Being a GT adds a so-called sport suspension to the basic suspension bones made up of a MacPherson strut design with aluminum control arms and stabilizer bar in the front and a four-link independent setup with twin tube shocks and stabilizer bar in the rear.

2005 Pontiac G6 GT (photo: John Leblanc, straight-six.com)

Ride and handling was a mix of contradictions. On one hand, the G6 GT has sharp turn, corners flat on your favourite on-ramp, and generally hangs on willingly. Credit here to the generous 225/50 17-inch Pirellis. On the other hand, any undulations or potholes felt like the shocks had been removed ending up as a sequence of "float", "crash", and "bang".

The steering was inconsistent also, as the G6 is burdened with the variable-assisted electric power steering also found in the Malibu. At urban speeds, there's little feel and it's just too light. The Mazda and Volkswagen are miles, if not light-years, ahead of the Pontiac here.

Pontiac has promised a sportier G6 in the form of the upcoming 275 horsepower 3.9-litre vee-six GXP with a six-speed stick, but for now, the only available engine won't make you feel that you need more power. But you'll constantly be reminded of the vintage of this mill at higher revs as it moans like a ghost in purgatory. Despite a 25 horsepower increase over its predecessor, it's still well short in the horsepower department compared to the Nissan Altima SE-R ($35,898) at  260.

2005 Pontiac G6 GT (photo: John Leblanc, straight-six.com)

Overall performance and handling may have been helped if the G6 wasn't such a porker. At 1,554 kilograms the Pontiac outweighs, the Mazda6 GS-V6 at 1,441,and the Jetta 2.5 at 1,465.

In addition to the higher-performing GXP model, Pontiac has plans for a G6 coupe, a retractable-hardtop convertible, and an entry-level G6 sedan with the 2.4-litre Ecotec four-cylinder found in other General Motors vehicles. But right now, there's no available manual transmission, which driver's in the BMW-wannabe class stipulate, or a more utilitarian body configuration like the Mazda6 five-door hatch or wagon--questionable omissions for anyone other than returning Grand Am drivers.

The newest Pontiac still lacks the refinement car zealots demand and having six years to get the G6 right, the final result is disappointing.

- John LeBlanc is an Ottawa-based automotive critic and publisher of www.straight-six.com