Rex’s reviews of anything (but mostly books)

The key tag from Enterprise says that the 2008 Pontiac G5 they gave me to drive while the truck is in the shop (again) is “slate blue” – but I’m not fooled: it’s really Cobalt blue. After all, the G5 is nothing but your average everyday ordinary Chevy Cobalt dressed up with the classic dual-port Pontiac grille. At first glance it kinda looks sexy, with that low-slung wedge shape and the spoiler on the trunk lid, but once you get inside and take the G5 out on the road any resemblance to a sexy sports car is over.

Exteriorily speaking: The G5, which replaced the unlamented Pontiac Sunbird, is the smallest and least-expensive car the label sells in the US; the hatchback Vibe (which is really a re-badged Toyota) excepted. At a base MSRP of $16,335US, one can’t expect a great deal of car – and one doesn’t get it. The base model G5 (which I’ve been driving) is exactly what “base” would lead you to expect: basic. The body is plain painted metal without even the cladding that Pontiac usually slaps all over its cars (e.g., Grand Prix); which leaves the rear end looking vaguely bulbous and “hippy.” Thus though wedge-shaped, the car still looks slightly fat – think a Ford Probe with a weight problem, if you will. An undersized spoiler rides the trunk lid to no apparent purpose other than, perhaps, to help shade the driver’s eyes from the headlights of tailgaters. Tiny, undersized fifteen-inch plain steel wheels further detract from any semblance of sportiness, leaving huge gaps in the wheel openings that make it almost like one is driving on four of those temporary spares.

The base-model G5’s interior is black plastic with silver metallic plastic accents. Black-on-black fabric-covered bucket seats are in the front; a narrow rear seat with about five inches of knee provides room for two small and limber adults in the rear or perhaps three children. The driver gets a reasonably attractive dashboard and instrument panel; instruments are a soothing orange on silver that’s back-lit in red at night. A standard feature is the multi-display panel that cycles through ten different functions controlled by a single steering wheel-mounted button. The climate control and sound system are mounted in the center stack – the standard AM/FM/single CD/MP3 sound system is mounted high, with climate control beneath it and vents above it. XM radio is also standard, though only the first three months come free. Though definitely plasticky in its feel, the interior is quite clean and well laid out.

Driver and passenger alike sit very low, about on a level with the trailer hitch on your average F-150 pickup. Entry and exit are fairly simple for the front – the door, as is usual for coupes, is very long and rather heavy (I hate seeing one parked next to me in a lot). Entry to the rear seat is eased – slightly – by an automatic sliding seat on the passenger side (no such feature on the driver’s side). The rear seat will not, however, be comfortable for an adult over a distance of more than a few miles. The front seats are of moderate quality but only semi-ergonomic design; flat and lacking in lumbar support. A four-hour drive wasn’t crippling, but it also did not bring these old bones any joy. The field of view from the driver’s seat is rather small, with fat A-pillars and a small rear window that’s partially blocked by the spoiler. Add in small, triangular sideview mirrors and the view doesn’t improve much.

The rear seat splits and folds 60:40, though to what end I’m not certain. The trunk opening won’t allow entry to anything larger than 13 inches thick and access through the passenger door isn’t much better; so apparently the seat’s folds to allow one to carry medium-sized flat objects. Storage in the passenger compartment is limited to a cubby under the climate control center, door pockets, a smallish non-locking glove compartment, and a small flip-up console/armrest that had to be moved to comfortably reach the parking brake lever.

Interior cabin noise proved surprising: road noise is noticeable only on coarse surfaces, end there’s almost no engine noise even under acceleration. Wind noise, however, is rather pronounced at highway speeds.

On the amenities front, the base model comes with standard A/C (which I found to be rather anemic, frankly), keyless entry and power windows, and a middle-of-the-line audio system that, at least for me, seemed underpowered (us old farts rarely drive around with the volume set at nine, after all). The rental, however, was unusual in that it lacked cruise control, which is optional on the base model. All other amenities – leather, heated seats, fog lamps, sunroof… are either optional, available only on the GT model, or both.

On the Safety front, the G5 comes in pretty near the bottom of the pile, with little more than the guv’mint-required dual front airbags. For 2008, they added standard side curtain air bags… Pontiac calls their four-wheel tire pressure monitoring system a safety feature, so I guess it has that at least. Almost everything else is optional and/or available only on the GT model, including ABS, traction control, and fog lamps.

Engine-wise, a 2.2-liter “Ecotec” in-line four engine in the base model puts out a respectable, if not terribly interesting, 148 horses and 152 lb-ft of torque. By default that engine is mated to a five-speed manual; my rentmobile (naturally: it’s a rental) is instead running the optional four-speed automatic. Somewhere in those specs, Pontiac got a number wrong: my rentmobile could barely get out of its own way; hitting the bottom of my local freeway on-ramp at an unimpressive 58 MPH under hard acceleration (by comparison, my six-year-old CR-V five-speed is over 60). Acceleration on the highway is likewise lackadaisical: it’s a puppy dog of an engine, even if it is nice and quiet.

The automatic transmission shifts smoothly under normal acceleration and rarely finds itself hunting for the right gear. Note here that I wasn’t pushing the vehicle – I was more interested in fuel economy for my 500-miile plus drive. On that front, I met the EPA estimates of 27 city / 33 highway; coming in at a notch under 33MPG for my mostly highway trip (according to the panel display, anyway).

Driving the G5 – at least in the base trim – is not to be confused with excitement; it’s not a bit different from driving the Cobalt (and why would it be?). The operative word, at least for me, is “stodgy.” The ride is fairly refined for a cheap little car, at least on smooth surfaces, though handling is best described as “ho-hum.” Here’s where the sporty look is given lie: the steering is unresponsive and the vehicle rolls overmuch in the turns for my tastes. Braking proved, well, not adventurous…

Buying a GT model, which costs an extra $4K, will get you some extras. It’s 2.4-liter EcoTec engine puts out 173hp, and Pontiac throws in “performance” features like aluminum or chrome wheels, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, hands-free communication system, and performance tires. Whoopeee, this trim level might even be worth looking into – if it were priced lower. But it’s not, and the G5, whatever the trim, remains nothing more than a Cobalt with a nose job.

Given a long-standing association with racing and speed – Pontiac is, after all, the maker of models named Grand Am, Bonneville, Grand Prix, GTO, LeMans – the mere rebadging of sister company Chevy’s clumsy Cobalt as a “sporty” vehicle approaches the level of a travesty. When compared to the competition – Civic, Rabbit, Corolla, tC, and the rest – the G5 suffers badly. Clearly aimed at young buyers who want a sporty-looking car that’s economical, the G5’s relative lack of amenities (and safety equipment) and its just-average fuel economy place it toward the bottom of the heap of small cars. Better to spend a little extra on the competition and get more car. At least you won’t end up with a sheep in wolf’s clothing.