Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, Economy
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt: In The Autoblog Garage Day 1
Chevy has a lot riding on their new compact sedan. The Chevy Cobalt replaces the relatively ancient Cavalier in the company's line-up. It's also an attempt to move beyond just the economy car title to something more upscale. The $20,600 price tag on our test LT Sedan certainly makes it seem like we're talking upscale, but the Cobalt probably shouldn't try to aim so high.
Before I get a chance to test out the speed sensitive power steering, four-wheel antilock brakes and traction control (in a fresh batch of snow), I have to sit in the thing. Wearing a winter coat, I feel like Ive just been wedged into a sub-compact. The seat must need adjusting. Waitmy hand can barely fit between the seat and the door to get to the lever to lower it. OK, now Im a bit lower and the headroom doesnt bother me but I am still struggling for hip room here.
This will be one of the few times I bust out statistics to prove my point. Because the space squeeze is so prominent,
I have to check the interior space against the competition. The Ford Focus is .2 inches less in front hip room but a
half inch better in shoulder room. But Im still thinking this is too tight a squeeze to be identical to the
competition. The Toyota Corolla bests the Cobalt in hip room by 2.3 inches and shoulder room by just .1 inch. Compared
to the Mazda 3 the Cobalt has 5.3 inches less front hip room and almost two inches less shoulder room.
So I am now satisfied in feeling a bit tight. The interior doesnt thrill me as much as it does in the SS with all the
black and metal highlights. Faux wood just shouldnt be used in cars of this class. It doesnt help anything look more
expensive. It also takes away from the style of the single bar going across the entire dash. On first look, the vents
stick out as the cheapest aspect of the interior and are just flimsy, almost unfinished plastic.
Luckily, the colors are pleasant and all the buttons, steering wheel and other essentials are nice to the touch. I genuinely like the exterior look of the Cobalt, but it is a bit derivative of the Mazda3 and last generation Jetta. Well have to see if more time in the Cobalt improves on its first impression.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
rolliedemay 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Ho Hum. This thing doesn't ring any bells I can see. The old Cavalier at least was cheap. If you want an entry level car, (lets not pretend here) you should have an entry level price. Try 15/17K equipped with automatic, steering, brakes, windows, and some cheap cloth. At least you would get credit for practicality instead of paying a price just short of a Ford 500.
Reply
Andy 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Sheesh, for $21k you can get a pretty loaded Mazda 3 including navigation. What is GM smoking?
Reply
Ben 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
The base sedan lists at 14,190 and KBB says market is 13.7K...that's with AC but has a manual. Power steering, etc. Can you even buy a car besides an Elise without that these days?
Reply
laserwizard 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
After sitting in my parents' new Focus, the comparison with the Chevrolet Cobore is quite illuminating. The Cobore has no sense of spaciousness whereas the Focus has a high seating position that lends to spacious feeling. The Focus wins hands down in the rear seat room since the Cobore has absolutely no legroom whatsoever.
I distinctly recall visiting the Richmond, Virginia car show a few weeks back with my over 6 foot tall brother-in-law. He's somewhere in the 6 foot 2 inch plus range and I had him sit in the front seat and to position it where he was comfortable AFTER I managed to climb into the backseat of the Cobore. Simply put, I was pinned into the back of the front seat with my lower legs being shoved into the seat cushion.
I COULD NOT EXIT THE CAR SINCE I WAS PINNED IN. I am a 5 foot 11 inch, 190 lb male so I'm not a huge guy. Needless to say that I have never had so little room in the backseat of a car since the days of Mustang II's, Pintos, Gremlins, and Vegas.
In order to get out of the Cobore, I had two options:
(1) Call the fire department to have them to cut me out of the car;
(2) To have the front seat moved forward after the driver got out of the car (we chose this option).
Needless to say it is reprehensible for any automaker of a four door car to have such a putrid level of attention to detail. This car should never be purchased and should be boycotted for its embarrassing lack of room. Chevrolet crows about fixing the problems of the Ion when it released the Cobore. Unfortunately the worst problem, lack of interior room that plagued the Ion, remains UNCHANGED in this four wheeled piece of trash.
I don't care what it looks like or what the interior has that the Cavalier didn't. This car is simply unworthy of anyone's hard earned dollar. I short anyone who buys this car is profoundly stupid.
Reply
Scott Swisher 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Gee, Car and Driver likes it. They even said it has stains from sweating the details.
GM should sell a lot of these as long as it is not like a Focus, the most recalled car in history.
Reply
Kyle 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I haven't had much experience with the Cobalt, but I am the owner of a 2002 Jetta. Rear seat room in the Jetta is sorely lacking. Is it possible in any compact car to fit two six-footers, one behind the other? It may be simply a weakness of the class. If you want to carry four passengers with any sort of regularly and for any substantial length of time, then I think you may as well bite the bullet and buy something in the Accord/Camry/Passat range.
Reply
Chris 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I am certainly not defending the COBALT, but hey "laserwizard", when you speak of GMs "putrid level of attention to detail", check your own work. What the hell is the "Cobore" you keep talking about? Your last sentence, "I (???) short anyone who buys this car is profoundly stupid", sums it up. Maybe GM should hire someone that sweats the details such as yourself to work on the next COBALT?
Reply
David Thomas 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Chris don't worry about laser he just wants attn.
Reply
Ben 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
I hear the Focus fits like six basketball players in the back. And like five more linebackers up front. Seriously guys, it's a Ford and they're like totally the best cars and stuff.
Reply
Heyuan 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
The interior is a tad ordinary though and I won't comapre this with a Mazada 3 though.
Reply
Rick Moore 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
My Scion xB is almost a subcompact (155 inches long) yet has 45 inches of legroom up front and 38 inches in the rear. Couple that with the 21 cubes of space behind the rear seats and you have a winner. Okay, so it's a box, but it sure doesn't feel that way when you are driving it! :-)
Seriously, I love my xB, and EVERYONE comments about the room inside. My two buddies, both about 6 foot 4, sat one behind the other. Front seat all the way back, the guy in the back had an inch of legroom to spare. All they could say was, "Amazing."
There is no reason for Chevy and Saturn to be selling this for as much as they do with no room inside...
Reply
Mike 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
The Cobalt is attempting to lift the stigma of a cheap car for a cheap price. There is nothing wrong with this concept. Toyota and Honda lived on it for years. GM finally has finally found some quality in the Cobalt, but somehow lost the price objective; hoever, anyone who knows GM knows that the huge incentives are what sells most of their cars. I love the super charged opitoned SS with the manual, should really learn how to row it yourself and save $1200. And for the record, the xB is the UGLIEST refridgerator I've ever seen since AMC penned the Gremlin although the worst travesty is the center mounted gauge cluster. Putrid!
Reply
John Pitts 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Contrary to many on this blog, I find the Cobalt to be a good looking sedan. It has clean lines with conservative styling and a certain sense of practicality about it. I believe GM would have hit a home run with this car if the mpg numbers were higher. In the age of soon to be $3 a gallon gasoline, 30 mpg is no longer good enough! VW has 45 mpg diesels in the US and 70+ mpg diesels in Europe. Toyota and Honda will soon be on their 3rd generation hybrids with 50 to 70 mpg as the norm! Where is GM? Can't the largest car manufacturer in the world build me a 50 to 70 mpg car? As a GM owner for years, I am disappointed in GM's attitude and direction in the area of fuel economy, especially when they are crushing their remaining fleet of electric cars in Mesa, Az. And where did that billion dollars the feds gave your to explore alternative energy vechicles go? Probably into building one ton pickups and SUV's! The Cobalt has a lot going for it, but if GM doesn't quickly build high mpg cars, then the consumer will have no choice but to buy import!
Reply
akuma_supreme 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Yawn. The Big Three pump out yet another compact car that's supposed to be "almost as good" and "just as well built" as a Toyota or Honda. Of course this new import beater costs 20 large! I can just imagine the rationale: "Ok, true a decent Corolla or Civic will run 15-17k, but they sell in huge numbers. We don't expect to sell too many of these outside of fleets, so to make a profit, we'll set the target price at $21,000. We're geniuses!"
Is this really the best Bob Lutz can do? GM is doomed.
Reply
Conan the Grammarian 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
A Cobalt for >$20K when you could get a Scion tC for <18? The Scion looks better, will last better, and probably drives better, too. It's within a mile or two on MPG.
Game over, for the LT anyway.
Reply
Matt Gabriel 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Cars that cost less or about the same as the Cobalt that I'd buy instead:
Scion Xa, Xb =and= TC.
Dodge Neon (I actually have an '04 SXT with sunroof. Cost me less than $12 large with incentives, and 0% interest. Oh, yeah, has 7yr warranty.)
Dodge SRT-4 - 'Nuff said.
PT Cruiser - 7 Yr warranty.
Dodge Caravan - 7 yr warranty.
Mini - My next car.
Honda Civic - Cobalt or Civic. Hmmm. Tough one. Not.
Honda Element - Honda's resale value means that you will actually be selling this for a 250% markup over the original sticker price.
Jeep Liberty - 7 yr warranty.
Jeep Wrangler - 7yr warranty, unreal resale value, babe maget.
Almost everything Hyundai and Kia makes.
Suzuki Swift.
Saturn Vue
And, hell, I'm too depressed to go on. The Cobalt is a competent little American econobox being sold for midsize sedan money. This thing has "monumental failure" written all over it. Is the Cobalt $7,000 better than a Focus or Neon? Doubt it. Is it as good as a Civic, Corolla, or Mazda 3? Snerk.
VW can get away with selling crap cars for big bucks because they have what Apple has in terms of marketing mystique and design savvy. Chevy... just doesn't.
~ Matt Gabriel
Reply
rolliedemay 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Way to call it Matt!
Reply
LKPK 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
an '04 Neon? There's a great 1994 technology car being sold in 2005. I just read that they had THE WORST residual value of any car on the market-26% after five years
Reply
Matt Gabriel 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
Yes, and it will be completely paid off in four years, and covered under warranty for three years after that. This thing is a replacement for my old Ford Festiva... I got sick of wrenching on it in an unheated garage, and decided my daily driver should always be under warranty.
The only vehicles that were cheaper to buy new were the Scion Xa and Toyota Echo, which I'm too tall to fit in, the Rio Cinco and Hyundai Accent two door. The Neon was lightyears ahead of the Koreans in fit and finish, and it's not a bad looking vehicle, either. I like the sleek and simple lines.
I have a '69 Cadillac droptop with go-fast parts from MTS for impressing car people. The Neon impresses my post-Dotcom budget.
If I replace it, it will probably be with the 4cyl Dodge Caravan, which is like $15k with incentives, and also has a 7 year warranty.
Reply
Trest 10:59PM (12/18/2005)
7YR POWERTRAIN. State it for what it really is. Sure it can be useful to about 1/10 Car owners.
Reply