Knock me over -- Cobalt SS Rocks!

Factory kit should be coming out soon that will bump it up to 230-240hp.

Cobalt SS sedan in black without the airplane wing would be a great sleeper for gittin' around. Too bad the SS is coupe only.

Did the one you drove have the performance package w/ the Haldex LSD?

 

I dunno, at $23.8k you can get a new WRX.

 

AWD rules.

But I did read somewhere that the Chevy small cars are selling nicely because the price is right and people seem to feel gasoline will disappear in their lifetime if they don't start driving high MPG cars.


Isn't the Neon *shudders* SRT-4 a 225hp car for ~$20k, wonder how Stage I, II kits are on the SRT4 and SS Cobalt.

 

cobalt looks like those cartoon cars they were selling at chevron a while back, no thanks. WRX all the way, such a better car in every way...

 

but, ill give it props on HP. My A4 is so slow comparitively.

 

True, I've heard you can mod them cheaply with MOPAR and get stomping performance out of them. As far as personal safety, I'll take the car with better crash protection (WRX is the top of the subcompact class, with VW)... only a small Korean car could be worse than a Neon in a wreck.

EDIT: I guess I was sort of wrong - small Korean and American trucks and cars are the worst in wrecks! http://www.iihs.org/srpdfs/sr4003.pdf

 

What will it's depreciation curve look like? Keep the kids away from the edge of THAT cliff!


EDIT:

I just bought my oldest daughter a new Scion tC, $16990 out the door.

Cobalt at $23,000.... Lets check residual value in 3 years of these 2 cars(not just relative percentages, but absolute residual value as well). With a $6,000 head start, the Chevy will still be below the Scion.

I'm not rich enough to p!ss away money on trash.

 

How is the tC, I hear the all the Scions ( xA, xB(box) , tC ) are backordered?
I like the interior on the tC. The other models look like ass though.

Nicely equipped at almost 17k? Or bare bones, manual tranny, no options ?

 

Had to wait 4 weeks to get what she wanted, dark grey, 5 speed ( ), side air bags spec'ed by me. She (and me) wouldn't go out her way to p!ss on an automatic....good girl!

The car has a 2.4 liter (vs rival Civic's 1.6) , good suspension, good shifting despite what I have read.

It is 100% Japanese made, interior is really nice. 2 sunroofs, nice fabric, just really nice. Quality is UNBELIEVABLE. I'd be happy as a clam to have one for me for a daily driver.

 

Id rather spend the extra $$$ and get an Evo or a WRX, very cool tho

 

good call on the Scion, i think theyre by far one of the best deals out there.

 

Learned a few things about the car last summer, was in love w/ it. It is one sick sounding car in stock form. It is faster than a 350Z, within the realm of a Stang GT, Camaro's, STI's, and Evo's. With the performance upgrades they had for that car, you could smoke some serious as$ for little money. It was running about 5.5 0-60, the SS prob. won't break 6.

 

Is the LSD an option for the SS, or is std eq?

 

Just bought one of these myself. Black Cherry Pearl w/5 sp. Honestly, this car is a steal. Bare bones on these cars means you don't add $3k worth of neon lights, sub woofers, and ground effects. For $17,300 I drove off with a solid performer, with rock solid reliability, unreal build quality, security w/ master key engine engage, and standard features (2006) like tire pressure monitoring, 160 watt 6 speaker stereo w/iPod hook up, and requisite power locks, windows, and sunroof.

I was really specific about what I was looking for (5 sp hard to come by in southern California), and it was a little hard to find, but with the no haggle pricing I didn't have to hide from the dealers the fact that I was after this car. I got a call from one of the many dealers I had feelers out to, that one had arrived that day. I went down a couple hours later, drove it, and wrote a check without having to play any kind of games. I couldn't be happier with the car, or the buying experience.

 

Cobalt is faster accelerating and handles better...

 

Handles better than 4WD ?

buggravy I thought you were talking about the Cobalt until I read you were quoting what I asked about the tC.

 

Since when does AWD makes something handle better...perhaps at high power levels this is a definite issue. However, the WRX doesn't make enough power to do this *and* it's AWD system isn't a variable system (as it should be to provide maximum handling/traction benefit).

 

I cant believe I like a Saturn but the upcoming SKY is Very cool

 

See the latest C&D for a comparo with the SS and the WRX along with other car s in that price range. FYI, the RSX-S won.

 

Nice call Uro. I'm a fixed ops manager at a Chevy/Toyota/Scion store and the Tc is a solid car. They have a bulletproof Camry drivetrain in them. I thought these cars were a serious bargain when they came out and the market has proved me right. They are sold as they roll off the truck. The demand and limited supply will only bolster resale values for the foreseeable future.

As for the Cobalt SS, they are fun to drive, but we shall see how they hold up over the long haul and keep an eye on depreciation. They do accellerate like a scalded dog and handle fairly well. Should be a hit with the tuner group and I have to admit I like the looks and the build quality is better than one would expect.

Now for the real fun. The Scion Tc is now available with a turbo!

John

 

The scion tc is definately a good bargin, but I didn't like the way they handled on power. The one I drove was an automatic and had a tendancy to wash quickly into understeer when you least expect it. Maybe it's better to trailbrake but I didn't have a lot of time to play with it. Accelleration is decent, but no better than a ZX3 focus which is cheaper yet. IMO, buy it for the interior quality but a cheap celica replacement it is not.

Also are you SURE it is coming with a turbo and not the Camry's supercharger? The web site doesn't list any real performance options.

 

Um, you might want to get some driving experience before making a comment like that.

 

My first hand impression is that build quality is on par with best in class. Shockingly good, actually.

I'm waiting to try the one with the limited slip diff.