Pontiac gushes over all-new Torrent
Pontiac finally pulled the plug on the Aztek this year, replacing it with an all-new, compact sport-ute called the Torrent.
You know the Aztek; universally derided for its ungainly appearance, it was nonetheless a utilitarian minivan-cum-sport-ute with a number of innovative features, including an optional, tack-on tent that turned it into a self-contained camping experience.
Despite its virtues, the Aztek’s unfortunate sheet metal foretold an early demise; the Torrent almost certainly will be more successful.
Based on the same platform as the Saturn Vue and Chevrolet Equinox, the Torrent is a five-passenger, six-cylinder crossover with ample storage, flexible seating and looks that attract the right kind of attention.
Had the Aztek looked this good, we might not be writing its eulogy.
The Torrent is available in two- and all-wheel-drive iterations and is priced from $22,990, including destination. Some observers believe compact sport-utes will be the big winners as the popularity of their larger, thirstier counterparts wanes. If that proves true, the Torrent might be the right rig at the right time.
Like the Equinox, the Torrent is a category-buster. It’s priced like the mini-utes that are its primary competition — they include the Ford Escape, Jeep Liberty, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Hyundai Santa Fe — but is larger in overall length, wheelbase and cargo capacity.
The lines of demarcation between compact and midsize SUVs are fuzzy at best, but in general terms the Torrent is smaller and less expensive than the midsize SUVs, which include such rigs as the Ford Explorer, Chevy TrailBlazer, Toyota 4Runner and Honda Pilot.
Standard features include power windows, mirrors and door locks; remote keyless entry; air conditioning; AM/FM/CD stereo with six speakers; four channel anti-lock brakes (discs up front, drums in the rear); luggage rack; projector-beam fog lights; tilt steering wheel, and manual height adjustment for the driver’s seat.
If the Aztek was an exercise in unconventional design, the Torrent brings Pontiac back to the center. Up front, a clean, graceful interpretation of Pontiac’s twin-grill theme replaces the Aztek’s overwrought, multi-tiered fascia and grill.
Torrent designers indulged themselves in a bit of sleight-of-hand down low, where what appears to be a skid plate peaks out from beneath the air dam. Be advised it’s meant primarily as a design element intended to buff up the Torrent’s genial appearance. The spoiler and flanking fog lamps are real, though.
The hood slopes gently forward from the windshield’s leading edge and its bottom edge is the forward element in a body-length line that lends the Torrent a vaguely wedge-shaped profile. Fortunately, the lower body-cladding craze has come and gone, so the side panels and sills live without unnecessary ornamentation and the wheel wells are only modestly flared.
The only power plant offered is the same 185-horsepower, 3.4-liter pushrod V-6 that powered the Aztek. Paired with a five-speed automatic, it fetches EPA ratings of 18 city/23 highway, which is about right for a midsize SUV but a bit strong for a compact.
Pontiac says the engine could have been tuned for better mileage, but not without impacting its 3,500-pound tow rating.
The all-wheel-drive system sends power to the front wheels under normal conditions and seamlessly spreads the effort among all four wheels when traction is compromised. Front-drive versions are equipped with traction control.
The Torrent rides on GM’s FE2 Sport Suspension, which entails tuning of the shock valves and the electric power-steering system “to provide a level of crisp and responsive handling not often found in an SUV,” says Pontiac’s literature.
Consider this a bit of marketing hyperbole; the Torrent handles no more or less crisply than the average crossover sport-ute, which is to say it doesn’t wallow helplessly like some truck-based SUVs. The steering system is numb and vague on center, which is likely to bother only purists and auto journalists.
Pontiac has jazzed up the interior with white-faced gauges and chrome accents. I call foul on the placement of the shift indicator — it’s located just ahead of the shift lever, at the base of the instrument panel and well out of the driver’s line of sight.
Worse yet is the location of the hand brake, which cannot be utilized when either of the front cupholders is in use. There’s precious little incidental storage space in this cabin, which seems silly for a vehicle that boasts best-in-class interior room.
Technically a five-passenger rig, the Torrent is best with four (the Aztek was 3 inches wider, which meant more room for rear-seat passengers).
On the positive side of the ledger, the second-row bench slides fore and aft by nearly 8 inches, producing acres of legroom on one hand or expanding cargo room by up to 5 cubic feet on the other. The seatbacks recline and can be folded flat to increase the size of the cargo hold from 35 to 69 cubic feet. The front passenger seatback folds forward to accommodate long, narrow objects.
Thanks to its 112-inch wheelbase, the Torrent’s rear doors are located forward of the wheel wells, which helps with rear-seat ingress and egress.
An optional parcel shelf increases the utility of the cargo area; it can be set at one of three heights and can be positioned to serve as a table for a tailgate party. It incorporates grocery-bag hooks and, when not in use, slips into the floor.
The new Torrent is designed to give Pontiac buyers a viable choice when shopping for a small SUV. Its spacious interior, flexible cargo capacity and pleasant looks should satisfy the vast majority of them. Those who are hoping to find some of that driving excitement Pontiac promises will have to look elsewhere.