After recently testing a Torrent Sport recently, I must say, I was very impressed with it. The steering, ride and handling are spot on and dare I say very Mazda-like. If my Mazda6 was a tall mid-size SUV, I would expect it to handle just like the Torrent.
I took some pretty aggressive corners and twisty roads and the Torrent held up to everything I threw at it flawlessly. very impressed.
Interior is great. Lots of room, versitile and the Pioneer sound system is just plain wicked. The sliding 2nd row of seats is fantastic as well. Opens up a ton of extra cargo room when slide forward (5 more cubit feet than our VUE) and lotsa leg room when pushed back. Pushed all the way back it makes putting the little guy in his car seat very easy.
The front seats don't have much lateral support, but they are a lot more comfortable than my 6.
the interior was dead quiet on the highway, no rattles, no squeeks and no wind noise or leakage. It felt just as solid as my 6.
don't let the "lowly" 3.4 L and 186 HP fool you, this thing has plenty of get-up-and-go for everyday driving. Highway merging is not an issue, neither is passing. I didn't find the engine to be excessively loud when stomping on it either.
Wife really like this car as well.
On the flip side, we took out an 06 VUE with the honda 3.5 and were dissappointed in it compared to the Torrent. Our 03 is full of rattles, I thought they'd fix that after 3 model years. nope. Turning into a parking lot over that little curb bump made the whole vehicle shake. Not as bad as our 03, but the Torrent was completely solid and quiet, the VUE just didn't feel solid at all. The Honda 3.5 is FAST as hell, but it's loud, there was wind noise and generally it was just a soft, mushy, loud experience.
Pontiac deserves a ton of credit for the Torrent IMO. Out of the 15-20 or so vehicles I've tested, the Torrent stood out as being one of the best for my needs.
