After 10 long years, Chevrolet finally replaced its aging Cavalier economy sedan, and its replacement, the all-new 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, just may be real competition for imports like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.
Built on an all-new platform, the Cobalt is a very likable sedan, with a wide range of engines and trim levels to choose from. Plus it looks about 50 gazillion times better than the Cavalier ever did. But that new car smell can wear off pretty quickly if the vehicle isn't done right from top to bottom, so we decided to give the Cobalt the most thorough kind of test possible — a year in our garage.
Twelve months in the supercharged SS coupe would have been nice, but we decided to take a more practical approach and ordered up a top-of-the-line Cobalt sedan in LT trim with the naturally aspirated 2.2-liter, four-cylinder engine.
We figured it would be easy to find the Cobalt in the Los Angeles area, but a quick check of gmbuypower.com indicated that our search might take longer than expected. We wanted the LT in the Blue Granite Metallic Gray and we had to have XM radio. Even though we were flexible on all other things these "must-have" features meant going beyond Southern California.
A Cobalt in our preferred color with XM radio, a power sunroof and a rear spoiler was located at Fairway Chevrolet in Las Vegas, Nevada, so we placed a call to GM BuyPower Manager Kevin Hopkins. He was no stranger to well-prepared Internet shoppers. He looked up the car we wanted to make sure it was still on the lot and was able to give us an out-the-door price within minutes. He then faxed over a deal sheet with all the information so we could examine it further. This proved to be helpful as we learned the Cobalt we wanted had tinted windows and VIN etching that cost extra. He eventually knocked the price down since we didn't really want the VIN etching, which is the practice of carving the car's identification number into the windshield glass for theft recovery reasons. The tinted windows, however, weren't a problem.
Since this was during GM's much heralded employee discount sale, he sold us the car at a price actually below the employee discount number. Plus we got a $500 rebate. The sticker price, with the employee discount was $20,100. Our price was just $17,922.28.
After finalizing the sale over the phone we drove the 275 miles to Las Vegas to collect our new wheels. Picking up the car was a breeze but we did run into a few annoyances registering an out-of-state vehicle back in California. Among other things, we were forced to get a smog test which set us back $50. We eventually got the right paperwork handled and the car was registered without any further problems.
Going with the LT trim scored us slick-looking 16-inch wheels and a nice-looking interior with a standard four-speed automatic transmission, leather seats and a CD player with seven speakers. The darker window tinting also looks good with the Blue Granite paint. Although we could do without the rear spoiler, the Cobalt's look impressed many members of the staff, including Senior Editor Ed Hellwig who wrote, "I didn't think the Cobalt was particularly good-looking in pictures, but our long-termer looks pretty good in person, especially for less than $20,000."
Our initial driving impressions have been good. The standard 145-hp four-cylinder gets the Cobalt up to speed quickly enough although it can be a bit rough at higher engine speeds. We would have liked to have seen a five-speed automatic in the Cobalt to give it a competitive edge over the competition, but we'll admit the four-speed works well. Mileage has also been a little disappointing, we're averaging just under 25 mpg.
Commuting in the Cobalt has revealed a few more of its strengths and weaknesses. Light steering and strong acceleration make it well suited to urban driving. The XM radio we held out for is another big plus that makes the commutes a little less monotonous and we have to say we've yet to find a defect or have a mechanical issue. On the downside, the cupholder placement isn't ideal and the seats don't stay comfortable for very long.
Of course, for less than $20K we weren't expecting a luxury car. Then again, there's a new Civic on the block now and the Mazda 3 is an economy sedan we rarely get tired of driving. If the Cobalt really can hang with the imports the LT sedan has another 11 months to prove it.
Current Odometer: 1,569
Best Fuel Economy: 27.3 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 20.2 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 24.9 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None
Built on an all-new platform, the Cobalt is a very likable sedan, with a wide range of engines and trim levels to choose from. Plus it looks about 50 gazillion times better than the Cavalier ever did. But that new car smell can wear off pretty quickly if the vehicle isn't done right from top to bottom, so we decided to give the Cobalt the most thorough kind of test possible — a year in our garage.
Twelve months in the supercharged SS coupe would have been nice, but we decided to take a more practical approach and ordered up a top-of-the-line Cobalt sedan in LT trim with the naturally aspirated 2.2-liter, four-cylinder engine.
We figured it would be easy to find the Cobalt in the Los Angeles area, but a quick check of gmbuypower.com indicated that our search might take longer than expected. We wanted the LT in the Blue Granite Metallic Gray and we had to have XM radio. Even though we were flexible on all other things these "must-have" features meant going beyond Southern California.
A Cobalt in our preferred color with XM radio, a power sunroof and a rear spoiler was located at Fairway Chevrolet in Las Vegas, Nevada, so we placed a call to GM BuyPower Manager Kevin Hopkins. He was no stranger to well-prepared Internet shoppers. He looked up the car we wanted to make sure it was still on the lot and was able to give us an out-the-door price within minutes. He then faxed over a deal sheet with all the information so we could examine it further. This proved to be helpful as we learned the Cobalt we wanted had tinted windows and VIN etching that cost extra. He eventually knocked the price down since we didn't really want the VIN etching, which is the practice of carving the car's identification number into the windshield glass for theft recovery reasons. The tinted windows, however, weren't a problem.
Since this was during GM's much heralded employee discount sale, he sold us the car at a price actually below the employee discount number. Plus we got a $500 rebate. The sticker price, with the employee discount was $20,100. Our price was just $17,922.28.
After finalizing the sale over the phone we drove the 275 miles to Las Vegas to collect our new wheels. Picking up the car was a breeze but we did run into a few annoyances registering an out-of-state vehicle back in California. Among other things, we were forced to get a smog test which set us back $50. We eventually got the right paperwork handled and the car was registered without any further problems.
Going with the LT trim scored us slick-looking 16-inch wheels and a nice-looking interior with a standard four-speed automatic transmission, leather seats and a CD player with seven speakers. The darker window tinting also looks good with the Blue Granite paint. Although we could do without the rear spoiler, the Cobalt's look impressed many members of the staff, including Senior Editor Ed Hellwig who wrote, "I didn't think the Cobalt was particularly good-looking in pictures, but our long-termer looks pretty good in person, especially for less than $20,000."
Our initial driving impressions have been good. The standard 145-hp four-cylinder gets the Cobalt up to speed quickly enough although it can be a bit rough at higher engine speeds. We would have liked to have seen a five-speed automatic in the Cobalt to give it a competitive edge over the competition, but we'll admit the four-speed works well. Mileage has also been a little disappointing, we're averaging just under 25 mpg.
Commuting in the Cobalt has revealed a few more of its strengths and weaknesses. Light steering and strong acceleration make it well suited to urban driving. The XM radio we held out for is another big plus that makes the commutes a little less monotonous and we have to say we've yet to find a defect or have a mechanical issue. On the downside, the cupholder placement isn't ideal and the seats don't stay comfortable for very long.
Of course, for less than $20K we weren't expecting a luxury car. Then again, there's a new Civic on the block now and the Mazda 3 is an economy sedan we rarely get tired of driving. If the Cobalt really can hang with the imports the LT sedan has another 11 months to prove it.
Current Odometer: 1,569
Best Fuel Economy: 27.3 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 20.2 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 24.9 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None
Add A Comment »
logmgr says:
04:30 AM, 10/16/2010
My 2005 Cobalt has...GET THIS....392,475 miles on it.
Does not use oil between changes.
34-36 MPG fuel economy.
Only problem was to replace shift solenid at 208,123 miles.
The rest is all good.
TAKE THAT TOYOTA !!!!!
ccmmbabe says:
05:09 AM, 03/02/2010
I bought a 2005 cobalt and I have had nothing but problems with it, first the main fuse box went completely out I had to replace it cost me 1000. then the gear shift went out the was another 700 then the electric power steering went out and the windshield wiper motor this car has cost me more than what it is worth and the fuse box has gone out again.... so you tell me is it a good car or NOT. I was sold a lemon and I am still paying for it .... But I also bought a truck from chevy and I have had no problems with it ... Everything that is wrong with the cobalt should be a recall cuz no other car can have that much wrong with it this cobalt is a lemon