The newly introduced Pontiac G6 got the best kind of send-off when Oprah gave 276 of them away to guests on her talk show.

For the studio audience, receipt of this midsize bit of lucre meant a surprise tap on the shoulder from the IRS. For Pontiac, the celebrated maker of coupes, it turned out to be quite a coup.

Until this season, when the G6 came along to phase it out, Pontiac was also the builder of Grand Ams. A popular, if hideously air-scooped, compact with a plastic hood, middling engine, and worse quality, the Grand Am’s going away goes a long way toward making its G6 successor look good. Now that it’s here, however, the G6 also must compete favorably against such family sedans as the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, and Toyota Camry. That’s a bit like trying to take on Oprah in her time slot.

Although bracketed by them in overall appeal, the G6 shares its front-drive platform with Chevrolet’s Malibu and GM-owned Saab’s 9-3. The car that sent Oprah’s studio audience into paroxysms of delight comes in a base model and sportier GT model (a four-cylinder G6 SE sedan equipped with GM’s 170-hp “Ecotec” engine will arrive sometime after March as an early ’06 entry). Both use the Malibu’s 200-horsepower V6 and four-speed automatic transmission, which the GT further dresses out with a manual shift gate, firmer suspension, and 17-inch wheels in place of the base model’s 16s. It also carries traction control and power-adjustable pedals, each of which is available for the base G6. Both trims additionally employ four-wheel disc brakes and have front torso side airbags and head protecting curtain-side airbags available as a combined option. This fall will see the appearance of a G6 coupe and retractable hardtop convertible.

While not itself a coupe, the five-seat G6 sedan nonetheless presents rakishly. Its designers have cited the Volkswagen Passat as their inspiration. We don’t see it, but, in fairness, maybe the Passat was a starting point that got buried beneath other influences. For instance, the G6’s leading edge is taken up by the new Pontiac grille, which, while still a split affair (as it has been ever since Oprah was pouring tea for dollies), also manages to split the difference between the old Pontiac bug-gulper and those of newer BMWs. The grille flows into other familiar industry forms – laterally to the G6’s enclosed headlamps and exposed wheel wells; and upwards into a long hood, sloping windshield, graceful roofline, and short rear deck. The taillight treatment, while very handsome, seems derived from recent Tauruses, Camrys, and Neons. Then there’s that sill line, which wants to rise dramatically, but seems to fear that it might do so with the severity of a Toyota Celica. This resulted in the G6’s stylists making a dopey-looking modification – one that appears intended to accommodate the G6’s tiny side-view mirrors with a big, Ford F-150-style cut-out.

Our test car was a black GT replete with leather seats (the front pair of which were heatable, with the driver’s portion power-adjustable six ways), an OnStar communications system, and the optional air-bag array described above. Notable among the midsize’s options was a “panoramic” power sunroof that combined a tilting front section with three rear-sliding panels to provide nearly the sedan’s entire passenger compartment with a gadgety skylight. These and other add-ons constituted more than $5,000 worth of optional equipment, bringing the GT’s basis as a taxable gift above $28,000.

Inside, the car’s organic-looking dashboard still bore aspects of a thing that had lain behind a kitchen stove for too long. That said, its large gauges and lit switchgear were easy to read, and its wiper control stalk, which functioned independently of the G6’s directionals, was a welcome stroke. In addition, cabin legroom, both front and rear, was generous to a newsworthy degree, although the extend-o-rama sunroof compromised headroom slightly. Over-the shoulder visibility was made more difficult by what seemed to be a larger-than-normal blind spot.

We drove the GT to the blue-collar community of Pumphrey, which was the closest we could come statewide to evoking Oprah with a place name. Although the steering was a bit too light and lacking in road feel for our tastes, the car accelerated to 60 in just under eight seconds and thereafter performed admirably, with the GT’s well composed sport suspension providing moderate body lean and excellent adhesion through fast turns.

You can have a good car – even a very good one – without being up-to-snuff in this class. Still, even with Accord as the Oprah of family sedans, the Pontiac G6 deserves a show of its own.