This has been the Saturday from hell, with barely ANY customers...so I decided to be useful and drive a new Torrent. You know, to keep my product knowledge spry and all

When I wrote before that the Torrent was "85% of what it should be" in a previous thread, I admitted I hadn't had the car out of the parking lot. Now that I've driven it, my findings...

1) 185hp almost seems ok with the Aisin 5 speed AT. It isn't jaw dropping, but it works. The engine is quiet at normal speeds, but floor it from 40-60, and its loud and thrashy...definitely have to agree with Motor Trend there.

2) Interior detailing is nicer than I gave it credit for, but still lacking. The door panels look thin and feel cheap, there's no chrome on the radio ***** to match the HVAC ***** (despite it having the same radio as a G6, which has the chrome...WTF?), and in an era when even a $15k COBALT has metal door handles, why does a $30k Torrent suffer with cheap, injection molded garbage?

3) I love the gague cluster Nicest of any new GM product, IMO.

4) Monsoon stereo kicks a** in this car.

5) Ride is excellent, handling is ok...I guess its fine for the cute ute class.

6) I personally can't quite get comfy in the drivers seat. I keep subconciously reaching for a lumbar **** that isn't there! It hits me in the same spot my '02 Grand Am GT hit me. Even with the lumbar all the way back, it still hurt my back with that car, and I hated taking long trips in it. Something tells me that for me, the Torrent might be the same

7) Leather is very nice quality.

8) The front end is so much sportier and better looking than the Equinox, I can't even begin to explain it!

9) This car NEEDS a red tag. $29,900 for this AWD one, with everything except XM!! WTF? Why does adding On-Star and side airbags have to cost $1k? Why does a sunroof and a 6 CD Monsoon have to be $1,300? Motor Trend was right...they start off cheap, but add the options and it gets ugly quick. This car does NOT give ANY impression that its worth $30k...at all. Period. The red tag is $26,900. That, I can see. I mean, this thing stickers for only $1,700 less than my loaded GXP! Which would YOU rather have for almost the same $$$?

Overall, I like it more than I did...but I still wonder what it could be with nicer, more supportive seats and the 3.9 in it...

 

I think the Equinox looks much better...especially to the mostly female contingent that would buy a vehicle like this. My wife says the Chevy is cuter. Oddly, the one thing she loves most about the Equinox compared to her old Trailblazer is that it has a place for her purse under the console between the seats, so she does not have to reach in the passenger side footwell. Just shows how far this vehicle is designed for a woman. When I first saw the dead space under the console, it looked like waste to me

 

My opinion I think the Torrent should've been based off the Vue instead. The more I've looked at them both, I think the Vue's short(er) wheelbase would have given the Torrent a sportier stance that fits better in Pontiac's image.

 

1) 3.9/6sd
2)lowered suspension
3)18 inch rims.

 

......and ALOT more coulda been spent improving the Equinox with the money invested in the Torrent . 1 world class Equinox woulda been better than the whored out Torrent and the Suzuki versions . I didnt mention the Vue because from the looks of the next one , its definately gonna be dramatically doing its own thing .

Sorry Jason , I just cant be as forgiving . Im just in the mindset that there could be 1 product to knock the small SUV world on its **** , rather than offsprings that are "marginally" better than the original that was compromised to begin with .

IMO , a Pontiac SUV that would been actually worth while ....and woulda fit smack dab in the middle of this image that Pontiac is trying so hard to convey , is a sporty low slung , big wheels and tires , upscale in appearence in and out , AWD , 3.6 powered Suv that woulda put the Nissan Murano on the trailer . I see Murano's everywhere , so IMO that would been a win win for Pontiac . If they were smart , they kill the Montana SV6 and the Torrent to make something like that happen . Much like the Bonnie and GP shoulda spawed one helluva 300c/charger killer .

Sorry to muter(sp?) your thread with negativaty man , I just think the Torrent was baaaaad move period .

 

"For $27k, why would I even look at this Torrent?"

That was the question my cousine asked me when I showed it to her. She was looking at a Pilot. At $27k the Pilot is only a starter, but with their nicer enteriors (instead of the Torrent's "trying to look nice") and a 240+hp engine (that isn't thrashy when you nail it but has the same EPA milage rating as the Torrent's chitty 3.4l buzz mill), I can't really blame her. I can't really blame anyone for looking right past the Torrent at its price point; or any price point really.

 

I agree. And the reason I agree, is because GM still hasn't learned or figured out that pandering to the dealers instead of the customers isn't the way they want to go.

Dealers don't know squat about what the customer wants. They just know what they want to sell. And that just doesn't work. Making cars end-users want to buy is where GM should have it's focus. Lutz is right to be crowing about "gotta have" cars. But so far, his crowing hasn't been backed up by the drivel GM's releasing onto the masses. Over-priced drivel at that.

 

This is where GM's high MSRP's kill them. A loaded Theda should not go for more than $25K out the door if you know how to negotiate. However I can see most young women (which are this vehicles target market)...walking in a dealer or looking on the net at the $30K+ price and getting sticker shock without realizing what negotiating room there is.


Also...I think the Theda interiors are very close to best in their class. The Equinox has been issue free now for 6 months.

 

I got a new Torrent for a day while I had an allignment done on the GTO... only 98 miles on it when I got it.

I liked it for what it was... couldn't find a lot to complain about.

Only things I noted were:

1) The blind spot over the drivers left shoulder is KILLER, especially because of the head rest. Fortunately, the side mirror is large and well positioned.

2) The interior door panels just look real tall and real flat.

3) While the power wasn't terrible, it was underwhelming. I'm not calling for 300 hp in the Torrent, but it definately would benifit from at leats a slight bump.

Other than that, I thought it was a very nice vehicle.

 

#s 2 and 3 I totally agree with. And overall, the MSRP is just too damn high! For $6,500 more MSRP-wise, my father's '05 TB LT is way more powerful, way bigger, can tow way more, and at least feels like you spent your $$ on something. Yeah, those door panels are wretched.

I hate to slam a brand new GM product, but the price is just nuts on this thing...

BTW Darth, I was riding in my dad's TB last night, and I think with the trim changes they made in '05, an SS in grey inside with the nicer seats would be pretty nice. The dash is still plasticky, but it doesn't look that bad on the inside...just my .02, as I know you're thinking about one...

 

Godo to hear.. I haven't sat in one for a while, I shoudl check it out. From the pics of the SS dash board, though, I still thought "Rubbermaid"... but, any mid-cycle improvements would be appreciated.

 

like say from a 3.9.

 

I mean, we aren't talking monumental changes here. Maybe these changes were even in an '04? Not sure, as he went from an '02 to an '05. But the trim changes I noticed between those 2 years included...

1) Metal door handles
2) Brushed aluminum trim on the shift ****
3) Stainless steel door sills
4) Gold bow tie in the center of the steering wheel
5) Chrome trim on the vent adjusters
6) Other small crap I can't remember right now...

I mean, it isn't huge. Its less than what Pontiac did to the GP inside for '06. But IMO, the GP needed more attention anyway. The dash facing on the TB is still somewhat cheap looking, but between the Bose/6 CD/XM radio, nice soft heated leather, On-Star, digital climate etc...I think the inside is a nice place to be. I think the new Explorer is better on the inside, but the TB isn't too bad.

The Torrent has a cooler gague cluster and a nicer dash, but everything else screams cheap. The TB is the exact opposite.