Comfort and Convenience

Comfort and convenience are oxymorons in most roadsters, but the 2006 Pontiac Solstice proves an exception in some respects. Though our XL-sized test driver said, “I feel like I’m wearing jeans that are a size too small,” thanks to tight seat bolsters and substantial lumbar support, plenty of Solstice owners will find this roadster to be roomy and comfortable. The steering wheel is nice to grip, and the spots on the door panel and center console where the driver braces his legs for hard driving are smooth and flat. The upper door panels are coated in hard plastic, but they’re too high to use as an arm- or elbow-rest anyway, so that’s irrelevant. Any low-slung sports car is hard to get into and out of, but the Solstice has wide doors and plenty of leg room so even larger people can easily slide in behind the wheel.

Underway, turbulence is a problem, whether the roof is raised or lowered. When it’s up, wind rustles over the center of the roof, starting at relatively low speeds and getting louder from there. When it’s down, lots of wind buffeting gets into the cabin, even with the side windows raised. The Solstice is not a car for preserving your coif. Fortunately, you can buy a dealer-installed wind blocker that mounts between the seat headrests.

In terms of ease-of-use, the Solstice is generally simple and straightforward. Some control markings have symbols that take a moment to decipher, and the power window controls are very awkward to use because they’re mounted closer to your left elbow than your wrist. Plus, the auxiliary steering wheel controls have small buttons that almost make it easier just to fiddle with the regular buttons and knobs on the dashboard, and in direct sunlight the radio display and trip computer completely wash out. The main cupholders are located out of the way, deployed from the rear bulkhead, but they’re also hard to reach. A third cupholder pops out of the right side of the center console. Storage areas are limited to an average-size glovebox, a rubber-lined bulkhead storage bin, small slots running parallel to the door sills near the floor, and “kangaroo pockets” on the front edges of the seat cushions.

Our biggest complaint about the Solstice, not surprisingly, is with the trunk. Small and oddly shaped, the trunk must be loaded from the side over the Solstice’s waist-high haunches because it opens clamshell-style. With the top down, there’s little room for anything because it folds into the trunk on top of whatever might be in there. Top up, there’s more space, but the rear corners of the top clip into the clamshell lid and must be popped and snapped every time the trunk is used. Plus, the trunk lid needs to be slammed hard to close properly. Pontiac forces this hassle upon owners to preserve the sexy headrest fairings and the Solstice’s smooth, buttoned-down appearance when the roof is stowed, but with a roadster form-over-function should be expected. To help alleviate the pain caused by this compromise, Pontiac is considering a fitted-luggage option available through dealers.