Hertz - Ride Report: 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix

This is my first one of these, so bare with me.

I rented the 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix at AUS this week. It is classified as a YF, which, if my understanding of Hertz codes is correct makes this a specialty full-size. If that is the case, it is small for a full, I would cateforize it as a mid-size. It certainly seemed smaller than, say, the Ford 500.

Specs on the car can be found here. (http://www.pontiac.com/grandprix/specs_viewall.jsp) This was the GT model, with the "Sun and Sound" package, and the XM radio built in. I was surprised to find XM radio, as I know that Hertz has the affiliation with Sirius. I usually carry my own portable XM with me, and hoped to get Sirius, but instead, I have two XM receivers for this trip.

This car rides a little "heavy" for as powerful an engine and small a car as it is. It seems like highway acceleration is quite sluggish to get up to speed, and acceleration on passing is not as good as others. It also seemed that the car drove a little "loud." I guess, though, that was before I realized that it was a 6 cyl, not a 4. Gas mileage was OK -- about 27 hwy.

It is also a little bit of a tight fit for someone who, admittedly, could shed a few pounds! :eek: Getting into the car is a challenge, but it is comfortable (height-wise, for instance) once inside.

Some of the ergonomics are not favorable, either. The steering wheel covers up a portion of the speedometer, especially the part that would indicate that you could be speeding. The cruise control is on the steering wheel column, but is a little clumsy. There are lots of idiot lights to gauge the gas consumption, though, which I like!

Probably one of my biggest pet peeves with this car is that the air conditioning starts automatically when you start the car. You need to manually turn off the A/C, as I do prefer windows (and moonroof, in this case). I am sure that there must be some way to adjust this, and if I owned one, I would be sure to figure out a way to do it, but on this relatively short rental, I can just remember to turn it off.

All in all, I am glad that I don't own this car. It is not so awful that I would return, but I would probably ask for something else if I found one in my stall on my next rental.

Stevekoe

Strange - I also have had this car, found acceleration quite good (although it is deceptive as it doesnt feel fast but really is). Road noise was not loud IMO and non troubles getting in/out (though I do work out regularly) despite that I am 6 foot tall. I re-alligned the steering wheel so i could see everything (it is adjustable up and down) and adjusted the seat to a comfortable position. the A/C didnt bother me especially once i worked out there were 2 settings (1 for passanger side and 1 for driver side). The Grand Am is their Mid sized equiv hense this gets the full size rating.

Moonroof was nice, i liked the steering wheel controls.

Guess this contradiction just goes to show that YMMV ... Overall I enjoyed my rental of this car.

Was the XM active? Was the car leather?

I have had a cloth one and a leather one and both had the xm radio but they wernt active, so you couldnt use the feature.

I actually injoyed this car. The Monsoon stereo system was nice but the overall boy-racer look was a little over the top (typical Pontiac) The crazy red dash lights at night became annoying though.

Was the XM active? Was the car leather?

Yes and yes. The XM was a pleasant surprise.

I return the car tomorrow, so I will see if I can adjust the steering wheel to a more comfortable level. I know it is a little late to make this rental more enjoyable, but I may not be so afraid to take one next time.

My experience was still that the car dragged -- almost like it was going uphill all the time. I also noticed on a long drive today (200+ miles) that there seemed to be some type of electronic hum that I couldn't get rid of. It could be that I just got a bum car, so I will let them know about the hum when I return.

I have had a cloth one and a leather one and both had the xm radio but they wernt active, so you couldnt use the feature.

The one I have at the moment has leather seats but as you mention the XM radio isnt active :(

My experience was still that the car dragged -- almost like it was going uphill all the time. I also noticed on a long drive today (200+ miles) that there seemed to be some type of electronic hum that I couldn't get rid of. It could be that I just got a bum car, so I will let them know about the hum when I return.

I wonder how many miles on the clock. If someone picked it up as soon as it arrived and thrashed it they may have done some damage to the engine ... since you mentioned the sluggishness I did notice last night that it tended to have a lag before dropping another gear when the foot was planted. This is by no means the best car i've driven but it is far from the worst too.

Hopefully next time you can get a quieter better ride and not this dupe one ... however i am envious about that XM radio!!

The GTX -

I was offered one of these at the HZ local edition - Brooksville, FL. This was quite a surprise, as the rental was an award redemption for a standard car.

The car rode well, but still handled nice when pushed. And it was hard not to push. The supercharger had a very minimal lag, and once understood, was easy to anticipate. Not exactly a street racer, but very respectable performance. Nice exhaust note, too. Put your foot down and you will draw lustuful looks from passersby.

I put ~400 miles on it over an extended weekend. Fuel mileage was about 20mpg. That was mostly interstate.

The car looks sporty, but not "supercharged." It was a fun ride, for sure.