kartrcr4life

Ok, I've recently put up my S for sale. Coming from a sedan (Evo) I missed having the space and I've been looking at getting a sporty sensible commuter sedan with great gas mileage. Only thing that came up at first was the Si but then I saw the 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS turbo and it supposedly gets better mileage than the Si. EPA rates it at 22/30 and that's with 260HP! For 2009, they're coming out with a sedan version and from the review that I've read, the handling is so good that most reviewers couldn't believe it an FF. Putting all bias aside, what do you guys think of this car? My only reservation is that it's an american car (my first car was domestic and had problems with) and what potential resale value is down the road. Styling is ok but what attracts me is the MPG rating given the HP it's putting out.

dat boi

Even though GM has stepped their game up in their performance division, what really annoys me is that their interior seems to be made of nothing but plastic It also seems a little bland on the inside and may lack "feel". I recently rode in my friend's new Escalade and was disappointed to find that all of the panels were textured plastic, they weren't soft at all and had that annoying sound when you scratch textured plastic. If GM can improve their interior quality, I think they will be more appealing.

As far as resale value is concerned, it won't hold its value like an evo or s2000 for sure. I don't even think it will be like the Civic either

2007 Zx-10

the Cobalt SS might be a good performer for the money, but the vanilla wrapper will keep most of it's intended audience away

TheDonEffect

^^ I mostly agree with all that. The interior could always use work, but at least its design is nice, just the material quality isn't all there. With that said, you do get some serious performance for the buck, but if this car floats your boat, perhaps look at the Volvo C30 which, in dna, is the euro focus st so with the right mods you're looking at a killer car.
The Ecotec motor is more or less what you would expect for a quality 4 banger these days, heck GM even has build guides and a catalog to go with it to make crazy horsepower... whereas Mits would (or rather used to) void your warranty if they saw you at a track.
Also, people been getting great hp out of simple bolt on mods and tuning, the only thing that keeps me from getting it is the fwd aspect.

hyperpm

beat out stock ms3 in slalom and 1/4 mile numbers so performance is definitely there. also beat out s2k on a road course. not sure about reliability, interior feel, and styling.

CKit

Don't do it for gas mileage. You'll lose more money in resale than the difference in gas. If you like the car for what it is, then great! It's a fast car for people on a tight budget.

UmarS2K

If I needed a car with more space, I'd probably turn toward the Cobalt SS, too.

Skuzzy

Bunch of foreign boys.

You can get one for nothing thanks to the pinch GM is in. Do it if the car is as promised.

Yellow_S

For the first time, I agree with you. Excellent performance (from what I've read) but the exterior is that of a rental Cavalier or something. If you just care about the performance and not exterior or interior (and plan to keep for a while because the resale value can hurt a lot), then go for it. Performance-wise, nothing in its price class can touch, though the MS3 and WRX come really close.

wickerbill

I haven't driven a cobalt ss, but I easily get 30+ MPG in my civic si on the highway. I wouldn't base it totally on gas mileage and agree with CKit that GM resale value will kill any gas savings you might get over another car.