Pontiac G8 Wins Two Muscle Car Comparison Tests

Pontiac G8

Motor Trend has conducted a head-to-head comparison test of two Rear-Wheel Drive muscle cars offered by American manufacturers, the 2008 Dodge Charger R/T and the new 2008 Pontiac G8 GT.   Pontiac's car is newer to the market.  Its aggressive body style attracted "wide smiles and pumping upraised thumbs, animated gas-station conversations, love letters on the windshield, other motorists orbiting like subatomic electrons" when Motor Trend took its test car to the streets.  The GT is powered by a 6.0-liter, 361-horsepower V-8, and "lists at just $29,995-making it, Pontiac execs point out, the most powerful automobile available in the U.S. for under 30 grand."  The Charger, powered by a 5.7-liter, 340 horsepower V8, "checked in at a stiff $36,900."  Motor Trend found that "both cars are comfortable cruisers, big engines churning away at low rpm, ride quality respectable given high-achieving suspensions."  But the G8 "has an edge" in handling, and its interior is roomier in both front and back.  "We're still fans of the Charger R/T," Motor Trend writes, "But the quicker, sexier, nimbler, and higher-value Pontiac G8 wins out."

Edmunds Inside Line "spent more than a week testing" the same two cars "on the highway, in the canyons and on the test track."  The Charger's steering, according to Edmunds, is "relatively slow and absolutely numb," though its suspension is "a study in control."  The Pontiac's suspension "could be a direct lift from the BMW 5 Series," and on a mountain road, the G8 GT will simply run away from the Charger R/T."  It also "dominated the Charger" in braking tests, and though both engines are powerful, "it's the Pontiac that makes the most of its power."  Edmunds declared the Pontiac the winner of the challenge, noting that "in every performance category the G8 GT walks all over the Charger R/T," and "the Pontiac is cheaper."