At $6,495, Is This 2005 Pontiac Aztek Rally An Attractive Bargain?

While universally disliked by those who have to look at them, the Pontiac Aztek’s versatility has made it popular among its owners. Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Rally edition is extra versatile as it comes with a factory tent that attaches to the back. Let’s decide if that makes it worth a second look.

There’s a lot of interest afoot these days about going “off the grid” as a decompression vacation option. People like manic pixie influencer Tati Reed have popularized such cord-cutting adventuring. She has shared her tales of overlanding across the plains and plateaus of the social media blogosphere. Being two-wheel drive and suffering a significantly inconvenient departure angle will make the 1987 Dodge B350 Horizon camper van we looked at yesterday a non-starter for aggressive overlanding. However, should the land one needs to get over be, say, paved or, at the very least, smooth gravel, then it should do just fine. It’s difficult to say whether or not anyone would get the chance, though, seeing as 60% of you warned off the camper’s $12,000 asking price, dunning it with a No Dice loss.

Do you ever equate General Motors to the Willy Wonka factory and its various brands as the golden ticketed children given a tour of its workings? That would explain the disappearance of so many over the years. Consider what we’ve lost: LaSalle, Oldsmobile, Saturn, Geo, Hummer (sorta back), Saab, and, lastly, Pontiac. There are a few more, but there are only so many hours in the day.

For most of these marques, it was brand apathy by both GM and its customers that drove their demise. In the case of Pontiac, however, there was one single vehicle that, it could be argued, sealed its fate. This 2005 Pontiac Aztek Rally is probably the most attractive edition of the model that was so ugly that it tainted its parent to the point that it became a joke, sullying the reputations of all its sister models in the process.

Oddly enough, the Aztek’s design was intended from the outset to be polarizing, with lead designer Tom Peter once being quoted as saying that the goal was to create an “in-your-face vehicle that wasn’t for everybody.” To be honest, that’s probably not the best strategy for a vehicle intended for the mass market.

The thing of it is, there’s a good car underneath all the aggressively awkward styling. Pontiac’s designers put a lot of effort into making the Aztek stand out, not just with its appearance but with clever features as well. This Rally package edition, for instance, has the optional tent that mounts around the open rear hatch, providing a sleeping space safe from all the creepy-crawlies that infest the out-of-doors.

Being a “Rally” means it also has a slightly lowered suspension, body-colored grille, hatch-mounted spoiler, and chromed 17-inch alloy wheels. All of these additions serve to make the Aztek a bit less of an eyesore. Oddly, the ad notes “Vibrant Fusion Orange Metallic paint” as part of the Rally package when the pictures clearly show what is obviously a silver-painted car. We should also note that there are some minor flaws in that paint, although nothing to get too knicker-twisted over. The interior presents as clean, albeit with more hard plastic surfaces than a Little Tyke Cozy Coupe. The seats and door cards have odd patterning but are otherwise in fine condition.

There’s some cleverness under the skin, too, with GM’s solid-citizen 3.4-liter LA1 V6 under the hood, mated to a four-speed overdrive automatic. That was the only drivetrain made available in the model, and as fitted offered up 185 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque. On this car, that’s augmented by an AWD system dubbed Versatrak which employs a hydraulic center diff to shuffle torque between front and rear ends. That was built by Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG and switched the FWD Aztek’s beam axle and drum brakes for an independent setup and discs.

According to the ad, that drivetrain has pushed this Aztek 75,705 miles, with the seller touting that it’s “Well-maintained and ready for its next adventure!” With the tent, the slide-out cargo deck, a center console cooler, and a fold-down rear gate that can serve as a seat, it would also be the perfect tailgating vehicle for the upcoming football season. That is, if its looks can be ignored.

Ignoring those looks for the moment, let’s focus on this clean-title Aztek’s $6,495 asking price and decide if, in this case, at least, we like what we see. That’s a decent price for something as versatile and in as nice of condition as this car, but would anyone pay that much to be alternatively confused with Walter White and “Ha-Ha’d” by Nelson Muntz?

What do you say? Is $6,495 a fair price for this feature-laden Aztek as it’s presented in its ad? Or, even at that amount, would you not give it a second glance?

You decide!

Nice Price or No Dice:

Denver, Colorado, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Jerry Cleveland for the hookup!

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