Teresa’s View
The Pontiac Solstice is the proverbial high-heel shoe that calls your name from the window of the shoe store. You want it so bad because it looks so good on you and it goes with everything in your closet, but dang if it just doesn’t fit. Isn’t that disappointing?
Most roadsters are as impractical as high-heels. True to form, the Solstice has no interior storage space, the trunk is useless and there’s a good deal of wind noise. Ah, the price of beauty — and this car is a beauty. It has a body to die for, with luscious curves in all the right places and a hint of retro-styling. According to Pontiac, the color of our red tester is, “Aggressive.” No, that’s the name of the color. Serious.
Dropping top is a challenge. It’s a manual, so it should be a simple affair, but there’s this reverse-hinged decklid that opens toward the car instead of away from it. (FYI – the hood does the same trick.) So, here I am, kneeling in the driver’s seat, in order to get the proper angle to lift the manual cloth top. Then, I needed to get out to close the trunk lid. The first time I attempted the maneuver, I swiped the leg of my favorite pants on the tire. Grrr. Someone a couple of inches taller should be able to work the top more easily.
Pontiac, a longtime member of the GM family, dipped into its massive parts bin for, among other things, the engine — a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder job picked up from the Chevy Cobalt — and the gearbox, a five-speed manual found in Chevy’s Colorado pickup. Nipping bits and pieces from other members of the family is one way to keep costs down, but the result is a lack of cohesion in the cabin. With too much hard plastic and an ergonomically challenged dash, the interior fails to deliver on the exterior’s promise.
What the Solstice does deliver is wind-in-your-face fun for a reasonable price. Unless you are a professional sports car driver, the driving dynamics are ample for sun-drenched outings. And yet, as much as I want to like this car, there isn’t a shoe-stretcher large enough to make it fit quite right.
What Is It?: The Pontiac Solstice is a two-seater, rear-wheel drive convertible. Don’t be fooled by the “under $20K” price tag. Most owners will want to add the Convenience Package for the cruise control option; and the Power Package for the keyless remote and power windows, mirrors and door locks. Air conditioning, anti-lock brakes, an acceptable audio system and a sound-dampening headliner are separate options. When all was said and done, our tester clocked in at $26,490.
Look For It: A turbocharged, 260-horsepower Pontiac Solstice GXP is scheduled for 2007. Bonus: Most items found as options on the base Solstice will be standard fare. Expect a corresponding price bump.
So, Where Are Ya From?: Final assembly for the Solstice is Wilmington, Del.