I got the newest issue of car and driver a while ago, and I was wondering what everyone's thoughts where on the article "Dirty Speed, Done Dirt Cheap"? The new Turbo SS placed 3rd behind the GTI and the Mazda Speed 3.

as a side note on the ten best of the year under the corvette they made mention of the new ss as a "rodeo bull out of the gate" with some more praise.

 

Maybe it got 3rd in terms of something NON-performance related. I could see it getting 3rd in the overall quality when comparing to the GTI and MS3.

 

top gear>C&D ^_^

 

Confirmed. The test included all kinds of non performance related things. Go read the Road and Track November 2008 issue. The performance comparison is there. That's all I care about.

 

i dont think they do to many low end cars on top gear...maybe the US version, but ive never seen that one. Just the good ol british ones

 

c&d is bland >_<
like the tv show
i rather read consumer report
on the car
tg do low end but mostly high end

 

There's been a thread on this one already. Basically, the SS's older and blander desing makes for a poor note. Performance-wise, it did not get any bad comments; they actually praised the car's capabilities.
What sucks is that they confronted the SS to the MS3 in an older article and the SS won.
What also sucks is that they were talking out of their asses on a couple of items such as the seats and wheels and admitted to have not used the car's NLS features (which to me, gives it a head start).
The title says "Having trouble finding driving thrills at a reasonable price? " I guess they forgot that the SS was one of the least expensive one in the fleet and was confronted to cars that are more expensive. Best bang for the buck out there.
But yes, it looks older and you cannot compare it's interior / exterior desing to a GTI or a MS3 as they are more expensive, have better build quality and fresher desings.

 

they also tested the sedan model and did not use no-lift shift because shift time was also factored into the test. Either way, ss is still very capable and very competitive with regards to performance but i think we all know, it leaves a lot to be desired in other areas of interest.

 

Why do you guys put any effort into a mag like C and D who pics winners based on advertising dollars. The people who win their comparos win because they have to not because they are the best.

With that said, the Cobalt can not compete with the others in quality and interior finish. To most consumers that matter more then a little extra performance.

 

Yeah I read that article too, and it's quite sad. The SS performed in the VIR test first in its class, yet it gets 3rd behind the GTI and MS3? The GTI, I think, should have won the Jan 09 comparison. Its a great car. It seems that the whole Rabbit/Golf/GTI line is very impressive as to the interior. I looked at the Rabbits - interior of them > Cobalt interior. Too bad an American car didn't win in a C&D test.. wait does this ever happen? ha.. Find the most fair group of car mag guys, without being forced by advertising dollars, and you'll see how well the SS does - #1