Here is alist that you should all check on.
They range from 18k to 15k.
06 GTI - FWD, Turbo, 2.0L
06 Cobalt SS/SC - FWD, Superd, 2.0L
06 Redline - FWD, Superd, 2.0L
05 SRT-4 - FWD, Turbo, 2.4L
06 Civic SI - FWD, NA w/ 8k RL, 2L
06 WRX - AWD, Turbo, 2.5L

Now it is just based on Look and if you can drive them.

 

Not a single one of those cars is 18k or less. The cheapest is probably the Redline which is like $19,900. The GTI can run you over 29k.

 

Ok... Here it goes. Its an UGLY car hate the way it looks and the leather sucks. Its small and sounds like rice (not really but i like big cars just cant afford one). BUT it has boost and it looks better than a neon and its cheap.
So in the end I LOVE my cobalt.

There it is.

 

5 months...the novelty has worn off with me on my 06 SS/SC. Still waiting to get the GM upgrades. I drove the Evo 8 MR, I'm sold.

 

I probably would have bought a SRT4 if they still made them, but I never got to test drive one and probably would have changed my mind after sitting in that interior. My cobalt's seats and interior are nicer than most cars i have driven. Tranny/clutch feel oddish but livable...Gotta give it to the cobalt for looks.

Don't think i would want to by a used SRT4...to much chance it was beat on.

As for rattles...i solved mine by putting my wheel lock in the trunk instead of the glovebox

 

Ok I might sound like a complete idiot, but I dont know much about the cobalt besides what you guys have been saying. I did have a few questions as I look into buying one for myself. First what do you mean by the ss is backed by its factory for upgrading, and second what is the G85 package and Recaro's??

 

GM produces Stage kits for the cobalts. bigger injectors, smaller pulley, computer flashes. They also have exhaust systems available for the balts.

The G85 package include Recaro racing seats and Limited Slip. I think that was it.


My opinion on the SS/SC. I love it. I was looking for a car the was a good daily driver, decnt gas mileage, and strong performance. I got all three, and it looks sweet! Granted, you can get more power/performance from other cars you may also pay alot more.

The car drives great, Ive had mine since July 1st of this year and I have 8500 miles on it with absolutely no problems. The only warranty work I have had was a headlight that a cover popped off inside.

The few things I dont like about mine...the trunks interior carpet sucks, it does not fit right. No input jack on the HU, they do for the 07's but the 05's and 06's do not.

I cant really think of anything else. I get compliments everyday on it and it keeps a smile on my face.

 

I ended up switching from my '01 VW GTI to a '06 SS S/C and thought I'd be dissapointed down the road becasue of build quality etc. However, so far I am not dissapointed one bit. The SS is a very nice car and Chevy did a great job of putting the itnerior together, although it is still a bit plasticky. There are a bunch of things missing from the Cobalt that the GTI has to offer such as traction control, cool lights, not so ugly sunvisors, better center console, BUT the Cobalt also has things that the GTI doesn't like the Recaro's, great stereo and a sweet boost guage.

As for mechanics, reliability etc, Like I said earlier, I used to use a 01 GTI as a daily driver and it had a **** load of issues, coil packs, MAF (x2), O2 sensors, coolant temp sensor, bad intake manifold etc etc. It never left me stranded though. The Cobalt so far has had no issues and I don't baby it. I do find that the S/C is a better motor than the 2.0T and seeing what the design of the head is int he 2.0t and its crappy turbo setup, I can't imagine it being much easier to upgrade, let alone keep any sort of warranty on it. The GTI's suspension however is more advanced and youc an probably get better performance out of it BUT it is also a heavier car and isn';t as well balanced as the Cobalt. I still find the SS mroe tossable and "fun".

My girlfriend and I just recently wetn to take a look at VW's for her this past weekend and I realized how much I missed being part of a VW crowd, but that was just it, the crowd, not the car. We looked at a cuople of them and realized that VW's are too expensive, I can't imagein spending 28k on a GTI, the car that started out as being one of the cheapest hatches available is now a "luxury sports hatch" that costs waaaayyyyy too much.

I'd suggest to takea look at the two cars, test drive them, and then way your options. I personally couldn't imagine taking a huge hit of depreication on an expensive car that's in its first year of production. Look back at VW's track record, not the greatest (although GM's looks even more dismal)

Wow, my rant is all over the place. Ok, so to sum this all up (which I tried to do a couple times already) Option out a cobalt and a GTI to teh way you'd like it, then test drive it. Compare the prices and decide if the price difference is really worth it. It personally wasn't for me.

 

Well I have had my car for over a year. here are my thoughts

If you have more money to spend then go spend it. car is not the same quality as others ...350z, charger, look at new challenger, or camaro...drool.

but for the need of an economy car.... low cost, good fuel economy, and fast for $1000 extra. I mean what car can you buy for $23000 CDN put $1000 into it for the GMS2 installed then do 13.8 a quarter. not many! SRT-4 which is not available comes to mind but even that is more money.

Weak points - it comes with skyjacker suspension. truly get the Eibach pro line kit. that is best for suspension to work right and look good. I have Eibach Sportlines. love it, handles much better, bottoms easier, little choppy. other cobalt owners in my area want the sportlines too. some interior issues like shift knob, should be resolved on newer models. only other problem was a brake booster needed to be replaced but it has been good (I think that has been rare). you might want to change the oil yourself. easy to do. if you dont it is a $100 cause it uses MOBIL 1. the control arm bushings suck. you want poly's. they should last longer and that truly gets rid of wheel hop. Wheel hop is caused by control arm deflection. there are other ways but replacing these bushings is the best way.
18's are nice for a show car. if you want performance then plan for 245/45r17 on 8" rims.
the knuckles are supposed to be weak. I have not seen that. If you plan on going HP crazy then maybe a different car. pistons handle 300HP. you can swap pistons out then your good to 600hp and JBP says it can be done for over 700HP if you want.

Car is getting expensive now isnt it. dont do it more than 300, change wheels if you dont want a show car look and change the bushings and that is the bottom line. estimated $28000CDN.

hope that helps.

 

I have to say I still enjoy this car on a daily basis. My price range was basically 20k-35k. This was probably the least expensive car I test drove and the most expensive was a C class Mercedes. The "tight ass" side of me won and I went less expensive, plus I'm not ready to grow up yet. In all honestly off all the sporty cars I drove (WRX, STI, EVO, 350z, Cobalt SS, G35, Porsche Boxster, 3 series BMW(I'm leaving some out)) this one just seemed to fit me best. There is no doubt the Z is a classier car and the "cooler" choice, and the EVO and STI are quicker, but this just seemed like a great bargin to me. Plus I got 0% financing which sold me because now the money I was going to use to buy the car is making me money in the bank.

One thing you are going to see here is a lot of people bitching about their clutches and that GM is a pain to deal with when it comes to warranty work. If you read deeper into these people posts you will see that 99% of the time there is a lot of abuse (racing) or mods involved so GM should not be blamed for either occuring.

My pros:
good power in the whole powerband
smooth gearbox
bargin performance
nice looking car (personal preference)
decent fit and finish for the price
good stock stereo sound quality

cons:
the leather could be better, it tends to crease
the wipers need a higher speed for heavy rain
attracts teens who want to race you

 

I bought my Cobalt upon 1st site. Did not even drive it first. But I am a Chevy Guy ! I guess I can not comment on the GTI. Cobalt SS/SC has the room of a midsize car without being midsized. Handles awesome on the road, All kinds of power, Nice selection of options, all the controls seem to be in the perfect place !!! LOOKS GREAT !!! Aftermarket goodys out the ass available. Drove mine on vacation to the OBX Very comfortable interior. As I said I am a Chevy Guy though. Good Luck.

IMAdreamer , should`nt attracts teens who want to race be in the first list ??? Gotta love spanking there asses though !!!

 

Iv had mine for exactly a week. I LOVE the car and its my first stick car. The leather does crease a lot but the inserts look really hot. So far, my driver side door, when i open it from the outside makes a little creakin noise. Right next to the heated seats button, a little silver paint chipped and black is showing. My chrome handle has a little dent showin and i dont know how that happened. I was gonna call them a while ago but havent had time wit the new car. All i wanna do is drive it

 

When I was looking around at different cars, I wanted a semi-sporty car, had to be a manual and had to have a bit of power.

I looked at the 07 Eclipse GT, 07 WV GTi and Rabbit, 07 Honda Civic Si and the Mazda 3 along with my SS/SC. Obvioulsy the SS/SC won, but the main reason was that there was an 06 on the lot that would hold me negative equity. My views on the other cars....the Eclipse was too much money for what it was, the Rabbit was an easy drive, but just didn't have enough power, the GTi was great but just seemed over priced, the Civic, I loved but just seemed way too small and the 3 was the only other one I was seriously considering.

My suggestion to you though, go out and test drive a few different SS's from different dealerships. The first SS I test drove, I hated it. It was hard to drive, didn't run smoothly and had zero traction and a ton of wheel hop problems. I was turned off from the SS's because of that. Then we went to a different dealer and they suggested I look at it again. I test drove my 2nd SS and that was the one I bought. Drove 100% differently than the first one I drove. Much easier to drive, zero traction problems...had a bit of a wheel hop problem but I got that fixed now with my torque dampener, and it just fit my driving style a lot more. Just don't judge the SS based on the first one you drive. If you drive 2 or 3 and still don't like it, then you probably wouldn't want to buy one.

As for problems with my car, I'll of had it 2 weeks tomorrow. I need to take it in for my fog light to be replaced and thats it. Like I said, I did have a bit of a problem with the wheel hop and it really ticked me off, but we bought a torque dampener that cost my husband $50 from the parts store he manages....and it fixed all of the problems. Other than that, I haven't noticed any other problems with it.

 

"The SRT and Eclipse Gt were faster"

you are talkin about a new GT eclipse? In my experiences they most certainly are not faster



but nice write up lol

 

good thread guys.

the 2.0ss/sc is a great car for the money. u get whole lot of good performance out of it stock. yes the car mite be squeaky but i like the interior of it. i think it looks better then a SRT-4(srt has the same interior as the base neon.) the new gti looks like crap. the ss/sc has a much better design. i think it get that "highschool car" cuz of the high mounted spoiler. now that GM has the option of the low mount u get that sleeper look and its not as distracting as the high mount is. the gti is nice my friend has one but he is always complaining to me about the tranny how the gearing sucks in it. the pioneer system kicks ass. cant beat that.

yes the GTI and SRT-4 have been out awhile so they have a advantage with performance parts. look at the cobalt out 3 years now. but still kickin ass. they have the 2.4 which a n/a motor it hauls ass. i could tell cuz i have one. if we talkin bout the new eclipse its ugly and slow. a stock 2.0 would kill it. my friend at work has a black one. i took a step back and looked at it..just not a fan. so i think the 2.4 or 2.0 are good choices. if u want some more stock performance the 2.0ss/sc u can some more for the money. but they are both good cars. i used to have a 2.2balt it was a 05 and had no problems with it. some 05 owners have had some problems but that was the 1st year of the car. now having the 07's out we hear bout really nothing now.

overall the 2.4 or 2.0 are great cars and are very surprising to other who dont know about them. they hold there own.

 

Yeah, I was talking about the new GT with 260 hp. I figured out why it felt faster. The SS has a torque management feature that limits the power when you tromp it in lower gears - I hate it and would like to get it disabled as it feels like you are driving it with the parking brake on. The GT has no such feature and just goes when you stomp on it. I know that the cobalt is a quicker car, but sometimes that torque management feature makes it feel sluggish - i like to let my right foot handle the "torque management"

-P