2004 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX SEDAN

PONTIAC Brand Reviews:    • GTO    • GRAND PRIX    • BONNEVILLE    • GRAND AM    • SUNFIRE    • VIBE    • AZTEK    • MONTANA    2004 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX SEDAN:    Description:    Mid-size sports sedan    Model options:    GT1    GT2    GTP    GTP Comp G    Wheelbase:    110.5 inches    Overall length:    198.2 inches    Engine size:    GT1: OHV 3.8-L V6    GTP: OHV 3.8-L V6 SC)    Transmissions/speeds:     GT1: Auto/4 4T65-E    GTP: Auto/4 4T65-E    Comp G: Auto/4 4T65-E + TAPshift    Rear/front drive:     Front    Steering:    Power rack and pinion    Braking:    Power 4-disc     GT1: Power 4-disc opt. ABS     GT2/GTP: Power 4-disc     3.5 SL A/4: VDC/TCS opt. ABS/EBD     Comp G: StabiliTrak Sport    Air bags:    2 (front) + opt. 4 (side curtain)    EPA mileage est. city/hwy:    GT1: 20/30 mpg    GTP: 18/28 mpg    MSRP    GT1: $ 21,760    GTP: $ 25,860    Comp G: $ 27,255   Read Feature Story   Read New Car News   Read Brand Reviews   Read Car-Truck Test Reviews   Return to Guide's Homepage

PONTIAC TUNES UP FOR SPORT

Vehicles from Pontiac usually skew to the sporty side, but the promise of performance returns to this branch of General Motors with the resurrection of a fabled Pontiac nameplate: GTO. Pontiac's original GTO led the muscle-car craze in the Sixties. A new interpretation, scheduled for production late in 2004, consists of a two-door coupe design with a Corvette engine aboard pumping up to 340 hp. Pontiac's 2004 line also includes revamped versions of the mid-size Grand Prix series of sedans. This wide-track Pontiac sports a smooth new shell and a cabin make-over with fold-flat seatbacks that carve out room for gear. Flagship Bonneville sedan gets a new GXP edition with a powerful V8 engine aboard, while best-selling Grand Am in coupe and sedan variations displays keen new styling points fore and aft plus larger wheels and tires. Sunfire, the sporty Pontiac subcompact, appears strictly as a coupe with fuel-efficient EcoTec engine, and Pontiac's Montana minivan comes in regular and stretched wheelbases with optional Versatrak all-wheel-drive (AWD) traction. Another type of wagon in Pontiac's line is called the Vibe. It brings agile road manners like a small four-door sports sedan plus the cargo capability of a SUV and the miserly fuel efficiency and attractive price points of an economy car. Then there's the Aztek sport-recreation vehicle. The 2004 series shows a new Rally Edition dropped in the suspension up front and with the boxy body dipped in Fusion Orange Metallic paint.

GTO: The new GTO borrows the two-door body of a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) Monaro coupe built by Holden, a GM subsidiary in Australia. Then it's spiked with a 5.7-liter V8 Corvette engine, plus 'Vette transmissions from a heavy-duty four-speed automatic or close-ratio manual six-speed. A 2+2 cockpit shows bolstered buckets in color-coordinated leather, a steering wheel in satin-finish chrome, plus metal pedals and a premium sound system with ten speakers and a six-disc CD switcher.

GRAND PRIX: Revamping Pontiac's mid-size sedan transforms the car into a stylish and fun-to-drive vehicle that's also practical and easy to use. The cockpit brings flexible flip-and-fold seats and a generous cargo area in the rear plus back doors that swing wide to forge broad portals to fit big loads of gear. Two trim designations with different powertrains work as GT and GTP, but the latter also offers a Competition Group ('Comp G') package with suspension tweaking. The GT draws from GM's 3.8-liter V6 racked to 200 hp. The GTP goes further through supercharging to pump the action to 260 hp.

BONNEVILLE: Pontiac casts the full-size flagship sedan as the SE and SLE models plus new GXP. Arriving late, the GXP stocks a performance powertrain and special exterior adornments like curvy fascia, big exhaust pipes at the tail and a spoiler. The engine, a 4.6-liter NorthStar V8 with dual cams, delivers 275 hp through a four-speed automatic transaxle. Bonneville SE and SLE draw from a 3.8-liter V6 that makes 205 hp.

350Z: Rigged as either a two-door coupe or four-door sedan, the compact-class Grand Am looks sleek and clean with smooth fascia fore and aft and wheels that fill up the fender wells so it seems to hunker on the pavement. Sedans show trims of SE, SE1 and SE2, plus GT and GT1, while the coupes come in GT and GT1 editions and SC/T performance appearance package. Grand AM SE and SE1 tote a twin-cam 2.2-liter four-pack engine rated at 140 hp. The SE2 sedan draws from a 3.4-liter V6 engine good for 170 hp, as GT coupe and sedan cap the series with the V6 linked to Ram Air cold-air induction for a kick to 175 hp.

SUNFIRE: Pontiac's subcompact shapes up as a two-door coupe in one trim with three equipment packages. All stock a 2.2-liter in-line-four engine with 140 hp. A five-speed Getrag manual goes on the first package, but a four-speed automatic works with the other two. Sunfire options this year include a 200-watt Monsoon audio package with eight speakers and a CD deck capable of playing MP3 format files.

VIBE: Fusion Orange is the latest body color for Vibe, Pontiac's crossover wagon for the subcompact class. Vibe's structure is tall, which accommodates seats that rise high like chairs and creates voluminous space for people and equipment. A price-leading base Vibe and Vibe AWD feature either FWD or AWD format and an economical four-cylinder engine that hits 130 hp. Vibe GT with FWD skews toward the sporty side with a 180 hp engine tied to a six-speed manual transmission. Vibe's base model also offers a boost by supercharging through a new SPO (Service and Parts Operations) kit that can be installed at a Pontiac dealer.

AZTEK: A new Rally Edition sparks up the Aztec series with a look-at-me paint job in Fusion Orange, Black or Silver Metallic. It rolls on 17-inch chrome wheels, has the front suspension dropped and a grille matching the body color. Aztek stocks standard FWD or the AWD Versatrak system. Power is supplied from a 3.4-liter V6 that produces 185 hp with a four-speed automatic transaxle.

AZTEK: A new Rally Edition sparks up the Aztec series with a look-at-me paint job in Fusion Orange, Black or Silver Metallic. It rolls on 17-inch chrome wheels, has the front suspension dropped and a grille matching the body color. Aztek stocks standard FWD or the AWD Versatrak system. Power is supplied from a 3.4-liter V6 that produces 185 hp with a four-speed automatic transaxle.

MONTANA: Regular and stretched wheelbases work with Pontiac's minivan. Versatrak AWD traction is optional on the stretched edition, along with MontanaVision, a DVD-based video entertainment system. A Special Value model has seven seats with integrated child's seat, plus standards like air conditioning a stereo package with in-dash CD deck. Also, Thunder Sport on the extended-wheelbase Montana brings a tail spoiler, 16-inch chrome wheels, self-leveling rear shocks, plus seats covered in dual-tone leather.