Comments: 1-15, 16-20
Nothing yet.
I just bought a 2006 Pontiac Pursuit SE coupe in blue. Car interior is much better than my Grand Am (I posted for 2003 Pontiac Grand Am "A nice first car" (I still drive that one as well)).
This car has a nice interior, pretty good seat fabrics, and is pretty quiet.
The engine has a good punch to it when you need it. Fuel economy has been pretty good.
The only thing is that the some passengers of mine complained that the seats hurt their back (front or back seat). I have no complaints about them. They are comfortable to me.
A/C works very well. It makes my hands numb while I'm driving.
Sound system is decent.
Too bad the automatic transmission isn't a 5 speed (as is the norm now).
My car color is blue.
I've been thinking of buying one myself. Keep us posted on the good and the bad.
I just drove home in my 2006 Pursuit Coupe GT - it is fantastic! I love how it handles, the 2.4L (with a 5-speed) has plenty of jam for highway driving, gas mileage is excellent, the sound system is kick-butt, A/C is more than substantial (temp is in the mid 90's today)... I can't believe all the great things in this car, and the price was so reasonable!! I am a happy camper!!
We've driven Pontiacs for years, including one that now has way over 200,000 miles on it. I currently drive a Grand Am with the old "Quad 4", which puts out a lot more power than the Eco-Tech 4. I'm not going to buy a G-6, mainly because they are ugly and don't come in red, but I'm considering a G-5 coupe. I'll be watching this site for updates. I drove the Cobalt coupe (same car) and was really disappointed with the lack of power (compared to my Grand Am), but nothing else in that range has any power either, so I guess I'll have to compromise on that.
After test driving the Civic (way too pricey) the Corolla (boring, ugly colors, only comes in a 4-door), the Focus (not bad, fast), the Caliber (great, smooth, looks awesome), the Mustang (awesome, but not economical) and the G-5 Pursuit, I'd have to say the all-round best looking, sportiest and most appealing was the G-5. We currently own two GM cars that have never given us a second's trouble (both are now 4 years old) and we have no concerns about GM's reliability (especially with the 100,000 mile warranty).
I don't think you could find a better overall value than the G-5.
This review is not very authentic. Sounds like advertising script. A series of unsubstantiated assertions leading to an illogical conclusion. Not worthy. And, makes me want to shun GM show-rooms.
To the last commenter, Nov 19. Subjective conclusions are not illogical. We should all understand different people like different things. And while I understand the point of your comment, you make it very clear you are as bull-headed as the GM guy. You don't like GM and that dislike began before you read the previous comment. If you would like to argue logic, please find the respective logic blog and enter your thoughts. Let's keep the comments rolling about Pontiac's G-5.
I'm the original poster with an update on the car. The car has 15,000KM. No problems with it. Fuel economy has gotten a little better since the engine broke in. Car runs fine.
I bought a 2006 G5 pursuit 4 door 5 speed approximately 2 months ago. This was my first new car so I spent a fair amount of time looking at various makes and models before settling on the G5 pursuit. So far I am extremely happy with my choice. Great fuel economy and lots of power. This car is a lot of fun to drive.
I opted for the 4 speaker sound system to cut cost and was surprised with the amount of base even without the sub. I also got XM Radio built in and after a couple of months I consider it as essential of an option as A/C. I don’t think I would buy any car in the future that did not have Satellite Radio of some sort.
The A/C works great and as winter begins I have discovered the heater does as well.
The car has lots of headroom and legroom both in the front and back. Drivers seat has manual lumbar and height controls that work very well and this adds a great deal to the comfort level.
The rear seats are a 60/40 split and fold down to add extra space to transport larger items in the trunk, which is fairly large.
After owning it for 2 months I am still very happy with my decision to purchase the G5. It’s a great car packed with lots of features and it was a great deal at under $20k. I would definitely recommend this car to anyone.
My 1995 4-door Grand Am was recently destroyed due to an electrical malfunction with a block heater (hey, it gets cold in Canada!). My three university-student children and I loved our Grand Am. But, after test driving a 2006 G-5 (air, automatic), we decided to go for the G-5 SE WITH auto locks and windows, cruise, keyless remote entry, etc. We absolutely LOVE our new metallic blue G-5. It handles well, even on our icy roads. Since we only have 400 kilometres on it, we haven't had a chance to see what this does on highway driving. The other drivers in my family love the sound system and the various settings and features with it. I am a dedicated GM customer and will continue. This is our early Christmas gift and Santa couldn't have chosen a better car!
I just noticed comment 11:55 and felt a need to respond. First of all, my condolences on losing one of the BEST cars on the planet (the Grand Am) regardless of Car and Driver's low opinion of it. I currently own a beautiful, sporty and extremely fast 2001 Grand Am SE-1 with the very powerful Quad 4 (replaced in 2004 with the far punier EcoTech 4). Like you, I don't like the G-6 at all. I've driven 2, both of which had the V-6, and neither is even close to as fast as my old Grand Am. In all likelihood I'll replace my Grand Am with a bright red G-5 Pursuit coupe. I love the styling and I love Pontiacs. We currently own 2 GM vehicles, neither of which has ever seen the inside of a service facility except for oil changes. After a disasterous foray into owning imports we are back solidly in the domestic camp.
As for as the transmission in the reviewer's car not being a 5-speed automatic, I'd consider that a plus. I LOVE the GM 4-speed automatics. They are smooth, shift effortlessly and have a great power band response. We own 2 GM cars with the 4-speed automatics and a new Ford with the 6-speed automatic. The Ford has a lot of trouble deciding which gear it wants to be in, and it is nowhere NEAR as smooth as the GM 4-speeds.
I'm the original poster - I'm giving an update on the car. No problems to date. Just regular service work. The car currenly has around 10,000km.
It's been my experience with our new GM cars that the fuel mileage continues to improve with more miles.
Our last new GM vehicle (a GMC Envoy) started out getting a really terrible 17 to 19 mpg highway, but after 20,000 miles we were getting well over 20. On our last trip we got a high of 24.8.
The G-5 Pursuit with the great Eco Tech 4 could easily deliver almost 40mpg if driven at the speed limit on the interstate after it has some miles on it. The G-5 is one of the best values around in a small, sporty car, and is also a great performer.
17-19 is not horrible in your Envoy...
40 mpg is not possible with the ecotech however. Unless you shut it off and coasted down a mountain.
For me 17-19 mpg highway would be absolutely unacceptable for any vehicle I owned. As for the G-5 getting CLOSE (the comment says "close to") 40 mpg That isn't at all impossible, as it is rated at 36 highway. We have consistently gotten better than EPA estimates on highway trips with all of our vehicles. Meticulous maintenance and proper driving techniques will yield higher than rated mileage in most vehicles.