2004 Grand Prix

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2003 (8345 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I must admit, I was a tad worried about what the 2004 Grand Prix could have looked like. The previous version was in danger of having a fire-breathing chicken decal on the hood. The styling has matured, borrowing many cues from the Bonneville.

The Series III 3800 is still as brash as ever in supercharged form. In one instance under acceleration, I decided it would be wise to flip on the traction control to help with the torque steer. That’s when I realized it was already on. The TAPshift is adequate, though I was worried about thumbing it too hard and breaking the plastic paddles off.

The GTP is sticky in the hard corners, though I suggest GM look at a better tire than the howling Comp T/As. The interior is about as un-GM like as possible, though the radio looks like it’s out of a seven-year-old S10 truck.

The almost 90-degree rear door openings will please both parents and shopaholics.

The GTP version of the Grand Prix starts off at an MSRP of $34,995. Our test vehicle nudged over 40 large with the Comp group, leather guts and sunroof. The brochure states “best overall performance in it’s class” in such arenas as acceleration, braking, and skid pad. Sure, the GP can do it. However, the last thing you’ll feel when pushing the envelope is comfortable. Think white knuckles.

–Michael Clark

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PONTIAC has come a long way in bringing the Grand Prix up to world-class standards.

From a driving dynamics standpoint, it’s there. The raw numbers put it at the top of its class.

Where Pontiac still has room to improve, and GM will admit this when asked, is interior appointments. The seats are nicely comfortable, and supportive during spirited driving. The head-up display is the best I’ve seen, far superior to early GM HUDs that appeared in Cadillacs and Corvettes from a couple years ago. With the combination of speed and radio frequency display and steering wheel controls, a driver has few excuses left for taking eyes off road, and that’s a good thing.

Many of the controls have an upscale feel that GM just wasn’t capable of producing even a few years ago: the cruise control, in particular, feels as good as any import. There’s a solidity and heft to most controls and to the finger, solidity and heft suggest quality.

But some of the plastic is just too, well, plasticky. The expanse of plastic down the centre console lacks the feeling of heft and solidity of the controls it houses and the shifter surround would look better not in aluminum but in a leather boot or a gated shift track.

The new Grand Prix will impress the pants off current Grand Prix drivers. And well it should: it’s a big step up. But there’s more work to be done if GM wants the Grand Prix to lure conquest sales from the European or Japanese sports sedans.

–Kelly Taylor