Up-front looks are pleasant, with dual, mesh-covered and chrome outlined Pontiac nostril grills and a skid plate that … whoa, on closer inspection turns out to be silver-painted, rubbery plastic … so don’t go too crazy in the backcountry. Style is a slightly more interesting variation on SUV standards, with shiny, five-spoke, 17-inch alloy wheels, body-colored mirrors, large and friendly looking headlamps and brakelight clusters, chrome-edged fog lamps and the aforementioned roof rack as an option.
The flabby acceleration and generally lackadaisical handling are too bad, because the Torrent is otherwise a well-designed machine with some fun toys and a reasonably comfortable ride. And while that’s not necessarily Yugo territory, it does lend itself to a feeling of being a little sluggish in regular traffic and prone to dragging on long passes and hill climbs, given the relative size of the vehicle.I got no real sense of joy during takeoffs and had to stomp on the gas pretty fiercely to harness some passing power (it was there, but the pedal was way down to the metal) coupled with steering that felt heavy and indistinct, the Torrent was one of those vehicles that I was never able to intuitively guess proper highway speed – every time I looked down I was loping along at 60 miles per hour and had to punch it a bit to get up to highway speed. The Torrent and Equinox share a 3.4 liter V6 that produces just 185 horsepower, matched to a five-speed automatic transmission. The problem is performance, even with “sport tuned” suspension and the functional safety of an on-demand all-wheel drive system. Torrent serves up good looks and fine details, an adequate package of perks (including some adaptable if not slightly unusual seating and cargo containment combinations) and good room for five, not to mention a functional roof rack system for your bikes and skis. You may not have consciously noticed the quiet disappearance of the Pontiac Aztek, one ugly creature if there ever was (although the pop-out tent in the rear was a nice idea for incredibly simple car camping) as the Beatles said, that bird has flown.In its place, and offering up a pleasant if not slightly underpowered variation on the lite-SUV theme, is the Pontiac Torrent, a somewhat upscale reconfiguration of the popular and dynamic Chevrolet Equinox.
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