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Mini-Review: 2007 Pontiac Solstice

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Old 08-15-06, 03:43 PM
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mmarshall
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Default Mini-Review: 2007 Pontiac Solstice

http://www.pontiac.com/solstice/index.jsp

Well, guys...had quite a day yesterday and last evening. Took the day off of work to help a younger friend of mine ( a minister ) buy a new Solstice. He had wanted one for some time to replace his old and tired Mercury Sable. I discussed a number of options with him, including the Miata, which I felt had higher quality, and a proven track record, and was generally free of dealer markups, and the Solstice's sister car...the Saturn Sky, which offered similiar quality, no-haggle list pricing ( plus dealer accessories ), Saturn's famous customer service, a wider color choice than the Solstice, and more standard equipment and trim ( with a higher but no-haggle price ). The Solstice starts out at only 20K but unlike the Sky, you have to get packages and options for A/C, ABS, power windows / doors, etc.... and upgraded stereos and equipment. The Miata also had a far easier top to operate...it can be done from the driver's seat with one hand. But the Miata, despite its quality, is cramped, relatively unrefined, and harsh-riding.....the Solstice proved much more civilized on the road, as we will shortly see, but it is still too small a car for someone my size ( John-Paul, my friend, is about 5" shorter than me and about 60 lbs. lighter )
But even with a car, a man in love is a man in love ( boy, do I know that feeling ), and in the end it had to be a Solstice. However, not just any Solstice. He wanted a gray one, with a tan top and the two-tone gray / tan interior, non-supercharged ( gas is expensive enough as it is without having to use Premium ) and an automatic for the horrendous traffic around here. ( Yes, in many places the car is probably more fun with a stick, but if you had to drive everyday in this area you would see what I mean ).
Well...keep in mind what I said about him having a ministry. When you work for the man upstairs sometimes He goes to bat for you when you need it. You guys all know what a HARD car this is to find...the waiting lists, markups, long order times., etc..... I don't have to go into that. I contacted dozens of dealerships in the VA-MD-DC area either by phone or by website looking for something at least close to what he wanted.....I did not expect him to find one just sitting on the lot exactly the way he wanted it......I told him his best bet was to get in line, order one, and just wait a few months. He was just about ready to do that.
Well....lo and behold, a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership about 30 miles south of DC turned out to have one sitting in the showroom, UNSOLD and UNSPOKEN for...only 10 miles on it. Color, options, EVERYTHING John-Paul wanted, minus an LSD ( limited-slip differential ), which in a car like this you really don't need anyway unless you corner like a madman. Turns out that this car had been special-ordered for a guy who couldn't pick it up at the agreed-upon time....so they RE-Ordered him another car just like it for an October delivery, which of course left this car on the market.....with John's name all over it. So Jon couldn't get off work yesterday.....I had already gotten the day off work to rest up with a slight back injury, but I didn't want to let this car slip out of his grasp...it was there for the taking......so I hopped in my Outback, drove on down to the dealership, asked if the car was still on the market, and wrote them a $1000 deposit out of my own pocket to hold the car for John Paul. ( Refundable...I'll get it back ) He was delighted to hear it, made plans to come on up to the place after work, and we bought it at 6 PM. In the meantime I, of course, checked it thoroughly for defects and proper assembly inside and out ( remember, this is a GM product, not a Toyota or Honda ). I learned a lot about the car yesterday......enough to do a mini review, which is the purpose of this thread. I could not really do a full review because I only drove the car enough to check for defects and get a quick overall feel for it....about 4 or 5 miles.
As the car was in the showroom, they really did a nice job preparing it.....even the tire pressures were right on, which is unusual. Everything worked the way it was supposed to, and I couldn't find any problems on the road on the test-drive either.
As I said, I learned enough about the car for at least a partial review, so here goes:

GM introduced the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky earlier this year as entry-level ( the Solstice more than the Sky ) competitors to the ever-popular Mazda MX-5 Miata ( the car I originally had recommended for John ). Both compete roughly with the Miata in price....the Pontiac starts out a few thousand dollars cheaper and the Saturn a few thousand more expensive. Both come standard with a 177 HP Ecotec four, although a supercharged version of both cars will be shortly available. ( We both felt he would be better off with the normally-aspirated car for several reasons ) and a 5-speed manual. The Pontiac's standard equipment, as befits its lower base price, is much lower than ther Saturn's, along with fewer color choices ( John, of course, already knew what color he wanted ). However, the actual selling price of the Pontiac is often higher because you not only have to get option packages to get many of the things many buyers take for granted but the big demand, waiting lists, and short supply for the Solstice pretty much guarantee dealer mark-ups. ( John paid a small mark-up over list, which I didn't like, but was much lower than at many competing dealerships even though the car was right there for the taking ). So the Saturn, selling for list plus a few dealer " accessories " may end up, out the door, costing about what the Pontiac does but giving you more car. But like I said...a man in love is in love, and a Solstice it was.
I wasn't impressed with the dealership in general, but the guy who dealt with us was a real gentleman...he was marvelous, the complete opposite of the stereotype B.S' ing double-talking salesman...a real pleasure to deal with. If only all salespeople could be like this.
OK.....I know you guys don't just want to hear about US...so let's get to the car itself:


Model Reviewed: 2007 Pontiac Solstice

Base Price: $20,490

Major Options:
Automatic transmission
Air Conditioning
4-Wheel anti-lock Brakes
Convienence Package
Carpeted Floormats
On-Star
Power Package
Premium Package
18" Chromed Aluminum wheels
Monsoon Premium Stereo

List Price ( freight included ) $27,345
Actual selling price ( Market Demand ) $28,500 ( annoying, yes, but reasonable, IMO, compared to the $4000 extra many Pontiac shops want, even for an order)

Drivetrain: Front-engine, RWD, 2.4L DOHC in-line Ecotec 4, 177 HP @ 6600 RPM, 166 ft.-lbs. torque @ 4800 RPM. 5-speed automatic transmission ( curiously, no auto-manual shift-gate in a sporty car like this )

Exterior Color ( Exactly what John wanted ): Sly ( Shadow ) Gray metallic
Interior ( also exactly what he wanted ): Two-tone gray/sand leather.


PLUSSES:



Fun and pleasant to drive despite the automatic.

Well-done hardware and controls, especially by the typical EL Cheapo GM standards

Well-done power steering with plenty of road feel and a minimum of boost ( just the way I like it )

Well-Refined nature for a sports car.

Relatively smooth ride for a car this size and weight with sporty tires and chassis

Body structure commendably free of but but not totally free of cowl shake.

Slick-feeling and operating controls.

Well-shaped steering wheel.

Attractive, clearly marked gauges

Snug-fitting top.

Slightly more room inside than Miata.



MINUSES:


Poor roll-over protection; no roll-bars behind the seats or spring-up mechanisms.

Automatic saps noticeable power from the engine.

Cheap-feeling plastic interior door panels.

GM warranty only 3/36, even for the drivetrain, unless you buy an extended warranty.

Forward-hinged hood awkward to open and close....difficult to access front of engine.

Top raising / lowering is a 3-4 step feature instead of one simple one like the Miata.

Awkward, rear-hinged trunk limits access and convienence.

Seat belts difficult to reach.

On-Star is only free for the first year...then you pay.

Inefficient top-in-trunk space efficiency...with the top lowered, there is much less room than in Miata's trunk.

Base model car lacks too much equipment.





The first impression you get of this car is exactly what it was meant to be....a no-nonense, low-to-the-ground, classic two-seater for fun in the sun. While John loves the styling, the big, buck-tooth beaver-looking twin grilles are definitely not my cup of tea.....I would take the Saturn, style-wise, over the Pontiac in a heartbeat. But as I said earlier, love is love. Other than the grille, the exterior is well-done......just a hair larger than the Miata, with noticeably larger tires and wheels. The exterior paint job was MUCH better than average for a GM product...better than some Cadillacs I have seen. Nice smooth texture, evenness of color, no orange peel, plenty of gloss...almost to Lexus standards ( but remember this was a showroom car on display, and obviously had gotten some TLC ). The top appeared to be made of durable fabric and well-crafted. It had, like most convertibles today, a glass rear window with electric defroster....so none of that ugly, annoying, plastic window cracking, yellowing, and crazing. The top does not go up and down as easily as the Miata's...you must open the glove box, pull the trunk release which pops the rear-hinged trunk open, then get out, lift the trunk the rest of the way by hand, pull the top up and over, snap each the double-fairings in place on the rear deck-lid, then get back inside the car and secure the front of the top. This car, unlike the Miata, cries out for a power-top mechanism, even if it adds a few thousand more to the price, but GM has no plans that I know of to add one.
Inside, there is a little more room than in the Miata for tall people, but the top of the windshield header is still too short.....my entire neck and head was sticking ABOVE the top of the windshield, out in the breeze, even with the seatback raked a little. I had to bend my head down to see low in front of the car. Except for the cheap-feeling plastic interior door panels and flip-down door behind the seats, though, the interior was WELL-done.....again, much better than most GM products. The gauges were a nice red-on-silver and clearly marked, the stereo, climate controls, and switches all had a slick, refined, Acura-Lexus quality feel to them. As, per John's request, most of our test-drive was done with the top down, I could not really get a good ear for how the stereo would sound with a quiet, top-up interior...but this is a top-line unit with 7 speakers.
The test-drive itself, on my part, produced a few surprises, although, of course, I was more interested in checking out the car for defects than just a casual review or my own entertainment.......John's money, of course, was at stake here, and he was depending on me to give the car a clean bill-of-health.
Well, it passed my road test, but at the same time I noticed some of its road manners. It had pleasant, low-effort power steering almost as nice as some BMW's I've driven......a refreshing change from so many vehicles that have power-steering pumps shot full of novicaine. Steering response was precise and quick, but not as quick as the Miata. Ride quality was surprisingly supple and civilized despite the light weight, short wheelbase, and 18" 45-series tires. Having driven Miatas several times in the past, I expected a much harsher ride...I was pleasantly surprised....though you DO feel the bumps. I didn't push it hard enough to really test for body roll, but in normal driving it was quite flat and stable despite the relatively smooth ride. The body structure, for a convertible, is quite well-done...only a very small amount of cowl flex over bumps. Unless you spring some $90,000 for a anvil-like Mercedes SL convertible, you are going to get some cowl shake in any droptop..it is simply one of the penalties you pay for open-air driving without a roof support to the structure. The Solstice, to its credit, had almost none......only a very slight judder every now and then.
The engine and transmission were smooth and quiet...with the top down, of course, there was some exhaust noise, but not excessive. The automatic, of course, saps a noticiable amount of power out of the engine, and why no manual shift-gate in a low-slung, sporty roadster? In a car like this, having only one gate for the shift lever is the wrong place to cut costs.

OK..there you have it. This is not quite a full review because I didn't have the car out on the road long enough...just a couple of miles....but it gives you an idea of what the car is like for those of you who are interested in it.

Last edited by mmarshall; 08-15-06 at 03:55 PM.
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Old 08-15-06, 05:18 PM
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CHIS350
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Sounds like a winner to me. Thanks for the write up!
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Old 08-15-06, 05:26 PM
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That's a "mini-review"?!

That's almost a book! LOL



Good right up.
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Old 08-15-06, 06:52 PM
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Originally Posted by JLSC4
That's a "mini-review"?!

That's almost a book! LOL



Good right up.
Thanks. By my standards, it is not a major review. My regular reviews usually have more of the car's history and its driving characteristics........instead I covered more of the shopping experience in this one. I got quite familiar with the car inside and out but didn't really have much time to drive it......just enough to check for steering, brake, transmission-shift, and suspension problems, as I would for any car that someone I am shopping with is going to buy.

Last edited by mmarshall; 08-15-06 at 06:55 PM.
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Old 08-15-06, 09:51 PM
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Awesome review, I felt like I just bought it!

Do u think they rushed this to market? I bet a revised 3 year model will work out some of those kinks
 
Old 08-16-06, 03:19 AM
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Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
Awesome review, I felt like I just bought it!

Do u think they rushed this to market? I bet a revised 3 year model will work out some of those kinks

Nice job overall...especially for a GM product......but it seriously needs some roll protection behind the rear seat. I don't know how DOT certified this car to safety standards.
( of course, cars with a center of gravity this low and wide tend to resist rollovers unless you really drive like a madman or maybe slide into a curb sideways)
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Old 08-16-06, 09:08 AM
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Sounds like a fun car with an interesting color combination- would love to see some photos!

It does seem like $28.5K is a lot of money for the Solstice... there aren't many sporty convertibles in that price range, so I guess they can get thet kind of money (obviously, they are). It just seems more like a $20-$22K car based on my up close and personal experience with it. I guess it is in the basic form, but, like most cars, the price can climb quickly with options. Was the automatic transmission extra?

For $28.5K, my **** is in a NICE used NSX... (or less, in my case!).
Obviously, for your friend, an NSX probably makes a statement that he doesn't want to make , and my used NSX certainly didn't come with a warranty...
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Old 08-16-06, 10:05 AM
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Originally Posted by SoCalSC4
Sounds like a fun car with an interesting color combination- would love to see some photos!

It does seem like $28.5K is a lot of money for the Solstice... there aren't many sporty convertibles in that price range, so I guess they can get thet kind of money (obviously, they are). It just seems more like a $20-$22K car based on my up close and personal experience with it. I guess it is in the basic form, but, like most cars, the price can climb quickly with options. Was the automatic transmission extra?

For $28.5K, my **** is in a NICE used NSX... (or less, in my case!).
Obviously, for your friend, an NSX probably makes a statement that he doesn't want to make , and my used NSX certainly didn't come with a warranty...
Yes, the Solstice starts at only 20K, but in base form is pretty stripped. Most of the things that people would want...including the automatic transmission in this case....is extra. ( See the Pontiac Solstice web link I provided in the review ). By the time you get it equipped like a Saturn Sky the two cars are about equally priced. ( depending on the Pontiac dealer markups, of course...Saturns sell for list ).

Of course, not many cars of this type are sold with automatics...in most areas, the car is probably more fun with a stick, but sticks are a royal PITA in DC-area traffic.
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