The front seats themselves hold you securely, but they don't feel like the buckets in a sedan. There are large side bolsters on the backs of the seats, but the seating surface is relatively flat. This makes the van easy to get into, but encourages you to move around on long trips.
The dashboard is neatly arranged, and the gauges are easy to read. The videotape and CD players are down near the floor and require a long reach to change media, however. The Montana Vision system has a 5.6-inch flat-panel color monitor screen that folds down from the ceiling. The front-seat occupants can't see it, a legal requirement. Behind this screen is a ceiling console that houses panels with volume knobs and jacks for headphones. On the left side of the rear ceiling are two knobs for additional rear seat heating and cooling. All of this equipment will keep rear-seaters busy and entertained. What we like best about this system is its integration. Aftermarket systems we've tried tend to be more difficult to use and not as durable.
The Montana is the perfect family truckster. Cross winds won't make it wander on the way to Wally World. Veer off onto poorly maintained secondary roads and the suspension doesn't get upset. You feel confident driving on bad roads.
The Montana corners quickly for a minivan. Equipped with the optional sport handling package, its front tires won't squeal until you're cornering at sports sedan speeds. That's unique for a minivan. Body roll is less noticeable in the Montana than it is in the Silhouette and Venture minivans; part of the Montana's handling package includes stiffer springs and larger shock absorbers in the rear.
Back on the big highways, you'll feel no pain. The noise from the powerplant is limited to an isolated and distant hissing. At 80 mph the engine is revving at just 2400 rpm, which we found to be the average cruising speed on most Western highways marked at a 75 mph limit. The Montana doesn't sound like it's straining to keep up, and passing slower cars can be done without too much prior planning.
The V6 engine has good throttle response in traffic, and it's efficient-we got 25 mpg on a fast trip across the state. The EPA estimates highway fuel economy at 26 mpg, an improvement of 1 mpg over last year's Montana. Traction control is optional; and it's a good idea for easier control in winter driving. Without traction control engaged, you can easily spin one of the front wheels during a spirited take-off on dry pavement. With a torque-laden V6 and front-wheel drive, torque steer is sometimes noticeable as a slight tug on the steering wheel under hard acceleration.
The brake pedal is typically spongy, as it is on GM platforms that were designed in the early 1990s. Newer designs, such as the latest Bonneville and GM's newest big pickups and SUVs, lack this mushy feeling, so the Montana will likely get a better-feeling brake pedal in the future. Having said that, the antilock brake system works well, without undue clattering of the brake pedal.
The Pontiac Montana is one of our favorite minivans because of its styling, handling and braking. It has all the bins and cubbies of the Oldsmobile and Chevy versions. The Montana was the highest rated minivan by women in Good Housekeeping's latest driving survey. Hmm, suppose all those soccer moms like to play Bobby Labonte on the exit ramps?
The Montana is the most appealing of the three GM minivans to us, and that's just because we prefer the Ducks Unlimited-style colors, the stickier tires and the '99 Bonneville sports sedan steering wheel. It handles rough roads without any ungainly bouncing around. It feels smaller than the big new Honda Odyssey, faster than the new Mazda MPV, but it's not as quick as the latest Mercury Villager or Dodge Caravan. Stocked as it is with a lot of lookalike vehicles, we think there's plenty of room in the minivan market for the Montana.
