2005 Pontiac Montana Review
Fuel Economy
17 - 18 mpg
Summary
What Edmunds.com says
If you can stomach the heavy doses of plastic trim both inside and out, the Montana offers peppy performance and comfortable passenger accommodations in a feature-laden package.
Pros
Available eight-passenger seating, optional rear parking assist, sporty handling, numerous optional entertainment features (MP3, DVD, XM Satellite Radio).
Cons
Weak offset crash test scores, ABS not standard, can't get side curtain airbags, cheap interior materials, unrefined powertrain character.
What's New for 2005
The Montana's model lineup goes under the knife this year -- trimmed away are the regular-wheelbase and all-wheel-drive models.
Consumer Ratings & Reviews
Rattle trap
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 6 | Build Quality: | 4 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 7 | Reliability: | 7 |
| Fuel Economy: | 6 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
2005 Pontiac Montana MontanaVision 4dr Ext Minivan (3.4L 6cyl 4A)
Review
This is the last of the old-style Montanas, sold in Canada as a 2005 model. I was attracted to the low price (used) - half the cost of an Odyssey or Sienna. I had also heard the bad head gasket had been solved. Ours had about 42,000 miles on it when we bought it. It has performed well over the past year, though we had to replace a bad front wheel bearing, the rubber door gaskets came loose and the wind stretched the driver's door hinges (fixed at our local college). Recently replaced the crap General tires with Michelins and vastly improved the ride and noise; gas mileage is better too. The one thing we can't address are the rattles in the sliding doors. Overall, great value in a used van.
Favorite Features
Montanavision DVD works great. Comfortable seating can be removed as needed. Good power and gas mileage - better than our old Mercury Villager. Styling is better than the dorky Montana SV6.
Suggested Improvements
Front brakes grind - looking forward to replacing them with premium aftermarket parts. The interior rattles drive me crazy. GM needs to spend more time sweating the details.
Worse Car Ever Owned
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 2 | Fun-to-Drive: | 1 | Build Quality: | 1 |
| Comfort: | 2 | Interior Design: | 5 | Reliability: | 1 |
| Fuel Economy: | 1 | Exterior Design: | 8 | ||
Vehicle
2005 Pontiac Montana 1SB SV6 Fwd 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
Review
From the second day I purchased this vehicle, we have had nothing but problems. Our first year alone it was serviced 14 times. I wont even start to describe all the problems. From bumper to bumper , we have had problems. Poorest handling, poorest acceleration, when you hit a bump the doors feel like they are going to fall off. We are on our 3rd set of tires, we cannot keep an alignment on it. Unfortunately for us, we have tried to trade for another mini van of better quality, most car dealers will not accept them on trades and if they do , my kids bicycle is worth more than the van.
Favorite Features
Good looking minivan
Suggested Improvements
Discontinue the model and start over!!
Terrible Van - we are going to Toyota
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 3 | Fun-to-Drive: | 3 | Build Quality: | 1 |
| Comfort: | 2 | Interior Design: | 2 | Reliability: | 1 |
| Fuel Economy: | 2 | Exterior Design: | 2 | ||
Vehicle
2005 Pontiac Montana 1SB SV6 Fwd 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
Review
Very disappointing. We have bought only GM for 20 years. Automatic sliding doors open while driving and won't latch. Mystery to dealer and GM. They could care less this is a serious safety issue. We are stuck having to go in and have the doors fixed once every few months. GM customer service tells us it is fixed each time so what the heck do we want from them?? We are so unreasonable to want a car that works Fabric inside stains easily despite many coats from the dealer of Scotch-Guard. Cruise control accelerates by red-lining RPM's causing loss of control of the vehicle. JD Powers gives this van its worst ratings across the board. Hello Toyota - GM doesn't care if they lose a customer.
Favorite Features
None
Suggested Improvements
Recall the entire van and help your customers get into a quality van so GM doesn't lose more business - this is not a good time for GM to tick-off their customers
Lumpy quality
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 7 | Build Quality: | 3 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 4 | Reliability: | 6 |
| Fuel Economy: | 7 | Exterior Design: | 7 | ||
Vehicle
2005 Pontiac Montana MontanaVision 4dr Ext Minivan (3.4L 6cyl 4A)
Review
The good news is the Montana is a well designed minivan that eats up the miles comfortably and returns good gas mileage. The bad news is the van is built with cheap plastic inside that readily falls apart. The rear hatch pull strap broke in my wife's hand after only a few months. The transmission hesitates a little and I fear it will break down sooner than later. Wind caught the driver's door last week and yanked it hard against the hinges (fully open) and bent the top hinge. Talk about cheaply made! Now the door whistles on the highway. Looking for a good bodyshop that can fix it properly. These vans are very cheaply made!
Favorite Features
Comfortable seats; long-distance cruiser; decent gas mileage; inexpensive to buy used (steep depreciation).
Suggested Improvements
Better interiors (Pontiac listened - the SV6 is way better), stronger unibody and improved transmission. I'd like to buy American, but I'm afraid my next van will be a Toyota.
Nice Van
Overall Rating
| Performance: | 8 | Fun-to-Drive: | 8 | Build Quality: | 9 |
| Comfort: | 8 | Interior Design: | 7 | Reliability: | 9 |
| Fuel Economy: | 8 | Exterior Design: | 9 | ||
Vehicle
2005 Pontiac Montana 1SB SV6 Fwd 4dr Minivan (3.5L 6cyl 4A)
Review
Bought new in Dec. 05. No problems at 43,000 miles of mostly city driving. Only issue is with tire wear, need to rotate every 5,000 miles or rear tires will cup. Overall very nice van for the price.
Favorite Features
Comfort of leather captain chairs.
Suggested Improvements
View Pricing for Other Years
- 2005 Pontiac Montana
- 2004 Pontiac Montana
- 2003 Pontiac Montana
- 2002 Pontiac Montana
- 2001 Pontiac Montana
- 2000 Pontiac Montana
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