Used 2003 Pontiac Bonneville for Sale near Sioux Falls, SD
The era of the big boat sedans has long since sailed away, thanks to the 1970s energy crunch, but somehow the Bonneville has endured and managed to shift its image from old lady driving slowly on Sunday car to a modern, sporty performance sedan. There were few major changes to the 2003 Pontiac Bonneville. Once-standard side airbags are now only an option on the SE and SLE trims. Front bucket seats get more power adjustment for reclining and lumbar support, and XM radio is added to the options list.
The 2003 Bonneville is sports-oriented, even without the supercharged V6. The SE and SLE are aimed not at grannies, but at a younger family market looking for practical roominess and trunk space along with style, performance, and sporty handling. The SE and SLE come with a 3.8-liter, 205-hp V6, while the SSEi features a supercharged 240-hp version of this engine. A 4-speed auto tran allows you to switch between normal and performance modes. The SSEi has sports suspension, rear spoiler, a heads-up display projected onto the windshield, power leather seats and variable steering. But even the SE gets supportive glove-like seats, cruise control, ABS brakes, power locks and mirrors, and remote entry. The SLE falls somewhere in between the two, sportier than the SE, but with fewer standard features than the SSEi.
The supercharged engine is a favorite of 2003 Bonneville owners, who like its highway performance and immediate acceleration action. The heads-up display gets high marks for allowing you to keep your eyes on the road. The Bonneville features sporty handling, a smooth ride, and tight steering. It is also very roomy, with a large trunk. 2003 Bonny owners complain about wind noise and lack of room in the backseats, particularly headroom. Cupholders are badly made as are most of the plastic parts. The way too busy dash is complicated and hard to get used to, say drivers. Many wish the rear seats had a fold-down option instead of just a trunk pass-through in the armrest.
4.4 Overall rating
(15 reviews)I just bought (Feb./09) a 2003 Bonneville SSEi with 60K miles on it, but in mint (very well maintained and cared) conditions, for $ 8,600.00, with four new Pirelli PZero tires. The paint is the original factory Rain Forest Green Metallic color, and is like new (waxed every month). The interior leather and interiors are like new too. This is my second Bonneville, my previous one was a 1997 SE. I just don't think there is any other large american car that could be compared to this one. I truly believe that this was GM's best kept secret. I don't know why it was discontinued in 2005. I guess not many people have tried it. If they do, they would buy it. Because of it's smooth, yet powerfull, Supercharged 3.8 L V-6 engine, it has the performance of a V-8 when you push the pedal (240 + HP), but the economy of a V-6 when cruising (29 average MPG on HWY), not bad for a large luxury car. It has an excellent premium 8 speaker soound system (I connect my IPod via a high fidelity FM transmitter I bought on E-Bay). There is no need for a 12 CD changer these days. Excellent handling. The suspension is very smooth and strong at the same time, you just don't feel the road imperfections. It is certainly fun to drive and beautiful inside and out. It has all the luxury that you can find in a Cadillac Seville, but with a sleek and sporty look. It has a 5 star safety rating which includes dual front and side air bags for driver and front passenger. Strongly recommend it. Specially when you avoid all of the depreciation costs paid by the original owner.
Great motor (3.8 L), good gas mileage, comfortable/quiet ride, lots of space, sleek body.
Acceleration was confident, but the engine was too small for such a big car. Braking was decent with good pedal feedback - you could tell exactly what was going on at all four corners. Handling - it didn't handle very well, almost like a fat man on rollerskates. Tons of understeer under hard cornering. Build quality was not good - it started getting lots of rattles and squeaks around 30K miles. GM saw us on NUMEROUS occasions with this car. Heated leather went out a few times, auto headlights would shut off in the dead of night while on the highway, dual zone climate control simply quit, ***Steering wheel shaft went out so many times we forgot*** This is a known issue with GM, and they have NO fix for it. It causes a loud "CLUNK" when you turn the steering wheel. It's caused by inferior metal at the gears...when it slips, it causes a loud "CLUNK" to come up through the steering wheel and sounds like something falling out from under the car. I loved this car, but it's apparent it didn't love me. Styling was beautiful, nice lines, aggressive front fascia and beautiful chrome plated rims with 16" low profile tires. Rode like a cloud on the highway and so quiet you could hear a pin drop in the cabin.
Pros - Reliable car, great gas mileage, great handling, great performance if you have the superchargered model, great interior, very roomy, aerodynamic appearence, quick in acceleration, decent sounding exhaust. Cons - Superchargered model is better, front - wheel driven, bigger engine, lacks horsepower.
Bought this car with 35,000 miles on it. Now has 99,000 and has had no problems. Performance is a little slow but isn't bad considering the car weighs 3800 pounds. The car gets about 28 mpg on the highway and about 20 or 19 mpg in the city. Overall a good family car.
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