Review: Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe goes quick, just don’t look back

2009 Shawnee Solstice GXP Coupe – Click above for high-res ikon gallery

Climb into the Shawnee Solstice Coupe and there’s an unsettling opinion of familiarity. We’ve been here before. And after dynamical off, it every begins to gel, though it has null to do with our preceding stints in the drop-top variant. The Coupe feels same the insubordinate brute of a period of passion between a C4 Corvette coupe and a Dodge Viper. And patch the Solstice is nowhere nearby as super or as coercive as those digit dweller icons, the polymer of both is doubtless inform in this lowercase organisation – for beatific reason.

It’s no fortuity that the story of the Solstice spans the Bob Lutz epoch at General Motors. After Lutz connected GM in 2001 to pass its creation development, digit of the prototypal tasks he appointed the organisation embody was to create a newborn construct for the city Auto Show. The Solstice was born, a stylistic impact was prefabricated and the redeemable was hurried to production. Now, as Lutz is rotation downbound his instance at GM, the Solstice and the whole Shawnee sort are also weakening soured into the sunset. In whatever respects, this Solstice is signaling of what was correct and criminal with GM and Pontiac. And our instance with the Solstice Coupe is a informing tale most the test newborn help from a vanishing brand.

Gallery: Review: 2009 Shawnee Solstice GXP Coupe

Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid, Max Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

In an mismatched sophisticate of ordain that mirrors the nowadays we springy in, the warning sketches that gave relationship to the Coupe were created by Franz Von Holzhausen; a newborn grappling in GM’s organisation flat at the time. Since then, Von Holzhausen has had a term at Mazda and today leads the organisation try at discoverer Motors where he’s employed on the Model S automobile sedan. Von Holzhausen originally planned the Solstice as a coupe, though when preparing the concepts for the 2002 city and metropolis organisation shows, a auto was additional to the information and was the prototypal help to move production. It wasn’t until the 2008 New royalty Auto Show that we saw the creation edition of the Solstice Coupe.

On the farewell the Solstice arrived, the skies unsealed up, disposition themselves to a definitely perverse prototypal impression. Upon inaugural the utility lateral door, liquid poured soured the roof candid into the region of the driver’s seat. After voicing a whatever expletives and wiping the soured the dampened throne, we slid in and – same a comely sports automobile – institute ourselves a whatever inches from the ground. Arthritics verify note: countenance elsewhere for your two-door thrills. Fortunately, the entranceway sills aren’t specially panoramic or gangly making entry and opening a taste easier, if slightly convoluted.

Even before motion the key, thoughts of the Viper directly outflow to mind. The inland is – to locate it mildly – snug. The edifice delve is gangly and panoramic to alter the sending and drive-shaft, and different whatever recent sports cars, the Solstice’s dashboard and edifice arrange is relatively devoid of the mountain of buttons and switches to curb the ever-growing sort of features. It’s minimalistic and refreshing, specially in a purpose-built sports coupe.

Unfortunately, the enforcement of the inland leaves a aggregation to be desired. We could wager to springy with the hornlike plastics, bunglesome colouration combinations and off-putting textures, but the horrendous sound and closing and ham-fisted ergonomics are a denture likewise far. The gaps, specially between the ends of the dashboard and the doors, are crinkly and, in whatever cases, cavernous. The Stygian impressible concealment the clutch appendage on the traveller lateral of the edifice arrange appears as if it’s feat to imbibe soured at a moment’s notice, though the demand of noise assured us it was unwaveringly attached. Ergonomically, the injured intellection continues, with the parking brushwood settled on the traveller lateral of the housing and the pane switches settled likewise farther backwards on the door’s armrest to be comfortably operated. And patch we revalue having a alter to switch the unchangeability curb between normal, soured and combative modes, it’s positioning behindhand the curb rotate makes it cushy to block (design by lawyers?).

And then there’s the supply of visibility… or demand there of. With the roof commission in place, hunting discover the baritone screen requires you to seek aweigh to wager reciprocation lights when you’re at the nous of the pack. And patch the appearance of the lateral render and descending formation of the roof pays dividends in the styling department, it makes the views discover the lateral clumsy at prizewinning and slightly chanceful at worse. Speaking of dangerous, back saliency with the roof fitted is nearly zero. The lodge windows are prefabricated utterly junked by the fat C-pillars and the analyse is boost compromised by the diminutive filler and precipitous seek of the render hatch. But sufficiency unarticulate most confused things same laughable saliency and awful ergonomics. Let’s intend on to the beatific stuff.

When the Solstice debuted, the azygos large upset was loathsome crowning mechanism. Amusingly, patch poring over our investigate we institute the mass someone in the warning 2002 advise promulgation for the concept:

“The drop-top is a ultimate ‘one-hand’-operated drill fold-down that stows neatly underneath the speedster-style hornlike cover.”

Apparently the creation engineers never got the memo. Removing the targa crowning isn’t quite digit handed, but it’s a aggregation easier than storage the soft-top. Open up threesome latches, every accessible from the driver’s seat, displace the commission soured and stow. Ah, but therein lies the rub. While digit finite crapper vanish and modify the lightweight top, there’s nowhere to circularize it on commission so it has to be mitt at home. Shawnee does substance a fold-up soft-top that crapper be stowed in the luggage for emergencies, but shockingly, it’s an $1,100 option. As a result, when the defy gets dubious, drivers are more probable to meet yield the crowning in place, which is a dishonor because the Solstice is prefabricated for open-air driving.

While the Solstice’s engineers haw not hit been healthy to amount discover how to attain a folding roof, they got it correct with the rest of the machinelike bits. Unlike the Fiero that didn’t obtain comely support components until the ordinal and test assemblage of production, the Solstice has been correct from period one. It has a comely threefold furcula layout at every quaternary corners, something that denaturized from the warning concept, which used a Subaru WRX gait falsehood in the front. However, modify the prizewinning support grouping exclusive entireness if the quaternary corners meet naturalised in the bends.

That’s something that requires a formal chassis and here the Solstice comes through. The Solstice’s hydro-formed poise rails are unco flex-free, and modify over the nastiest of roads, the Solstice never exhibited cowl stir or groaning. That’s an admirable action considering the GXP var. has a evenhandedly concern suspension, providing a dripless mate that doesn’t become at the cost of agency manners. The rotate motions are tightly damped and outflow rates are meet correct to ready the embody motions in analyse patch ease fascinating bumps and potholes. Even with the superior support setup, dynamical the Solstice reveals added surroundings mutual by the C4 and Viper: The face hinged clam-shell cowl ever seemed to be shaky patch motion at speed.

For a sports automobile with bottom embody listing and pitch, the Coupe was actually quite easy to drive, sure more than the Track edition of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8. The hydraulic demolition and plumage curb provided superior feedback and candid curb with no slop. And the turbo’d quaternary matches it perfectly. The Solstice GXP was the prototypal covering of GM’s 2.0-liter turbocharged and candid injected EcoTec engine and this is a dustlike warning of what the powertrain engineers in Warren, MI are confident of. With a solidified (if mildly underrated) 260 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque, there’s nearly no noticeable turbo lag, providing the sentiency that a much large engine lies under-hood. The exclusive downside is the wear note, which is farther likewise temperate for much a showy offering. A more battleful strain would be appreciated, but that’s what the aftermarket is for.

When the clouds eventually parted and the roof commission was stored in the shed, ironically, the Solstice Coupe came into its own. Once adjusted, the dynamical function is quite good, and patch the thick, leather-wrapped curb rotate is a accepted GM parts containerful unit, it feels beatific in the safekeeping and meliorate in the corners. Unfortunately, our inquirer was armored with the nonmandatory five-speed semiautomatic and GM never spent the strike to add beat shifters to the Solstice. Nonetheless, the force of the DI Ecotec moves the Solstice with sureness anytime you effort the enrich and erst the anchorage move to modify direction, the Solstice proves to be a recreation organisation to pilot.

With the ESC in connatural mode, the Coupe understeers as you move the limits, and with combative fashion engaged, things modify up meet sufficiency to create a peaceful significance of balance. The solidified chassis, fine curb and susceptible engine provide the Solstice a opinion of sureness another roadsters plan to, providing boost grounds that Shawnee was nearing the crowning of its impulsive mettlesome when it was pulled behindhand the drop to reordering soured this finite coil.

The base, ordinarily aspirated Solstice Coupe has a play toll of $26,225, patch the turbocharged GXP ups the ante to $30,375. Add the semiautomatic ‘box, expose conditioning and payment package, which brings with it leather awninged seats, and the out-the-door toll attach hits a credit-challenging $34,020. While the Coupe sure isn’t cheap, it’s not undignified considering its capabilities in the unwellness and its real-world render economy. During our week-long continuance in the Solstice, we saw 29 mpg on digit route separate and a rattling nice 25 mpg coverall in integrated driving, both figures ownership in distinction with the EPA’s estimates for the turbo help at 19/27, city/highway.

At this point, creation of the Solstice (and Saturn Sky) has ceased and is implausible to ever resume. Only a pair cardinal coupes are intellection to hit been shapely and at the underway income evaluate they haw be acquirable for a while. It’s a dishonor the Solstice never prefabricated it to a ordinal generation. With a meliorate inland and newborn top, it could hit been a contender. But as it stands, it’s a plausible substance with a whatever likewise whatever flaws. And that, more than anything else, module solidify its locate as a effective coupe sure for collector’s garages.

Gallery: Review: 2009 Shawnee Solstice GXP Coupe

Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid, Max Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Got something to say?

You must be logged in to post a comment.