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Walkaround
The Pontiac Torrent is relatively large for the class, with a wheelbase that's 9.3 inches longer than that of the Ford Escape. The Torrent is based on a car platform, and shares its basic structure with the Chevy Equinox.
Torrent shares its shape with the Equinox, but a twin-nostril grille with arrowhead divider announces it's a Pontiac, and gives Torrent some distinction, though it still looks similar to most other compact SUVs.
Overall, the Torrent has a pleasing, subtle design, with clean lines and a forward wedge shape to its sides. The trapezoidal twin-beam headlamps look strong, reminiscent of a Saab, and so does the pseudo skid-plate that wraps up onto the front fascia, coming from under the car. The B-pillar is flat black, so it's barely visible between the tinted glass of the front and rear doors. This accentuates the thick, body-color C-pillar, and the pleasantly tall, arcing shape of the rear side window.
Thick aluminum roof rails are suggestive of those on the Nissan Xterra and help give this car-based SUV a more rugged appearance. The outside door handles are of the big grab variety, making it easy to open the doors and climb in without breaking fingernails.
A wide range of dealer-installed accessories, including tubular step assists and an interior trim kit, allow customers to personalize their Torrent to more closely fit their lifestyle and taste.
Interior Features
Getting in the Pontiac Torrent is easy. The door openings are wide, and you need neither climb up nor stoop down to get in the seats. Simply slide in. The seats are comfortable, though we'd prefer more side bolstering.
The cabin looks nice, though the materials vary in quality. The standard cloth upholstery on the seats and door trim is attractive. One of our test vehicles came in light-colored cloth and with a matching roof liner this gave the cabin an airy feeling. The available leather seats are also nice. The plastic used for the dash and other trim is at best average for the class, however.
The steering wheel is leather-wrapped with stylish but bulky stitching that felt rough to our hands. We found the instruments uncluttered and easy to read. The Pontiac-trademark red lighting doesn't improve legibility but might help with night vision. The dashboard is low, affording good forward visibility. Big side mirrors improve rearward visibility. The inside door handles are easy to operate. The switchgear works well, with one exception: The power window buttons are awkwardly located on the center console, not on the driver's door, so you'll have to look down to find them; and lowering the window at toll booths demands a shift of hands on the steering wheel, to toss coins or take a ticket.
The center console flips up and out of the way, making space between the front seats for a tote bag or purse that would otherwise flop around in the passenger's footwell. On the floor is a single cupholder that works well for cans and water bottles; just aft of this on the floor are slots for CDs angled forward for easy access. Flipping the center console back into place provides an armrest and a small amount of storage, though the storage cubby is located far enough rearward as to be awkward to access. A pair of cupholders can be popped out of the end of the console, but they're flimsy and obstruct the floor-mounted handbrake lever; we avoided using them, preferring the floor-mounted cupholder. Your passenger will just have to hold his or her drink. The door pockets are narrow, though there are map pockets on the sides of the center tunnel. There's room for a cell phone on each side of the gear lever, which is surrounded by a grippy rubber pad.
The optional Pioneer sound system is deep and rich, something we discovered while listening to XM Satellite Radio's Cinemagic station, which features movie soundtracks.
The rear seat slides forward or back eight inches, a nice feature. Sliding it forward adds five cubic feet of cargo space. Sliding it back offers rear passengers more legroom. The rear seat is split 60/40 for cargo versatility, and the seatbacks recline, so passengers back there can really lie back.
The front passenger seat folds flat, turning it into a tray or work space or for allowing the loading of long items, like a surfboard, to stretch from the tailgate to dashboard. It's a nice setup, but you have to get out of the car and walk around to flip the front-passenger seat back into position because the release lever is only on the right side; it'd be much more convenient if a redundant lever was on the left side so the driver could reach it. If you really need cargo space, the passenger and/or rear seats can be deleted for commercial and fleet applications.
We found the cargo bay quite generous and it easily handled a big box we put back there. A clever polycarbonate tray is available that pulls out of the floor and can be slotted into one of three height levels, so it can be used for different things, including concealment. It allows two levels of grocery boxes or bags, for example. It's an interesting feature, though we've wondered how many people use shelving systems on other vehicles. The tailgate lifts high enough that all but the tallest owners can stand fully upright beneath it.
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