http://www.boston.com/cars/car_revie...y_in_solstice/
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No work, no worry in Solstice
Utility yields to fun in Pontiac convertible
By Bill Griffith | September 16, 2007
It's a night made for cruising in a convertible. A 126-mile drive awaits, one that combines twisting back roads with urban traffic and interstates. Also awaiting is today's test car, a 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP convertible. It's a two-seater with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and a five-speed manual.
It is like a dream ride, and more - at the other end of the journey is Jack, my newborn first grandchild. Before leaving, there's a tough decision to make. If I put down the top there's no luggage space, especially for the return trip when my wife will be joining me after a week spent with our daughter and the new little guy. But it's a gorgeous night, so down goes the top. My few belongings go in a small tote bag on the passenger side floor. I can always put the roof up for the ride home - it's a manual operation that takes no more than 30 seconds.
The little things that annoy me in the first miles - like the molded plastic interior, lack of a decent cupholder or obvious places to rest a cellphone, iPod, or transponder - melt away with the miles and the wonderful long pulls through the gears. Anyone who ever drove an old Chevy Vega or Ford Pinto has to marvel at the capabilities of today's four-cylinder engines.
Despite the obvious performance slant to the GXP, our roundtrip delivered 26.2 miles per gallon, and we rode in relative comfort. The seats are supportive, and General Motors has gotten the suspension right. It's firm enough for cornering, compliant enough for the highway. And even with the top down at highway speeds, the high performance sound system (a $495 option) cranks out my favorite tunes clearly.
I figure that more little things will irk me as the weekend unfolds, but the opposite is true. I find little nooks (the pouch on the front of the seats, the little netting behind the driver's seat, the tiny compartment between the seatbacks) to store the necessary gear.
And the GXP's outright drivability just keeps overwhelming me. Buzzing by Stafford Springs Speedway on Route 140 in Connecticut and listening to the Friday night thunder emanating from the track, made me wonder: Are those drivers having more fun going in circles than I am on this nearly deserted stretch of secondary road? I cast my vote in my favor.
Clearly, you put practicality aside with this ride. It's a toy and a joy. There's something about a red convertible that screams enjoyment. Pontiac calls the color on our test car "Aggressive," which most will find synonymous with "Arrest Me Red." It's also available in Cool (silver), Deep (blue), Envious (green), Mysterious (black), Pure (white), and Sly (gray). Or, for an extra $195, you can get Mean (yellow).
The instrument panel is cockpit-styled with gauges that look like something from an old Triumph motorcycle. While GM has upgraded its interiors across the board, the Solstice's remains spartan.
More important, the GXP comes with stability control and the optional limited-slip rear differential. A feature we'd love to try is the new OnStar Turn-by-Turn navigation, which allows subscribers to talk with a live adviser who sends step-by-step directions through the OnStar system.
But even that couldn't solve the luggage problem for the return trip. Even with the top up, we had to rely on our son's largess to carry some of it home in his 1992 Sentra, proving practicality still has its place.
That just doesn't factor into the GXP equation.