2005 Pontiac G6 & 2006 Pontiac G6 GTP

Pontiac's Grand Am is a boring car. It's average, at best, from a driving dynamics and quality standpoint. And it's standard fare at many rental-car counters. But it's a huge seller. So its replacement has to be a direct hit, as there are significant sales volumes and lots of happy customers at risk. GM has changed everything, including the name, and the new G6 is aimed at other midsize high watermarks such as Camry and Accord. It's hoping to one-up these stalwarts by offering V-6 power and high content value for the same money as four-cylinder versions of the Japanese best-sellers.

The G6 comes with an iron-block overhead-valve V-6, at 3.5 liters, 200 horsepower, and 220 pound-feet of torque in the GT sedan and 3.9 liters, 240 horses, and 245 pound-feet in the GTP, the latter outgrunting the Honda twin-cam 3.0-liter by 23 pound-feet. (A 2.4-liter four arrives next year.) The original plan was for the G6 to get the same 215-horse 2.8-liter twin-cam V-6 that's added to the 2005 Cadillac CTS. But that would've added expense, and GM suffers capacity shortages with its new high-feature engine family anyway. The pushrod two-valver is as refined as overhead-valve engines get, but it drones and doesn't match the smoothness of a good multivalve. Mating the engine to an aging four-speed automatic (with manumatic control in the GT and GTP) doesn't help. The GTP, on sale by mid-2005 (as a 2006 model), will be available with a six-speed manual. A G6 coupe launches by next summer, sporting a rakish Infiniti G35-esque roofline, and the sub-$30,000 G6 hardtop-convertible, with a folding Mercedes SLK-style steel roof, arrives in the fall.

Base V-6 G6 sedans will sticker for about the price of an Accord EX four-cylinder, with V-6 GTs under $25,000. The G6's 112.3-inch wheelbase equals that of Chevy's stretched Malibu Maxx (the standard Malibu sedan has a 106.3-inch wheelbase), with which it shares the Epsilon platform. The standard G6 suspension is tuned like another Epsilonmate, the Saab 9-3, with 16-inch wheels, while the GT and GTP have stiffer springs and shocks, larger anti-roll bars front and rear, and 17-inch wheels (18s optional on the GTP). GM attributes the Pontiac's ride/handling characteristics to the rigid Epsilon unibody and long wheelbase. The GT's suspension is a bit stiff on harsh roads, with bumps resonating through the body like a tuning fork. Handling is controlled, with some roll and lots of understeer.

A 2006 GTP prototype (with stability control disabled) felt much the same as the GT--not a surprise considering that the GTP's optional 18-inch wheels mark the only suspension change. It's predictable and fairly taut, but not as crisp as, say, an Acura TSX sport sedan. And the 240-horse 3.9's acceleration doesn't feel much stronger than the 200-horse 3.5. With a wide band of useable torque available, neither engine's power will much disappoint devotees of twin-cam sixes, except for the refinement deficit. The GTP's optional six-speed manual is a welcome change over the four-speed automatic. It's direct with medium throws, but awkward in feel. On GM's new Nuerburgring-inspired test track, the G6 GTP felt sporty, but with a domestic-brand predilection toward understeer. The GTP's tail refused to rotate around corners at GM's test track until a cloudburst provided wet tarmac.