G8 GXP mini review - some good some bad - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Crowley · 11-25-2008, 10:21 AM

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take_road_test

The 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP is just the sort of four-door Corvette Americans have long prayed for, with sharp steering, fabulous response from the four-piston Brembo brakes, exceptionally balanced and neutral handling, and a simple and classy look to the interior layout and trim—all for a price that undercuts that of a comparable BMW by $20,000.

Too bad the timing is so lousy. On the eve of the GXP’s debut as the most powerful of the Australian-built, Holden Commodore–based Pontiac G8 lineup, the U.S. car market is slogging through its worst sales slump since 1983, and General Motors is estimated to be four to six months away from running dry of cash and going bankrupt.

Even if the GXP is a failure, it will at least be remembered as the most powerful stock Pontiac ever.

I’m Gonna Need at Least 400 Horsepower to Get the Kids to School

As with Holden’s HSV GTS, the GXP’s most direct Australian ancestor, the top G8 uses the 415-hp, 6.2-liter LS3 V-8 derived from the Corvette’s engine and paired with a six-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed Tremec manual, the only stick offered in the G8 line. Although the LS3 V-8 is designed to run Active Fuel Management, GM’s cylinder-cutoff system, program planners decided to leave it off the GXP, because it would have dropped engine output by 20 to 30 horsepower.

Instead, the GXP gets the hated first-to-fourth-gear skip-shift system on the six-speed manual, which blocks out second and third under low-load driving. This forces the driver into fourth gear early in an effort to save fuel. Although it doesn’t prevent the GXP from drawing a gas-guzzler penalty, the fairly aggressive (intrusive) program at least minimizes the tax. The Internet is thick with do-it-yourself disconnect instructions for the Corvette, so Pontiac owners should be able to disable the function fairly easily.

The net effect is a composed, if slightly soft, blacktop cruiser with the power to light ’em up and rip off 4.7-second sprints to 60 mph. The quarter-mile takes 13.3 seconds at 109 mph, the LS3 rumbling and roaring with just the right V-8 snort. Tremec’s latest six-speed shifts with slick satisfaction and accepts downshifts willingly. Too bad this transmission is only available in the GXP.

Australian Birth and German Training

Final chassis tuning was done at the Nürburgring in Germany, and the result is a truly likable machine with deft, Euro-sedan handling. The steering is lighter and less communicative than the best racks from, say, BMW, but it still manages to instill confidence in hard corners. Placing the nose is easy and reassuring as the compliant suspension soaks up bumps and pitching pavement without disturbing the body, which is well disciplined by the shocks to remain steady. Grip from the conservatively sized tires is unexpectedly good, no squealing or understeer to report; we recorded 0.85 g on the skidpad. Lurid slides of oversteer are only summoned with a heavy right foot, and then easily controlled.

In a nod to America’s generally lumpier roads, the FE3 suspension pack has retuned shocks and a 2mm-thicker rear stabilizer bar but is kept supple with ample wheel travel, which prohibits fitting any wheels or tires larger than the standard 19-inch polished alloy wheels and 245/40 W-rated Bridgestone Potenza RE050As. The ride is set to "livable" and freeway hop is reduced to a distant ka-wop of the tires in most cases, although the settings are somewhat firmer and the tire rumble somewhat more pronounced than in the base G8. Four-piston Brembo calipers up front haul the GXP to a stop from 70 mph in a commendable 156 feet, although we noted a fair degree of fade after just three hard stops.

As in all G8s, exceptional comfort in the seats comes from good thigh support and thick bolsters. Back-seat riders are pampered by tons of knee- and legroom and a seat-back fixed at a restful recline. It's a lucky commuter, indeed, who scores a G8 for a taxi. GM broomed the red-face gauges of the 2008 model, all 2009s having white illuminated script that is easier to read. The dorky, digital, unusable voltage and oil pressure meters in the center stack are gone, replaced by a shallow cubby maxed out by a few pens.

GM is hoping to move 5000 to 7000 GXPs per year, but sales of the G8, introduced last February, have been off Pontiac’s predictions by more than 50 percent, thanks to high fuel prices and America’s soft economy. The GXP’s base price will be about $40,000, including a $2000 gas-guzzler charge, when sales begin in December. There’s not much in the way of visual distinction from the base G8: a blockier front fascia, the bigger wheels, the seats and the dash accented by GXP logos, and a unique squared-off steering wheel. Options are few: a sunroof, all-season tires for colder climates, and a dealer-installed Track Pack, which includes upgraded transmission- and engine-oil coolers. The color choices are even the same as those of the base G8.

Cars like the GXP—if not GM itself—could soon be extinct, because fuel-economy standards due in the next five years will make their business cases extremely challenging. Grab one now if a big, comfortable, well-trimmed sedan with Corvette-like performance is what’s been power-sliding through your dreams.

Crowley

*TAG UR IT* · 11-25-2008, 01:14 PM

I only wish our economy could get better to support bad @ss cars like these.

It might get better...but this whole economic situation is BS right now.

I'd love a spacious 4 seater GXP

BowtieGuy · 11-25-2008, 01:46 PM

The most powerful Pontiac ever produced? Seems like a stretch. I don't even think I would mind the skip shift, if it gets better economy when I'm not trying to hammer it then why not?

SS4EVER · 11-25-2008, 06:37 PM

I'd take a Pontiac G8 GXP for my daily driver....

*DGthe3* · 11-26-2008, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BowtieGuy

The most powerful Pontiac ever produced? Seems like a stretch. I don't even think I would mind the skip shift, if it gets better economy when I'm not trying to hammer it then why not?

I don't think any Pontiac from the glory days broke 400 hp, GM didn't have anything that powerful in the 80's and 90's, the LS2 GTO was 400. So 415 seems right for the most powerful Pontiac ever.

*TAG UR IT* · 11-26-2008, 02:17 AM

Don't even worry bout the skip shift.....that'll be taken care of w/ a $20 plug. Or, if it's Spike, he can do it for $2 at Radio Shack.

Crowley · 11-26-2008, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

Don't even worry bout the skip shift.....that'll be taken care of w/ a $20 plug. Or, if it's Spike, he can do it for $2 at Radio Shack.

Yep did this in my 2001 SS ... I believe when I had LG Motorsports do some work, they also turned it off in the tune ..

Crowley

11-25-2008, 10:21 AM	#1
Crowley Okie doke Drives: 2012 GT500 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: McKinney Texas Posts: 3,568 View My Garage	G8 GXP mini review - some good some bad http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...take_road_test The 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP is just the sort of four-door Corvette Americans have long prayed for, with sharp steering, fabulous response from the four-piston Brembo brakes, exceptionally balanced and neutral handling, and a simple and classy look to the interior layout and trim—all for a price that undercuts that of a comparable BMW by $20,000. Too bad the timing is so lousy. On the eve of the GXP’s debut as the most powerful of the Australian-built, Holden Commodore–based Pontiac G8 lineup, the U.S. car market is slogging through its worst sales slump since 1983, and General Motors is estimated to be four to six months away from running dry of cash and going bankrupt. Even if the GXP is a failure, it will at least be remembered as the most powerful stock Pontiac ever. I’m Gonna Need at Least 400 Horsepower to Get the Kids to School As with Holden’s HSV GTS, the GXP’s most direct Australian ancestor, the top G8 uses the 415-hp, 6.2-liter LS3 V-8 derived from the Corvette’s engine and paired with a six-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed Tremec manual, the only stick offered in the G8 line. Although the LS3 V-8 is designed to run Active Fuel Management, GM’s cylinder-cutoff system, program planners decided to leave it off the GXP, because it would have dropped engine output by 20 to 30 horsepower. Instead, the GXP gets the hated first-to-fourth-gear skip-shift system on the six-speed manual, which blocks out second and third under low-load driving. This forces the driver into fourth gear early in an effort to save fuel. Although it doesn’t prevent the GXP from drawing a gas-guzzler penalty, the fairly aggressive (intrusive) program at least minimizes the tax. The Internet is thick with do-it-yourself disconnect instructions for the Corvette, so Pontiac owners should be able to disable the function fairly easily. The net effect is a composed, if slightly soft, blacktop cruiser with the power to light ’em up and rip off 4.7-second sprints to 60 mph. The quarter-mile takes 13.3 seconds at 109 mph, the LS3 rumbling and roaring with just the right V-8 snort. Tremec’s latest six-speed shifts with slick satisfaction and accepts downshifts willingly. Too bad this transmission is only available in the GXP. Australian Birth and German Training Final chassis tuning was done at the Nürburgring in Germany, and the result is a truly likable machine with deft, Euro-sedan handling. The steering is lighter and less communicative than the best racks from, say, BMW, but it still manages to instill confidence in hard corners. Placing the nose is easy and reassuring as the compliant suspension soaks up bumps and pitching pavement without disturbing the body, which is well disciplined by the shocks to remain steady. Grip from the conservatively sized tires is unexpectedly good, no squealing or understeer to report; we recorded 0.85 g on the skidpad. Lurid slides of oversteer are only summoned with a heavy right foot, and then easily controlled. In a nod to America’s generally lumpier roads, the FE3 suspension pack has retuned shocks and a 2mm-thicker rear stabilizer bar but is kept supple with ample wheel travel, which prohibits fitting any wheels or tires larger than the standard 19-inch polished alloy wheels and 245/40 W-rated Bridgestone Potenza RE050As. The ride is set to "livable" and freeway hop is reduced to a distant ka-wop of the tires in most cases, although the settings are somewhat firmer and the tire rumble somewhat more pronounced than in the base G8. Four-piston Brembo calipers up front haul the GXP to a stop from 70 mph in a commendable 156 feet, although we noted a fair degree of fade after just three hard stops. As in all G8s, exceptional comfort in the seats comes from good thigh support and thick bolsters. Back-seat riders are pampered by tons of knee- and legroom and a seat-back fixed at a restful recline. It's a lucky commuter, indeed, who scores a G8 for a taxi. GM broomed the red-face gauges of the 2008 model, all 2009s having white illuminated script that is easier to read. The dorky, digital, unusable voltage and oil pressure meters in the center stack are gone, replaced by a shallow cubby maxed out by a few pens. GM is hoping to move 5000 to 7000 GXPs per year, but sales of the G8, introduced last February, have been off Pontiac’s predictions by more than 50 percent, thanks to high fuel prices and America’s soft economy. The GXP’s base price will be about $40,000, including a $2000 gas-guzzler charge, when sales begin in December. There’s not much in the way of visual distinction from the base G8: a blockier front fascia, the bigger wheels, the seats and the dash accented by GXP logos, and a unique squared-off steering wheel. Options are few: a sunroof, all-season tires for colder climates, and a dealer-installed Track Pack, which includes upgraded transmission- and engine-oil coolers. The color choices are even the same as those of the base G8. Cars like the GXP—if not GM itself—could soon be extinct, because fuel-economy standards due in the next five years will make their business cases extremely challenging. Grab one now if a big, comfortable, well-trimmed sedan with Corvette-like performance is what’s been power-sliding through your dreams. Crowley __________________

11-25-2008, 01:46 PM	#3
BowtieGuy Enlightened Drives: Nothing Currently Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,285	The most powerful Pontiac ever produced? Seems like a stretch. I don't even think I would mind the skip shift, if it gets better economy when I'm not trying to hammer it then why not? __________________ If you believe it is your right to speak freely no matter the content, relevance, or intelligence of statement, then it is my duty to the powers that be to set you straight. People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order. So they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say. Kurt Vonnegut

11-25-2008, 06:37 PM	#4
SS4EVER Camaro Convert... Drives: 2006 Cobalt SS Supercharged Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Metro Detroit, Mi Posts: 595 View My Garage	I'd take a Pontiac G8 GXP for my daily driver.... __________________ 4 life! Currently Driving: 2006 Cobalt SS Supercharged

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11-25-2008, 01:14 PM	#2
TAG UR IT www.Camaro5store.com Drives: 2014 ZL1 #705 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: SA, Texas Posts: 26,558 View My Garage	I only wish our economy could get better to support bad @ss cars like these. It might get better...but this whole economic situation is BS right now. I'd love a spacious 4 seater GXP

11-26-2008, 02:17 AM	#6
TAG UR IT www.Camaro5store.com Drives: 2014 ZL1 #705 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: SA, Texas Posts: 26,558 View My Garage	Don't even worry bout the skip shift.....that'll be taken care of w/ a $20 plug. Or, if it's Spike, he can do it for $2 at Radio Shack.