Faults:

Noisy brakes.

General Comments:

I'm happy with my purchase so far.

We got up to 33mpg highway out of the 4 cyl motor on a recent trip from WA to CA, with the AC running, and it has enough power to handle hills.

The fit and finish of car is not very tight however. A bit of road noise is evident. It could use some dampening material in the trunk.

Comfort is fair for me, but I am 6'3". Hardest getting in and out, having to duck my head under low roofline. Once I am in, I am good.

Telescoping steering wheel is nice option.

Brakes squeal, even though the pads are fine. Took it in to a mechanic at 19,000 miles to have the brakes checked because of squealing. Said everything looked good. I have read about possible warped rotors on earlier models of this car. No problems stopping so far.

Faults:

Nothing has happened to take this car back to the dealer.

General Comments:

Although nothing has happened mechanically to this car, I'm not at all happy with it. I wish I had rented one for a couple of weeks before I bought it.

The noise from the 4 cylinder motor is grating. I hate to have to accelerate hard because of the drone of the motor. Funny it didn't sound like that during my test drive, but a few months down the road it just keeps getting louder. My mechanic told me it's just the noise of a 4 cylinder. You'd think it would have better sound proofing in the cab.

Also the suspension is awful. I feel every crack and bump in the road. Believe it or not I looked under the car to make sure they installed the shocks when they built it. My Dodge truck (which I traded because of the mpg) was quieter and had a smoother ride.

I'm not going to own this car long, so if you're considering this car for gas saving, listen to that motor closely during your test drive, and instead of driving on smooth asphalt find a side road with gravel and cracks, that'll show you what the ride is really going to be like.

In its favor, it's a nice looking car, great mpg and lots of room in the cab.

Faults:

No problems so far.

General Comments:

Bought this car new. With $3K rebate it priced the same as a comparably equipped Corolla, but is larger more comfortable car. This is the base model, just above the Value Leader with most of the desirable options.

A pleasure to drive. The 4 cylinder is lighter in the front, and makes steering touch lighter than the V6.

Plenty of power - 164HP. Our V8 Grand Marquis is 200HP. Surprising that they get 80% as much power out of half the cylinders.

Lots of electronic read-outs - instantaneous mileage, est. miles remaining, tire pressure, long term mileage, 2 trip odometers - time, temp, and more.

Comfortable cabin with gauges easy to read and knobs and switches easy to reach.

Electric steering is very much like regular hydraulic power steering. Not sure if this could be a maintenance problem when the car ages.

Back seat is spacious but 14 cu ft. trunk is slightly smaller than Camry. Overall dimensions same as Camry.

Stylish exterior and not much chrome.

Comfortable on long trips - doesn't tire you out.

Only complaint would be shifting between 1st and 2nd gear (up or down) on the 4 speed automatic is not as smooth as I would like. This may smooth out as the car ages.

The oil filter is a cartridge that screws into a metal cup attached to the block. It seems to keep the oil quite clean as the oil monitor showed about 35% oil life remaining when first changed at 5,000 miles. Oil change & new filter was only $23 at the dealer - comparable to Walmart and less costly than many other places.

XM radio and built in phone with On Star is a nice plus. Just punch the phone button on the mirror and say "Dial". Then tell it the number one digit at a time. You hear the person you called thru the stereo speakers. You buy minutes thru OnStar with your credit card.

Overall, pleased with the purchase so far. The dealer appears to take a quality approach to service which was part of the reason we chose them and Pontiac.