With the top raised, wind poured through the poor seals between the windows and the top, creating white noise that quickly became annoying. Wind noise from around the rear window is also ever present. Plus, on our test car, at 30 mph we uncovered a moaning sound from the transmission when accelerating or decelerating that would have an owner quickly heading back to the dealer. Our final nit is that during hard cornering, the seats rub the back panel and make a squeaking noise. The driver could move the seat forward, or Pontiac could use a twill material on the seatbacks that would eliminate the squeaking.

With the top down, buffeting is minimal and normal conversation is easy. Wind noise, obviously, is always present but not obtrusive. The Solstice is clearly made for top down motoring.