Test drove new GTO and 350z
 

Well yesterday evening i went up to the nissan/pontiac/cadillac dealership and test drove the new gto and 350z the gto was alot of fun comfortable smooth quick shifting and alot of torque the seats i believe made by koenig (sp) were extremely comfy. The car seems like it should have alot better stats then it does but in first if u rev and go your tires spin like crazy almost a full sec of tire spin. but i definately tested the hell out of it my gauge told me i was going an average of 2.7 miles per gallon...Haha. Really the only bad ting about this car was that well im 5'9 and i bumped my head every time i got in it seems the seats are up high and its hard to get in or something. Im sure this is adjustable.

350z, I didnt really like this car very much, a little twitchy and it seemed like i had to give it my 100 percent attention to drive, like i couldnt talk to anyone while i was trying to drive it or something. And the 350z felt kinda cheap everything looked nice but the feel of it just cheap and the entire time i watched thr spedomitor and said wow this is going pretty fast but yet i didnt feel like i was going fast at all.

Just thought id share my thought incase i had noticed some thing some other ppl have before also

Ive also test drove the vw r32 EVO 8 celica gt-s 2 rx8's ( definately my favorite out of every car i drove) and srt-4

so far in order i liked the rx8,evo8,r32,gto,350z,celica, and the srt-4 i pretty much didnt like at all.

-Ryan

Hey Shorty911, did you test drive the '05 GTO or was it the '04? If you drove the '05 it is up to 400hp instead of 350hp which would explain why the car seems faster than the stats would suggest. I don't know if there are any reviews of the car with the bumped up power.

edit: Forgot to mention displacement is up too, 6.0l instead of the 5.7l!

it was the 04 but still 365 lb torque is alot thats almost as much as a svt cobra but im pretty sure the reason it has slower 0-60 is cuz it was touch to get a fast start without alot fo tire spin.

I test drove an '04 GTO not too long ago. I saw that the dealer wanted $26k for it (brand new!) and so I had to test it.

Power is good. Car feels like every one of its 3800lb is accounted for, though. Heavy feeling doors, hood, trunk, everything. The brakes SUCKED. It would require a complete brake overhaul if I were to own one. They were that bad. Push the pedal and all you get is squish for a couple inches of travel, then the car gradually stops. Terrible. I thought the interior was very nice except the climate control knobs which felt junky. Nice seats. Decent room in back. 6-speed and clutch were just like a 'Vette - clunky and very stiff, but they work.

Overall I did not like it.

I've driven a G35 with the Brembos and 18" wheels. Nice car, but driving it is like my old RX-7 - feels like you're sitting in a bathtub. Feels very ponderous - not at all light on its feet.

I'll keep my M3 and try to borrow Clyde's RX-8 as much as possible :D

John V

I've driven these cars as well. and the GTO is by far my favorite. I've driven 2 RX8's, GTO, G35, 350Z. 350Z is by far the worst, I didn't like it at all. I loved the 8 and it was my favorite for a long time, until I drove the GOAT. I just love the power, and the interior is really nice. I didn't notice the same brake problem in the GTO like SOLO did. And the sound of that LS1 just does it for me. Now the 8 is an AWESOME car and has some better traits than the pontiac, but it just doesn't have enough power for me. Call me what you want, but I want power.

And Hornet the '05s aren't out yet, they won't be here until Dec-Jan, but you can rest assured that it's gonna be amazing with the 400 HP LS2.

I wasn't sure! I just saw it on Yahoo and thought maybe it's out there! :)

I have seen a few GTO's out there and I think they look better than I expected. The interior is GREAT compared to other American offerings and that V8 is just SO SWEET!

My problem with the car is its poor handling and HIGH WEIGHT 3600 or so. If I were to get one, I would put it on a MAJOR diet and have to work on the handling.

It's better than it looks!

Note: I wonder what will happen in the next 10 years…maybe I should get a GTO to taste an American V8 before it’s too late…shhhh, don’t let the RX8 guys read this…LOL

rx8Wannahave it actually handles it's weight better than you might think. It's no corner carver like the 8, but it gets around.

In fact, in the Top Gear episode where they compare the Jag S-Type R, 300C hemi, and Vauxhaul (exact same thing as a GTO, just different badging) clarkson and the others raved about its handling feel and just about everything else. They "fell in love" with the car. The GTO won by the way

Hummmm....no, stop it...don't corrupt me...LOL

Mazda 3 or Bimmer?

SoloII///M

Look at his name Magellan, I believe that's the BMW M sign, so I'm guessing he drives an M3.

actually I was joking :) since the Mazda 3, although a great car is not in the class of cars he was discussing :)

Word to that brotha!

To add to this post, I just drove my friend's new GTO last week. He has an '04, unfortunately an automatic because the wife has to drive it also. My impressions are that it is better than I thought it would be. The car had a slight hesitation in acceleration, automatic, before the torque threw us back in our seats. The brake pedal was mushy, as was the overall feel - which I hate. The car felt like a cruiser. My friend pushed it in the corners, but I wasn't willing to be as adventurous with it. It is not confidence inspiring.

Under the hood, the engine really sticks out. Half the engine is in front of the shock towers. The trunk was about the same size as the RX-8, because the fuel tank takes up much of the room. The interior seats were very comfortable, and the leather stitching was better than expected. Though getting in and out of the back seats is a hassle. The gauges and dash were plain and easy to read, much like the 8. One of the neat things about the car, was that when going from Park to Drive the car lowers a little bit, giving a "ready to go" vibe. And on the road, and little blip of the throttle can provide a large surge of power - Amen for the LS1.

It really comes down to needing a V8 to get the car. My friend wanted a V8, but needed the four seats, so this was his pick. The engine was identical to the one in my previous C5, and as a result felt much the same. But with a heavier car, and an automatic at that, it felt a bit sluggish in comparison. My father also drove it, and commented that he preferred my RX-8. And my friends father has an RX-8, and also commented that he wouldn't trade it in for a GTO.

Also, my friend purchased the car for $10,000 below MSRP. The sticker for the car was $34,100, his negotiated price was $24,100.

The new 05 GTO has upgraded brakes (surprise, I guess Pontiac/GM was listening to it's customer) in an article in Car & Driver they indicated that it modulated better, and it stopped 20 ft. shroter than the previous model in 60-0 tests. That is a huge margin. I would like to test drive the 05 model just to feel the diffeences of the LS1 & LS2 units for the GTO, and the new brakes.

OKAY im goin to test drive a GTO now

Good luck, my friend had to go through financing before they'd let him drive it. But that may have been his particular dealership.

I really need to go test drive the '05 GTO and '05 Mustang - just for fun. Think I'll take my old Jeep so as not to give the salespeople any ammo. I can hear it now: "Yeah, there was a guy in here the other day wanting to trade his RX-8 in on this car...."

My friend was taking his wife's '04 GMC Tahoe when he was looking to test drive it. Even then they wouldn't let him without getting approved for finanacing. Hopefully everyone will have better luck.

They gave him the same song and dance, "lots of people trading in their trucks. Sports cars are making a real comeback...gottta get in on the market while the cars are still discounted." etc...

Sorry, but I could never bring myself to buy a pontiac. Anybody know what I mean