USA Today Review
03-10-2005, 10:37 PM
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USA Today Review
<img src="http://boxfulofsanity.net/co/oh01.jpg" align="left" border="0" hspace="5" vspace="2">Cobalt's a bit of a love-hate car
Chevrolet Cobalt, the brand's replacement for the aged Cavalier small car, drives quite nicely and has the feel of a larger, more-expensive car. But it comes with a laundry list of gripes, making it a yes-but car. Cobalt's just saucy enough, neither too in-your-face nor too generic.
It's built atop what Chevy parent GM calls its delta platform, similar to what's used under the Saturn Ion (but don't let that bland-mobile give you a bad image of Cobalt) and on GM's European-market Opel Astra.
Safety blemish: GM recalled 1,378 Cobalts last November because their headlight reflectors might loosen, tilt and blind oncoming drivers. That's according to files at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. GM and potential Cobalt buyers hope that's an aberration, not a harbinger.
Safety sheen: Cobalt with optional side air bags scored well on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety side-crash tests. It did well in other IIHS crash tests, too, and IIHS says: "Taken together with ratings in the side-impact test, the Cobalt and (Toyota) Corolla equipped with optional side air bags now are the highest-rated small cars overall in the institute's crash-worthiness ratings."
The test cars were a nicely equipped LS priced close to $18,000 and a supercharged SS coupe, also well furnished, that will sticker at about $23,000 when it hits dealerships soon.
The impression they left was that Cobalt is an attractive proposition because of its responsive personality and overall good chemistry. But it's too small inside, especially in back, even judged by little-car standards. And a few ragged edges suggested the build quality's not yet first-rate. An example: Upholstery didn't fit well around the holes for the poles that hold the rear-seat head restraints.
Things gone right:
• GM has its unpredictable electric power steering tuned right. Cobalt's doesn't feel as if there is sand in the steering gearbox.
• Brakes seem to work at a rate somewhat consistent with the pressure you apply to them. That's rare in GM vehicles.
• The automatic transmission shifts without undue pause. The manual in the supercharged SS (no automatic is available) whips easily from gear to gear.
• Both engines have plenty of beans to let you scoot about and enjoy yourself.
The non-supercharged engine claims an adequate 145 horsepower, but feels as if it has more, even with several people aboard.
The 205-hp SS is heck on wheels, a first-rate screamer that'll surprise and delight you much of the time.
• An oil-life monitor means you can change oil according to how you drive, not every 3,000 miles or 7,500 miles, according to the manual. That's owner- and environment-friendly. Thanks, Chevy.
• The back seat has three sets of child-seat connectors, not just two. You can strap the kid chair in the middle, which is the safest spot and gives junior a good view forward between the front bucket seats.
• Controls make sense. Nowadays you almost have to buy a cheap car or a work truck for that to be so. Cobalt's radio adjusts with a fat volume knob on the left and a tuning knob on the right, the way it once was and still ought to be. The climate control's three simple knobs adjust where, how hot and how much.
• The hood is held open by a small shock-absorber-style strut instead of a dirty, sometimes painfully hot, manual prop rod.
• The steering wheel is well sized and the rim nicely shaped, making it inviting instead of off-putting as some GM steering wheels are.
Styling, especially the sedan's, is just saucy enough, embracing neither the juvenile, in-your-face look nor the generic small-car appearance. A trunk-mounted spoiler, usually beneath contempt on a four-door family car, seems almost OK on the sedan because it sits low and close to the trunk instead of calling attention to itself. Not so on the coupe. A look-at-me airfoil sticks up so high it interferes with vision out the back window.
Chevy says you can buy a subtler spoiler from GM parts. Great move: Give 'em the ugly one, make 'em buy the good-looking one.
Unpleasantries:
• That back seat. Mercy. Smaller cars have more room. Cobalt is a few inches longer than a Ford Focus or Toyota Corolla, but has fewer inches of rear legroom and 3% to 8% less passenger space overall.
A cup holder on back of the center console leaves almost no legroom for a middle, rear rider. Good thing it's easy to put a child seat there because nobody old enough to dress himself is likely to fit.
• Front seats in the sedan feel like sacks of rocks. Amazingly, the rocks are positioned about right, so the seats aren't as uncomfortable as they promise to be. Just hard.
Optional Recaro bucket seats in the SS coupe are comfortable but the angle of the cushion might not suit everybody.
• The instrument panel has been "dumbed down." It provides only a gas gauge in addition to the speedometer and tachometer. "Simplification," Chevy calls it. An insult, some drivers might say.
You can monitor the coolant temperature via the driver info display, but it shows only one thing at a time, so you can't simultaneously check temperature and fuel economy or oil life or miles traveled.
• Height-adjustable front safety belts don't slide high enough for some users.
• The engines, their pep and dash notwithstanding, whine and grumble, discouraging you from enjoying their frisky personalities.
The supercharged engine is unearthly quiet at idle, however.
• There are no grab handles in the ceiling above the rear seat. You don't need them to get in and out, but you do need them to hang dry cleaning. The small coat hook, though better than most, is inadequate for more than a few hangers, or for the thick plastic type.
Despite the gripes, Cobalt is an inviting car, assuming you and yours fit. It is satisfying to drive, and the good IIHS safety rating provides peace of mind. You don't feel sentenced to Cobalt for lack of cash to buy something better, but rather that you chose it on purpose.
Much is new, so you might not want to be the first on your block to get one. But based on how it looks and drives, Cobalt is a neat piece of work.
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt
• What is it? Small, front-wheel-drive car replacing Cavalier. Available as sedan or coupe. Built at Lordstown, Ohio, factory where Chevy parent General Motors invested $1 billion on retooling and quality improvements.
• How soon? On sale since November. SS supercharged coupe is arriving at dealers now. SS model without supercharger is due this summer as a 2006 model.
• How much? Base sedan and coupe start at $14,190 including $565 destination charge. LS sedan and coupe start at $16,485. LT sedan starts at $18,760. SS supercharged coupe starts at $21,995.
Online car-shopping services say you should be able to pay roughly $300 to $500 less than the dealer's invoice cost, thanks to dealer discounting and a $1,000 GM rebate.
• How many? Chevy forecasts 200,000 a year, about evenly split between coupe and sedan eventually.
• Who'll buy? Chevy says target buyers are 25-35 years old, as likely to be men as women, as likely as not to have a college degree, probably married.
• What's the drivetrain? 2.2-liter, four-cylinder, overhead-camshaft engine rated 145 horsepower at 5,600 rpm, 155 pounds-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm.
SS supercharged coupe has 2-liter, four-cylinder rated 205 hp at 5,600 rpm, 200 lbs-ft. at 4,400. Five-speed manual transmission is standard on all models, four-speed automatic is optional on non-supercharged models.
Non-supercharged SS due this summer as a 2006 model will have 2.4-liter, four-cylinder rated 170 horsepower.
• What's the safety gear? Expected bags and belts. Anti-lock brakes and side-impact, head-curtain air bags are optional. Without the side bags, the Cobalt scored "poor," the worst rating, in side-crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. With the bags, it was rated "acceptable." Cobalt's IIHS front-crash scores are "good," the highest rating.
• What's the rest? Standard features include power steering, brakes; air conditioning; AM/FM/CD stereo; height-adjustable driver's seat.
Other standard features vary considerably by model. Get more information at www.chevy.com.
• How big? A few inches longer but otherwise similar to Honda Civic sedan. Cobalt sedan is 180.5 inches long, 67.9 inches wide, 57.1 inches tall on 103.3-inch wheelbase. Coupe is the same except 180.3 inches long, 55.7 inches tall.
Sedan's passenger space is listed as 87.1 cubic feet; coupe's as 83. Trunk space in both is listed as 13.9 cubic feet.
Weight ranges from 2,808 to 2,989 pounds depending on model.
• How thirsty? 2.2-liter engine is rated 24 miles per gallon in town, 32 on the highway with automatic transmission, 25/34 with manual. Supercharged engine, available only with manual, is rated 23/39.
Regular-grade gas is specified for both engines.
Trip computer in LS sedan test car with 2.2-liter and automatic showed 17.8 in around-town driving. SS supercharged test car's trip computer showed 16 mpg around town.
• Overall: A nice surprise but too small inside.
USA Today Review
Chevrolet Cobalt, the brand's replacement for the aged Cavalier small car, drives quite nicely and has the feel of a larger, more-expensive car. But it comes with a laundry list of gripes, making it a yes-but car. Cobalt's just saucy enough, neither too in-your-face nor too generic.
It's built atop what Chevy parent GM calls its delta platform, similar to what's used under the Saturn Ion (but don't let that bland-mobile give you a bad image of Cobalt) and on GM's European-market Opel Astra.
Safety blemish: GM recalled 1,378 Cobalts last November because their headlight reflectors might loosen, tilt and blind oncoming drivers. That's according to files at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. GM and potential Cobalt buyers hope that's an aberration, not a harbinger.
Safety sheen: Cobalt with optional side air bags scored well on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety side-crash tests. It did well in other IIHS crash tests, too, and IIHS says: "Taken together with ratings in the side-impact test, the Cobalt and (Toyota) Corolla equipped with optional side air bags now are the highest-rated small cars overall in the institute's crash-worthiness ratings."
The test cars were a nicely equipped LS priced close to $18,000 and a supercharged SS coupe, also well furnished, that will sticker at about $23,000 when it hits dealerships soon.
The impression they left was that Cobalt is an attractive proposition because of its responsive personality and overall good chemistry. But it's too small inside, especially in back, even judged by little-car standards. And a few ragged edges suggested the build quality's not yet first-rate. An example: Upholstery didn't fit well around the holes for the poles that hold the rear-seat head restraints.
Things gone right:
• GM has its unpredictable electric power steering tuned right. Cobalt's doesn't feel as if there is sand in the steering gearbox.
• Brakes seem to work at a rate somewhat consistent with the pressure you apply to them. That's rare in GM vehicles.
• The automatic transmission shifts without undue pause. The manual in the supercharged SS (no automatic is available) whips easily from gear to gear.
• Both engines have plenty of beans to let you scoot about and enjoy yourself.
The non-supercharged engine claims an adequate 145 horsepower, but feels as if it has more, even with several people aboard.
The 205-hp SS is heck on wheels, a first-rate screamer that'll surprise and delight you much of the time.
• An oil-life monitor means you can change oil according to how you drive, not every 3,000 miles or 7,500 miles, according to the manual. That's owner- and environment-friendly. Thanks, Chevy.
• The back seat has three sets of child-seat connectors, not just two. You can strap the kid chair in the middle, which is the safest spot and gives junior a good view forward between the front bucket seats.
• Controls make sense. Nowadays you almost have to buy a cheap car or a work truck for that to be so. Cobalt's radio adjusts with a fat volume knob on the left and a tuning knob on the right, the way it once was and still ought to be. The climate control's three simple knobs adjust where, how hot and how much.
• The hood is held open by a small shock-absorber-style strut instead of a dirty, sometimes painfully hot, manual prop rod.
• The steering wheel is well sized and the rim nicely shaped, making it inviting instead of off-putting as some GM steering wheels are.
Styling, especially the sedan's, is just saucy enough, embracing neither the juvenile, in-your-face look nor the generic small-car appearance. A trunk-mounted spoiler, usually beneath contempt on a four-door family car, seems almost OK on the sedan because it sits low and close to the trunk instead of calling attention to itself. Not so on the coupe. A look-at-me airfoil sticks up so high it interferes with vision out the back window.
Chevy says you can buy a subtler spoiler from GM parts. Great move: Give 'em the ugly one, make 'em buy the good-looking one.
Unpleasantries:
• That back seat. Mercy. Smaller cars have more room. Cobalt is a few inches longer than a Ford Focus or Toyota Corolla, but has fewer inches of rear legroom and 3% to 8% less passenger space overall.
A cup holder on back of the center console leaves almost no legroom for a middle, rear rider. Good thing it's easy to put a child seat there because nobody old enough to dress himself is likely to fit.
• Front seats in the sedan feel like sacks of rocks. Amazingly, the rocks are positioned about right, so the seats aren't as uncomfortable as they promise to be. Just hard.
Optional Recaro bucket seats in the SS coupe are comfortable but the angle of the cushion might not suit everybody.
• The instrument panel has been "dumbed down." It provides only a gas gauge in addition to the speedometer and tachometer. "Simplification," Chevy calls it. An insult, some drivers might say.
You can monitor the coolant temperature via the driver info display, but it shows only one thing at a time, so you can't simultaneously check temperature and fuel economy or oil life or miles traveled.
• Height-adjustable front safety belts don't slide high enough for some users.
• The engines, their pep and dash notwithstanding, whine and grumble, discouraging you from enjoying their frisky personalities.
The supercharged engine is unearthly quiet at idle, however.
• There are no grab handles in the ceiling above the rear seat. You don't need them to get in and out, but you do need them to hang dry cleaning. The small coat hook, though better than most, is inadequate for more than a few hangers, or for the thick plastic type.
Despite the gripes, Cobalt is an inviting car, assuming you and yours fit. It is satisfying to drive, and the good IIHS safety rating provides peace of mind. You don't feel sentenced to Cobalt for lack of cash to buy something better, but rather that you chose it on purpose.
Much is new, so you might not want to be the first on your block to get one. But based on how it looks and drives, Cobalt is a neat piece of work.
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt
• What is it? Small, front-wheel-drive car replacing Cavalier. Available as sedan or coupe. Built at Lordstown, Ohio, factory where Chevy parent General Motors invested $1 billion on retooling and quality improvements.
• How soon? On sale since November. SS supercharged coupe is arriving at dealers now. SS model without supercharger is due this summer as a 2006 model.
• How much? Base sedan and coupe start at $14,190 including $565 destination charge. LS sedan and coupe start at $16,485. LT sedan starts at $18,760. SS supercharged coupe starts at $21,995.
Online car-shopping services say you should be able to pay roughly $300 to $500 less than the dealer's invoice cost, thanks to dealer discounting and a $1,000 GM rebate.
• How many? Chevy forecasts 200,000 a year, about evenly split between coupe and sedan eventually.
• Who'll buy? Chevy says target buyers are 25-35 years old, as likely to be men as women, as likely as not to have a college degree, probably married.
• What's the drivetrain? 2.2-liter, four-cylinder, overhead-camshaft engine rated 145 horsepower at 5,600 rpm, 155 pounds-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm.
SS supercharged coupe has 2-liter, four-cylinder rated 205 hp at 5,600 rpm, 200 lbs-ft. at 4,400. Five-speed manual transmission is standard on all models, four-speed automatic is optional on non-supercharged models.
Non-supercharged SS due this summer as a 2006 model will have 2.4-liter, four-cylinder rated 170 horsepower.
• What's the safety gear? Expected bags and belts. Anti-lock brakes and side-impact, head-curtain air bags are optional. Without the side bags, the Cobalt scored "poor," the worst rating, in side-crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. With the bags, it was rated "acceptable." Cobalt's IIHS front-crash scores are "good," the highest rating.
• What's the rest? Standard features include power steering, brakes; air conditioning; AM/FM/CD stereo; height-adjustable driver's seat.
Other standard features vary considerably by model. Get more information at www.chevy.com.
• How big? A few inches longer but otherwise similar to Honda Civic sedan. Cobalt sedan is 180.5 inches long, 67.9 inches wide, 57.1 inches tall on 103.3-inch wheelbase. Coupe is the same except 180.3 inches long, 55.7 inches tall.
Sedan's passenger space is listed as 87.1 cubic feet; coupe's as 83. Trunk space in both is listed as 13.9 cubic feet.
Weight ranges from 2,808 to 2,989 pounds depending on model.
• How thirsty? 2.2-liter engine is rated 24 miles per gallon in town, 32 on the highway with automatic transmission, 25/34 with manual. Supercharged engine, available only with manual, is rated 23/39.
Regular-grade gas is specified for both engines.
Trip computer in LS sedan test car with 2.2-liter and automatic showed 17.8 in around-town driving. SS supercharged test car's trip computer showed 16 mpg around town.
• Overall: A nice surprise but too small inside.
USA Today Review
03-11-2005, 09:18 AM
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Not bad i like the unearthly quiet i wonder what it will sound like on the highway.
I kinda agree it seemed like it was a tad small in the back, but i don't care cause i'm never sitting in the back.
Wasn't there a post about what type of gas the SS/SC will take?
I kinda agree it seemed like it was a tad small in the back, but i don't care cause i'm never sitting in the back.
Wasn't there a post about what type of gas the SS/SC will take?
Regular-grade gas is specified for both engines.
03-11-2005, 11:25 AM
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fair statement about the seats though.. "sacks of rocks" though is a new way to put it. though with the time i have put in mine, the drivers seat is breaking is quite well.
fair review and accurate. it is a small inexspensive car. but nice for the price.
fair review and accurate. it is a small inexspensive car. but nice for the price.
03-11-2005, 01:07 PM
#8
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Originally Posted by HotSauce
"The supercharged engine is unearthly quiet at idle, however"
Well that just sucks
Well that just sucks
It better not be quiet at full throttle. 
03-11-2005, 01:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Funky Cricket
fair review and accurate. it is a small inexspensive car. but nice for the price.
03-11-2005, 03:12 PM
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A look-at-me airfoil sticks up so high it interferes with vision out the back window.
i dont want to have to buy a replacement?!
That back seat. Mercy. Smaller cars have more room. Cobalt is a few inches longer than a Ford Focus or Toyota Corolla, but has fewer inches of rear legroom and 3% to 8% less passenger space overall.
hopefully when i test drive this car the driving speaks for itself.
03-13-2005, 12:11 AM
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Originally Posted by JoeN
Wasn't there a post about what type of gas the SS/SC will take?
03-13-2005, 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by philco_3
I've never heard of a SC engine ever taking regular gas, I've always herad Premium. Of course I've been wrong before.
I know even the SuperCharged 3800 in the Monte Carlos and Impalas don't need anything better than 90 grade, so I can see the same following true for the Cobalt Supercharged SS.
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03-13-2005, 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by BlueVillain
They haven't told us (the dealers) anything about different gas for it. It does run synthetic oil though.
I know even the SuperCharged 3800 in the Monte Carlos and Impalas don't need anything better than 90 grade, so I can see the same following true for the Cobalt Supercharged SS.
Villain
I know even the SuperCharged 3800 in the Monte Carlos and Impalas don't need anything better than 90 grade, so I can see the same following true for the Cobalt Supercharged SS.
Villain
(http://www.chevrolet.com/cobalt/specifications/
1 Cobalt SS Supercharged will operate with 87 octane unleaded fuel. However, a power loss will be noticeably felt by the driver.
03-13-2005, 03:40 PM
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Originally Posted by zinner
Quiet at IDLE It better not be quiet at full throttle.
It better not be quiet at full throttle. When I First bought my sedan...........keep in mind, sedan, it was stupid quiet. I couldnt get that engine to even whisper at me. But, after about 2 or three days of DRIVING the car, not just babying it, the baffles opened up in the muffler and
we got a sedan that sounds sporty as hell, so I can only Imagine what the SS's will sound like when they are broken in just a touch.Quick question, I just got the pics of my car downloaded to my computer, how do I have them posted on the site??
Thanks for the Help
03-16-2005, 10:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Datwhitecavy
Im kind of excited about the SS with 170 hp.. I wonder how much that will start out at?
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