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Quick! Which is the best-selling Pontiac?

Don’t know? Here’s a hint: It’s also among the 10 best-selling cars in America.

You may not realize it’s the Pontiac Grand Am. Many folks associate Pontiac with the Grand Prix or the Firebird. But the truth is that the Grand Am has been the real mainstay since 1992, with annual sales of more than 200,000. And it’s all new this spring — with bolder, more expressive styling, a more rigid body and a new interior.

The Grand Am now ripples, literally, with sporty looks in a market segment populated by much milder compacts such as the Nissan Altima, Ford Contour and, in some respects, the Dodge Stratus.

Up front is Pontiac’s trademark twin-port, well-defined grille. Fog lamps, a sporty option on most cars, are standard on every model of Grand Am.

With the wheelbase shrunk 3.6 inches but the overall length of the Grand Am about the same as before, the new car appears to have its wheels shoved out to the corners for a more aggressive stance. Standard tires are 15-inchers, bigger than the 14-inchers on many competitors.

And there’s wide-body side molding all around. The idea, says Grand Am Assistant Brand Manager Jace Stokes, is to help protect the car from dents and dings in parking lots — better than the thin strips of molding on competitive cars. It also adds to the Grand Am’s sporty flair.

Overall, I think there’s a lot of similarity to the more expensive Grand Prix now. It’s a point that Pontiac officials pooh-pooh but you judge for yourself.

Pontiac doesn’t argue, however, that someone buying a Grand Am “likes a sporty-looking vehicle, yet it has to be big enough for four adults,” as Stokes puts it.

Notice that the emphasis here is on looks. The Grand Am, which comes as a coupe or sedan, isn’t a wimp on the roads by any means. But it doesn’t exactly offer the same 240-horsepower, supercharged V-6 or even 195-horsepower, normally aspirated V-6 as the Grand Prix, much less the 305-horsepower V8 that’s available in the Pontiac Firebird.

Rather, the Grand Am’s two engines are a 150-horsepower, 2.4-liter, twin-cam four and a 170-horsepower, 3.4-liter V-6.

The four is a bit buzzy, sounding just like other four cylinders out there. It’s especially noisy when pressed hard in acceleration and there can be some noticeable shift points. But it still has more horsepower than the base 125-horsepower, 2-liter Contour four cylinder and the base 131-horsepower, 2-liter Stratus four.

Like the Grand Am, the Altima has a 150-horsepower, 2.4-liter four cylinder. But that’s the only engine in the Altima while the Grand Am’s uplevel V-6 is the most powerful engine option among the three competitors.

It’s the engine I prefer, both for response and smoothness. It gets this decent-sized car moving quickly, with less fuss than the four, and Pontiac reports a 0-to-60-miles-an-hour time of 8 seconds. Besides, you’ll lose only about a mi le a gallon in city and highway driving going from the four to the six, according to Pontiac. The only transmission is a four-speed automatic.

Pontiac points out the work done to make the Grand Am body more rigid and less prone to squeaks and rattles. And you really can tell the difference, if you’ve ever ridden in an early model Grand Am where the ride could be jarring on rough roads.

1999 Pontiac Grand Am interior

The new Grand Am feels more in control, more stable. It rides comfortably and firmly, neither mushy nor punishing over hard bumps. The steering wheel is thicker, too, giving a more solid feel for the driver.

The car is also well-stocked given its starting price of just over $16,500 base plus destination. It includes air conditioning, power door locks, even two back-seat cup holders standard.

Of course, a big issue for buyers will be how well the Grand Am stands up over time. Grand Ams from earlier in the 1990s were pretty much average in reliability, according to Consumer Reports.m

In other words, sporty styling goes only so far — even if it’s a good place to start.

SPECS

What we drove: 1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE1 sedan, a five-passenger, four-door sedan with 2.4-liter, twin cam four cylinder and four-speed automatic transmission.

Estimated base price: $17,470

Estimated price as tested: $17,995

Curb weight: 3,116 pounds

Length: 186.3 inches

Turning circle (curb to curb): 37.7 feet

Standard features: All-wheel-drive system; roof rails; dual air bags; air conditioning; AM/FM stereo with cassette.

Options on test vehicle: Two front air bags, rear cornering lamps, fog lamps, 15-inch steel-belted radial tires, air conditioning, electric trunk release, power door locks, tachometer, floor mats, AM/FM stereo, tilt steering column, rear window defogger, daytime running lamps.

Estimated EPA figures: 21 mpg city; 29 mpg highway