I went out on a test drive of a brand spankin new black Cobalt SS with the Sport Package today, and I wrote up a rewiew for everyone. Hope you enjoy it.




A new comer to the Chevrolet family, the Cobalt SS is the replacement for the Cavalier which many hope will help a struggling GM to recover and get on the track to doing something they should have been doing for a long time -- building cars people actually want. With flops known by the names Aztec, the ridiculously designed SSR, the hideous Cadillac Cimarron, and yes, even the now dead Cavalier; GM needed this car more than anything.

This brings me to my first point, the outside overall appearance. While at first glance the Cobalt may appear to look like a Cavalier, that's where the similarities end. My test car was a black Cobalt SS, simply put, the best color available for the car. No other color makes it look so astonishing and makes you want to say "Wow, that's astonishing!". The doors open very wide, almost too wide if you ask me. With a light door opening very wide, it may be entirely too easy to slam it into a car parked beside you -- but if you're a true owner who loves his car, there won't be a car within 4 miles of your parking spot.

This leads me to my next adventure, driving the car. The first thing I notice when I climb inside is how well laid out the dash is. The speedometer, tachometer, boost gauge, and everything else are very easy to read and placed in exactly the right position. Once I started down the road however, my happy appearance turned a bit in the direction of south. Now, I am just as big of a fan of spoilers on cars as the next guy, but HOLY MOTHER OF GOD BATMAN, THERE'S A WHALE ON THE BACK OF MY CAR! Yes, a whale. The wing on the back of the SS is so monstrous it blocks easily half the rear window. I knew before the drive it was going to be big, but until that moment I was unprepared for how much of my rear view I was going to lose. The only other small point I had concerning vision was the small rear seat windows. These created blind spots on the side of the car, but this is a minor point which can be lived with. It is a coupe, after all. As I continued to drive down the road, I couldn’t help but notice how well the tires stuck to the ground, the pretty-good-for-stock suspension, how easily the engine revs, the short shifter, and of course, the exhaust. For a stock car, the Cobalt has an impressive sounding exhaust! Instead of being quiet and studious, it yells “Hey! I’ve got a beer bong back here, common! Just one more beer!” Now that my friends, is good.

Now onto my favorite parts of the car. Those include the front mount intercooler, the supercharger, Recaro bucket seats, and of course, the Quaife front LSD. All of these work together to make an incredible car that much – straight from the factory. Simply put, you’d be stupid not to get the SS without the sport package. It’s required, and if I had my way, would be put into law. The sport package adds only $1,500 to the car, and for what you get, that’s a bargain. Like I said, get the sport package or don’t buy this car, Betty.

As for the price… well right now you simply can’t beat it. Currently GM is running their “employee discount for everyone” deal. The list cost for my test car was $24,560 for the Cobalt SS with sport package. After the GM discounts, the cost was knocked down to a mere $22,265.70 after all taxes, fees, and other ways to rape you with the cost of a new car added in. In short, with no money down I was looking at $446 a month for a 5 year lease and $389 for a 6 year, which ends up being about as long as a 5 year anyway. “$389 for a brand new car with THAT level of performance?” I thought. Yes, it’s that kind of deal that will help GM tremendously. I left the dealer with many great things to say about my very enjoyable test drive of the Cobalt, including quite a few minutes staring at it before I left. I did, however, walk right out of the dealer with the keys still in my hand. The rebel in me said “Hey, you’ve got the keys to a car and they don’t know who you are, DRIVE!” but then the sensible side of me took over and said “You’re you, you’ll get caught and you know it.” Of course, I was never about to take the car, but it was still funny to know that I was walking out of the dealership with keys in my hand and no one to stop me.

 

Well, Mike (1SICKLEX).................you and I can retire in peace. Here's our replacement.

Nice job, adiosc.

 

That doesn't sound like a bad car. That's a change from GM.

 

Nice review, funny what happened to you in the end! Didn't they photocopy you're driver's license before the test drive at the dealer? I thought this was standard procedure to prevent that kind of thing?

 

well they usually only photocopy your license when you go out on your own, i.e. when a salesperson isn't with you. in this case, the sales guy (who happened to be the son of the owner) came with me. it was funny though, he was a bit nervous when i was pushing the car around s-curves, however the car handled them with ease. it's such a blast to drive!

thanks mmarshall.

which reminds me, are you coming to the lexfest event in august?

 

nice writeup!

However, if I were looking for something in this market segment, I couldn't see my way to paying any more than $20K for this little car. That's just me.

 

I agree. I just can't see myself paying more than $20k for a cobalt SS. If the car was priced around $18-19k, then yes, it'll be a good deal IMO.

~Josh

 

maybe so, but think of what you're getting. right from the factory, AMAZING recaro seats (you have to sit in them to appreciate them), a quaife LSD, front mount intercooled supercharger, great looks (if you take off that whale of a wing, of course) and all while getting around 30mpg on the highway. if you ask me, it's worth it for anyone looking for a great level of performance without having to worry about warranties and installing the various components themselves. now i don't see myself buying this car, but if someone came up to me and said "so ben, i like the cobalt ss but i'm not sure if i should buy it... what do you think?" it's a no brainer.

 

adidosc - nice write-up, thanks, but it does seem overpriced when compared to a Scion Tc for example.

 

Yep. If every time that GM comes to market with a viable product they price it out of the market - they are doomed.

Like Mike (1Sick) said in another post - "it's like they build cars for the rebates" [paraphrase] ...

That's no joke.

M.

 

Probably. Not sure yet.

 

That was a damn good read

 

::bows:: i have another review coming up as soon as i'm done typing, the pontiac solstice.