2009 Saturn Sky Red Line vs 2009 Pontiac Solstice

But to Thomas, I said, “Hey, it’s perfect for you and me.”

And it was.

The Pontiac Solstice is good for enjoying a cool ride with your cool son, or for just letting it loose on a highway, with the kids at home with their dad.

One thing I learned about the Solstice, right off, it’s a head turner.

Whether parked in the driveway or at Dunkin Donuts, this very curvaceous roadster had people and their cars slowing down for a better look.

The Solstice is in its fourth year of production and this year the Solstice debuted a new model with a removable hard-top roof. This was the model I got to test drive.

Similar to the take-away roof on some Corvette models, the removable top is concave and must be stored outside the car. This can make it tricky – you better be sure it’s not going to rain.

The top is concave, giving riders a little more headroom than you’d find in the Saturn Sky or the Mazda Miata. In the Solstice, you’ll find 37.5 inches of headroom and 42.7 inches of leg room.

I’m not sure if the Sky and the Solstice share the exact same motor, but the end results are the same.

The Solstice Coupe GXP is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that kicks out 260 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. Pontiac also brags about the 0 to 60 in 5.8 seconds, making me suspicious if these two distant cousins (both GM products) don’t share the same engine.

Also like the Sky, the Solstice has a standard five-speed manual transmission, while a five-speed automatic is optional.

I loved driving the Solstice on twisty roads. Handling and suspension made for a very responsive ride. The Solstice stayed firm, with little body roll in the car during sharp turns and steering was sharp and sure.

Mileage for the Solstice is average, 19/27 mpg. I got about 23 mpg, with a combination of city and highway miles.

Inside, the Solstice is a little less comfortable than some competing coupes, mainly due to the thick transmission tunnel housed under the middle console area. It makes hip room a bit tight.

Since you take the top off, instead of storing it in the trunk, of course there’s more cargo space – 5.6 cubic feet – with the top off.

One thing I didn’t like about the Solstice was the lack of visibility you have through any of the small, but stylish windows. The outline of the car looks good, but doesn’t offer many orifices to see who or what is around you.

The 2009 Pontiac Solstice is available as either a soft-top roadster or the coupe with the removable roof panel. Both body styles are available in base or GXP trim levels. Standard on both base models are 18-inch alloy wheels, a limited-slip rear differential, a tilting steering wheel, OnStar, a trip computer and an audio system with satellite radio, a CD/MP3 player and an auxiliary audio jack.

Roadsters have a manual soft top.

The GXP adds a turbocharged engine, performance tires, dual exhaust outlets, foglamps, a sport-tuned suspension, Bluetooth, cruise control, full power accessories, keyless entry and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.

If you’re in the market for a convertible, I would be hard pressed to suggest a more attractive car than the Solstice.

A definite pro to this car is the pricetag. The base price for my test vehicle was $30,375 and $33,140 for an option-laden model.