Short Take Road Test
Just when you think General Motors is getting with the program—witness the likes of the Cadillac CTS and the Chevy Malibu—along comes the Pontiac G6 GXP.
The GXP is the sportiest version of the G6 coupe, replacing the GTP. You know it’s sporty because the overblown styling on the so-called Street Edition has all the subtlety of a death-metal band. We found the big rear wing and aggressive fascia so embarrassing that the GXP went out only under cover of darkness. Inside, the GXP has better bucket seats than the base GT, although our tester had nasty-looking two-tone seat inserts.
Mechanically, the G6 GXP is a gussied-up G6. The engine is GM’s fine 3.6-liter dual-overhead-cam V-6, making 252 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque. That’s 31 more horsepower than in the G6 GT. The only suspension tuning compared with the GT is bigger wheels and tires (18-inchers).
The GXP performs pretty well, going from 0 to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds and running the quarter-mile in 14.7 seconds at 96 mph. Braking was very good, with 70 mph to 0 taking just 158 feet. However, the all-season 225/50R-18 Goodyear Eagle LS2s only pulled 0.82 g on the skidpad. Our observed gas mileage was respectable at 23 mpg.
In real-world driving, we liked the engine and the smooth-shifting six-speed automatic transmission with steering-wheel-mounted paddles. The rest of the car, though, is deeply average. The suspension reminds us of GM performance cars of yore: underdamped and too stiffly sprung. The result is a pogo-stick ride and so-so body control.
The most shocking thing, however, is the $30,915 sticker price. True, that’s fully equipped with the Street Edition body add-ons, a remote starter, an uplevel stereo, and a power sunroof, but we’d rather have a Subaru WRX or VW GTI for less money. Or if you happen to be in a Pontiac showroom, the base G8 GT drives better and costs about the same.
