The Bonneville was one of the first truly modern designs to roll out
of the GM styling studios and it remains contemporary. Based on the same
platform as the Oldsmobile Eighty Eight and Buick LeSabre, you'll see some
family resemblance, though the Bonneville is the more youthful and sporty
package.
Indeed, its shape has had strong influence over the entire Pontiac model
line. Bonneville is curvaceous without being soft, like some of the marshmallow
designs that have become popular in recent years. And it continues to draw
envious stares.
Bonneville comes in two basic models. The SE competes with the Dodge
Intrepid, Chrysler Concorde and Nissan Maxima, but it's one of the most
well-equipped models in this group. The SSE goes up against the more upscale
Chrysler LHS, Mazda Millenia and Toyota Avalon. From the outside, the SSE
is distinguished from the SE by its ribbed side moldings and ground effects
package.
If you're looking for a little more performance, upgrade the SE to the
Sport Luxury Edition, or SLE package. You'll get sporty 16-inch, five-spoke
aluminum wheels, leather bucket seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel
and cobra-head shifter. If you need a bigger kick, add the supercharger
option, pumping the 3800 Series II engine up to a tire-smoking 240 horsepower.
The supercharged engine is also available on an upgraded SSE package, called
the SSEi, which we drove.
Pontiac calls the leather that wrapped the doors and seats dark pewter.
It's a rich yet subtle hue with European-style stitching. The gray plastic
buttons on the heating/air conditioning console diminish the otherwise
attractive effect.
The other controls are darker, better grained, and more organic in shape.
The stereo system, especially the upgraded Bose package in our tester,
would match the performance of an expensive home system. The controls work
well, with a large volume knob adjacent to a smaller dial for tuning. If
you'd prefer not to take your hands off the wheel, often-used controls
are designed into the steering wheel hub. A deft touch of the index finger
is all that's needed to change stations or adjust the volume. Thankfully,
Pontiac engineers have gotten away from earlier pod designs that embedded
as many as 25 different controls in a confusing cluster smack in the center
of the steering wheel. However, they still maintained an array of buttons
on the center console.
There are nine separate ways to adjust the seats and it takes careful
attention to make sense of the smallish icons that tell you which adjustment
does what. More than once we attempted to slide our seats forward, only
to have the lumbar support try to rearrange our kidneys. But, when you
get the hang of things, you'll find the bucket seats comfortable and supportive,
even in harsh maneuvering.
And even with the front seats all the way back on their tracks, your
rear seat passengers will find more than adequate leg room. This car has
acres of space and uses it well.
The instrument panel is a clean, performance-oriented design but it
may be the most dated part of the car. The analog gauges say performance,
but the look is a little one-dimensional. There are two, large LED displays,
one a compass that tends to lag behind as you turn. The other an oversized
Information Center alerting you to a variety of potential problems, such
as low fuel or an open door.
Perhaps the most notable feature is the Head-Up Display, or HUD, offered
as an option on SSE and SSEi models. This technology, borrowed from military
fighter jets, projects images onto the windshield in your line of sight.
The main display is a digital speedometer. We found it consistently disagreed
with the instrument panel's analog speedometer by a couple of miles an
hour. There are those who like and those who dislike HUD. We appreciate
the way it helped us prevent a potential problem when, on a long drive
on a lonely freeway, a little gas pump popped into view reminding us we
were about to run out of gas.
Dual airbags are standard fare. So are daytime running lights.
There's been a long-running argument whether it's better to have two
valves or four, push rods or overhead cams. The Bonneville's 3800 Series
II V-6 convincingly argues for the simpler, push-rod design. This engine
delivers lots of power and responsiveness, surprisingly good mileage and
environmentally friendly emissions numbers. Normally aspirated, the Series
II delivers a comforting 205 hp and 230 lbs.-ft. of torque. Opting for
the supercharger increases the pony count to 240 and torque jumps to 280
lbs.-ft.
Better yet, with the supercharged engine, you'll get a new, electronically
controlled, four-speed automatic transmission. It's designed to handle
the extra power and allows selection between normal or performance shift
modes. The latter lets you wind out the engine under heavy acceleration,
approximating the feel of a manual shift.
The Bonneville features front disc and rear drum brakes. Anti-lock brakes
are standard equipment across the model line, and traction control is an
option.
The base Bonneville SE comes with conventional power steering. With
the SSE and SSEi, you get GM's Magnasteer system, an option on the SE and
SLE, which uses an innovative magnetic control to reduce the amount of
effort needed to steer at low speeds. The faster you go, the less boost
you get, improving road stability. Magnasteer is a definite improvement,
though we find that it still doesn't deliver quite the precise feeling
of contact with the road that you get from European sports sedans.
The overall ride is a pleasant compromise. It's not quite as stiff and
responsive as a BMW, but offers much more precise ride and handling than
Detroit's traditional boulevard cruisers.
The one minor problem we experienced is something known as torque steer.
Under very aggressive acceleration, the car had a tendency to pull to one
side. It's a common problem with powerful front-wheel-drive cars.