Hell must have frozen over...

[LS8]

260 HP, 260 torque, turbo-charged, 2.0L engine.
5-speed manual gearbox.
Limited slip differential.
18" wheels and tires.
Bembo brakes.
4 doors.
30 MPG (EPAHE)

I drove one of these cars two days ago. I am a Ford guy, always have been so it's a stretch to even get me talking about a Chevy let alone on a Chevy lot and test driving one of their cars. Needless to say I am very impressed.

The fit and finish on this car was superb. For a front wheel drive car the handling was very good with almost no torque steer (that's the LSD working) and almost no under steer. The driving position is perfect and my "larger" frame (6.0' 215 lbs) fit perfectly fine in the car. I was completely comfortable the entire drive.

The engine response was great; there is turbo lag, as there is with all tiny displacement, turbo engines but honestly it wasn't a problem as this little 2.0L engine loves to have the snot revved out of it. The engine was smooth and refined, no shakes or rattles. The power band was consistent and I didn't experience any flat spots until I started to reach 6,500 RPM - it pulls hard throughout the range.

The cabin was quiet and road noise was very low. As for the ride, well, the 18" wheels and tires and sport(y) suspension don't provide a Buick like ride but it was no where near as harsh as say a Nissan 350Z or Honda S2000. The seats are near perfect IMO, I swear Chevy stole these seats from the Germans. They are very supportive, comfortable and hold the driver well.

Honestly I really liked this little car! When you want to really move it's ready and willing but is also very tame for every day driving. During normal driving the engine is barely audible. I feel like this would make an awesome daily driver. Chevrolet has produced a superb small car that is both fun to drive and very refined - something I don't normally think of when talking about a Chevrolet. My mind has been changed!

 

[Dman877]

Yeah it's just too bad it looks like a low budget rental car. The coupe looks a little better but not by much. Of course, style is all subjective, if you like the way it looks, it's a great enthusiast car at an unbeatable price.

 

[Strk]

I had a Cobalt for a rental a while back. I'm not sure what year it was, but it was before the most recent refresh. I thought the fit and finish were pretty shitty on it.

That turbo charged 2.0l is a nice little engine though.

 

[Vette73]

What you are seeing on the new Cobalts is some of the parts/plans froms its replacment the Cruze. So the Cobalt is kinda like a mule car for some or the ready to go things from the cruze that can carry to the Cobalt with little to no change.

 

[bruceb]

Don't feel bad about testing a Chevy / GM product. I myself, never set foot on a Ford or Chrysler lot (but I was stuck with a 300M for a rental once)
It was not too bad, but not to my liking.

 

[Doggiedog]

Your handle is LS8 but you are a Ford guy?

Shouldn't it be Duratec?

 

[sindows]

Domestic automakers actually make decent cars now, people just can't get over the negative stigma attached to them.

 

[angry hampster]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
Your handle is LS8 but you are a Ford guy?

Shouldn't it be Duratec?

Lincoln made a car with the LS with a V8.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

It sounds awesome. Can you form any opinion on the stereo system? Is it alright for stock? What kind of music, if any, did you try?

I sat in one but I haven't driven one yet, but I'm heavily considering this as a possibility

 

[LS8]

The car I drove had the MP3-CD Player with an aux input and a USB input. I didn't turn the stereo on though, sorry.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
It sounds awesome. Can you form any opinion on the stereo system? Is it alright for stock? What kind of music, if any, did you try?

I sat in one but I haven't driven one yet, but I'm heavily considering this as a possibility

From what I have experienced with the very base sound systems in these cheap turbo cars is that most have a boomy sound to them since the younger crowd likes bass. I would change the speakers right away if you get the base sound systems.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: sindows
Domestic automakers actually make decent cars now, people just can't get over the negative stigma attached to them.

the negative stigma attached to domestic cars is that they have poor quality.
we cannot say these new cars (2008/2009) have better quality because they're just out, but we can judge those from the late 90's and early 2000's. And a way we can judge those older (1990's/2000's domestics) is by resale value (how much they are worth after driving it for some years.) and right now, used domestic cars aren't worth much.

i don't mean to post criticisms about resale value in these threads so much, but people say "domestic automakers make good cars now" but how do u know about reliability? you really don't know. but the general consensus (told by the resale value around the nation and by 'official' sites like kbb) is that the reliability of American cars are still no good because of the RS

 

[AdamK47]

How do you explain then that the Corvette has one of the best resale values among high performance vehicles?

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: AdamK47
How do you explain then that the Corvette has one of the best resale values among high performance vehicles?

It's kinda hard to compare a car like that to an econobox's resale value.

 

[LS8]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS

Originally posted by: sindows
Domestic automakers actually make decent cars now, people just can't get over the negative stigma attached to them.

the negative stigma attached to domestic cars is that they have poor quality.
we cannot say these new cars (2008/2009) have better quality because they're just out, but we can judge those from the late 90's and early 2000's. And a way we can judge those older (1990's/2000's domestics) is by resale value (how much they are worth after driving it for some years.) and right now, used domestic cars aren't worth much.

i don't mean to post criticisms about resale value in these threads so much, but people say "domestic automakers make good cars now" but how do u know about reliability? you really don't know. but the general consensus (told by the resale value around the nation and by 'official' sites like kbb) is that the reliability of American cars are still no good because of the RS

This guy is just talking nonsense.

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: LS8

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS

Originally posted by: sindows
Domestic automakers actually make decent cars now, people just can't get over the negative stigma attached to them.

the negative stigma attached to domestic cars is that they have poor quality.
we cannot say these new cars (2008/2009) have better quality because they're just out, but we can judge those from the late 90's and early 2000's. And a way we can judge those older (1990's/2000's domestics) is by resale value (how much they are worth after driving it for some years.) and right now, used domestic cars aren't worth much.

i don't mean to post criticisms about resale value in these threads so much, but people say "domestic automakers make good cars now" but how do u know about reliability? you really don't know. but the general consensus (told by the resale value around the nation and by 'official' sites like kbb) is that the reliability of American cars are still no good because of the RS

This guy is just talking nonsense.

Again..The resale is hugely affected by how many used, low mileage cars are available, rental co's dump tons of domestic product on the market that drives down the price. If Honda sold to Hertz, Enterprize, and Avis (which they wisely don't), the same thing will happen. It will take time for the reliability to shine just like it took some years for imports to gain the reputation they have now even though they were making solid cars for some time beforehand..

 

[TehMac]

It's a shame GM doesn't make an effort to style a very nice performance car. You think they could make an effort, especially considering more people would want to buy this if it looked a little better.

 

[LS8]

Originally posted by: TehMac
It's a shame GM doesn't make an effort to style a very nice performance car. You think they could make an effort, especially considering more people would want to buy this if it looked a little better.

Well, I suppose styling is subjective. I like the styling myself. I think the Civic and the Lancer look terrible.

Click.

 

[Pocatello]

I have no experience with the turbo version, just the regular Cobalt, it's a lot nicer than the Cavalier, but cruder than the Civic or the Corolla. GM is improving, but Honda and Toyota aren't standing still, they redesigned their models much faster than GM, Ford, or Chrysler. Take the Ford Focus in North America, it's essentially the same model from 2000, with a few minor updates. The Chevy Cobalt is also long on the tooth.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Pocatello
I have no experience with the turbo version, just the regular Cobalt, it's a lot nicer than the Cavalier, but cruder than the Civic or the Corolla. GM is improving, but Honda and Toyota aren't standing still, they redesigned their models much faster than GM, Ford, or Chrysler. Take the Ford Focus in North America, it's essentially the same model from 2000, with a few minor updates. The Chevy Cobalt is also long on the tooth.

2010 Cobalt replacement. Chevy Cruze.

 

[CupCak3]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Pocatello
I have no experience with the turbo version, just the regular Cobalt, it's a lot nicer than the Cavalier, but cruder than the Civic or the Corolla. GM is improving, but Honda and Toyota aren't standing still, they redesigned their models much faster than GM, Ford, or Chrysler. Take the Ford Focus in North America, it's essentially the same model from 2000, with a few minor updates. The Chevy Cobalt is also long on the tooth.

2010 Cobalt replacement. Chevy Cruze.

I am very much anxiously awaiting this car. I'm keeping my hoopty Sunfire at least until this is released in the US. (though I'll probably try to wait at least six month until after its released here to get a feel for any initial problems)

 

[Pocatello]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Pocatello
I have no experience with the turbo version, just the regular Cobalt, it's a lot nicer than the Cavalier, but cruder than the Civic or the Corolla. GM is improving, but Honda and Toyota aren't standing still, they redesigned their models much faster than GM, Ford, or Chrysler. Take the Ford Focus in North America, it's essentially the same model from 2000, with a few minor updates. The Chevy Cobalt is also long on the tooth.

2010 Cobalt replacement. Chevy Cruze.

It's still more than a year away from now for the North American market. My worry is that GM is still too slow to respond to market demand. I really like what GM did with Saturn, Saturn has had a lot of fresh products, nice products, but the consumers have given up on Saturn. Consumers have so many choices from so many car companies. Hopefully, it's not too late for GM.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: Pocatello

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Pocatello
I have no experience with the turbo version, just the regular Cobalt, it's a lot nicer than the Cavalier, but cruder than the Civic or the Corolla. GM is improving, but Honda and Toyota aren't standing still, they redesigned their models much faster than GM, Ford, or Chrysler. Take the Ford Focus in North America, it's essentially the same model from 2000, with a few minor updates. The Chevy Cobalt is also long on the tooth.

2010 Cobalt replacement. Chevy Cruze.

It's still more than a year away from now for the North American market. My worry is that GM is still too slow to respond to market demand. I really like what GM did with Saturn, Saturn has had a lot of fresh products, nice products, but the consumers have given up on Saturn. Consumers have so many choices from so many car companies. Hopefully, it's not too late for GM.

1. didn't the cobalt just come out in 2005? and its being replaced ALREADY?? 4 years for the life of a vehicle?
2. i'm not sure what is so special about the 2011 cruze. its about 2 years away and doesn't offer anything too exciting over its competition. in fact, the supposed 2011 engines produce even less hp. 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (140hp) & optional engine which is a normally aspirated 1.8-liter (138hp) big EH.
3. pricing from $15k (base model) to $21k which puts it in the league of the civic & mazda 3 & nissan versa & toyota matrix & mini cooper (which can be had around 19-20k) How will this car with nothing special/new platform w/ unknown reliability&performance compete is such a tough segment?

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS

1. didn't the cobalt just come out in 2005? and its being replaced ALREADY?? 4 years for the life of a vehicle?
2. i'm not sure what is so special about the 2011 cruze. its about 2 years away and doesn't offer anything too exciting over its competition. in fact, the supposed 2011 engines produce even less hp. 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (140hp) & optional engine which is a normally aspirated 1.8-liter (138hp) big EH.
3. pricing from $15k (base model) to $21k which puts it in the league of the civic & mazda 3 & nissan versa & toyota matrix & mini cooper (which can be had around 19-20k) How will this car with nothing special/new platform w/ unknown reliability&performance compete is such a tough segment?

1. since the cruze is a 2011 model, it will be 5 years after the cobalt.

2. the cruze is supposed to be a solid, fuel efficient small sedan, which is what everyone's been pushing the big3 to build?

3. how does any new model sell if it's reliability is unknown? resting on the reputation of its brand. it is a completely new (platform/interior/engine) compared to the cobalt, i believe.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS

1. didn't the cobalt just come out in 2005? and its being replaced ALREADY?? 4 years for the life of a vehicle?
2. i'm not sure what is so special about the 2011 cruze. its about 2 years away and doesn't offer anything too exciting over its competition. in fact, the supposed 2011 engines produce even less hp. 1.4-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (140hp) & optional engine which is a normally aspirated 1.8-liter (138hp) big EH.
3. pricing from $15k (base model) to $21k which puts it in the league of the civic & mazda 3 & nissan versa & toyota matrix & mini cooper (which can be had around 19-20k) How will this car with nothing special/new platform w/ unknown reliability&performance compete is such a tough segment?

1. since the cruze is a 2011 model, it will be 5 years after the cobalt.

2. the cruze is supposed to be a solid, fuel efficient small sedan, which is what everyone's been pushing the big3 to build?

3. how does any new model sell if it's reliability is unknown? resting on the reputation of its brand. it is a completely new (platform/interior/engine) compared to the cobalt, i believe.

Redesigned Malibu, Focus '05+ (all Duratec motors), and Fusion resale have all been pretty good on reliability and resale. Not to the tier of Toyota/Honda, but definitely above many brands/models.