CANADA: Pontiac Pursuit...Light-years ahead of the Sunfire!

[01Sunfire]

All-New 2005
Pontiac Pursuit
By Gerry Malloy


The Pontiac Pursuit and its twin, the Chevrolet Cobalt, are light-years ahead of the cars they replace, now offering a real alternative to the established leaders in the compact class.

Overall rating: 7.5 / 10

Pros
- Tight, quiet structure
- Good ride quality
- Pleasant interior
- Competitive pricing

Cons
- Rear-seat comfort
- Four-speed automatic transmission
- Inconsistent tactile control quality
- Mediocre braking performance

Shooting for the Top
Pity the Pontiac Pursuit. Right out of the box, it is tossed in to fend with the heavyweights in the biggest, most-competitive passenger-car segment in Canada. A segment that includes the best-selling Honda Civic, Mazda3, and Toyota Corolla, as well as a horde of secondary contenders.

The Pursuit is a badge-engineered, Canadian-only variation on the Chevrolet Cobalt, mildly redesigned specifically to sell through Pontiac rather than Chevrolet dealers. So most of what you read in this report applies equally to the Cobalt as well.

While their assignment is a tough one, they are much better equipped for the role than their predecessors, the Chevrolet Cavalier and Pontiac Sunfire. By almost any measure, those cars were the metaphoric knives at a gunfight, compared to their Asian competitors, selling more on price than merit. The all-new Pursuit, and by association the Cobalt, change that scenario, holding their own in the compact class melee, if not dealing any knockout blows. But like their predecessors, they remain more than competitively priced.

For 2005, the Pursuit is offered only as a four-door sedan, in base and SE trim, with prices starting at $15,925 and $20,795 respectively. My test car was the latter.

Vanilla - But Good Vanilla
Styling may not be the major factor prompting compact-car sales, but unattractive styling can certainly repel potential buyers. Not a worry with the Pursuit; the Aztec genes have been cleansed from the Pontiac gene pool. Its short-deck proportions are de rigueur in today's sedan stylebook, and its soft overall form carries just enough edge to make it contemporary.

While a split, Pontiac-look grille has been grafted on, it is flush and understated, not the flamboyant maw foisted on some late-model Sunfires. In fact, the whole car looks tastefully understated - welcome words to apply to a Pontiac.

The new Pursuit is 73 mm shorter in overall length (4580 mm) and 21 mm shorter in wheelbase (2623 mm) than its predecessor. It is still among the biggest cars in the class, however, and at 1268 kg, among the heaviest.

Its dimensions are dictated, in some respects, by its use of GM's corporate Delta platform, which it shares with the Opel Astra and Saturn Ion. Fortunately, that relationship with the Ion is not nearly as strong as a shared platform might suggest. The Cobalt and Pursuit, on the other hand, differ only cosmetically, as in the aforementioned grille, badges, and interior trim details. Both are built in GM's Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant, where they will be joined by the next-generation Ion replacement.

Interior Shows Beyond its Breeding
Inside, the Pursuit looks like … no GM small car ever! Gone is the mobile industrial space we have come to expect; replaced by an inviting cabin that is simple and straightforward, but tastefully contoured and delightfully finished in pleasing tones and textures, with tight fits and apparent material quality that belies its GM origins. That is not to say Audi needs to worry just yet, nor that the car has leapfrogged all its competitors, but it has certainly surpassed some.

Instruments are large and well-placed, and would be easy to read if it were not for the unfortunate red back-lighting grafted in to give the Pursuit a Pontiac identity. Controls are intuitive and generally well laid out, although it is a long reach to those on the right side of the centre stack. The stalk controls, in particular, reveal much improved tactile feel, but the same cannot be said for the HVAC controls, which have a Lada-like feel. Vents that can be fully closed off add a nice upscale touch, as do useful storage compartments and functional cup-holders.

Even the base model includes such standard features as tilt steering, intermittent wipers, a driver information centre/trip computer, CD player, power trunk release, and 60/40-split folding rear seat-back. The SE adds power windows, mirrors, and remote locking, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering-wheel (with audio and cruise controls), fog-lamps, floor-mats, and a cargo net, as well as air-conditioning.


Continue reading... http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/adv...e&pos=editlead

[saturnsteve]

Thank god they decided not to sell the Pursuit here in the states. I am so tired of all the rebadges, Cobalt, ION etc.

[bigd919]

I saw one of those driving around here (Central Massachusetts) last month. It looks EXACTLY like a Cobalt, except is has Pontiac badges and the Pontiac front clip.

It had Quebec plates, or was it Ontario...

[dindak]

Kind of a waste, at least the Sunfire looked different inside and out than the Cavalier.

Small cars a big biz in Canada and Pontiac dealers demanded it. Seems to have paid off though, GM sales were strong up here without the "employee pricing" and small cars (Cobalt, Optra / Optra 5, Aveo and Pursuit) were largely the reason.

[GMCSonoma]

Every time I see a Cobalt (sedan) I think it is a Pontiac, IMO, it looks like a Pontiac! Ion & Cobalt a "rebadge", that is a stretch at best, platform share...yes.

[mantis662]

I see more Pursuits then Cobalts in Montreal so I guess it was a good move. But they really could have done more with the styling. I think the Cobalt coupe looks the best out of all three though, and I am starting to see some of those.

[paul8488]

GM needs to make a rule on the amount one car has to differ from its platform mate. Different grille and steering well badge shouldn't make the cut.

[[Corporal Dan]]

it's a pretty hideous car.

the front clip is particularly badly done

oh - and the 'performance brand' doesn't get the supercharged ecotec.... not rim level has it.

See my pages-long rant in the Canadian/international news forum to know more

[Ming]

Originally Posted by dindak

Kind of a waste, at least the Sunfire looked different inside and out than the Cavalier.

Small cars a big biz in Canada and Pontiac dealers demanded it. Seems to have paid off though, GM sales were strong up here without the "employee pricing" and small cars (Cobalt, Optra / Optra 5, Aveo and Pursuit) were largely the reason.

Not always, of course. The 2003 Sunfire refresh made the interior differentiated so you could tell with the vents, etc. Pre-2003 Sunfires were almost identical on the interior unless my memory fails me.

Sunbirds were significantly different - different engines, turbos, interiors - the works. And the exterior was radically different too. The Sunfire was really more of a rebadge when it was introduced.

I'd like to see a Sunbird / ION like effort if they ever bring a Delta car to Pontiac.

Better yet, bring the Astra hatch/coupe design over and build it here. Cept the lights/grille which really look very Saturn now.

[Saturn69]

Originally Posted by saturnsteve

Thank god they decided not to sell the Pursuit here in the states. I am so tired of all the rebadges, Cobalt, ION etc.

Ion and Cobalt are not 'rebadges' of the same car, they share a structural platform, meaning all the bits you can't see without crawling under the car. Kinda like the Volvo S40/Mazda3/Ford Focus trio. There is a difference. Besides, I never heard anyone complain about the Camaro/Firebird.....

[Watchdevil]

Originally Posted by GMCSonoma

Every time I see a Cobalt (sedan) I think it is a Pontiac, IMO, it looks like a Pontiac! Ion & Cobalt a "rebadge", that is a stretch at best, platform share...yes.

If you pay close attention, you can see in all of the new GM products that they are taking on less of an individual brand styling and taking on a corporate styling which seems to be influenced by Opel. Styling devices such as exceution and shape of lamps, greenhouses, and interiors are consistant in most ways while the only thing which seems to be defining the brands are the badges and brand indentifiable grille shapes and textures. GM has got it to a point where they can sell any vehicle they make under any brand in specific markets by simply replacing the round badge emblems in the center of the grilles, trunklid and steering wheel.

An example of this is the Buick Lucerne... The car is styled so bland that all Buick styling cues are basically surface additions and not really styled into the shape of the car. Really the only things that suggest the car is a Buick stylewize are the fender portholes and the waterfall grille. Othewise, that car could be sold under any GM brand. It's pretty much what Holden is doing with it's RWD Holden Commodores, Monaros and Caprice/Statesman by offering those vehicles as the Chevy Lumina, Pontiac GTO, Buick Royaum and Daewoo Statesman in specific worldwide markets.

[RunningMan]

It's too bad that so much is made about the fact that the Pursuit is a re-badge rather than the "good" merits of the car.

[Watchdevil]

Originally Posted by Ming

Better yet, bring the Astra hatch/coupe design over and build it here. Cept the lights/grille which really look very Saturn now.

It's the other way around.... Saturn and Chevrolet are now adopting Opel/Vauxhall styling cues, especially in the areas of headlamps, grilles and taillamps. It seems that is becoming GM's worldwide look.

The rear of the 2006 Impala is a dead ringer for the Holden Commodore. The rear of the current Malibu also closely resembles Opel/Vauxhall/Holden offerings.

[LS1]

I'd say that since the Cavalier/Sunfire were so far BEHIND what contemporary Japanese manufacturers were doing, by jumping "light years ahead", now they have caught up to the Japanese. (maybe).

It's not like these cars offer anything that is revolutionary, it is sad that GM has taken this long to get the message.

[Watchdevil]

Originally Posted by RunningMan

It's too bad that so much is made about the fact that the Pursuit is a re-badge rather than the "good" merits of the car.

For the Canadian market, it is really not important that the Pursuit needs to be completely different. It's only serving a purpose to fill a void for Pontiac dealers there and it's really not worth tooling up a completely different body unique for the Canadian market. Matter of fact of you look at the rear of the car it looks like it has the same taillamps as the Pontiac G6 even though they are in fact unique units.

For Chevrolet though, I would have expanded on the dual round taillamp styling which would give it's vehicles a Chevy identity. It looks nice on the Cobalt coupe and could be easily adapted for it's sedans. There is already a 4-door tuner concept that has implemented the coupe-style taillamps.

While the 2005 Impala has the dual round taillamps, they looked cartoonish and not well detailed to be interesting. The 2006 Impala takes on a blander look that is more Opel/Vauxhall/Holden and really doesn't convey a Chevy identity. The revised taillamps on the 2006 Monte Carlo look nice.

Chevy needs to do something to come up with a consistant grille style throughout its model line that makes a statement and says it's a Chevy. The focal point is always going to be the bowtie. The front of the Malibu is just butt ugly and the Impala/Monte Carlo look like 1995 Lumina/Monte Carlo rehashes. Something about the Cobalt though reminds me of the shovel nosed Vegas and Monzas of the 1970's.