| The Pontiac G6 has a nice interior with attractive fabrics and comfortable bucket seats.
At first, it has that tank-like Pontiac feeling of sitting down low in the cockpit, but that feeling goes away in time, and the G6 becomes a happy, comfortable companion.
The cabin is altogether different from the old soft-plastic, fat-knob theme of older Pontiacs.
It's much more modern, more European.
The sporty front bucket seats are made for body comfort and support in handling maneuvers.
We found them very comfortable thanks to thick padding and sufficient bolsters.
Rear-seat space benefits from the relatively long wheelbase of 112.3 inches.
In the sedan, a 6-foot, 4-inch passenger can sit behind a 6-foot, 4-inch driver with plenty of room.
The coupe's rear seating is a little tighter, and the convertible's tighter still, especially in the shoulder and hip room categories.
The rear bucket seats in the G6 convertible are appropriate because three people don't fit well anyway.
The dash is done in four major sections including a stark, un-grained plastic center stack that holds two vents, the sound system, heater controls, and a 12-volt power outlet.
Instruments and controls are presented in white on black (illuminated in red at night).
Every single knob and escutcheon has a chrome ring around it; very tasteful, and nicely presented, with small, conservative graphics on the faces and labels.
The center stack has a red-LED readout and control panel that makes it easy to use the sound system's features, as well as to customize the locking, lighting, and other functions.
The trip computer and driver information system are likewise intuitive and enjoyable to use.
The audio system works well and the knobs are sized well for operating while driving, a welcome relief from the tiny buttons and knobs on many systems.
However, we miss the smart pre-set buttons used on previous GM vehicles that let the driver switch from favorite AM, FM, and XM stations simply by pressing the pre-set; the new setup works like most radios, requiring the driver first change the band before switching to the favored station.
The remote starting system allows the driver to start the car from the warmth of the house on cold winter mornings, a welcome feature when needed.
The convertible's top was engineered with Karmann and the big top opens and closes within 30 seconds, storing under the truck lid and a hard tonneau cover.
We found it works exceptionally well, powering up or down quietly and quickly, with the press of a button.
Hold the button down after it's done and the windows will power up or down appropriately.
The convertible's trunk is accessible when the top is down, but space is reduced from tiny (12.6 cubic feet) to grocery-bag sized (5.8 cubic feet).
Obviously, that can limit your use of the convertible's top-down mode on long trips.
The coupe offers 12 cubic feet of trunk space that's there all the time, while the sedan offers 14 cubic feet.
The trunk lid on the convertible was heavy and relatively hard to lift open. |