The auto press has been terribly hypocritical about the Pontiac GTO. For years it begged GM to import its Australian subsidiary’s V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive cars. The conversion of the North American product line to front-wheel-drive and cancellation of the Firebird and Camaro had left the expensive, two-seat Corvette and underpowered, overweight Cadillac Catera as the only examples of this performance-oriented, once predominant configuration in GM’s American showrooms. At one point Buick planned to sell an Australian-made entry-lux sedan based on the Holden Commodore, but this effort never saw the light of day. The pleas of the auto press seemed to fall on deaf ears.
Then in September 2001 the darling of this press, industry legend Bob Lutz, joined GM as its head of product development. Perhaps recalling the pleas of the press, or simply seeking a car that fit his own “car guy” preferences, Lutz was hardly in the door before he directed that the Holden Monaro, a sleek coupe based on Commodore, be adapted for the American market. This required a fair bit of work. America’s colder winters and higher quality expectations required different interior materials. America’s more active lawyers called for a repositioned gas tank. And they had to move the steering wheel a few feet to the left. After two years of such tweaks the car arrived last fall as the 2004 Pontiac GTO.
And were the magazines ecstatic? Hardly. Evaluations of the car’s performance have been generally positive, but overall the reviews have been far from glowing. Time and again journalists have decried that the car just isn’t a GTO. They conclude that the styling is too bland, and that the new GTO’s appearance and character just don’t fit the image of that storied car. Never mind that the original GTO’s styling was bland to a fault, as it was pretty much just a boxy, conventionally styled Pontiac Tempest with a V8 from the large Pontiac sedan. (The Infiniti M45 comes closest in appearance among currently available vehicles, though it has four doors rather than two.) The actual appearance does not matter because the original GTO was a legend, larger than life, and the new car apparently doesn’t have what it takes to become a legend in its own right in today’s far more competitive context. Bottom line: at the very least renaming the Monaro a GTO seems a mistake.
Not only the press has failed to warm to the car. Initially much was made of the limited quantity: only 18,000 Pontiac GTOs would be imported yearly, supposedly to keep the UAW happy. Well, sales have been running at about half that level. The dealer I visited had eight in stock, a pretty healthy supply for a limited production product.
But was it the naming decision alone that overwhelmed all the previous good will aimed at the car, that turned praises of the car’s looks into criticisms? Or does the car have other, more serious faults that have hampered its success? I took one for a test drive to find out.
Styling
The new Pontiac GTO is a very pleasantly styled coupe. Compared to the late Firebird, with the exception of a large spoiler on the trunk it is a model of tasteful design. The Commodore on which it is based looks very European, no surprise since it is based on the large Opel sedan that became the Cadillac Catera with just a little dolling up for the American market. (Before the Catera the auto press used to beg for GM to import the Opel Omega. The new GTO is not without precedent. See also Ford’s 1980s Merkur experiment. There’s a pattern here.) European is generally good as far as Americans are concerned, so what’s wrong with the looks of the new GTO? It’s no magnet for attention, but then neither is a BMW 3-Series coupe. This hasn’t seemed to hurt the BMW’s sales. But then again BMW’s management has clearly decided that the traditionally conservative styling of its products just won’t do in the future. Hence the approval of Chris Bangle’s far more dramatic designs. The new 645 looks more like a Pontiac than a BMW. Though the big BMW coupe and new GTO look alike in many ways, the former ironically is much less tasteful in its pursuit of people’s notice.
So we have at least three things working against the styling of the GTO. First, people expect a GTO to be larger than life. Second, people expect a Pontiac to be jazzier than a BMW. They say they don’t want this, but they really do. Third, if BMW’s management is right then people want a BMW to be jazzier than a BMW. In clearer terms, the last few years have witnessed a rapid increase in consumers’ thirst for high style. Credit Audi, especially the TT. In a world with the TT, 350Z, G35, and TL (the last is more stylish than the late CL coupe ever was) good proportions and tasteful lines just won’t do anymore. Just a few years ago the new GTO might have attracted its share of eyeballs. But not in 2004. Myself, I like the look, and prefer it to the 645’s, but I’m not drooling like I do over the G35 coupe and TL.
Inside the new Pontiac GTO is similarly tasteful, with a faux-aluminum-trimmed center stack flowing cleanly into the center console. There is more than a little resemblance to Acura’s latest interiors. Materials look and feel of good quality, at least up to the G35’s if not quite the TL’s. The most notable aspect of the interior is that in most cars it is color-keyed to the exterior. Choices on the lot I visited included red with red, blue with blue, and purple with purple. (The last isn’t too bad—it’s a dark purple, almost black inside.) I like this throwback to old Detroit. These days your choice with most American and Japanese cars is between beige and gray. Blah. I like the burnt orange Nissan now offers in many models, and red can be even nicer in the right car. Blue—well as in the Honda S2000 the blue doesn’t work for me.
From a functional standpoint the interior is not well-designed. The Blaupunkt sound system involves too many buttons of similar appearance, and the power button is on the right—for the original right-hand-drive Aussie model I suspect. There is no power lock button, at least none the salesman or I could find. To operate the power locks you must use the manual lock, which on this coupe is awkwardly positioned high on the door behind your left shoulder. Peering through the steering wheel I spied a large rectangular button with a gas pump on it above the wheel spokes and just below the instruments. Wondering what it was, I pushed it. Well, of course it is the fuel door release. Duh. But why is it so large and so prominently placed? Because the same speedometer numbers serve for both MPH and KPH, they go up to 200. I appreciate the desire to avoid two sets of numbers, but these go too high for MPH and not high enough for KPH. They didn’t sweat too many details designing this interior.
Overall, we’ve got a tasteful but at best marginally functional design here that with the exception of some of the interior colors will attract little attention.
Accommodations
Asked to name the best part of the new Pontiac GTO most people would probably venture the 5.7-liter V8 shared with the Corvette. Maybe so, but the seats are a close second at worst. These are very well-shaped for both comfort and lateral support. I’d like these seats in my car.
And I don’t just mean those in front. The rear seats are also very comfortable and supportive. There’s even adequate head and leg room for a pair of adults back there, unlike in the G35 coupe. (The seat is designed and outfitted for just two people; no attempt was even made to fit a third.)
The driving position is typical for this sort of car. You sit fairly low, but not nearly as low as in a Corvette or Camaro, and so do not feel buried in the car.
Actually, the Pontiac GTO's driving position would be typical except for one aspect any real car guy should have noted and rectified ASAP: there’s no place to put your left foot. There’s not even a hint of a dead pedal. Fully extending my leg in the space to the left of the brake (no clutch in the car I drove) I found nothing but air. Maybe if you’re well over six feet (Lutz is) your foot finds a place to rest somewhere out there. But you won’t if the seat actually allows you to sit a comfortable distance from the pedals. My less than perfect solution: I drove with my leg bent at a sharp angle, knee high in the air and foot flat on the floor right in front of the seat. Funky, and not good funky. I could not personally own the new GTO for this reason alone. (There are other reasons that make the car a poor choice for me, three kids among them, but this one alone would kill it.)
On an almost equally negative note, it’s way too hard to get in and out of the car. I hit my head getting into the driver’s seat the first few times. Those prominent bolsters are part of the problem; you must plant you rear well inside the car. Eventually I learned to scrunch, lean to the left, and tilt my head as part of the process, but did not find this comfortable. To get into the back seat you must tilt the front seatback forward and then push a button that slowwwwly motors the seat forward. Then return the front seatback to its fully upright position and push the button again to slowwwwly motor it back to its original position. Most such systems are automatic, doing without the button. But the real problem is how long the process takes. Sometimes a manual system is better. Better yet, add a pair of half doors like those on the RX-8.
Fearing that the placement of the fuel tank in the Monaro might result in expensive lawsuits, said tank was relocated to the forward section of the trunk. As a result, said trunk lost about half its volume. Its seven cubes are not too far below the $30,000 coupe average, but this average keeps many people out of said coupes. If you need a decent trunk, get a sedan.
On the Road
I wanted to drive a six-speed Pontiac GTO, both because I’d just come from a test drive in the Cadillac CTSv and because I vastly prefer to shift my own gears, but some genius had put the only manual among the dealer’s eight GTOs inside the showroom. So I drove an automatic.
The Corvette-sourced 350-horsepower 5.7-liter V8 is plenty strong. Flooring the accelerator generates a strong push in the lower back both from a dead stop and at highway speeds. In the process the engine produces a traditional American V8 rumble building to a roar. Unlike the related engine in the CTSv, this one is never quiet, even when cruising does the street at thirty. (Only compared to the thoroughly obnoxious Neon SRT-4 exhaust does the GTO’s seem reasonable.) Almost as much as in the CTSv, this sound, so appealing in a Corvette or Camaro, seems out of place in this Euro-look car. My father rode in the back seat and could not wait to get out of the car; apparently the exhaust was significantly louder back there.
The Pontiac GTO's four-speed automatic transmission acquits itself best under heavy throttle, pulling off adequately smooth yet decisive shifts. Under moderate throttle the engine loudly burbles up to about 3000 RPM before the transmission executes a lazy shift, reminding me of a 1980s Camaro (it might also remind me of a 1990s Camaro, but I never drove one).
My impressions of the manual shifter are gleaned entirely from the GTO in the showroom. With the engine off, that shifter’s extremely long throws felt absurdly low in both effort and feel. Less sloppy and coarse-feeling than the similar unit in the CTSv, and surely appealing for those who dislike the workout provided by the lever in the G35, but no match for the excellent shifter in the RX-8. Thankfully, like the CTSv the GTO lacks the Corvette’s overly high, overly large, uncomfortably shaped shift knob.
The Pontiac GTO’s brakes prove powerful when called upon, but don’t do much for the first couple inches of pedal travel. Once I had to slow the car fairly quickly, and initially wondered how far I had to depress the pedal before something would happen. This led to a more abrupt stop than I initially intended, as I wasted a few seconds finding the brakes down near the floor. I suspect that one soon adapts, but one shouldn’t have to.
The Pontiac GTO's handling is stable and balanced, with little lean in turns. But agile it isn’t. The new GTO feels every one of its 190 inches and 3,800 pounds. Though well-weighted in turns, the steering feels a bit dull on center. This being a torquey rear-drive car, the chassis’ attitude can be modulated with the throttle. But be careful. Unlike in the competition, stability control is not available in the GTO. Winter driving up north—forget about it, even if traction control is standard. (No side airbags, either.)
Ride quality is about average for this sort of car, firm and sometimes busy but rarely harsh. Noise levels are more of an issue, with the throaty exhaust the main culprit followed by the tires on some surfaces.
Overall the Pontiac GTO performs well, but unless you love torque and the sounds traditionally associated with it this car won’t excite you. Oddly, the 350z doesn’t differ tremendously in character, and the G35 also isn’t too far off. Me, I prefer driving the more refined, more agile, though much less torquey RX-8.
Pontiac GTO Pricing and Price Comparisons
The new GTO lists for $32,495, which includes a $1,000 gas guzzler tax. Opting for the manual adds $695 but deletes the tax. The transmission is the only option. You cannot get a GTO without a rear spoiler—or with a sunroof. I guess they don’t like sunroofs down under. Notable features include ABS, traction control, leather, power seats, CD changer, and alarm. Edmunds suggests that the GTO is selling at MSRP. Well, at the dealer I visited the sale tag hanging from the mirror offered a $1,000 discount, and I suspect double that wouldn’t be too difficult. Given the lack of pricing clarity I’ll go with sticker prices.
With performance package and Bose audio an Infiniti G35 coupe lists for $33,895 with either transmission. The price is higher, but then stability control, curtain side airbags, and xenon lamps are standard. The G35 is hardly a model of refinement or agility, but is significantly more refined and agile than the GTO judging from my experiences in the related 350Z and G35 sedan. Its 280-horsepower 3.5-liter six lacks the low end grunt of the GTO’s V8, but compares well in this area to any other competitor. More of an issue, for me at least, is that it does not provide nearly as much room for the heads and legs of rear passengers. Overall I prefer the Infiniti. Heck, it wins simply by providing a place for my left foot.
An Acura TL (yes, a sedan, but with very sporty styling) lists for $33,195 with either transmission. It is equipped like the above G35, but with a sunroof. The TL is a very refined, strong performer except for one thing—copious torque steer, especially with the manual. If you don’t plan to shift for yourself, or don’t mind a strong tug at the wheel when shifting gears or hitting the gas in turns, then this is my favorite. Not only is it more practical than the coupes, but it looks at least as good and the engine sounds fantastic.
More fun to drive than any of the above, at least in my opinion, is the Mazda RX-8. No torque here, especially not with the automatic; you want the manual if you want this car at all. Equipped like the Acura it lists for $31,100. Very agile, superbly balanced handling is this car’s strong suit. Sales have been softer than those of the G35 and TL, so while Edmunds suggests a $500 discount is the norm I’d expect another grand off. Rear seat room and comfort aren’t quite up to the GTO’s, but close, and the half doors make it much easier to get back there.
Compared to the above cars the GTO is priced about the same, especially if the extra torque compensates for fewer features. Against them preferences rather than price will be the deciding factor.
That said, the only other cars with this engine are the $50,000 Corvette and CTSv. So in a way the GTO fills the shoes not of the original GTO but of the Camaro and Firebird. Like those cars, and despite its Euro roots, the new GTO trades torque for refinement. While I’d like more torque in the RX-8, the other Japanese cars offer all most driving enthusiasts will ever want. The most torque hungry with $30,000 to spend will be happiest in the GTO. Others will be happiest elsewhere.
Final Words
The GTO name, no doubt applied to help the car, unexpectedly hurt it. The old Pontiac GTO long ago gained the status of a larger than life icon, and the new one has neither the looks, the character, nor the exceptional performance (by current standards) to measure up. GM has adamantly refused to apply the Camaro and Firebird badges to a car using the GTO's platform the zeta platform the next GTO will use, but calling the car a Firebird could hardly have caused it more harm. There are plenty of similarities between the new GTO and the last Firebird, but the car’s styling likely isn’t a fit for that badge, either.
I personally have no issues with the name, perhaps because I’m too young to hold the original in awe. But I found other things to dislike. The engine’s sound is too old school throaty for the overall character of this car and too evident for most people over twenty-five. It makes the whole car feel less refined and solid than it is. Getting in and out is literally a headache. Finally, too many details need reworking. At the very minimum I’d like a place to rest my left foot. Frankly, none of these issues would be terribly expensive or time consuming to fix. A redesign is planned in a few years, but hopefully GM doesn’t wait that long.
A Note on Pontiac GTO Reliability
I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.
Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a GTO rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Pontiac GTO reliability comparisons.
Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the GTO--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.
For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.
A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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