2009 Pontiac G8 consumer reviews

Stylish and Bold, perfect family vehicle and sports/ performance vehicle. Handles like the M5 with the speed of a SRT8 Dodge Charger and price tag for a lot less. By far the best car I've ever had. Cons: automatic transmission shifts a little rough ( takes some getting use to ) Wish it had indash DVD and Navi No cup holders in the rear

Very quick and very fast and very comfortable. Superchips download plus cold air kit makes it bark the tires now even as it shifts into 3rd gear at well over 70mph. Solid, easy, comfortable ride at 130+mph-engineered for extreme speed yet is a civilized pussycat around town. Initial problems with ball joints all resolved under warranty. Good looking, roomy, excellent stereo, best bang for the buck I've ever had the pleasure of owning.

The 6.0 liter GT provides effortless thrust. Before tinkering, I blew foreign performance cars completely out of the water and for much less money. It takes a german car literally twice the price I paid to beat the straight line performance. For another $2000, I have added a Corsa exhaust (totally easy to live with and drone free) because the OEM exhaust is way too quiet for a car like this, a cold air intake, and a performance ECU re-flash good for about another 30-40hp. The car is now an animal and I would recommend anyone looking for a used G8 to do these modifications to it right after buying. These mods have not hurt fuel economy at all. EPA ratings are pretty much spot-on. Routinely got 26mpg with cruise control set to 70mph with the A/C on in 95 degree heat last summer. Only hitch is the mods require 93 octane fuel. Stock needs only 87. My choice. Can't complain. Handles well but not Corvette-well. Ride geared more toward comfort. The cons to this car were front end components (all upper and lower controls arms and ball joints) were replaced at 13000 miles after developing a GM-known rattle but covered under warranty. 26000 miles later on new ones and no problem. Bridgestone tires were great handlers but truly terrible for comfort and wore out quickly. Good winter tires are a must for this car in the snow but it does just fine with them. The interior is very big and comfy for even the 4 biggest guys but the center stack arrangement has kinda cheap buttons and is not well thought out. I'd prefer the traditional 3 rotary knob HVAC controls. The display screen is very inefficient in displaying what needs to be displayed (can't display outside temp AND HVAC functions at the same time on that huge screen?? Sirius stations don't stay up on display?? Huh?!). There is no navigation and bluetooth compatiblity didn't come in until 2009.5 models and even then the bluetooth content is very light. Worst part is no Ipod integration, just an aux input. Terrible for any car built in 2009, much less one built to compete with BMW. Stereo is OK but certainly not high end. All in all, I love the car. Items needed for perfection are a manual transmission option, real bluetooth and Ipod integration. If I had those, I'd likely own this car until it fell apart and wouldn't pass safety inspection. But for now until something new catches my attention, I'll enjoy it as the last great Pontiac and years from now I can say I owned it!

This is a true performance sedan worthy of the Pontiac name. A 361 HP V8 with a 6 speed automatic transmission makes this car a rocket ship that lunges and flies when you hit the gas. All this and decent gas mileage. GM needs to bring back their performance division and allow them to build cars like this again.

I really enjoy the performance, comfort and design of my Pontiac G8 GT. The fuel economy isn't too bad, despite having a 6.0 liter V8. Average 18 city, 26 hwy. The remote start & heated seats certainly have made cold mornings more bearable. The stock tires are the one thing I would upgrade, as they do not provide sufficient wet weather traction. GM's new police car, the Caprice PPV, is essentially a G8, so parts availability shouldn't be an issue. Pontiac definitely saved their best for last.

The Pontiac G8 is by far the best automobile I have ever driven. Keep in mind that this car was designed and built in Australia by GM's international affiliate Holden. I hate 4 door sedans, but I was looking for something that I could transport my family around in with ease and comfort, yet not make me nausiated by having to drive a sedan (or minivan). I was impressed by the looks of the G8, and I was even more impressed when I drove it. The 355HP engine moves this car with ease. It is much faster than either my Pontiac Trans Am, IROC Z, or my old 4-4-2 Oldsmobile. The ride and the handling are phenominal. At regular highway speeds, there is almost no road noise, vibrations, etc. At extreme highway speeds, the same is also true. There is no difference in the car whether you are driving 70 MPH or if you are drving 140 MPH. This car has the capability of easily going faster than that, especially with the 6 speed transmission, not that I would recommend driving that fast for long periods of time. The interior is superb. You can tell that this is not a normal American car, because it does not look cheap, with buttons and controls in inconvenient places. The leather is of high quality, as is the 10 speaker Blaupunkt audio system. The only thing that I do not like about the interior are the floor mats. They are not of high quality, but to this day, you can still purchase better floormats specifically for the G8. It is a shame that the Pontiac line was dropped by GM. It is also a shame that GM did not continue to import this car under the Buick or Chevrolet banners. The same can be said about 2005-2006 GTO, which was also a Holden product. If you want a really great car for a semi-reasonable price, you can not go wrong with a G8 (or a GTO). I can hardly wait to do a few improvements to my G8. They are not necessary because the car is wonderful right now, but I like a little more power and a slightly louder exhaust sound.

If you're looking for a good sized car to cart the family around in that handles great and has more than enough horsepower to satisfy most pedal mashers, than look no further than the Pontiac G8 GT. My wife was pretty skeptical until she got behind the wheel herself. She loves it--can't believe how stable this is while turning. I will say that it doesn't have the toys most similar cars have these days. Bluetooth is non-existent in all but the latest 2009 models, and there's no satnav...but hey, that's what your smartphone is for! Stereo is very nice, car is pretty quiet unless you accelerate hard, and is quite comfortable for longer trips, even for four adults. Don't try fitting five adults in the car long term, but two adults and three kids fit just fine. Best of all, it can run on 87 octane fuel and still makes over 350hp. Don't buy this car for the gas mileage, however--in a mixed 30-min commute this car struggles to hit 20mpg.

Only real annoyance is a mild vibration felt while cruising. Most people would not/do not recognize the cause which is a built-in, minor design flaw: A combination of the motor mounts and the exhaust system cause a vibration when the V8 engine switches to 4-cylinder mode (GM's gas saving feature) . Runs completely satisfactory on regular, 87 gasoline.

Was worried because it has the Pontiac badge on there, but as you know, not much Pontiac about it. Great handling and speed. Bought a GT model. Mod available for this car makes it faster than most cars on the road. Turns heads everywhere I go. Interior is OK. Not fantastic, but OK. Seats are comfortable. MPG is good with the fuel management system. Reliability has been great so far, knock on wood. For those like me that had to trade in the 2 seater for a 4 seater, and didn't want to give up performance, this is the car especially at the right price.

Great styling, quality, comfort and 26mpg in one of the last rear-drive V-8 sedans we may ever see. As gas prices and CAFE drive us towards tiny "turbo-charged" eurocars, full size rear wheel drive cars like the G8 will be sorely missed.