is rear-wheel drive. The Pontiac G8 is the only rear-wheel drive Pontiac sedan available and one of the few available rear-wheel drive non-luxury cars available today.

The Pontiac G8 is GM’s second attempt at importing the Australian built Holden Monaro, the first being the Pontiac GTO, which was wasn’t allowed into Canada and only sold in the USA. It was not much of a seller despite a powerful V8 engine and bargain price — the big downfall seemed to be the interior quality.

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The 2009 G8 is available in Canada, however; the interior has been updated and the entire car refreshed for a more sporting and exciting feel. It is available with both a large V6 with 3.6-litres of displacement and a rubber-shredding 6.0-litre V8 engine producing 361hp.

My tester is the V6 version with the 1SC package, which includes the comfort and sound package as well as the premium package, which adds $3,270 to the base starting price of $32,450.

These two packages add items such as: a power sunroof, leather seats, power driver’s and passenger seats, heated seats, dual-zone climate control and a Blaupunkt premium 11-speaker, 230-watt sound system.

Rear-wheel drive and lots of snow — can it be done? It was years ago, before everyone conceded to a world of front-wheel drive boredom.

2009 Pontiac G8 V6
MSRP as tested (excluding destination): $37,070

For more information on Ponatic and the G8 visit GM Canada

Day 2:

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I could ramble on about financial this and crisis that, but I won’t; I’m going to get right into the car — literally. The G8’s interior is something different from GM. Although the company’s interiors have been improving leaps and bounds over the last few model years, this one is not only good, but it is different, too.

Typical GM switch gear is replaced with new buttons and knobs. It actually took me awhile to find everything I needed to find in the car. The radio controls are a little odd, for one, and the window and mirror controls are in the centre console rather than being on the doors, as you would typically find them.

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Interior fit and finish seems top notch, but unfortunately there is some worn-off paint on the steering wheel, and with only 10,000km on the odometer, that is rather disappointing. The rest of the interior looks great and feels equally as good. The seating is especially comfortable, and the leg room and shoulder room are more than ample.

The power seat controls (passenger and driver) are annoyingly difficult to reach with the door closed, as getting your hand between the door panel and the seat is nearly impossible. It also seems obvious to me that some cost cutting has been performed; either that or they just forgot about a few features that would really benefit this car — especially here in Canada.

For one, there are no heated outside mirrors. I guess this isn’t a huge issue, as the mirrors are so small that they are pretty much useless anyways. Why such a small mirror on a large car? Aesthetics before function? A few “missing” features include a warning light for low windshield washer fluid (yes, I ran out unexpectedly) and a trunk lid that is not fabric-lined, leaving only sharp metal edges to be used to close the trunk.

The space inside said trunk, though, is extremely generous. Interior space is striking considering this car is rear-wheel drive and requires the drive shaft and rear differential housing in the rear. There is the dreaded “hump” in the rear seat foot space, but it certainly is smaller than those rear-wheel drive vehicles from yesteryear.

Day 3:

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Around five centimeters of snow fell on the capital, none of the roads were plowed, and I decided I would take the Pontiac G8 rather than my 4WD truck — good idea? Well, it was a good idea to understand how the car behaves in snow, and to get some more testing time; it was a bad idea because the G8 is not a great snow vehicle by any definition.

My tester is equipped with winter tires, so I left my driveway thinking: “This will be fun, I’ll just drift out of the driveway onto the street.” Well that back fired, as I did a 180-degree spin! It was all in good fun and after another one-eighty back the other way and off I went. To my surprise, none of the roads were plowed — not even the main roads — but with traction control and Stabili-trac engaged I wasn’t too worried.

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Stabili-trac works great to keep you straight and control over- and understeer in slippery conditions, but the traction control is a little too aggressive. Stopping fully at stop signs meant I could not get going again at all; I had to switch the system off, get some wheel spin and then turn the system back on. At least this is easy, with just a touch of a button.

I got tired of getting stuck, though, so I just left the system off, which meant I was sawing at the steering wheel my entire drive, as the G8’s rear end wanted to step out on me even with the slightest of throttle inputs. So, unfortunately, as fun as it may sound, the G8 is not a great performer in the snow at all.

But in the dry, it’s great. Turn-in is sharp and quick, and for a large car, it feels nimble and responsive. The brakes are not very grabby and require a lot of force to bring the car to a stop; I’d like it if they had a little more initial bite.

The engine and exhaust snarl at the slightest bit of throttle input, and the sound encourages you to stomp on the go pedal to listen to its snarly soundtrack. I am certain the V8 has more grunt than the V6, but 256hp is sure to please most drivers and the five-speed automatic transmission shifts quickly and smoothly. The manual shift mode does not work all that great, unfortunately, making it nothing but a gimmick.

Like many large vehicles with sporting intentions, the G8 shines on the highway, turning the engine over at less than 2,000rpm at 120km/h with not a whisper of wind or tire noise.

Day 4:

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Sure, there are a few things I am not overly impressed with in the G8, but overall I think it is a great package. Where you spend your time — on the inside — the G8 is wonderful and the ride quality and noise levels are most excellent. It may not be that great in the snow, but this could be improved with better winter tires if you can get a set to fit.

Gas mileage was impressive for the week; I averaged 11.5L/100km, including my 1 hour, 15 min drive over 10km on Tuesday when we got five cm of snow. I had fun in the G8, and this is the car that sends 2008 out with a bang, as this is my last test vehicle of the year. Happy holidays to all!

*Rating out of 5: