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GM Authority

Comparing The 2014 Chevrolet SS To The Late Pontiac G8 GXP

By Jeffery N. Ross, for GM Authority

People always talk about the handling abilities of a car. I live in Florida. Where the most curve you’ll find in a road is an interstate on-ramp and the only elevation changes there are to experience are those of mall parking garages. Now you’ll see why I was first a little let down when I received an invitation to drive the 2014 Chevrolet SS from Miami to the Keys. Yes, I was going to be spending my first time behind the wheel of the best performing sedan Chevrolet has built in some time, and driving them along the flattest, straightest stretch of road the state has to offer. That’s like taking Kate Upton out to Burger King on a first date.

I spent the first part of the day driving the 2014 SS. Firing up the engine, I instantly missed the bright red Pontiac G8 GXP I spent a week with almost exactly five years earlier. Both cars are Aussie-made, rear-drive sedans with 6.2-liter LS3 V8s producing more than 400 hp, and they came to life with similar ferocious growls. But this is where the identities of the two cars begin to split. Compared to the G8’s antagonistic styling, the SS has a look that could’ve just as easily have been slated for a next-gen Buick Lucerne. Hop inside, though, and you’ll forgive Chevy – or Holden, rather – for its design transgressions.

2009 Pontiac G8 GXP

As late-2000s GM products go, the G8’s interior was the definition of classic cost cutting at its worst with subpar materials and few styling changes to vary the base car from the top G8 GXP. Conversely, the SS comes off looking and feeling more like a decontented CTS-V than a hopped-up Chevy. Fitting recent GM trends, the design and materials used in the SS are light years better than those from the G8 offering upscale touches throughout the cabin such as suede accents, sport bucket seats and embroidered SS logo on the dash and seat backs. Standard fare also includes modern tech like the Chevy MyLink and head-up display. It’s also the first Chevrolet that can park itself.

Both the G8 GXP and SS had the ride you’d expect from a performance sedan, but the SS might be the easier of the two in terms of dealing with as a daily driver. Get on them both hard and they deliver grin-inducing acceleration, but in normal driving the SS felt more reserved and refined in the straight-line drive. The car lets you know that it has the power to pass just about anything, but it doesn’t tempt drivers to do so.

The biggest difference between the SS and G8 might be how GM is managing vehicle inventory. While the G8 piled up on dealer lots with cash rebates on the hood, the SS will be limited in both production and options. Aside from colors and two options, buyers don’t have to do much except come up with the $45,770 to acquire an SS. The price for the SS isn’t that bad, but it could be a tough pill to swallow especially when the closest rival, the Dodge Charger SRT, is less expensive and way more powerful. Even worse, it’s starting to look like our time with the SS will be limited as GM plans to shut down its Holden division by 2017. Though we still may see another iteration of the SS, and Holden Commodore, on the athletic Alpha platform, as first seen on the Cadillac ATS and third-generation CTS.

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Comments

  1. Chevy ‘s SS is above the three tier commodore sport series, they don’t want to offer a high volume low cost model, it will hurt their cafe rating .
    A commodore SS is an entry level car with a M6 and a 6.0 V8
    SSV has some extra toys.
    The redline has all the toys
    Auto is 2,200 extra on all models

    Reply
  2. As a former G8 owner, I completely agree with the details within the article. GM kept the performance aspect of the vehicle alive and well, toned up the interior and toned down the exterior. I’m 37 and I feel like it’s the proper performance vehicle for someone in my age range. The SS is a classy, understated, well-optioned performer (versus something loud, in-your-face or has boy-racer written all over it.). I love it and I plan on purchasing one soon.

    Reply
  3. I too live in SE Florida and have a G8GXP 6M. Your description that it has cheap plastic interior is well… Dumb. Is it all flashy with chrome inserts in the seat backs? No. Does it have all the electronic goodies the SS has? No. Bummer there. But the leather is of a very high quality. In no place do I see cheap plastic. And the seats are the most comfortable of almost any car I’ve driven. Lack of HUD and a better stereo were the most missed, but your flat wrong to categorize as it as negative as you did. I would gladly give up a few options to have what I believe is a very high quality basic car, and the GXP has the thicker steering wheel and runs unbelievably fast as any Pontiac I’ve owned. I have a 67GTO, 67 2+2CV428, 66GTO, all manuals. And the styling differences are subjective. Too say one is better is your opinion. I hands down like the Pontiac and nobody else shows up in one. Of course that’s true with the SS, but at least you can still buy one. I read somewhere in a reliable source that a manual with magnetic ride control would be available before the year is out.

    Reply
    1. Cheap plastic? Yes. Every try to replace the glove box, seat molding around the seat controls and the panels beneath the center stack? Is it the worst plastic out there? No, but it’s definitely not premium. Thankfully, the infortainment and HVAC controls DO feel nice and are of similar dark, hard plastic of early 2000s BMWs.

      The “leather” seats. The “leather” is incredibly firm, not soft like other cars I own. Keep in mind I’m not saying the seat is firm, I’m saying the actual leather surface is firm, in that it feels like it can crack easily at any moment. Oh, and no rubbing a paste-based compound on the seats because the leather is perforated. Swell. The “leather” is NOT “high quality” in the G8.

      The seats themselves are just “good”. Not great, just “good”. They are good enough for the G8. The controls and cheap plastic trim, however, are a nightmare and tough to work on. They look cheap as well; I am tired of plastic surfaces that have fake bumps trying to imitate a leather surface’s looks. It’s embarrassing and silly.

      I have owned two G8s and enjoy both of them. They are great cars but they are not the end-all-be-all of “cheap” performance sedans. The SS is an excellent successor and anyone who thinks they are “too expensive” can’t afford one and don’t know a darn thing about the full-size performance sedan market. The SS is a bargain just as the G8 GXP was a bargain when it was released.

      Reply
  4. The Holden design isn’t meant to be performance based. The Commodore has always been a family sedan with sports trims offered (as well as comfort and luxury). The G8 had it’s own design for that reason, take a look at VE Commodore SS-V and VE Series 2 Commodore SS-V. The VF is actually more aggressive then its predecessor. Our performance design needs came from HSV, the performance brand. Take a look at the luxury design, the VF Calais-V, it could be mistaken for a Buick instantly (and could be sold as a Buick mind you with the amount of luxury).

    Reply
  5. G8 looked better, but this is a great car. I just hate the name, wish they had chosen Bonneville as a homage to Pontiac

    Reply
  6. The VF is selling well in Australia as it’ a great package available in a sports range, a luxury range, a sport and luxury combined range and a long wheel based range. Both V6 and V8 engine options in most cases.
    However what you are getting in the States is a half blend of an SS with a touch of HSV.
    HSV punch out the hard core Holden’s that we get in Australia and the current VF HSV range is very understated compared to the previous VE HSV range.
    The difference is so great that I and several others I know actively hunted out an E3 series VE HSV in preference to the new ( and final) VF.
    Choice is up to the individual but I believe the “out there” VE will be remembered and desired far more than the VF the Holden factory closes in 2017.

    Reply
    1. It’s a pity that GM was unable to bring the SS at a G8 price point. Instead of being a niche offering, the focus could have been more on volume therefore giving GM a truly unique offering of large cars.
      The G8 did not eat up Impala sales, & neither would have SS since they appeal to different buyers.
      Also, SS is not a name but a trim level. The car should have been a Bonneville as an homage to Pontiac history.

      Reply
      1. I’d counter all of that with this:
        1. Names aren’t set in stone and are meant to change and adapt. Silverado was also a trim level on the C/K… and now it’s a real nameplate.
        2. Would you rather have this car called the “Chevrolet Bonneville”? That would be a spit in the face of both the Chevy and Pontiac brands. If nothing else, the SS name on this car strengthens and underlines the significance of the SS trim level, and vice-versa.
        3. I would also argue against the idea of making this car a high-volume vehicle. Those who buy Chargers and 300s that can compete with the SS are few and far between. I would also argue that those people would be best served with a FWD-based full size sedan like the Impala. So, the volume on the SS seems to be just right.

        Reply
  7. I was looking forward to the SS. Then I saw the pricing. GM is mad to think that many people will spend upwards for 45k on a chevy sedan…
    The G8 was so great because it was aggressively priced (about 30k for the GT) AND because it wasn’t really a pontiac (chevy is no better).
    I would have bought the SS if they had priced it appropriately, instead I went for the Charger RT+

    Reply
  8. I bristle when I hear Chevrolet being referred to so disparaging, as that comment suggests. In the past I would say Dodge was the one people would look at as cheap. Truth is all American brands are tipping the scales in terms of build &design quality. It’s the misguided that believe in the foreign is better syndrome. I hang with a lot of mechanics and I hear design horror stories with foreign rides way more than the good ole USA. Shipping a quality built car from Australia is in part much of that extra cost. People need educated about the today’s quality and worldwide reality of auto manufacturing. Holden builds great cars, though I get what you’re saying. An extra $100+- a month doesn’t seem that much to get an SS, over a similar optioned Dodge at least that’s my take. Where am I going wrong? It’s not for everyone as the LS3 w/o DOD and direct injection, just is a gas hog. My GXP started out getting about15mpg but I’m lucky to get 13 unless I put an egg under my foot/accelerator pedal.

    Reply
    1. You’re absolutely right. Dodge wasn’t very good quality. It still isn’t great but the bang for your buck aspect far outweighs the quality issues (mostly just annoyances). Ford was bad quality but made a change in early 2000s, Dodge made a change when they were bought by fiat, and GM never changed because they were bailed out by the government with no repercussions for their shitty quality. Fact is I got a fully loaded ’13 Charger RT+ for $30,000, The SS would have been at least 10 grand more than that (assuming I could get any discount on it) and it wouldn’t have anywhere near the interior I have. Fact of the matter is that most people who are gonna spend that kind of money on a sedan will either go for the most power (Charger SRT) or a premium name, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Acura, etc, etc. The SS is simply out of place. If they had kept it in line with the G8 GT prices (Say 33-35k base MSRP) they’ve have a much more popular car.

      Reply
      1. It sucks that the AU dollar is so high. Super Sport should have been aimed at Charger on price point; even if that meant poaching a few Impala sales.

        Dodge is quickly becoming the new Pontiac. It seems as if no other automaker wants the sales turf with Ford aiming at imports & Chevy trying to cover top many bases like a jack of all trades yet master of none—at least in the eyes of US shoppers.
        Chevy needs to pull itself out of third place and an inexpensive muscle car could be pay of the formula

        Reply

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