Pontiac Aztek
March 9, 2004Grade: C-
I rented an Aztek this weekend for a shopping trip to Chicago. Could have rented a regular car but I knew I was going to the IKEA in Schaumburg, just a few miles outside of Chicago. And I wanted something with room to bring back any furniture I picked up at IKEA.
Now my biggest problem with the Aztec is that the rear window has extremely poor visibility. It’s two separate windows, an upper and lower window, connected by a large strip of metal which also serves as a rear spoiler. The upper window is sloped back, and either because of that slope or because of the defroster wires in it the headlights from cars behind you keep changing colors. It’s a weird effect, and very distracting when you’re looking in your rear view mirrer.
The other problem is that the big metal strip connecting the two windows serves as a big blind spot. I often had cars sitting behind me that I could not see because they were in just the right place to get hidden by the metal strip. And the final problem with the read window is that the lower window got very dirty very easily. The rear spoiler above it means that rain almost never makes it onto the lower window so while the upper window gets washed by rain the lower one does not. Very poor design overall.
The other bug about this car is that under heavy acceleration it shakes. I’m not sure if that’s a four-wheel drive issue or what, but it was annoying. Not a big enough shake to make you nervous about the vehicle itself, just a little wobble that makes you wonder if you’re running over a patch of rough road or what.
Basically I’m never renting one of these things ever again. Next time I’ll go with the Chevy Trailblazer.
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