2005 Pontiac Montana SV6 3.5L

Summary:

SUV looks van with many features at very affordable price

Faults:

The bucket seats in the second row are without hand rest. Passenger will find it uncomfortable and insecure. The red lite instrument panel does not look high tech.

General Comments:

Montana SV6 come equipped with the most features for an affordable price range. I have shop around for many vans including Toyota Sienna, Honda Odessey, Dodge Caravan, Madza MPV and Nissan Quest. I found the looks of the Sienna and Odessey too bulky and over priced. The Madza MPV design both exterior or interior is too old fashion. It looks like a car built in the early 2000. Nissan Quest is well priced with many features, but it only takes premium gas. The Caravan basic price is very affordable (but equipped with nothing). After adding the same features as the Montana SV6 offers; it will cost as much as the Odessey. The Montana SV6 comes with the same features as the Quest, but at a more affordable price. Ride is smooth. All buttons and controls are at the right place. Safety is my main concern, Montana SV6 offered a 5 stars front and back impact results,4.5 stars on side impact which gave the same or better result among vans of its class.

Keep up the good work Pontiac.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th December, 2005

6th May 2007, 15:42

I owned the Pontiac SV6 for the last two years and it gives me pleasure with NO problem. It is a powerful car on the highway and fuel efficient in the city. It cost as much gas to fuel my old 2001 Toyota Camry. The body size is roomy and spacious with lots of headroom, storage space and leg room. I love the high body design, the same height as my wife's Toyota Highlander SUV. The interior reading-light design assimilate the airplane cabin are service for each individual passenger in the vehicle. The red light control panel looks low tech, but it is also being used other famous European high price vehicle such as BMW and AUDI. For the price of my Montana SV6, I am enjoying the same feature as Sienna and Odessay, but only a third of the price. My comment is EXCELLENT deal and Value.

20th Aug 2010, 22:04

I have owned my van for going on two years now. Bought it in January of 2009 with 113,000 miles on it for $6000. Been nothing but GREAT.

I did have a problem; blew out the sway bar linkages, but they were an $80 fix, and when I took out the old ones, can understand that when 1/4 of cheap metal has 5500 lbs of pressure on it... yeah they'll snap, but my new ones are about an inch thick and have been great, no more front end noises.

After putting 30k miles on the LX9, it still runs better than the 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix my mom bought new from a dealership, which burns oil and she's told it doesn't burn enough for them to care (new engine, shouldn't burn?) am I right?

I am a part of foreverpontiac.com and everyone is extremely impressed. I have had almost zero problems with the van, but do go through tires quickly. ONLY constant problem.

I would buy 3 more of these if I could afford it, but instead am doing the best I can to make a "sleeper" out of my van, and am customizing the engine. It is the most reliable vehicle I've ever set my hands on, and if I find another one for the price, I'll take it!

2005 Pontiac Montana 3.4 SFI V6

Summary:

I will NEVER stray from the Pontiac Minivan/Line!

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

This vehicle is a replacement of my 1996 Pontiac Trans Sport which had 265,000 miles at trade in. It's a very nice vehicle, well suited to my family's needs. I am 21 years old, and drive this van with much pride. It has somewhat of a sporty appeal compared to everything else that's out there, and the reliability has just been unparalleled (other than by my Trans Sport). It gets great gas mileage for the size of the vehicle (between 20-21 MPG on average, mostly city driving, and I did manage to squeak 30 MPG on the highway) and although not as quick as the last van, it can lay a nice little patch of rubber from a red light. But we won't go there... The interior is very nice, although some of the plastics are just a little chintzy, but none the less, it does still have a very soft, warm atmosphere to it. My 15 month old daughter likes the van, and we can fit her car seat, another car seat for my niece, two strollers, and 6 adults, all fairly comfortably.

I am without a power sliding door now, and believe me, you don't realize how much you use it until you're without.

Rear seat bench folds down to the floor, and can also be removed, along with a nice little ingenious cargo tray that is all the way in the back of the van. Lots of little storage centers to hide valuables.

The van rides much smoother than the last one (granted the last one did have a lot more miles...) and I have recieved numerous compliments on it's smooth ride, along with the car like handling. The van doesn't feel big and bulky, and you can definitely tell that it has shared front suspension with the Wide Track Grand Prix.

We look forward to years of faithful service with our Pontiac Montana!! I will provide updates along the way.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th October, 2005

11th Oct 2005, 06:25

#1: My Montana is not an SV6 (they did make the "OLD" body style Montana's halfway through the '05 model year), so yes it DOES have a 3.4 liter V6...I think I know what is under the hood of my van.

#2: Pontiac claims that the front suspension is shared with the Wide Track Grand Prix. It has the sport suspension package.

I like the SV6 Montana, but the Montana I got had better rebates... Thank you.

10th Nov 2005, 06:45

Reviewer here... I added a flowmaster "40 Delta" series to my Montana, and WOW does it ever sound good!!! I also put some headlight blackouts on it (from e-Bay) and some Altezza Euro tail lights (the clear ones with the red circles for stop lights, also from e-Bay) and I can honestly say that people are doing double takes now with my van. Between the nice basey sound coming from the engine/exhaust and the awesome looks of it, My Montana looks like nothing else on the road. I just got tired of looking around and seeing 5 million of the exact same van with nothing differentiating them, but color, whether it's another Montana, a Venture, or a Silhouette, they're all the same!! And they're EVERYWHERE!!! Mine really stands out now! I love it!

11th Nov 2006, 10:42

Interesting touches to a plain Jane minivan. I like your style. I am interested in applying the Euro tail lamp treatment to a 2004 Venture. Who produced your tail lights?

11th Jul 2007, 19:16

The SV6's have a 3.9 with 240 HP. Yes in 2005 BOTH the SV6 and the older style with the 3.4 185HP engine was produced. The sad news for any fans of these vans is 2007 is the LAST year that GM will produce minivans of any kind! So that means unless you like a Dodge the only game in town for future minivans is imports. Ford also discontinued its van line in favor of cross over utes! Which are not nearly as convenient as a minivan, however, some of them do look nice, they are just not practical!

10th Mar 2008, 17:24

Actually the SV6 didn't have a 3.4, it had a 3.5 engine making 200 hp.