2008 Pontiac Solstice

GM has taken a lot of hard hits from the motoring press over the years, and to their credit, they’ve listened to the experts, listened to the customers, and taken a look at the successful products in the world around them. Then they got to work and are now producing some of the best and most exciting cars on the road today. Check out the Cadillac STS-V, the Corvette Z06, and now the Pontiac Solstice GXP.

When I first drove the Solstice’s sister car, the Saturn Sky, the car they provided was an automatic, and my turn to drive it was an uphill section of road at a significant altitude (about 5,000 feet), and the poor thing couldn’t get out of its own way. For all the sexy lines, it just didn’t have it under the hood, and I was sorely disappointed.

So I’m very glad I’ve now had the chance to spend a long weekend in the Pontiac Solstice GXP. This is the turbocharged hot rod version of the Solstice, and it’s a breathtaking car. I wanted to whoop for joy and drive it all the way back to Wilmington, Delaware, where they make the Solstice, to tell all the folks at Pontiac that they did this one right.

The GXP comes with a turbocharged 2.0-Liter Ecotec four cylinder engine that makes 260 horsepower and 260 foot-pounds of torque. With a curb weight of 2990 pounds, that gives the Solstice GXP just the right amount of power for a small four-cylinder traditional sports car. Too much more power and the car would be all about muscle, any less and it would disappoint. The little convertible, from the MGA through the Triumph TR-4 through the Mazda Miata, should be zoomy, but not a neck-snapper. Plus, if the Solstice was any faster, it would cut into the Corvette market.

The Solstice is also a traditional sports car in that you don’t get into the car so much as you put it on. The seats are hard-pressed against the rear bulkhead, and the trunk has just about enough room for a couple small backpacks when the top is down. This is not the car for a two-week vacation with luggage.

The Solstice has outstanding handling and brakes, with wheels and tires nicely matched for performance and visual appeal. The car is stuck to the road and tracks well, and the model’s runaway success in SCCA autocross and club racing competition is an independent and credible stamp of approval for its design and execution.

About the only criticism I can make is that the interior include broad swaths of smooth plastic that might be used to offer a little more storage space, or a better-designed cup holder. The holder they provide for the driver is useless – it’s right behind your right elbow.

But really, who cares? Your cup holder should be the person you love most, sitting in the right-hand seat enjoying the day while you drive along some coastline or through a beautiful forest with the top down.

Yes, the car has air conditioning, a nice stereo with satellite, and cruise control. All that stuff is there, just like you expect. But that’s not where the soul of the Solstice lives. This is a great sports car in the tradition of the MG, the Alfa Romeo, and other brands where the engineers knew what sports cars were all about. At around $30,000 for a completely decked out Solstice GXP, sports car buyers should give this car a serious look.

Written by Jeff Zurschmeide See more reviews from northwestautoreview.com.