When my family grew out of the compact car, I went out in search of a smaller SUV. After driving others including FORD, Toyota, Dodge and other GM's, we decided on a Pontiac Torrent. I've been driving my '08 Torrent GXP (All wheel drive) for a week now and I'm truly amazed with this vehicle. I did a lot of research before buying and never found many true reviews on the GXP. I drive approx 250km/day for work so I was hesitant to buy the 3.6L GXP model over the regular 3.4L model for this reason.
GM and other mileage guides claimed the 3.6L with 6speed tranny would approx the same fuel mileage as the 3.4L with 5 speed tranny but I was skepticle. After test driving a dozen Torrents the extra 80hp (almost a 45% increase over regular model), sporty handling and sleek looks of the GXP was growing on me and I decided to bite the bullet regardless of fuel mileage. I bought it used at a Chevrolet dealership with 56,000km on it and I could not be happier. This vehicle is very fun to drive, even in winter (handles similar to my pick up in snow), it is ample comfortable, has plenty of room for a small family and manages to get the same fuel mileage as my old car (claimed "economical" 2007 VW Rabbit 5 speed which I could never get better than 10L/100km no matter how I drove). My real life fuel mileage with the Torrent GXP is averaging 10L/100km (or less) on the highway and around 13L/100km in the city...I'm sure this is mostly me playing with others at stop lights though!!
GM definitly did their homework on this car (yes I said car, because it feels more like a car than the typical SUV), the sporty feel is awesome, it has plenty of power yet has amazing fuel mileage if you can manage to be conservative on the pedal
. With the removal of Pontiac from the GM line, I hope the new Terrain/Equinox can compare in future models. I would recommend the GXP to anyone with a performance nature!
GM and other mileage guides claimed the 3.6L with 6speed tranny would approx the same fuel mileage as the 3.4L with 5 speed tranny but I was skepticle. After test driving a dozen Torrents the extra 80hp (almost a 45% increase over regular model), sporty handling and sleek looks of the GXP was growing on me and I decided to bite the bullet regardless of fuel mileage. I bought it used at a Chevrolet dealership with 56,000km on it and I could not be happier. This vehicle is very fun to drive, even in winter (handles similar to my pick up in snow), it is ample comfortable, has plenty of room for a small family and manages to get the same fuel mileage as my old car (claimed "economical" 2007 VW Rabbit 5 speed which I could never get better than 10L/100km no matter how I drove). My real life fuel mileage with the Torrent GXP is averaging 10L/100km (or less) on the highway and around 13L/100km in the city...I'm sure this is mostly me playing with others at stop lights though!!
GM definitly did their homework on this car (yes I said car, because it feels more like a car than the typical SUV), the sporty feel is awesome, it has plenty of power yet has amazing fuel mileage if you can manage to be conservative on the pedal
. With the removal of Pontiac from the GM line, I hope the new Terrain/Equinox can compare in future models. I would recommend the GXP to anyone with a performance nature!