Pontiac Grand Prix

When Mrs. Daxx and I decided to take a trip to Kansas, we needed a car to get us around as we had no intention of staying in one place for the whole time. And the Wichita River Festival is spread over the whole town, making some kind of personal transport device necessary. As teleportation is still a sci-fi writers dream, we were left with the simple task of renting a car. Avis supplied the vehicle for a reasonable fee, booked online from their website without ever speaking to a human being.

As is often the case, when you go to pick up your rental, the clerks will always try to "upsize" you to a larger vehicle. In our case, we had arranged to rent a compact car, but for an extra us$3 per day, we could get a luxury car. As we had many miles ahead, this was a no brainer. We left with a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix SE with the "widetrack" option, in a rather tasteful burgundy-red metallic color, just like the promotional pic snaffled from Pontiac's website...

First impressions, as always, are important. The car is big. Much bigger than the small yellow Hyundai Mrs. Daxx and I usually ride in. The trunk swallowed our two small suitcases easily, with acres of room left over. Likewise, the interior is huge. Mrs. Daxx commented on how far away the dashboard was, and there was plenty of room for her long legs. Back seat passengers had plenty of space too, with enough width to take three passengers in the back in comfort.

The driving experience lives up to the hype generated by the TV commercials. I've never driven a Grand Prix without the Wide Track package, so I can't say if it really makes that much difference, but our car was stable and surefooted over all kinds of roads, from interstates to dirt backroads. All controls fell to hand readily, with the exception of the multifunction switch. The Grand Prix uses one column stalk to control turn signals, high beams, windshield washers and wipers and the cruise control. Initially I found the operation of the windshield washers less than intuitive, although once mastered it fell to hand readily. The stereo system had a CD player with six speakers, and again, nice easy to work controls. Sound quality was not bad, but someway short of audiophile quality. But I guess that's what the Bose stereo option is for. Power windows, locks and mirrors were included, as was a six-way power drivers seat. And one feature I really like came along for the ride; the doors automatically lock when you shift out of park. Okay, so it's only a small thing, but it could prevent a car-jacking.

But two words sum up the main reason I could easily drop between us$22,000 and us$28,000 (approx.) to drive a Grand Prix off the lot...

Crash protection.

We were just driving along enjoying Kansas when we had to stop in traffic. While stopped, I glanced in the mirror and saw a car approaching fast. Too fast. According to Mrs. Daxx, I barely had time to utter those immortal words "oh, shit!" before all Hell broke loose. A 1980's Honda Accord slammed into the back of us doing somewhere between 30-40mph. The impact pushed the car forward and into the back of the minivan in front of us, despite at least a 10 foot gap and my holding the footbrake on as hard as I could. After a quick check of body parts (nothing broken, just bruised) we got out and inspected the damage.

The front of the Grand Prix had pushed the bumper of the minivan in, and left a perfect imprint of the grille "nostrils" and badge in the rear door. Front end damage to the PGP appeared light, although the bumper was mis-alighed, the licence plate bent and the hood slightly creased. Further investigation would reveal that although all the lights still functioned, the headlights were pointing up in the trees. As I walked round the back of the car and saw the Honda with the front completely caved in and various fluids running down the street, I expected to find bits of Pontiac spread all over the road. Miraculously, the was no damage evident apart from some scuffs to the paintwork. Close inspection showed the rear bumper mis-aligned, but by no more than 3mm (1/8"). And again, all the lights worked. Amazingly, when we were on our way again, the car was remarkably unflustered. There were no rattles or creaks evident. It was just as quiet as before. Handling was unaffected, no vital fluids leaked out. The Grand Prix just got on with carrying us and our stuff about as though nothing had happened.

What more can I say? If you are in the market for a large vehicle to carry your family around, and you value safety, don't get an SUV. Get a Pontiac Grand Prix. Spacious, comfortable, well built. And when the family is at home, you get to play racecar driver. Just like the guys on the TV comercials.

Pontiac

Avis