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2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP Road Test

Powerful Pontiac Stirs Mixed Emotions

If you read the preview of the 2004 Grand Prix I wrote half a year ago, youll appreciate that I was looking forward to getting behind the wheel. After all, my family has owned quite a few Pontiacs since I was in diapers, giving me a strong personal connection to the brand.

As I previously stated the new car looks great, especially in GTP trim. Its aggressive stance, clean overall design and large diameter chrome wheels induce surges of adrenaline before even getting inside.

Of course, some of that adrenaline has much to do with what lies beneath. Pontiacs Grand Prix advertising is making the most out of the GTPs almost overwhelming supercharged V6, a 3.8-L unit producing 260-hp at 5,400 rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque at 3,600 rpm. Thats a ton of power, even after factoring in its healthy 3,583 pound curb weight, resulting in a sub-7 second zero to 60 mph sprint - that is if you

The 2004 Grand Prix GTP has an eye-catching design and an overall aura of aggression. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, American Auto Press)

can lock up the front wheels.

But doesnt it have traction control? Yes it does, an electronic, full-function, all-speed system no less. It even sports GMs TES (Enhanced Traction System), but until it rained I wasnt sure what it all meant. To be clear, floor the throttle from standstill in dry conditions and the front wheels spin, tires scream and onlookers glare disapprovingly all the way up until it shifts from first to second gear. Take the traction control off and the same process repeats, with no noticeable difference.

Get into the wet, however, and the Grand

An almost overwhelming 260-hp supercharged 3.8-L V6 engine with 280 lb-ft of torque powers the GTP. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, American Auto Press)

Prix takes on a new demeanor. Stomp on the gas pedal without traction control and youre either going to sit and spin until your treads wear down to their aluminum wheels or alternatively get punted right off the road. With traction control engaged though, the GTP at first spins before biting down onto pavement and rocketing forward at an alarming rate. But its not without commotion. All the way to highway speeds the tires spin, searching for traction and gripping in continual sequence, disconcerting at first. Truly its not the most seamless traction control Ive ever tested, actually a bit crude, but it might just be the most fun.

Crude

The traction control may be crude but without it you wont get very far in the rain or snow. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, American Auto Press)

might describe the power delivery too. While some sport sedans get compared to Japanese motorbikes, Id put the Grand Prix in the bullet train category. That choice might have something to do with its simplistic PRDNL321 4-speed automatic gearbox, and therefore might improve with the addition of GMs TAP (Touch Activated Power) shift F1-style steering wheel buttons - not included on my test car. Still, the GTP charges with the ferocity of a rhinoceros, and only slightly more grace. Nevertheless, it gets were its going quicker than 90 percent of its competitors, and is an absolute blast during the process.

Its kind of like on June 11th of this year when NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon stepped out of

At first the GTPs handling feels ponderous and awkward compared to a Japanese or European sport sedan, but after getting acclimatized its actually quite agile. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, American Auto Press)

F1 Championship hopeful Juan Pablo Montoyas Williams/BMW FW25 Formula 1 car and commented, "I really cannot describe the great feeling I had. The corners come up so fast, and the car brakes so well and turns so well, and at the exit of the corners it grabs it up and just goes. It is unreal, like slot car racing." To be fair to NASCAR, JPM was smiling like a kid after a turn in a shifter kart when pulling himself out of Gordons Chevrolet. He had an awesome time slamming the big, heavy Chevy through the Brickyards road course, sophistication or not.

The scenario fits perfectly for the Grand Prixs handling. At first it feels ponderous and awkward, but after getting acclimatized its not that way at all. It manages corners with surprising agility,

The 2004 Grand Prixs trunk is larger than last years model, increasing overall versatility. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, American Auto Press)

due to its fully independent suspension and rack-and-pinion steering system, and tracks beautifully at high speed.

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