I have owned 3 other (what I consider) sports cars: 1988 Z24, 1995 Z28, and a 1984 Fiero (including a Tahoe and Silverado, yes I am a GM man ). The GXP out performs them all.
I have been impressed with the looks of Solstice since its arrival, and the changes to the GXP are even more impressive. When pulling into my gravel driveway, I have to be very careful to not land the front fascia and the even lower air dam. The garage kept GXP is not my daily driver and will never see snow/salt and rarely see rain. I have owned it only 2 weeks and have about 600 miles on it with no mechanical or appearance issues. I don't hear any clunk as described by some owners and the intermittent SIDI tic is barely noticeable.
Great:
The power is awesome! The manual transmission, with its short stoke is smooth yet solid. The clutch catches early and quick, so before I got the feel of it I green-horned it 3 times on the way back from the dealer (I think MSG_McKee mentioned this also). This car handles great in the turns and even feels very solid at 120 MPH. It’s very easy and quick to be at 100 MPH once you get through all gears. All controls are placed well within reach (and I don’t mind the air bag indicator at all). The steering wheel controls are very nice and navigate the DIC and sound system with ease. The Monsoon/XM system is great, although my wife has me turn it down when she is done with the massage the sub-woofer provides to the passenger seat.
Not so great:
The interior surfaces are all hard… they could have added some padding where you elbows and knees rest. The cup holders are pathetic, not only in placement but in function. My frame (at 6.0’ and 215 lbs) would like a little more room. I normally like to lay the seat back a bit but can’t do that in this two seater. My Fiero actually has more room. I have to leave the steering wheel all the way up to see the gauges. I only put it down (my most comfortable position) when I have set the cruise and not concerned with my speed. The trunk is very difficult to close, with or without the top in it, and then there is the problem with limited storage.
Conclusion:
I am very satisfied overall with my GXP; its fun to drive and has great looks! I knew about most of the quirks going in. I can’t wait till spring and summer when I can really enjoy the convertible.
(edits in blue)
__________________ Mysterious GXP, dark-side, ebony w/gray stitched leather, manual 5-speed, loaded
Additions: "J" stubby antenna, custom rubber floor mats, tinted windows (35%), Evolution car cover
Solstice - sol (sun) and sistere (stand still) as we drive off into the sun!
Some interstate, somewhere, one day, when nobody was watching
(do I need a lawyer?)
__________________ Mysterious GXP, dark-side, ebony w/gray stitched leather, manual 5-speed, loaded
Additions: "J" stubby antenna, custom rubber floor mats, tinted windows (35%), Evolution car cover
Solstice - sol (sun) and sistere (stand still) as we drive off into the sun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pontiac builds excitement... Saturn has rethought it's image...
The time has come for the enthusiasts... NASSOA
Founding Member - Recording Secretary - Northeast ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Instead of starting a whole new thread I'm just going to throw in my two cents about my car since I've finally been able to drive it a while.
1. The clunk noise is louder and more irritating than I thought it would be. I suppose it's the "normal" clunk but I haven't been able to compare it to another Solstice to see if it's the same.
2. The under hood noise the SIDI makes is also louder than I though and is especially irritating at low speeds with the radio off. It's a difficult noise to explain, but supposedly this is normal as well, although nothing to compare it to.
3. The cabin gets pretty warm. I noticed this because it's cold out and I didn't have the heat on, but it started to warm up inside the cabin anyway
4. The black exhaust dust has already left a pretty good coating around both tailpipes and is also worse than I thought it would be
5. Damn this break in period
Otherwise I am quite happy. Hopefully I get used to the above and nothing terribly bad shows up.
__________________ GXP Mysterious darkside l ebony leather with red
headliner l sport pedals l A/C l single disc Monsoon XM l chrome l no spoiler, onstar, smokers, or mayo
Ferrari F430/612 Scaglietti - Alfa Romeo 8C - Porche 911 Turbo - Lambo Gallardo Superleggera - Aston Martin Vanquish S/DB9/Vantage - Merc SL 65/SLK 55 - Tesla Roadster - Vette Z06 - Lotus Elise - Infiniti G35 6MT - BMW M3/3 series - classics - Chevy Nova - Camaro - Vette - Dodge Challenger - Pontiac GTO
Instead of starting a whole new thread I'm just going to throw in my two cents about my car since I've finally been able to drive it a while.
1. The clunk noise is louder and more irritating than I thought it would be. I suppose it's the "normal" clunk but I haven't been able to compare it to another Solstice to see if it's the same.
This is one option I am glad I did not get with my GXP
Quote:
4. The black exhaust dust has already left a pretty good coating around both tailpipes and is also worse than I thought it would be
This was the point I forgot to note. I have a rag at the house and in the car that I use to wipe my babies "bottom" with throughout the day. I did hope and think the soot would stop by now (almost 2000 miles) but I have made the occasional "wipe" a daily chore of love.
__________________
2007 Aggressive GXP (Manual) loaded minus On* and Smoker's Pkg (Born 11/10/2006 and picked up on 11/22/2006) SOLD 10/17/2008
Good review. I had several fieros myself. All met with bad endings
Never did get those things to handle right. But I didn't know what I was doing back then.
Don't think I will have mine til next week since the week is almost over. But hopefully I will be really impressed with it. I know it will be a little slower then my other cars but it's gonna look cool as hell so you can live with that.
Hopefully I will be happy with it as is so I don't have to go modifying it.
__________________
I love the life but I never sold my soul...
This is one option I am glad I did not get with my GXP
This was the point I forgot to note. I have a rag at the house and in the car that I use to wipe my babies "bottom" with throughout the day. I did hope and think the soot would stop by now (almost 2000 miles) but I have made the occasional "wipe" a daily chore of love.
So then there are some of us that have GXPs WITHOUT the driveline clunk even though it's supposed to be normal? I was under the impression we all had them, but replacing or adjusting anything was useless since the clunk just comes back eventually anyway. I have a friend with a Caddy CTS-V with the same clunk and both cars share the same differential.
Is there anyone that had the clunk, but had it fixed and it hasn't come back?
Honestly, it's really the high shooting noise the SIDI makes that is the most annoying, but we all have that.
__________________ GXP Mysterious darkside l ebony leather with red
headliner l sport pedals l A/C l single disc Monsoon XM l chrome l no spoiler, onstar, smokers, or mayo
Ferrari F430/612 Scaglietti - Alfa Romeo 8C - Porche 911 Turbo - Lambo Gallardo Superleggera - Aston Martin Vanquish S/DB9/Vantage - Merc SL 65/SLK 55 - Tesla Roadster - Vette Z06 - Lotus Elise - Infiniti G35 6MT - BMW M3/3 series - classics - Chevy Nova - Camaro - Vette - Dodge Challenger - Pontiac GTO
So then there are some of us that have GXPs WITHOUT the driveline clunk even though it's supposed to be normal? I was under the impression we all had them, but replacing or adjusting anything was useless since the clunk just comes back eventually anyway. I have a friend with a Caddy CTS-V with the same clunk and both cars share the same differential.
Is there anyone that had the clunk, but had it fixed and it hasn't come back?
Honestly, it's really the high shooting noise the SIDI makes that is the most annoying, but we all have that.
I might be missing the sound, but I can take some of the ATL guys out and see if they hear it. I am very anal, so the "Tick" does sound louder to me than most say it does. I think I would hear a clunk. However, I love the Wheeeze sound!
When do you normally hear it?
__________________
2007 Aggressive GXP (Manual) loaded minus On* and Smoker's Pkg (Born 11/10/2006 and picked up on 11/22/2006) SOLD 10/17/2008
It might vary by how good the driver's hearing is, but I'd imagine if you could hear one you'd hear the other. I can probably hear the tick more easily than the clunk but it depends on how fast you're driving.
So then the clunk issue seems unfair to me. The manual says it's normal, yet some of us don't have it. Should I take it to the dealer? I mean what if they say it's normal. I can't exactly argue with them since it's supposedly is normal. Do I just demand that they make the clunk disappear?
__________________ GXP Mysterious darkside l ebony leather with red
headliner l sport pedals l A/C l single disc Monsoon XM l chrome l no spoiler, onstar, smokers, or mayo
Ferrari F430/612 Scaglietti - Alfa Romeo 8C - Porche 911 Turbo - Lambo Gallardo Superleggera - Aston Martin Vanquish S/DB9/Vantage - Merc SL 65/SLK 55 - Tesla Roadster - Vette Z06 - Lotus Elise - Infiniti G35 6MT - BMW M3/3 series - classics - Chevy Nova - Camaro - Vette - Dodge Challenger - Pontiac GTO
). The GXP out performs them all. 
The manual transmission, with its short stoke is smooth yet solid. The clutch catches early and quick, so before I got the feel of it I green-horned it 3 times on the way back from the dealer (I think MSG_McKee mentioned this also). 
This car handles great in the turns and even feels very solid at 120 MPH. It’s very easy and quick to be at 100 MPH once you get through all gears. All controls are placed well within reach (and I don’t mind the air bag indicator at all). The steering wheel controls are very nice and navigate the DIC and sound system with ease. The Monsoon/XM system is great, although my wife has me turn it down when she is done with the massage the sub-woofer provides to the passenger seat. 
and has great looks! I knew about most of the quirks going in. I can’t wait till spring and summer when I can really enjoy the convertible. 
However, I love the Wheeeze sound!