Joined
·
128 Posts
With all current incentives it looks like a base Cobalt xfe can be had for around 10k. It's hard to beat that kind of price on that car. I looked one over at the dealership and couldn't find notable differences between this xfe model and other cobalts. I've seen some here speculate that vvt is already on this car but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'd need to check the build sheet to be certain.
What I'd like to figure out here is if it is worth waiting until next model year for the VVT (don't care about bt or mp3 input). Any idea on what kind of efficiency and power increases the vvt will offer? I drive about 25k miles a year highway so I won't be going through the revs very often.
I'm in no rush to get a new car as the Riviera treats me right and "only" gets 28 mpg out of the "ancient" supercharged 3.8. It will be a change stepping out of the heated leather, auto climate control, auto dimming mirrors, power seats windows sunroof, etc. but I'm a simple man and I'm sure I'll adapt.
I'll drive an xfe today and report back on highway rpm and other driving dynamics.
______________
I drove a Cobalt LS XFE today. The car is about as base as you can get with manual seats, locks, windows, transmission and mirrors. Unfortunately I've not yet driven a standard Cobalt to outline the differences with the xfe package v. the pre xfe car.
On the outside the xfe appears nothing more than a standard LS. The only difference was the tires, the xfe rolls on Goodyear Integrity's and the "regular" cars are on Continental ContiTrac's of the same size. I didn't see any special notations on the Goodyears that would indicate a lower rolling resistance. The suspension is your typical FE1.
Under the hood I did not come across anything special. I did see big fat EGR tubing so that may have something to do with the increased efficiency.
For what it's worth the salesperson said the gains in economy came down to ecu programming, gear ratio changes and other "things" they didn't want the competition to know...right.
If I were to only listen to some folks on the site I would have thought the interior would be absolute trash. In all honesty it's quite fine for the price. The armrest is soft and it's the only place I'll be touching so I'm pleased. I was quite surprised I could so easily fit into the car as I'm 6'4" 300 lbs. The coupe allows for good shoulder clearance whereas I can not get comfortable in an 06+ Impala due to the b-pillar digging into my shoulder (I have the same clearance issue in a cobalt sedan). My extra wide feet were in a comfortable position on the dead pedal and throttle. I had no issue manipulating the pedals.
On surface streets the car gets around fine. Before I get into tranny talk I should note that I rarely drive manual and when I do it's usually an old camaro without a fancy hydraulic clutch and 5th gear. As for the cobalt, first gear is very short and really only good for parking lot creeping. Fifth can lug the car around fine at 35 mph and up. I noticed that the shift light comes on very early, at around 2000 rpm or slightly less...the odd thing is in 3rd gear that the light turned on at 2000 rpm and then off again at 3000 rpm. The shifting action in 1-4 was fine but the transition into 5th wasn't as smooth as I would have liked and seemed to be too far of a throw vs. the 2-3.
Another oddity occurred when I got on the highway. I went wot onto a highway onramp and somehow the rev limiter kicked in when I was only at 5500 rpm. It startled me because I was actually watching the tach to make sure I wouldn't hit the limiter. Acceleration was surprisingly good relative to my Riviera although the cobalt was down 100 hp 130 ,ft/lbs tq and 1000 lbs. I didn't notice anything trying to hold back quick acceleration The ecotec let you know it was working under hard accel. Once on the highway I found that there is a lot of wind noise at 65 mph+ which seems to come from around the a pillars. At 70 mph the engine is ticking over at 2500 rpm and at 65 mph the revs are nearly the same... What are other 5speed cobalts turning? If a 5 speed Cobalt owner could chime in on any differences they note that would be great.
Wow, I never thought I'd write that much about a Cobalt. :fall:
What I'd like to figure out here is if it is worth waiting until next model year for the VVT (don't care about bt or mp3 input). Any idea on what kind of efficiency and power increases the vvt will offer? I drive about 25k miles a year highway so I won't be going through the revs very often.
I'm in no rush to get a new car as the Riviera treats me right and "only" gets 28 mpg out of the "ancient" supercharged 3.8. It will be a change stepping out of the heated leather, auto climate control, auto dimming mirrors, power seats windows sunroof, etc. but I'm a simple man and I'm sure I'll adapt.
I'll drive an xfe today and report back on highway rpm and other driving dynamics.
______________
I drove a Cobalt LS XFE today. The car is about as base as you can get with manual seats, locks, windows, transmission and mirrors. Unfortunately I've not yet driven a standard Cobalt to outline the differences with the xfe package v. the pre xfe car.
On the outside the xfe appears nothing more than a standard LS. The only difference was the tires, the xfe rolls on Goodyear Integrity's and the "regular" cars are on Continental ContiTrac's of the same size. I didn't see any special notations on the Goodyears that would indicate a lower rolling resistance. The suspension is your typical FE1.
Under the hood I did not come across anything special. I did see big fat EGR tubing so that may have something to do with the increased efficiency.
For what it's worth the salesperson said the gains in economy came down to ecu programming, gear ratio changes and other "things" they didn't want the competition to know...right.
If I were to only listen to some folks on the site I would have thought the interior would be absolute trash. In all honesty it's quite fine for the price. The armrest is soft and it's the only place I'll be touching so I'm pleased. I was quite surprised I could so easily fit into the car as I'm 6'4" 300 lbs. The coupe allows for good shoulder clearance whereas I can not get comfortable in an 06+ Impala due to the b-pillar digging into my shoulder (I have the same clearance issue in a cobalt sedan). My extra wide feet were in a comfortable position on the dead pedal and throttle. I had no issue manipulating the pedals.
On surface streets the car gets around fine. Before I get into tranny talk I should note that I rarely drive manual and when I do it's usually an old camaro without a fancy hydraulic clutch and 5th gear. As for the cobalt, first gear is very short and really only good for parking lot creeping. Fifth can lug the car around fine at 35 mph and up. I noticed that the shift light comes on very early, at around 2000 rpm or slightly less...the odd thing is in 3rd gear that the light turned on at 2000 rpm and then off again at 3000 rpm. The shifting action in 1-4 was fine but the transition into 5th wasn't as smooth as I would have liked and seemed to be too far of a throw vs. the 2-3.
Another oddity occurred when I got on the highway. I went wot onto a highway onramp and somehow the rev limiter kicked in when I was only at 5500 rpm. It startled me because I was actually watching the tach to make sure I wouldn't hit the limiter. Acceleration was surprisingly good relative to my Riviera although the cobalt was down 100 hp 130 ,ft/lbs tq and 1000 lbs. I didn't notice anything trying to hold back quick acceleration The ecotec let you know it was working under hard accel. Once on the highway I found that there is a lot of wind noise at 65 mph+ which seems to come from around the a pillars. At 70 mph the engine is ticking over at 2500 rpm and at 65 mph the revs are nearly the same... What are other 5speed cobalts turning? If a 5 speed Cobalt owner could chime in on any differences they note that would be great.
Wow, I never thought I'd write that much about a Cobalt. :fall:
of you to focus on my one bit of sarcastic honda humor, I figured the 
