1998 Pontiac Bonneville Fullsize Car Reviews & Ratings

Our most recent test drive put us behind the wheel of the SSE for a week, and the overall look is sleek and

sophisticated. Dark pewter-colored leather wrapped around the doors and seats, a rich yet subtle hue with

European-style stitching. Dark-colored controls have a nicely grained texture and organic (flowing) shape.

Overall, its an attractive interior except for gray plastic buttons on the heater/air conditioning console that

look out of place and diminish the overall effect.

The Bose stereo in our car sounded like it could match the performance of an expensive home system. The controls

are well placed, with a large easily accessible volume knob adjacent a smaller dial for tuning. A selection of

often-used controls are designed into the steering wheel hub, obviating the need to move your hands away from

the steering wheel. A deft touch of the index finger is all that's needed to change stations or adjust the

volume. It's a nice safety feature as messing around with stereo controls can lead to serious accidents.

Less elegant is the distracting array of buttons on the center console. There are nine separate ways to

adjust the seats and it takes careful attention to make sense of the small icons that indicate the settings.

More than once we attempted to slide our seats forward, only to adjust the lumbar support. Once the controls

are mastered, the power buckets are comfortable and supportive, even in hard cornering.

Rear seat passengers will find more than adequate leg room, even with the front seats all the way back on their

tracks. This car has acres of space to offer and it uses it well.

The instrument panel is a clean, performance-oriented design, though newer designs have passed it on the pizzazz

scale. There are two, large LED displays, one is an oversized Information Center alerting you to a variety of

potential problems, such as low fuel or an open door. The other is a gimmicky compass that tends to lag behind

in turns.

A head-up display, or HUD, offered as an option on SSE and SSEi models projects images on the windshield just off the line of sight. This technology, borrowed from military fighter jets, provides the driver with information at a quick glance. The main display is a digital speedometer. Some people love head-up displays, others hate it, but it can be turned on and off. We appreciated the little gas pump that popped into view alerting us that we were running low on gas as we were on a long drive on a lonely freeway and weren't in the mood for a long walk.

The Bonneville's 3800 Series II V6 is responsive and powerful, generating 205 horsepower and 230 foot-pounds (lb.-ft.)

of torque. It delivers surprisingly good fuel mileage and environmentally friendly emissions numbers. Achieving these

mutually exclusive benefits provides a convincing argument for the simpler, push-rod design used by the Series II V6

instead of double overhead-cam designs.

Our car was fitted with this engine and we were, as always, impressed with it. The relatively high amount of torque

available provides robust power for rocketing away from a standing start or climbing long, power-sapping grades. We

found our 205-hp normally aspirated version of this engine to be more than adequate to propel the Bonneville into

socially irresponsible territory.

Drivers who want more power should consider the supercharged version that is part of the optional SSEi package.

The supercharged 3800 Series II increases the output to 240 hp and a tire-smoking 280 lb.-ft. of torque. This setup

moves the Bonneville closer to muscle car territory.

An electronically controlled 4-speed automatic transmission is designed to handle the power of these engines and

allows the driver to select between Normal or Performance shift modes. The latter shifts at higher rpm under heavy

acceleration to increase acceleration performance. In Normal mode it shifts up earlier to increase fuel economy.

The Bonneville features front disc and rear drum brakes. Anti-lock brakes are standard equipment across the

line-up, and traction control is offered as an option.

The base model Bonneville comes with conventional power steering. With the SSE and SSEi, you get GM's unique

Magnasteer system. Magnasteer uses an innovative magnetic control to reduce the amount of physical effort needed

to steer at low speeds. The faster you go, the less steering boost you get, which improves road feel. Magnasteer

is a definite improvement, though we find that it doesn't deliver the precise feeling of contact with the road found

in fine European sports sedans.

The overall ride is a pleasant compromise-not quite as stiff and responsive as a BMW, but the Bonneville offers much more precise ride and handling than Detroit's traditional boulevard cruisers.

One phenomenon we noticed is something known as torque steer. Under aggressive acceleration, the car had a tendency to pull the steering to one side. It's often associated with high-horsepower front-wheel-drive cars. It's not really a problem, but drivers should be aware of it.