First let me give you some background:

I had been anticipating the SS/SC since January. The local dealer has only had 1 since release and it was sold within a week. Today we finally found a dealer about 50 miles away that had some. All were 06's 2 of which had the Recaro/lsd package. The one we test drove was an 06, blue with Recaro/lsd pack on it. I was very excited to say the least. Well after the test drive I was very, very disapointed. The car had NO power whatsoever. I even had to pop the hood to re-assure myself that it had a SC on it! Even the wife who drove it noticed it's complete lack of power. Is there some kind of "safe mode" that the dealer puts it in for test drives? I was just amazed at how poorly it ran. I have read all the reviews, watched personal video clips and dyno charts.... All I can say is I am speechless.
I also have a 05 srt 4 and I will be honest with you, they are no comparisson what so ever. I am not trying to be a troll, or start any trouble, I am however very disappointed in the car. I waited months to even look at one in person, and months after that to drive one. I was left totally unsatisfied. Is it possible that this is a "bad" one from the factory or what?

SQ

 

Wow, I have no idea. It possibly could have been in "Limp mode" ?

Did you hear the SC at all or check to see if it was making any boost?

 

srt4's are faster, there's no disputing that
did you watch the boost guage during ur test run?

dont forget the car isnt broken in yet, and they break in and get faster once theres a couple thousand miles on there

1/4 mile times
stock SRT4 13.9
stock SS/Sc 14.6

 

My Cobalt came pretty quick out of the box.

It should *feel* similar to the srt4 excluding the feeling of a spooled tubo v. the linear increase of the SC.

 

It was making boost per the gauge. Like 10-12lbs. I didn't notice any CE lights or anything out of the ordinary. I knew the srt was faster going into the test drive, but honestly after driving the SS, it was like it was not even in the same league! We are not buying anything until spring, so I will def give the car another try with another one. This will be the wifes car, so it will have to win her over now. Looks wise it is very nice, interior is OK (about the same as srt IMO) handling was average. Pricing was pretty high. The one we looked at was 26,500 I believe. That is with the options and all.

 

Well hopefully you'll have a better ride in one next time.

 

I did the same recently, and likewise i was VERY dissapointed, i talked to my friend who test drove a SS without LSD and he said he thought it was much quicker, but now he wants to try another one without LSD to see if that was it. His stepdad (head mechanic at chevy dealership) said that the SS didnt have enough power for the lsd to be efficient, im hope hes right, b/c that car is slow for a supercharged car. first gear is fast, 2nd sucks end of 3rd is ok.

 

The one we test drove did have an LSD. I know that the LSD will add to drivetrain loss, but I honestly didn't think it would be that much. Next time I will try one without LSD. I didn't care for the Recarros or extra 2k anyhow.

SQ

 

yea i hope so, b/c honestly there wasnt much difference, except for first gear, between it and my 2.2

 

What the heck do you guys drive on a daily basis ? I mean If I go from an E55 to the SS ya it feels slow... really slow. But in general its pretty quick... Ive driven quite a few SRT4s and it is a little bit slower... but its not like its a Prius...

 

Well I own an srt4 and a Spec V..plus today we test drove a bunch of cars to get a feel of whats availible. I will rundown the list:

06 Eclipse GT v6 6spd **27k**
06 Tibby v6 6spd **22k**
05 Tibby v6 5spd **20k**
Charger R/T hemi automatic **34k**
06 VW GTI 1.8T **19k**
06 Civic EX **18k**

Now the only cars that the SS seemed to run better than was the Civic EX and probably my Spec V (although the Spec V's handling would more than make up for the power loss)
The 2 Tibbys ran about the same as the Cobalt, if not a little better. GTI, Eclipse, and Charger all ran much better than the Cobalt I drove. I put the window price of each car in astericks.

The best comparison that I could make via price is the Eclipse GT. They are within 1k of each other, but the Eclipse wins every single aspect hands down. Looks, handling, power, interior, exterior, and audio system. I am just befuddled at what I witnessed today.

SQ

 

 

I find that disturbing considering the GTI and Tibby put out less than 200whp.

I do like the new Eclipse though, very sharp car.

 

yeah i was considering the eclipse too, but i like the cobalt better.

 

I think a lot of this is perception personally... an SRT4 is a little bit faster... but if FEELS A LOT FASTER... Something about when the turbo hits to me personally maybe im nuts.. but it just feels as if your pulling like no other when in reality your not (Thats why i almost bought an SRT4! They feel sweet!)...

Spec-V... when they first came out I drove one... I liked it a ton.... I liked the gauges they got ride of ! idiots !... Thing just felt awesome handling wise... to me the seating position felt perfect.. For me it was like a glove... Little underpowered I thought though... Me and friend scared the **** out of the salesmen who was with us... Anybody in the phoenix area might know... doing 100mph down the greenway/hayden loop.. stupid i know... but exciting !

The new Eclipse.... Now maybe i just got a lemon or something but the one I drove was pretty decent but I thought it felt week... I mean it pulled nice and smooth but that thing weighs a ton and you can feel every pound of it... Steering is pretty light and responsive but when your cornering I thought it really pushed and was kind of unsteady... Interior and styling... Shoot.. I loved it...

Ive only driven an 05 tibby... I was ok... I was pretty unimpressed... not much for the front end... interior didnt seem very special...

Charger R/T come on man.... They arent even in the same league...

GTI and Civic arent even worth mentioning unless its an R32 or an SI and hell an SI isnt even worth mentioning... Not to mention the eclipse and charger... One is 6k more then my car.... other is 10k+ more then my car... Thats a lot more money...

I dunno though... I like all cars... I thought when I bought it and still think my SS/SC is the best performance deal on the market... Well maybe 2nd best to the SRT4... Damn I wish I could of afforded both !

 

The GTI is the one that really got me wondering about the SS. We drove the SS first, afterwards we were both like WTF? Then we drove the GTI about 15minutes later. From the get go the GTI felt much more powerfull all around. I thought it could be the weight difference from the SS to the GTI, but for having a considerable less amount of hp, the GTI felt alot stronger?

The Eclipse was an awesome car. Very impressive for a NA v6. The price is a little more than I would like to spend though.

SQ

 

i still think the cobalt ss s/c looks a hell of a lot better than the srt 4. every time i see it, i still see a neon...

 

If I could buy both I would also, but I could not pass up the options you get in the Cobalt. I can't imagine getting into an srt4 and not play my mp3 cd's.

 

Thats why i got my SS.... I got it for almost 3k cheaper then I could of gotten a new SRT4.. Overall with the price diff and the options it was a better buy.... Also Im big guy and the SRT4 seats hurt my ass...

 

the 4 door thing just turns me off... and it's STILL a neon!

 

lol don't do that. That's almost a sure thing for a flame-a-palooza to occur.

 

The price thing gets me though. The ones today were 23k or so base SS/SC or 26 Recaro/lsd

I paid 23k for my srt loaded. Sunroof, Kicker audio and side airbags (I didn't like the viper seats either ) plus mine had an LSD standard.

Please understand that I am not trying to argue what car is better, just trying to figure out what the hell happened today on my testdrive!

The neon thing does not bother me one bit. I call it a Neon, it is a Neon and anyone who thinks the srt 4 is NOT a Neon is full of ****.

This whole ordeal has really bothered me, I wanted the SS to be the wifes car so we could both have 2 kickass domestic compacts.

SQ

 

I think maybe its part perception part expectation maybe ? Maybe you just expected it to be really fast and it wasnt ? Reminds me when my uncle bought his Z06 a few years ago (before he totalled it... ).. I was so stoked to get take it out for a spin... Since I had never driven a vette before... was like 3 weeks before I made it over to his house to check it out.... Then I drove it and was like ..... "It doesnt seem that fast"... The reality of it and my expectation were so far apart i disappointed myself.... I had this image in my head of it being like a top fuel dragster... Maybe thats what happened ?

 

yeah i'm definately not trying to start anything . I don't know... i think that the srt4 is definately a big step for dodge.. fast as heck and cheap. I just think the cobalt looks a lil better.

 

I'd give another a try.

Something must be wrong if you were that disappointed with the performance. IMO