Mar 14, 2005, by David Thomas

There are some interesting contrasts inside the Chevy Cobalt. The color schemes are pleasing and the majority of the plastic that makes up the dash and doors is above par. But in the end, the little things that deal with ergonomics stick out more than the looks.

The best example of the poor layout resides in the three buttons to the right of the gauge cluster. The hazards button, along with the trip info and reset buttons, all reside spread out in this area, shown to the left (click on picture for larger image). Now this isn’t a bad location necessarily, but if you’re driving there’s this thing called the steering wheel that completely blocks the view of these three buttons. Sure, it’s not hard to feel around for them. But hit the reset button instead of the info button by mistake and you lose your trip statistics. Plus, every car I’ve been in recently has a huge hazard button, while the Cobalt’s is tiny and hidden. Not really a safety feature.




The lighting controls on the left side of the steering wheel are similarly hidden but easier to adjust. In an odd twist of fate the easiest controls, radio volume, are also set in the steering wheel. I’ve been using the old fashioned knob on the deck instead though. The rest of the stereo functions are simple enough as are the climate controls.

Cup holders are predictability shallow. No ability to grasp a water bottle here. Sigh.

Buttons, like in the Mercury Montego, for the windows and other controls offer a nice resistance to the touch and don’t feel flimsy. Unlike the Montego, I like the small and curvy door handles. At least they attempt to blend into the door’s shape.

The worst offenses of the entire interior are the five cent air vents. Could Chevy have spent any less attention to a feature? Most of today’s new vehicles, even the Chevy Aveo, have distinctive vents. These are the lamest I’ve seen in anything I’ve tested in memory.

It’s too bad such a feature was overlooked. Besides the lame fake wood, that is optional, poor button placement and those vents the interior is not so bad. The black design with the brushed steel is actually pretty sleek.

from:http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000263036038/

 

I'm sorry but what he is complaining about is NOTHING. Show me a car that is in the same price range that could possible please him IMO the big hazard buttons are hideous, and how many people are changing the info button that often when driving? As for the vents I see nothing wrong with them, what does he want them to stand out like a hooker at a beauty pageant? If these are the only complaints then I think Chevy did a really good job on this car.

 

I really didn't think he was being that negative

He said it wasn't too bad, minus a couple things that bugged him. I certainly knew a long time ago that this car isn't perfect.. but its what I prefer over the alternatives.

 

I agree, I think a lot of us will find things or have found things that bug us about the Cobalt

I for one dont like the wing on the SS but love the spoiler on the LS.

 

Wow, sounds like the guy just sat in the car and picked out 5 things to pick on and got outta the car.

Only day 3 was quoted but you can check out day one and two below:


Day 1 is located at:
http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000067035688/

Day 2 is located at:
http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000210035846/

 

The Guy is a joke!... Out of, I don't know ---->1,000 reviews that were all good! He basicaly had to bring it down.... BUT THAT'S OK..

ANY kind of critisism is good..!! That means people will talk about it.. and they wont be about to forget about it...

We all should worry if NOTHING AT ALL IS SAID!....

 

I can see his points with the DIC. They are hard to find but it really isn't that big of a deal.

 

Read "Plus, I've driven only vehicles that require a huge hazard button, like the Toyota Echo and Kia's entire line."

"I like to drive and pay attention to things other than the steering wheel. The Cobalt is not conducive to this."

"I am a $1.49 for a 20-oz bottle of water drinking person who requires a safetly blanket and the $0.35 can of RC cola makes me wet my bed. Sigh."

"Not being that strong, my pasty white hands easily grasped the controls and the concept of power windows, similar to the Mercury I was conceived in."

"They should have used higher quality wood, much like the paneling in my basement, where I hide my stash of Plumpers and National Geographic."

"I just finished sitting in a $20,000 car that I can't drive, and my biggest complaint was that they engineered their air vents to have both vertical and horizontal controls. I found this to be way too complicated for my simple mind as I can only remember the $9,000 Aveo for comparison, not the $25,000 Malibu which these vents were borrowed from, nor the $30,000 2006 Impala and Monte Carlo that I will also have no clue how to review in next weeks edition of It's 2:00 AM and mommy left me at the dealership again so I guess I'll review whatever they left the doors open to."

Just hope my translation helps.

Villain

P.S. I agree with this:

 

I stopped reading the first chapter when he said WTF man?!?

IT IS a sub-compact Einstein!!!

I'm wondering if God made some people stupid just to entertain the rest of us.

Villain

 

Haha, nice commentary Blue!

I thought the integration of the vents in this car looked very nice. they appear to be molded into the dash .... not like the tacky looking pop-in vents I've grown accustomed to in my other GM cars I've owned.

 

Ummm... nope.

Echo= subcompact
Civic= compact
Cobalt=compact
G6=midsize

 

Maybe the Canucks have a different standard... but all of the sedans that we have state clearly "Sub-compact" on the window sticker.

Here it's based on interior dimensions, which are quite small, and has nothing to do with anything but insurance.

I'll see if I can get a pic, even though it's monsoon season here today.

Villain

 

I stand corrected then, thanks for the info. Maybe the reveiwers problem was he was a Canuck?

I know in Europe a cobalt would be more like a midsize... you should see the things they squeeze into over there!

 

Where do you think the xB came from. Anyway, here are those pics.





Villain

P.S. Gotta love base model sedans.

 

Jeez! Monsoon season is right! Thanks for the pics Villian. Next time I'm at the dealership, I'll try remember to see if thte Canadian versions are labeled the same.

 

Villian... That was to funny.... Nice job... but so true...

I am realy starting to think that this guy or girl.. Had nothing better to do on that day!

 

I don't think that he is really being that negative. I agree with him on some points actually.

The fake wood IS cheesy. He goes on to say that the aluminium trim on the LS is nice.

The remark about the Mercury is a compliment. He recently reviewed the Montego and said that the Cobalt has a nice resistance feel on the controls like the Mercury. On the Days 4-5 article, he says that the pluses of the Cobalt are "Overall Fit & Finish" , Superior stereo and Performance. He also says that "The 24/32 mpg figure is also nothing to sneeze at".

So he says that the Cobalt has its merits, and it has its faults. I think he gave a review that acurately reflected his opinions on the car. Not everyone loves the Cobalt. But what he did do is give the car a chance, take it for 5 days, and tell us what he thought was good and what was bad about it. So, in the end he didn't like the car overall. Not everyone does, but at least he gave his true opinions and said what he thought.

Not like those people who if it's a Honda, its great, if it's Toyota it's great, if it's American, it's crap. I see that all of the time, and THAT'S what I dislike.

 

That's what I felt like when I read it myself.

May have been a compliment, but it was placed under a load of BS, so it smelled just like it. Besides, comparing vehicles of different price ranges doesn't make sense for anybody. "It has the switches of a more expensive vehicle?!?" Switches? How about "It has the nicest switches in it's class." A much better compliment, but he hasn't looked at other vehicles in the class, so he had nothing to compare it to.

So, I recently drove in a Grand Cherokee a Tahoe and a 1997 Saturn SL1, doesn't mean that I should compare it to them. See above.

Then my opinion is that the reviewer is an idiot.

True.

I'm calling BS on this one. I thought the review was overly critical of minor issues that are common among vehicles in the price range. I mean, complaining about the size of the hazard button and the design of the air vents... a chance? No, somebody at the dealership probably pissed him off and he's going... "I'll show him."

His other three pages on the Cobalt were just as critical of minor issues. The people who read and posted a reply all were similar. One guy even wrote a Villain-esque diatribe about how his Focus was far superior, which is factual in no possible way.

No, try "In the beginning he didn't like the car at all, and he never gave it a chance. He picked out minor things to complain about, and 'borrowed' information from other critics." The water bottle thing pissed me off, sorry.

And so did I.

Villain

 

lets just tie the reviewer up by his/her feet throw the rope up over a tree branch tie the other end to the back of a cobalt and have them step on the gas and just let him/her hang there a little bit

or do the same with bungie cord only don't have the cobalt stop and see how high in the air we can fling him/her

 

they used that vent because GM researched americans are conservative. The reason they didn't use the astra's radical and stylish dash. but other area's the same.



um.. maybe not.

Will there be a hatchback and estate version of cobalt?

 

Look, I haven't been on in a while.
So I'll make this as short as can be. But I have been paying alot of
attention to this car that I bought Jan 31st 2005. The LS 4 door in Black.
Haven't had time to do pics. Soon I promise.
BUt I'll see some major issue with Chevy screwing us on the interior
of this car. And for me it's just begun. Go figure.
The side of the LS seat material started feathering, like lint. The MATS on the
floor are a big hunk of crap. My Cavy mats were 7 years old, still had no wear through
to the backing. I'm not wearing metal shoes...
Plus the check light is still coming on after every fill up driving 20 miles.
And I'll agree that the dash is a little wacked on the INFO buttons and I don't
like that if you drop something in between the seats. You'll need a fricking magnet
or something you get it back. Otherthan that the emergenct brake light
has come on, twice driving on the beltway. I was fricking out on that one.
I'm hoping the dealer can get all of this fixed this week. Because I was going to
step into an Altima or a Magnum. But really wanted the gas mileage savings.

Cheers!

Dominic