Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with my car. I actually read all these reviews, and I say what my car hasn't had any problems? If you take car of your car, there will be nothing wrong with it, and everybody else just hasn't been taking care of their cars, and hasn't been changing the oil.

General Comments:

I love it; it's my favorite car yet. I had an 07 Impala and I love this car 100 times better than it, and it was brand new when I got it.

Faults:

Three months after purchase; intake gaskets and water pump started leaking coolant; dealer replaced these under their warranty.

Four days after car was returned to me, had rod knock from the engine, because the shop that replaced the gaskets and water pump, had not changed the oil; coolant was in the oil, causing spun rod bearings. Engine was replaced with another from a lower mileage car.

The shop that replaced the engine, damaged an engine mount, so the engine leans slightly toward the passenger side; have not fixed it yet.

After the engine was replaced, windshield wipers have a mind of their own, often will not shut off when turned off for up to a minute after turning off, and will not work most times in the intermittent setting.

Fuel pump died 6 months after purchase of the car; replaced myself for $411.00 with a new Airtex fuel pump.

Broken trailing arm replaced. The car had been bottomed out on something before I purchased the car, and it bent the trailing arm on the passenger side; replaced it myself, part was $30.00 new.

A/C needs work, may be low on refrigerant. Blows cool, but not cold.

General Comments:

Love my Grand Prix, despite a few issues when I first got it. My last car was a 1992 Acura Integra GS (which I wrote a review of on this site), and I was blown away by a larger car getting better gas millage than my Integra ever got.

It is a shame Pontiac has been killed off; the handling of the Grand Prix is better than its GM W-body stablemates, which I have driven all of.

The 3.1 liter V6 could do with more power, but in all the mileage is amazing; I get up to 35MPG on the highway, and about 25 city, though much less than that in city if I drive spirited, which I tend to do a lot.

Interior is not the best in the world, but it is comfortable, and the dual zone climate controls are a nice touch.

The handling is where this car shines though; it is only bested in the tightest of turns by my Integra I had before, but in every other respect, this is a midsized, front wheel drive car that can dance pretty well in the twists and turns around Northwest Arkansas.

The steering is precise and well weighted, with good feedback, though the 225/60R16 tires are a bit of a let down; the stock Goodyear Eagle LS tires tend to follow the grooves and whoops in the pavement, which can make it feel like the car is unsettled. 17 inch wheels with slightly less sidewall on another Grand Prix I drove seemed to have helped with this issue, so wheels and tires are on my list for my car.

Torque steer is minimum, if there is any at all, which is hard to believe in a V6 front drive car with nearly 200 Ft/Ibs of torque.

Brakes have great feel and feedback, ABS never kicks in too early, which is nice, and the brakes are easy to modulate; a little pressure and they slow you, stomp hard and they stop you NOW. They do fade a little if pushing hard in twisty areas around here, which will be fixed by upgraded disks and pads soon.

The transmission is responsive; it downshifts quickly for passing, and the torque from the 3.1 liter V6 is well used.

All in all, it is a wonderful car. I wasn't planning on getting a car this big, but in the end I am happy with it. Miss the 5-speed in my Acura Integra, but this family car seats 4 comfortably, 5 in a pinch, and drives and handles well. It isn't as well made as the imports of the time, but it is still a great car.