[King Riffle]

Well tonight I got to take a short drive in a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt sedan. The car has about 1500 miles on it, and is equipped with an automatic transmission. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of it. My notes:

-The interior is very well lit.

-For a four-door sedan, rear seat leg room is non-existent. Adults won't last long in the back, although there is plenty of head room.

-The steering wheel is a rather odd shape. It's flat on the outside, instead of round like most. I'm not sure if I like that or not, I'd have to take a longer drive.

-Staying on the subject of the steering wheel, the cruise control buttons are a bit close to the rim. I found my hand covering up a few of them.

-The interior looks very nice for a compact sedan. Everything is placed where it should be. Supposedly the team who designed it benchmarked the Volkswagon Jetta. I don't think they've gotten it quite right though. Many of the materials in the Cobalt felt rather cheap. There were few soft surfaces, although to Chevrolet's credit those soft materials were where the driver is most likely to feel them. The armrest, shifter handle, and steering wheel were all covered in a nice, almost rubbery material.

-Driving the Cobalt was a very pleasant experience. The car is about as quiet as you could expect a compact car to be, and the suspension soaks up the bumps quite well. No chance to explore the Cobalt's handling, with the base suspension of this test car I expect it to be about average for its class.

-The engine wasn't short on power around town. I'm told by the regular driver that it's powerful enough on the highway too.

-Visibility all around was quite good, which is becoming a rare treat as designers keep raising the beltlines of their designs.

-There were two rattles. One came from somewhere near the back window, and was probably the result of some ice. The other was coming from somewhere underneath the dashboard. While nearly all of the GM vehicles I've driven have had some interior rattles, I would hope that this wouldn't be an issue with one of their new products (especially with such low mileage).

-According to the trip computer, the Cobalt is averaging 27mpg (Mostly highway driving from what I'm told). This is rather pathetic. Hopefully as the car get's broken in a bit more the mileage will get a bit higher.

So there you have it. I thought it was rather nice. Would I buy it? I'm not sure. I'd have to take it for a longer drive and drive its competitors. I would most certainly consider a Cobalt coupe' though.