One glance at the Solstice upon the show room floor, you’ll already want to jump in and zip away. The Pontiac Solstice combines raw power, a raft of amenities, and knock-em-over styling causing double takes. It’s been over five decades, since the 1959 Bonneville, to find a split screen that caused so much excitement. This car delivers the same thrills as the BMW Z4 and Audi TT, with only half of the cost.

The Solstice comes in two different flavors, the base package and the souped-up GXP. The basic package comes with a 173 horse power, 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine that’s still reasonable on the gas mileage. The souped-up GXP package takes 260 hour power turbocharged engine into a 2.0 liter, four cylinder engine. Both power engines are attaches onto a five speeder manual or auto transmission. The basic model includes electronic traction and stability control, limited slip rear differential, four anti-lock disc brakes, impressive 18 inch alloy wheels, and satellite radio. The GXP adds onto the base package, and then adds dual exhaust tips, a sport transmission, leather shift know and steering wheel, and upgraded floor mats.

While there’s much to enjoy for the Solstice, it’s not without some draw backs. The steering is not crisp. The Solstice tips the scale at over 3000 pounds, so being quick-and-lite is not upon the abilities of this car. Also, coming out of corners, the Solstice tends to hang on. Taking off, the acceleration can be less than impressive. The car is also not ergonomically friends, with components in awkward positions, composed of parts made of plastic from third world countries. Trunk space is very tight.

Despite the minor draw backs, the clear asset of the Solstice is its exterior style. Pontiac doesn’t have an impressive record for styling; in the Solstice, they break their bad luck streak. The duel-hump body work of the Solstice provide a wonderfully futuristic look. People in parking lots will stop you, stare, and ask about your car. The overwhelming positives surely negate the minor drawbacks. Those looking for top-down driving excitement will certainly be pleased with this choice.

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When the author isn’t driving her Pontiac Solstice, she’s a fan of best psychics, the Seattle HCG Diet, and the Pontiac Solstice windscreen windblocker wind deflector.