2005 Pontiac Grand Prix New Car Buyer's Guide

What's New for the 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix?
Pontiac debuts a new performance model called the Grand Prix GXP. Equipped with a 5.3-liter V8 engine that makes 290 horsepower and comes equipped with a Displacement on Demand technology that shuts down half the cylinders when cruising at a steady speed to conserve fuel, the Grand Prix GXP can get to 60 mph in less than six seconds despite its front-wheel-drive layout. The Grand Prix GXP gets 18-inch wheels, a sportier suspension, better brakes, revised steering, special interior trim, and exterior design tweaks to distance it from standard Grand Prixs. Other models receive minor changes. New options include a DVD-based navigation system that comes with an in-dash six-disc CD changer, a stereo that plays MP3 discs, new wheel designs and a remote vehicle start system for those days when you just don't feel like cranking a key.

Advantages of the 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix:

• Powerful supercharged engine in the GTP
• Lots of feature content for the money
• Useful utility
• Excellent brakes on GTP models

Objections to the 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix:

• Basic architecture dates to the mid 1990s
• Dreadful rear seat comfort
• From behind the wheel it feels much larger than it is
• Still cannot match the refinement of many competitors

Editor's Advice:
Competition in the midsize sedan class is stiff, ranging from the ultra-refined Honda Accord and German-engineered Volkswagen Passat to the lusty Nissan Altima and fun-to-drive Mazda 6. Unfortunately, the Pontiac Grand Prix doesn't put these cars on the bench in terms of performance, style and quality. Based on the same, albeit updated, platform as the 1997-2003 model, the 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix is just good enough to keep General Motors in the hunt until a completely redesigned car arrives a few years from now.