Bonneville gets ‘GXP’ treatment

BMW fires the enthusiast’s imagination with its high-performance M-series models, and Mercedes-Benz cranks up the heat with selected models via its AMG tuner division.

Not to be left behind, Pontiac embarks this year on a performance strategy that will be marketed under the new GXP label.

Pontiac introduced the strategy last November, at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association show in Las Vegas. Podium models included sporty one-offs based on the Vibe, Grand Prix, Grand Am and Sunfire.

All featured unique front and rear fascias, sport-tuned suspensions and wheel, tire and brake packages.

First to market under the new strategy is the Bonneville GXP, Pontiac’s full-size flagship sedan, which Pontiac is marketing under the rubric “Luxury with Attitude.”

Powered by a 32-valve, 4.6-liter, 275-horsepower V-8 Northstar engine borrowed from Cadillac, the GXP turns in respectable, if not spectacular, acceleration — cracking the 0-60 mph sprint in just under seven seconds.

Most important is the fact that the GXP flat looks fast. To my eye, this is the best-looking Bonneville ever. Finally shed of the ribbed body cladding that gave it a boy-racer persona, the new Bonnie looks slippery from every angle. Its front fascia is styled around an enlarged, twin-kidney grille with flush-mounted screens filling the kidneys.

Its newly unadorned flanks give off a more refined, though no less muscular, air.

With its deeply sloping windshield and C-pillar and foreshortened trunk, the Bonneville does a decent impersonation of a coupe. From the side, the GXP seems to hunker down over its 18-inch wheels and performance tires.

As part of the less-is-more strategy, the tail lamps have lost those fussy black grids, helping to clean up the appearance of the rear fascia.

If the new looks seem a touch understated to the faithful, the interior won’t disappoint. This is the prototypical American sport-sedan interior with its canted, curvilinear instrument panel, bold-faced gauges and chunky, oversized steering wheel.

A squadron of circular air vents tracks the curve of the instrument panel and fills the dash clear to the passenger door.

They are, unfortunately, bounded by a faux carbon fiber trim.

Pontiac has learned a few lessons about interior dimensions in the past few years and this interior will earn applause from even smaller drivers. Thanks to the canted IP, all the controls are easily reached, although there are too many of them, with tiny white letters applied to their black surfaces, to be easily parsed.

A little variety is the spice of good design and its careful application would help prevent reaching for the audio tuner when one really meant to turn off the radio.

And, with the vast expanse of dash given over to gauges, Pontiac should have been able to find a better home for the trip-computer display; where it sits, it’s blocked from the driver’s vision by the steering wheel.

As I’ve grown accustomed to it, I’ve become a fan of Pontiac’s head-up display, which projects (or appears to) display key information — miles-per-hour, in particular — on the windshield just ahead of the steering wheel. However, I continue to wonder why the word “gauges” is spelled “gages” in the display. It appears to be an acceptable substitute, by dictionary standards, but looks wrong, all the same.

On the plus side of the ledger, Pontiac earns kudos for placing the shift selector display smack dab in the center of the gauge pod, where it can’t be missed.

The front seats are large and comfortable and suede inserts help prevent occupants from slipping about during hard maneuvering.

Rear seats are roomy enough, but not as comfortable as they ought to be; sacrificial lambs, as it were, to the sloping roofline, which dictates a lowered seating position.

The platform on which it resides is growing long in the tooth, and the Bonneville isn’t going to win any body stiffness awards, but Pontiac engineers still were able to design a ride and handling package that will satisfy loyal Pontiac owners seeking the utility of a family sedan.

It’s pliant and comfortable around town, yet handles smartly when the road grows interesting. The big car does all that can be expected when pushed through a series of quick transitions, although understeer is the natural result when the front-driver is driven hard into a turn.

As always, GM’s Magnasteer system is an impediment to spirited driving; it’s too quick on turn-in and provides the driver with precious little feedback. Those accustomed to driving by small adjustments will find the system insufficiently communicative.

Just like any good American male.

The Bonneville is available in three trim levels: SE (from $27,910, including transportation), SLE (from $37,960) and GXP ($35,995).

Standard equipment on the SE includes remote AM/FM/CD audio system; keyless entry; six-way power adjustable driver’s seat, power windows, mirrors and door locks; tire pressure monitor; four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and 16-inch wheels and tires.

The SLE adds programmable driver information system; OnStar communications system, leather-wrapped steering wheel with satellite audio controls and 17-inch aluminum wheels.

Both trims are powered by a 3.8-liter V-6 that makes 205 hp and delivers 30 miles-per-gallon on the highway, an attractive quality in today’s environment.

The GXP adds the V-8 powerplant, sport-tuned suspension, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather-and-suede upholstery, carbon-fiber interior trim, power passenger seat and Monsoon audio system.

All trim levels receive the same four-speed automatic transmission.

Pontiac expects to sell 5,000 GXPs each year, which should be a no-brainer given the Bonneville’s handsome and newly refined sheet metal and its made-in-America-for-Americans interior.