Cobalt LS - Detailed review by Giagastormer

[giagastormer]

A good friend of mine is a proud owner of a 2006 Equinox LT. He absolutely LOVES it, couldn't be happier. He has been having problems with the brakes, so he took it to his local Chevrolet dealership. They said it was the abs sensor, so they gave him a rental car for the weekend while the 'Nox is getting fixed.

Today he pulls up in a blue 2006 Cobalt LS. I believe it was completely stripped out. Although it did have a CD player. No power windows, no power locks, etc etc.

I've never had an up close experience with a base Cobalt, I've only had the chance to play around with an SS SC at the auto show last year. Which, I was very impressed with.

Anyway.

Interior/Exterior

Upon close inspection of the exterior, the fit & finish seems to be excellent. Which should be expected of any car these days. The pull out door handles look nice, but the doors open with a cheapness I can't describe. The car has nice, but odd lines. It's a dorky looking car, that's for sure. With exception to the Mazda 3, what car in this price range has real style to it? Please don't say the CIVIC.

Anyway, getting into the driver's seat, I instantly notice how ROCK hard the seats are. I'm not a big person by any means, I'm average sized. I found the seats to be incredibly narrow, but I'm so use to the seats in my Buick, which are about three times as wide as the ones in the Cobalt. The fabric on the seats is a (atleast feels like it) very durable material. It isn't cloth, it's the stuff the Asians have been using for years.

One thing I was most definately not impressed with, the very critical feeling of shutting the door. It has a cheap "clam" to it, not a high quality "thud". But, once again, I'm use to a big, heavy car that has doors comparable in weight to a fullsize truck.

I inspected every little detail about the interior, because I know how critical alot of you are when it comes to the inside of a car.

The dash had a very nice grain to it, reminded me of a VW. Although the dash is hard, it looks/feels high quality. Atleast in my opinion. The stereo controls really surprised me. That particular radio feels of much higher quality than the one in the G6/Malibu. I was VERY impressed. I have mixed feeling about the HVAC controls. They look nice, and are much improved over the J-body cars, but they feel like I could just pull them off.

The door panels are nice, but hard, like the dash. They have cloth on part of them, which is a nice touch. I specifically looked to see if there was a trim ring around the door lock, and there was. That surprised me, considering the HHR has no trim ring. I was also surprised to find finished surfaces in the door pockets, I was expecting rough edges. Nice attention to detail GM.

On to the back seat. My friend drives like a woman, with the seat pretty much touching the steering wheel. The back seat was incredibly hard, but MUCH better than the Ion. Legroom was decent for me, but the seat back was so incredibly hard, I wouldn't want to ride back there for long hauls. I played around with the rear deck, only to discover is was all flimsy and cheap. Not impressed. Oh, I can't forget to mention the woven headliner. Another nice touch of detail.

The DRIVE

After practically begging him to take me around the block, he finally said OK.

First off, the engine is very quiet at idle. Once to rev is up, it starts to whine. Acceleration isn't too bad, it feels pretty torquey for a little 4-banger. Shifts are smooth and seemless, very impressed. A few times I had to actually watch the RPMS to tell when it shifted. Under light acceleration, it shifts at around 3,000 rpm.

One thing that really caught me off guard was the ride. I was expecting a rattle trap like my mom's Sunfire, where every (Michigan) road imperfection shudders the entire car. The Cobalt rides MUCH nicer than my Aunt's 2005 Corolla. There is no doubt about that.

I didn't get to drive the car, unfortunately.

That's all I have to say.

7/10. In my opinion, the Cobalt is a solid contender in its class.

[DuSpinnst]

Interesting insight.

[TahoeMikeZ71]

I can't wait till the auto show till I finally seat in a Cobalt.

[asim]

This review is probably much more fair than any media outlet...nice work giaga!

[ViperDVMan]

Not a bad real-world review.....and of a rental-grade base model, no less.

Great job Giaga

[TahoeMikeZ71]

Good Reveiw.

[01cavalier]

Thanks for the review. Im going to be in the market fairly soon I think, and am seriously looking at many options. I will soon be putting up my review of a car I have this weekend.

[tom3]

Roll up windows. Didn't think any car had those any more.

[kool_zx3]

Sounds about right, a focus owner rented one to go from north bay ontario to toronto. Car had good power,half decent interior but once u wanna get sporty, forget it. His focus would tear it a new one in every category except straight line speed. GM short changed the cobalt/pursuit, it barely can stand up to cars that came out 4 years before it.

[Carver]

Thanks Giaga. Those seats are enough to turn me off though. Anyway, I could never buy a Cobalt sedan, the rear is just too (as you said) dorky. The coupe is pretty slick though.

[CobaltSScrazy]

decent review no compro 2 other cars though, not nough

[W.A.F.U.]

I was kind of leery of the seats at first as well. After multiple 5 hours trips in them, it's not a concern. The seats have a good compromise of support and comfort that isn't evident by sitting in the car once.

The handling of the Cobalt/Pursuit base is average. Simply because the base model has the soft ride suspension. In other words, it's meant to be like that. Most people that buy economy cars want a nice ride not a car that handles like it's on rails. So comparisons to any other car in this area is silly.

As far as I'm concerned, GM did just one thing wrong on the Cobalt. It should have better fuel economy. I averaged 33mpg with a 72 mph average speed driving from Moncton to Sydney and back again.

I saw a new 4 door Civic in person yesterday. It really didn't look bad online and I was considering trading in the GA on a lease for one. Not anymore. The previous gen was a good looking car. I don't know what they were thinking with the new one.

[giagastormer]

I would NEVER buy a base Cobalt, it would have to be an SS Coupe or SS SC Coupe. You would be much better off buying a year old Malibu for the same price as a new Cobalt.

[Mr. Burns]

i told you the door slammed weakly.

[W.A.F.U.]

Originally Posted by giagastormer

I would NEVER buy a base Cobalt, it would have to be an SS Coupe or SS SC Coupe. You would be much better off buying a year old Malibu for the same price as a new Cobalt.

If I buy a year old Malibu, I get a car that is used and may have been abused and has two years warranty left. Buy a brand new Cobalt and get 3 years bumper to bumper and a 5 year powertrain warranty which the Malibu doesn't have.