TFL’s 2001 Pontiac Aztek: Off-Road/0-60 Review [Video]

2001 Pontiac Aztek
As ugly as it is, the Pontiac Aztek should be a legend. Yes, we said that. [photo: TFLcar]
Yep, we’re nuts. TFL’s Nathan Adlen and Andre Smirnov took Roman’s exquisite 2001 Pontiac Aztek up Gold Mine Hill. So how did the ugly beast handle the crux moves? The TFL brain-trust isn’t totally sure. That’s because the original AWD crossover still wears its cracked and worn tires.

But, the technology in the Aztek portends better days ahead for its off-road prowess once we shod the vehicle with more capable rubber. That’s due to the VersaTrak all-wheel-drive system that, honest to God, works, as well as the vehicle’s torque-vectoring ability to move power between the left and right rear wheels. That and the vehicle’s automatically adjustable air suspension in the rear. For a 16-year-old ugly ducking closing in on 200,000 miles, it did… well, you’ll have to watch the video.

It was on TFL’s test track that the Aztek fell short, or rather, crawled short. In what may be a TFLcar first, Tommy couldn’t find enough track to get the 3.4-liter V6 powered Pontiac up to 60 mph at high altitude. What to do? Just run the Aztek in a straight line until it hit 60, even if that meant going off-road. So how slow is that? Let’s just say it was more than 10 seconds and less than 20. Check out Tommy’s adventure to see the exact time.