Test Drove a 2005 GTO
Test Drove a 2005 GTO
Well, I was bored after work and decided to go check out the new GTO. For 2005 they dropped the 6.0 LS2 V8 in with 400hp. After chatting with a salesman for awhile I took one out for a test drive......
Interior:
Much more than I would have expected from GM. Seats were leather and comfortable. Plastic and materials didnt look too cheap. Decent room in the back seat (which is an additional two leather buckets) but nothing much bigger than the evo. Trunk space is incredibly small for the size of the car. Gauges are a little hard to read - but there is a digital speedometer right below the analog one which makes it easier to tell how fast you're going. All in all not too bad.
Exterior:
Pretty fugly in my opinion. Looks like a tweaked rental car. Dual hoodscoops are kind of weird looking. The sides of the car have absolutely no style. The rear is just plain looking.....except for the dual exhaust.
Performance:
All I can say is torque! At any rpm you just push down on the pedal and get sucked back into the seat. The six-speed transmission was horrible I thought- it was difficult to find a gear, did not move fluidly, and would bounce around while driving....sometimes I thought it was going to pop out of gear. The gears are extremely spaced out and are setup for highway cruising. Going through 1st I got up around 30 mph, second took me to around 60mph, and 3rd got me up to around 85 where I backed off. Getting on the freeway I got into fifth gear and was cruising at around 2100 rpms at 75 mph.....I shifted into sixth and was cruising along at 1700 rpms going 75 mph.....much different than the evo.
The engine has a great V8 sound - although its kind of funny because when I revved the engine up at a stop sign everyone else around just scans the area.....assuming the sound did not come from the pontiac "rental car".
My biggest gripe with this car was the handling. The steering gives absolutley no feedback, and the car seems to float along the road drifting within the lane. It was actually a little scary while accelerating quickly.
Overall:
In the end the GTO would make an awesome highway cruiser. However, After my testdrive I looked over the dash and noted my estimated mpg for the testdrive - 10.2mpg. This big boat has nowhere near the handling/suspension of the evo.....and for that.....I dont think I would ever buy one. Although with a couple mods it would be quite the freeway monster.
If any of you are bored.....go take one of these things for a test drive
Interior:
Much more than I would have expected from GM. Seats were leather and comfortable. Plastic and materials didnt look too cheap. Decent room in the back seat (which is an additional two leather buckets) but nothing much bigger than the evo. Trunk space is incredibly small for the size of the car. Gauges are a little hard to read - but there is a digital speedometer right below the analog one which makes it easier to tell how fast you're going. All in all not too bad.
Exterior:
Pretty fugly in my opinion. Looks like a tweaked rental car. Dual hoodscoops are kind of weird looking. The sides of the car have absolutely no style. The rear is just plain looking.....except for the dual exhaust.
Performance:
All I can say is torque! At any rpm you just push down on the pedal and get sucked back into the seat. The six-speed transmission was horrible I thought- it was difficult to find a gear, did not move fluidly, and would bounce around while driving....sometimes I thought it was going to pop out of gear. The gears are extremely spaced out and are setup for highway cruising. Going through 1st I got up around 30 mph, second took me to around 60mph, and 3rd got me up to around 85 where I backed off. Getting on the freeway I got into fifth gear and was cruising at around 2100 rpms at 75 mph.....I shifted into sixth and was cruising along at 1700 rpms going 75 mph.....much different than the evo.
The engine has a great V8 sound - although its kind of funny because when I revved the engine up at a stop sign everyone else around just scans the area.....assuming the sound did not come from the pontiac "rental car".
My biggest gripe with this car was the handling. The steering gives absolutley no feedback, and the car seems to float along the road drifting within the lane. It was actually a little scary while accelerating quickly.
Overall:
In the end the GTO would make an awesome highway cruiser. However, After my testdrive I looked over the dash and noted my estimated mpg for the testdrive - 10.2mpg. This big boat has nowhere near the handling/suspension of the evo.....and for that.....I dont think I would ever buy one. Although with a couple mods it would be quite the freeway monster.
If any of you are bored.....go take one of these things for a test drive
Originally Posted by Jadiem
i was thinking about buying this car.... the best thing about it is Pontiac doesn't make it! 
Yea, those things are pretty fast and have alot of power.. but like most of GM's cars, the handling = sux. My moms camaro especially. 
I think it looks like the rest of the pontiac lineup.. dull and boring. At least they could have done something extreme, like the design of the new mustang retro look. Oh well.. there aren't too many good sports cars built by american car companies anymore right out of the factory. They seem to lack quality, handling, and style. Its weird.. I do however like the new Z06 and Ford GT40.. those are sweet, well besides Ford recalling it because the wheels could fall off. 
I think it looks like the rest of the pontiac lineup.. dull and boring. At least they could have done something extreme, like the design of the new mustang retro look. Oh well.. there aren't too many good sports cars built by american car companies anymore right out of the factory. They seem to lack quality, handling, and style. Its weird.. I do however like the new Z06 and Ford GT40.. those are sweet, well besides Ford recalling it because the wheels could fall off.
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Originally Posted by RAKenzo
Why would the handling suck....I heard it had the vette's suspension.
Im kinda surprised you got such horrible mileage, you must have been really wringing that thing. I used to have a C5 and averaged 30 mpg on trips.
The tires on the GTO are a bit smallish as well, considering the power it is putting down. And then there is the weight which is a staggering 3800 pounds, which makes it quite the porker. For the price, though, if you were only interested in power, this would be the GoTo car.
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LOL for that goat pic.....
Yeah....All I can say is that if I forked over the big dough for a corvette and its' handling even resembled that of the goat......I would take it straight back to the dealership. It does come with some pretty weak tires stock.....I know you can pay a little more and get some 18's instead of 17's.....but I dont think that it would make worlds of difference.
As far as the gas mileage I was shocked as well......I mean I definitely put the car through its paces - but not WOT the whole testdrive. I feel I drove it how I would if I actually purchased one. The window sticker claimed like 18 and 24......which if Im not mistaken is around what the window sticker for the evo claims. But the onboard computer read around 10 after my test drive.....and this thing takes premium only.....this would definitely put a hurting on my pocket book....especially here in SoCal.
You averaged about 30mpg in a C6!!!?!?!??!?!?! Were you idling downhill with the a/c off? I guess you take it pretty easy in her......Thats amazing mpg.
Yeah....All I can say is that if I forked over the big dough for a corvette and its' handling even resembled that of the goat......I would take it straight back to the dealership. It does come with some pretty weak tires stock.....I know you can pay a little more and get some 18's instead of 17's.....but I dont think that it would make worlds of difference.
As far as the gas mileage I was shocked as well......I mean I definitely put the car through its paces - but not WOT the whole testdrive. I feel I drove it how I would if I actually purchased one. The window sticker claimed like 18 and 24......which if Im not mistaken is around what the window sticker for the evo claims. But the onboard computer read around 10 after my test drive.....and this thing takes premium only.....this would definitely put a hurting on my pocket book....especially here in SoCal.
You averaged about 30mpg in a C6!!!?!?!??!?!?! Were you idling downhill with the a/c off? I guess you take it pretty easy in her......Thats amazing mpg.
