Test Drive: 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP
 

I had the opportunity to test drive the 07 Solstice GXP soft-top convertable. On the lot it was 31k and some change before rebate, so about the price of an RX 8.
Also equipped on it was XM satellite radio and OnStar assistance. The engine is a 2.0L 4 banger with a turbo hooked on it. Has a 5 speed transmission with LSD, traction control and ABS. Tires were 245/45r18 polished aluminum. We dropped the top and took it out for a test drive.

The exhaust note was nice and throaty, it sounded very good. The steering response was tight and snappy. The turbo kicked in fairly soon and pulled nicely to the 6500 redline, pretty quick for a little roadster. It was a very fun car, even made the tires bark whenever you shifted up or down. And the styling was cool and sporty. With a 22 city 31 hwy gas economy, it had me calling my insurance company to check out a quote with the same coverage I have on my 8. Turns out it would be 175 bucks cheaper every 6 months (my pay schedule). Such a nice car, there had to be a downside...

And there were a few. The clutch was noticably jumpy and hard to manage. The interior controls felt thin and cheap compared to the Rx 8, however the leather was comfy. The e-brake lever seemed oddly angled and out of place. The gauges were fairly boring with the default Pontiac Red coloring, the fuel gauge was very small. The headlights were suprisingly weak and cheap looking for such a sporty car, I would have expected HID lights on such a model. The brakes are what really kept me from considering this car, though.. THEY SUCKED!! You could press them in about half an inch and after that it felt like you were stepping on a brick. After the quick acceleration, the lack of stopping power was frightening. It really made me appreciate the braking system on the 8.

All in all, I think if you can put up with the small nuiances or afford to fix them this car is a great choice if you're looking for a performance roadster with good gas mileage. Maybe this car will push Mazda towards creating a Speed MX-5? Hopefully so..

Hope this review was helpful, first one I've written on a car so it's probably missing something. :lol2:

Oddly enough, I work for a GM dealership myself and would have to agree with this review for the most part. I was always catching shit from coworkers about my 8, so they insisted I took the GXP out for a ride.

It's got a lot of usable power, but the torque is what makes the car so much fun to drive. Stopping power is indeed quite poor, the car does not invoke the same confidence to the driver as the rx8. Hell, it's not even close. The car doesn't in my opinion communicate well with the driver at all from a sports standpoint. From the suspension configuration, steering feel, and brakes make the car almost feel like it's driving you to a certain extent. It is a great car for what it is, a nice weekend driver that will get you tons of looks- and in it's GXP form can back itself up pretty well. Fantastic gas mileage is also a good plus.

However despite the power, and despite being harrassed constantly by everyone I work with there is just no way I could EVER get rid of my rx-8 for this car. Just my opinion, if I was looking for a 2 seater convertible I'd have the s2000 without thinking twice.

I hate the manual top, can't stand it.
I like the S2000 soooo muchhh more....
Tho The GXP is a great car, it's not a drivers car. I would rather have a S2K that will give me a smile on my face when I turn the start button and begin to shift.

Another downside is that there doesn't seem to be an unobtrusive way to install a roll bar should you want to partake in a track day or two.

I think the car is drop dead gorgeous though, the saturn sky too. If you showed me these cars ten years ago and told me GM made them, I would have laughed. It may not be quite perfect but its a step in the right direction.

How did you turn a button?

Saturn Sky Redline was a big number #2 on my list. But I knew going into it that I would have to dump 5 grand or more into suspension and brake upgrades. I had a GM once upon a time, and I was replacing or modding suspension components almost every month until I just said fuck it and replaced it all with non-GM stuff. So you take your 26-30K car and add 5-6K and you have a real winner, just no back seat. What really killed it for me was the wait to get one (which was fine since I am dpeloyed but I wanted to pay for it and get it to my spec) and the fact that the dealer seemed reluctant to order it for me. He wanted me to get an email when one came in, and rush over to buy it (assuming I was the first one). And of course pay over sticker.

This thing isn't an old Porsche spyder you know.

Any comment on the visibility? I hear there are horrendous visibility issues in the car.

I just don't understand why GM didn't take a Miata to the engineer's and say whatever else you do you need a manual top this easy and trunk space on par with this Mazda.

Whatever happened to benchmarking your competition and then surpassing them?

Yep, it has worked pretty damn well for Lexus/Toyota

The price is originally what made the Solstice and GXP a decent deal. Then they decided to bump everything up about 2 or 3 grand. Now that the value is gone, all of its faults, pain in the ass drop top, and cheap parts hurt even more. I have read that the GXP can break into the high 13s with precise launching and shifting, but so can a 350Z. Then again, since I do own an 8, I'd probably take one over a 350Z just cause they're uncommon.

Although the top mechanisim is clunky and really over sized when stowed, the upshot is the car looks much better than most drop heads with the top up.

i looked at a sky at the la autoshow. although i like the exterior, the interior really was cheap and unappealing. maybe it'll get better after a year or two...

I saw a Solstice on the road today. It's so ugly from the rear.

nice review! I've always wanted to drive one of these but at 6'5, 220lbs I just don't see that being very comfortable.

On a side note: Why are these always trying to race me? :scratchhe

Sorry, ment press

I drove the regular version AT..they didn't have a manual. And needless to say I was very very very happy to be back in my 8.

I think GM did well on the look of the car, but it smells of Fiero. Great looking car (at the time you thought the Fiero was cool), but it just didn't get what it needed to be a great car.

I disagree. I think for a sub 30K roadster (turbo version), it is a real winner. No where near the maint issues with the ecotek. The problem comes from the GM dealer attitude that this is some kind of limited edition semi-exotic. I was willing to wait 8 months for a Sky Redline if it were built to my specks and delivered within a month of my goal date. I was told a) we have no idea when your build would be made b) what I should do it wait for a sky to come into the dealer and RUN OVER to pay 3-6K above sticker for whatever version they happened to get in. WTF?

No way you'd fit, I'm 5'8 160 and I feel cramped in it.