oh yea its cool. i just dont know. i know that those are the two cars it is down to. but i got a year.



thanks everyone for putting in thier .02 cents..... now i just gotta think lol

 

I test drove a CSRT4 before buying my SS, and I liked it until I had to go around a round about. It didn't feel so well. I then test drove the new WRX (Was nice, but a bit over priced) Then made my way to the Chevrolet dealership. Drove the SS, didn't like the interior, but loved the way it drove.

Later on, I did end up racing a CSRT4 when I was in san antonio. We were both stock(As far as I know on his car.) I did not walk him, but from a 40-50MPH roll I steadily pulled away from him. (This was on the way to the drag strip, about 2 car lengths each time.) Made it to the strip, and I ran a 13.71@104mph. Best he got was a 14.15 @ 103.

Both are fast in a straight line, but (with my driving.) the cobalt edged him out.

 

The Cobalt just seems so much better sorted out to me. I drove them both (and a GTI and a Speed 3 and an SI). I did a lot of driving in <$25k new cars looking for something with good gas mileage that was fun to drive.

Completely subjectively, the Cobalt just seemed to hustle better all around. Straight-line performance felt on par or better than the rest, but it just handled so well and had such a composed chassis. You didn't feel like you were getting beat up constantly but you could still nail the corners.

The speed 3 actually felt pretty equal. It didn't feel like it handled quite as well but it was really close. I actually think it was more of a torque steer/steering feel issue in it-it felt like it was working against you. The shifter on the SS felt better too. The SS was rated at 4 mpg better (not an argument, it's just what it said on the window sticker). I got really torn between the speed 3 and the SS.

I like the Caliber for what it is, but it just felt like brutish power. I know people are getting great power and that would be fun for stoplight racing. However it had the roughest ride AND handled the worst of the cars I tested. If it's ride was smooth, then you could stiffen it up for better cornering. But it's so stiff now that if you stiffen it up it would be a horrible daily driver.

The SI felt too on and off. The exhaust note was great when you really kicked it in, it actually made it a really fun car to drive. If the v-tec kicked in at 5 instead of 6k it would have had a lot more appeal. It handled great.

The GTI is a nice car, but I don't quite get what the fuss is about. It felt slower and more top heavy. I had a crappy dealer experience there too- which likely clouded my vision a little.

I haven't had any issues with rattling interior in my SS. My worst interior gap is on my silver trim in the center of the dash and it's about 1/16th of an inch.

If I were to have the decision all over again right now today- I'd get an HHR SS with the Brembo package. Which is basically an SS with more room. So my answer is kind of other- but not really.

 

calibers are putting 4 to the wheels...... without a turbo upgrade....... but with just a tune cobalts are putting 3............ so really depends on your main goal

 

i test drove both the CSRT4 and the ss/tc before i ultimately decided to go with the cobalt...i wrote a little review of them, so if you search you might still find it.... to make a long story short i went with the cobalt for the following reasons
1. CSRT4 does not come with a power train warranty (no srt car does)
2. people have been having a lot of problems with the CSRT4 (see www.caliberforums.com)

A car that is giving people a lot of problems and does not come with a powertrain warranty = gives me no confidence to purchase it

 

What?!?! Are you serious? That's ******* gheyy!

And I thought our interiors looked cheap, holy cow I just saw the interior of the caliber srt4 and it looks even cheaper than the cobalt's. The radio is ugly as sin and doesn't flow well at all. Plastic vs plastic interior, the cobalt wins hands down IMO.

 

yea im on all the caliber forums i never had a problem with mine but some people did...

i got to say i love the ss black and grey seats... othr than that come on wantedss/tc the radio i really do not like on the cobalt. the huge *** in the middle. but there were many other features of the cobalt that i did like.....

just like mricky said the shifting was amazing on the cobalt. prolly one of my favorites along with the nice stif steering and suspension.

i drove the 2009 speed 3. honestly i dont know what all fuss is about. it was less pick up on a roll but did feel tight in turns. the interior did seem a bit cheesy.
also my girlfriend is getting a 2010 mazdaspeed3. so since i diddnt like it i get to drive it when ever i want lol. so that is off the list

 

Oh yeah neither interior is good by any means...but the Caliber has a fridge in the Glove Compartment...I mean come on...that's awesome as F.

 

haha it is mad cool.

 

Just get a hyundai Genesis and be done with it for a while, it seems like you don't even want a Cobalt anyways because you have already been sucked into the caliber hype.

 

lol i gotta keep it american bro... no i love the cobalt, and i love the caliber.... i just switch back and forth of what i want... thats why i started the thread

 

I completely understand your position, just make a list of your likes and dislikes of both cars and that should help you come to a conclusion. like i said, the warranty/problem issue tipped the balance in favour of the ss/tc....the CSRT4 was fun to drive, i like the look of it and i also like the fact that you dont see to many on the road, but ultimately i think for the amount of money you are paying and what you are getting, the ss/tc cant be beat by the CSRT4 or the mazdaspeed 3...thats just my opinion....

 

That is what I was gonna buy, but wanted the SS/TC more. A T/C Genesis with alittle over 200hp stock, or a v6 Genesis with over 300hp stock. Both are tempting, and they're RWD.

 

cobalt tc for sure. Dodge vehicles don't hold their value worth a lick and cobalt offers better mpg.

 

honestly, i wouldn't.

my car is "only" a 2.4, but there are afew things that are just cobalt specific that i don't care for.

the suspension/trans measurements are fine for a daily driver, but don't hold well with higher power levels.

the car doesn't hold it's value as well as i would like

i think it could do better on gas

it has always felt to me, larger than it is.

 

Its a 2.4 thats why

The TC trans and suspension is awesome, and holds fine for high power levels

 

My first TC was totaled (pic in the signature) and I bought another one. I don't regret one bit of it either!

 

A csrt-4 doesn't have a powertrain warranty????? Uh....i just looked on their site and they sure do. 3/36 isn't great but it's far from not having One. SRT's arent eligible for the new lifetime warranty that they started ,i think you might have it confused with that.

 

1st off: im in canada, so it might be different than in the states (for instance here dodge does not have the 'life time warranty)

2nd off: your confussing two different types of warranties: There is the 'new vehicle limited warranty' and there is the 'powertrain component limited warranty'. The former covers bumper to bumper repairs (save for exceptions) while the latter covers solely power train issues.

3rd off: i never said Dodge srt didnt come with the 'new vehicle warranty' all i said was that they dont come with the 'powertrain limited warranty' and they dont. i will quote from the broucher: "the 5/100 Warranty (that is the power train warranty) does not apply to vehicles sold for certain commercial uses or to SRT including Viper models"

 

I understand the difference's between warranties. The above quote looks like your saying they won't cover any engine repairs ....period. The Srt's just don't qualify for any type of powertrain warranty once the bumper to bumper run's out.

 

the trans holds the power, that's not the problem, the problem is that if you give it any kind of gas, it wants to wheel hop and and bounce it's way down the road.

 

What did i say in my original post? i said that it does not come with a power train warranty... your the one who assumed that what was meant by that statement was that 'they wont cover any engine repairs ...period'. If you 'understand the difference's between warranties' like you say you do, then you ought to have realized that i wasnt talking about the 'new car limited warranty' but rather the 'power train warranty' which is exactly the term that i used.

 

other than that, like i said, the car to me seems large and sluggish, not as far as in a straight line, but everywhere else, no way to hide that it's a big ass unibody riding on a solid rear axle and it's way overweight.

 

i guess i am just getting old, and just getting tired of having to show people what the ss/sc can do. i would not but another cobalt. i would have to say there are plenty of other cars out there i would try out for the same money, i would buy something with a reputation of being a sports car. Yes the new ss's are nice with the new suspension, brakes, and turbo, but like every hater says "it is still a cobalt."

 

that's a good point, i do get tired of the smack talking. i've been in a civic, rabbit, corolla, sentra, etc, and none of them wowed me with how much better of a car they were. i bought mine brand new, so there isn't any reason that they impressed me more. i get that everyone has their reasons to buy something, but i never got an better "quality" impression from those.

in fact, most of them, to me, felt far more plain and cheap on the inside than my car.