A G with a hint of Z

The Pontiac G6 – otherwise known as the Oprah car after the famed talk-show host gave away a slew of them to a hand-picked audience – replaced the stodgy old Grand Am. That was last year when things were simple and the only G6 in the lineup was the mid-sized four-door sedan with a 3.5-liter V6.

For 2006 Pontiac has introduced two G6 coupe models with two V6 engines and transmission choices and a convertible with a hardtop convertible coming this spring. The base four-door sedan is now available with a 2.4-liter, 167-horsepower 4-cylinder standard and the 201-hp V6 as an option. Neither coupe nor convertible models get the 4-cylinder and all sedans, coupes and convertibles with the 3.5-liter are called GTs. All 3.9-liter, V6 engine models are called GTPs. Whew!

This week’s test car was the 240-hp 3.9-liter GTP coupe mated to a four-speed automatic transmission with a base price of $24,610 and with options $28,585 after Pontiac took off $500 for what’s called total package savings.

Options on our tester included a premium value package ($1550) with 18” alloy wheels, AM/FM 6-disc CD player, power tilt-slide sunroof, leather package ($1265) with GTP leather seating, 6-way power drivers seat, heated seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, steering wheel radio controls, and leather wrapped shift knob, front side impact and head-curtain side air bags ($690), remote vehicle starter ($150) and power adjusting brake pedal ($125).

The coupe looks smaller than the sedan thanks to the sharply sloping roofline from the top edge of the windshield to the trunk. There’s a resemblance to the Nissan 350 Z and looks great.

That sloping roofline costs rear seat occupants valuable headroom. The wide doors and sliding front seats help to get back there but front shoulder belts need to be pulled out of the way. The seating position puts you right under the rear window, and in an Arizona summer occupants will probably feel more like a roasting pheasant under glass. With only room for two, Pontiac oddly put four cupholders back there.

Our two-tone taupe-charcoal GTP interior looked great with the bright crimson red exterior. The low-luster dark dashboard and door panels contrasted nicely with lighter colored perforated leather seats and simulated walnut burl accents surrounding the console mounted shift lever and door switch plates. Embossed GTP letters adorn the seat backs.

The trunk is spacious and it’s easier to get stuff there than in the back seat.

While performance is certainly in the same class as the GTO, power across a wide range was more than adequate however strong acceleration generates noticeable torque steer that pulls the car to the right not uncommon in front-wheel-drive vehicles.

We were less than enthused with the feel and response of the variable-assist power steering that at times felt vague.

G6 safety features include standard four-wheel disc brakes, antilock brakes and traction control (excluding the base sedan), stability control on GTP models and child LATCH seating systems.

The G6 sedan earned the highest, five stars from NHTSA crash test ratings for frontal impact driver and four star passenger and five star side-impact protection for both front and rear passengers. We would expect similar results for coupe models.

Few manufacturers build a mid-sized coupe these days. There is of course the Toyota Solara, Honda Accord coupe, and Mustang (more or less). The G6 certainly competes well with these models and we prefer it to the Solara. The retractable hardtop will put it in a class by itself if the price is kept reasonable.

Pontiac is undergoing a much-needed metamorphosis in an attempt to keep the brand from going the way of Oldsmobile. Gone from the lineup is Bonneville, Grand Am, Sunfire and thankfully Aztek. Replacing them is higher image models like GTO, Solstice and G6. Time will tell if it is enough to build showroom traffic but G6 hasn’t set any sales records and hasn’t outsold the Grand Am it replaced.

Overall, while our G6 coupe did turn a few heads the same can’t be said for the sedan we tested several months back. With the convertible and retractable model coming soon G6 may gain some ground in the segment but will have its work cut out for it going up against the likes of Mustang, Accord and Solara.