The Solstice GXP story so far
When I originally tested the 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP (read the original test drive here), one of my many complaints had to do with the steering. My test car responded so abruptly to small movements of the steering wheel that it was difficult to drive fast on curvy roads.After I posted my review, General Motors sent a very nice email expressing concern over the steering problem I encountered. Apparently they'd heard most of my other complaints about the Solstice from other journalists, but the steering gripe was a new one. My test car, they said, had participated in two race-track events and a particularly grueling test with a major magazine, and had been in the shop after someone complained it was pulling to the left. They suspected the steering problems may not have been properly repaired, and asked if I would be willing to test another Solstice GXP. Never one to pass up a few days with a roadster (a convertible's a convertible, no matter how good or bad it is), I said I'd be glad to.
Hitting the road in Solstice #2
Pontiac supplied a second Solstice that was nearly identical to the first (larger photos: front, rear), the only difference being the exterior color (red). Before setting out, I checked the tire pressures, which ranged from 1 psi over to 2 psi under the recommended setting of 29 psi. After a quick trip to the gas station to set the tire pressures, my wife Robin and I headed off to the same roads on which we'd tested the first Solstice.The first thing I noticed was that this second Solstice was definitely in better repair. It was free of the odd buzzing noise and burning smells that plagued our first test car, though a bent chin spoiler indicated that not all of the 3,700 miles on its clock were gentle ones.
So what about the steering? Well, the replacement car clearly had the same basic characteristics of the first car -- turn the steering wheel a little and little happens, turn just a bit more and the car promptly changes direction. While the steering response was definitely more abrupt than I prefer, it didn't feel nearly as over-responsive as the first Solstice. I found it much easier to keep the second Solstice between the lines on the really curvy roads.
My wife Robin said she felt a much more pronounced difference between the two cars from both the driver and passenger seats. As a passenger in the first car, she thought the Soltice's tendency to dart from one lane to the other made lane changes downright frightening (something she chalked up to my lousy driving before she took her own turn behind the wheel). The ride in the second car was much more relaxing. From the driver's seat she agreed with my assessment of both cars -- she compared the first car to a recalcitrant three-year-old that only listens to its parents because it has to, while the second car was much more willing to do what the driver wanted.
Will the real Pontiac Solstice GXP please stand up
So there clearly was a difference between the two cars I tested. What does this mean? Well, either the first Solstice had problems, or the second Solstice had been "tweaked" for better response. A few weeks before my original Solstice test drive I took a brief spin in yet another Solstice GXP at an autocross event, and I've also had some seat time in the mechanically-similar Saturn Sky that Jason Fogelson test-drove a few months back. (All four vehicles were owned and maintained by General Motors as part of their press fleet.) Based on that -- plus the history and problems with the first car I tested -- I think it's reasonable to assume that the first car was the odd man out, and that the second car was more representative of what a buyer might encounter in his or her own Solstice.
Conclusions
The slightly-better steering of the second car isn't enough to change my opinion of the Solstice. There's still the pain-in-the-butt manual top, the lack of luggage space, and the fact that it's still not as much fun to drive as a Miata (though it's a hell of a lot faster). The steering is clearly tuned to make the car feel sportier than it is -- and my experience with the first Solstice shows that a problem with the steering system can turn "sporty-feeling" into "scary-feeling". That alone should give potential Solstice buyers a moment of pause.To be fair, my time in the second car reminded me of all the things I love about the Solstice GXP: The fantastic engine, the gorgeous styling (though it did look better in yellow, in my opinion), and the fact that convertibles are just plain awesome, and roadsters doubly so.
Still, as I wound through the hills in the second Solstice, I felt the same frustration I experienced during my first test drive. I'd love to take the Solstice on a romantic road trip for two -- a task for which it is completely unsuitable. Until Pontiac fits a power-operated top, adds more interior storage space, and gives the Soltice a real trunk -- or at the very least a trailer hitch -- the Mazda MX-5 Miata and Honda S2000 are still my picks for two-seat top-down fun.
Read the original 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP test drive and review
2007 Pontiac Solstice photo gallery
