Regarding poor economy figures, if the economy of 25 mpg is the best you could get, than that’s bad for you. Commenters here say they are getting 32 mpg when they want to.

I’ve read once more your piece. This TRUTH make me sick.

The car is decent looking, and it is getting replaced soon, so as an end-of-life product, deserves some slack.

The ups: Excellent quality, great gas mileage, inexpensive.

The downs: Anyone who drives alot knows GM makes a lousy four cylinder engine.

The Cobalt is an inexpensive car but an eight year old Altima or Corolla has more life in it.

Prove me wrong, GM! I’d love to buy an American made car with confidence again.

Have you seen http://www.chevycobaltlabs.com which is Chevy Cobalt Labs? It’s all about tricking out and racing cobalts.

Personally, I like the SS version. It’s powerful and handles great, and it looks pretty cool. What not to like?

Thinking this was an early car problem, I have been proved wrong every day I see these things on the road. I can’t believe Chevy hasn’t corrected this obvious cosmetic problem (with other colors besides yellow), and it makes me wonder about the rest of the package. You can see the problem even in the GM-supplied photos in this article.

However, it’s not a bad-looking car. But it’s the last one I’d consider in this class of vehicle.

This is like complaining that bacholors would be more acceptable if they would just take a wife.

great article!

I had an ‘87 Accord Hatchback back in the mid-90s. Last I saw it the car had a bit over 300K miles on the original drivetrain. Very, very useful car for it’s smallish size and a hoot to drive.

Okay, okay if GM can’t build a GOOD car (or won’t) then at least they could build a USEFUL car. But again, it doesn’t appear that they want to. VBG!

I want to give them a shot at my transportation dollar next time but they need to have a competitive hatchback that is not an SUV or large. I’m going to buy another compact hatchback car (Astra, Rabbit, Mazda3, Versa, Focus, etc).

It’s a shame since, if they had have been able to spend just a few dollars more, they could have gotten a similiarly equipped and infinitely better Corolla.

What’s the point of reviewing a car like this? It’s basic transportation, and as long as it’s safe and somewhat reliable (at least as far as GM goes), then that’s good enough for the folks they are targeting.

If this is basic transportation then what would you call a Civic or a Corolla? (or a Fit for that matter). Just as higher end cars strive to impress their owners (who I’d assume want the best for their dollar) what makes people shopping in the basement any different? Sure they want a car that’s reliable and can take them from point A to B with ease (ANY car can do that) but if the ownership experience is not up to spec then what’s the use? That’s the review here. You COULD by a Cobalt but then there are much better options available for the same money. I have an Elantra that I’m looking to replace right now and I’d buy another Elantra over the Cobalt (the SS version may be the exception, I’d willing to overlook the dash for 260hp but, yet again, there are better options aka MazdaSpeed3).

Exactly! we replaced our 1998 Neon with a leased Cobalt. The “new” Cobalt has been back to the dealer consistantly. The irony is we got the Cobalt to replace the aging Neon with 130,000 trouble free miles.(less a fuel pump) We would have done much better to keep the Neon. I couldn’t recommend a Cobalt to anyone.

The fit, finish, power, surprising economy (34mpg) were all fine. But, just driving it from the Kona airport, downhill into town in evening traffic, the brakes had pretty much faded away. A few days later we were driving some real mountain roads and had to stop and cool the brakes. It was that bad. The last time I had to do that was on Pikes Peak in a 1980 Ford. Yes, I downshifted, but that is another problem. Why cant all automatics allow the driver to select every gear manually, like it used to be?

One Japanese auto maker that was not mentioned was the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer DE the base model of the Lancer family is $14,500 (buy cash) with 7 air bag including knee and curtain bags standard with 156 hp non pzev engine and 146 hp california pzev.

I actually like the Mitsubishi Lancer quite a bit, but my long list of alternatives to the Cobalt were all under the $15k mark. After double checking prices, it isn’t possible to get a Lancer DE with the A/C & Power Package unless you also select the CVT automatic. All the cars on my under $15k list had A/C, as do all Cobalt models. The closest the Lancer comes is an ‘08 ES 5-speed which is currently priced at $15,274…and quite well-equipped at that price.

One Japanese auto maker that was not mentioned was the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer DE the base model of the Lancer family is $14,500 (buy cash) with 7 air bag including knee and curtain bags standard with 156 hp non pzev engine and 146 hp california pzev.

This is like the Cobalt lots of performance parts to install and fun to drive.

by the way checked those Japanese car recalls the comparison against the cobalt is minimal

Basic maintenance will make the car last longer.
it is not about the Name of the car it is the owner of the car than makes it better.

Hyundai Elantra GLS – $13,625
Honda Civic DX – $15,010
Mazda 3i Sport – $13,995
Saturn Astra XE – $15,875
Scion xB – $15,650
Toyota Corolla Base – $15,210

You may already be aware of this, but I figured I’d mention it before someone else made a snarky comment- the Elantra GLS, Civic DX and Mazda3 i Sport prices you quote are without A/C. Although, to be honest, I’d take the Civic or Mazda3 WITHOUT A/C over a loaded Cobalt. =)

Hyundai Elantra GLS – $13,625
Honda Civic DX – $15,010
Mazda 3i Sport – $13,995
Saturn Astra XE – $15,875
Scion xB – $15,650
Toyota Corolla Base – $15,210

PJ, if it is criticized for being mediocre basic transportation, we need to know what the clearly superior basic transportation is that is being offered in the $11-$15,000 segment.

I’d take any of these over the Cobalt-
(prices from CarsDirect.com)

For reference-
‘08 Cobalt LS 4-door- $12,865
‘08 Cobalt LT 4-door- $14,158 (with ABS & CC added)
‘08 Cobalt 2LT 4-door- $14,716 (same as LT + alloys & OnStar)

Other under $15k cars I’d take over a Cobalt-
Ford Focus S- $13,443
Ford Focus SE- $14,051
Hyundai Elantra GLS- $14,215 (loaded & 100k warranty)
Kia Optima LX- $14,309 (MID-SIZE, well-reviewed)
Mazda3 i Sport w/AC- $14,929
Nissan Sentra 2.0S- $14,420
Nissan Versa 1.8S- $12,379
Suzuki SX4 Base- $13,904
Suzuki SX4 Convenience- $14,384
Toyota Yaris Base- $13,835
Toyota Yaris S- $14,585

Way back in 1993, when I was an 18-year old college freshman, I traded my ‘91 Honda Civic DX hatchback for a much nicer, peppier ‘93 Civic LX 4-door. A few weeks later, one of my good friends was handed the keys to a new car by her dad- a ‘93 Chevy Cavalier RS 2-door. It was loaded for a Cavalier- power everything, cruise control, pop-up sunroof, luggage rack….driving the sticker price up close to $14k. I paid $13,600 for my Civic.

She was very proud of it and wanted me to drive it. Obviously, I complemented her (lying thru my teeth) because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings or rain on her parade. But the car was ABYSMAL! I remember thinking to myself- if I had to make $300 monthly payments on this thing for five years, I’d probably “off” myself long before then!

Flash forward to 2007- Phoenix Airport, Rental Car Counter. I’m there for work and plan to drive 800-1000 miles over the 10 days and had requested a full-size car. Instead, I get a ‘06 Cobalt with manual-crank windows, no cruise control and an interior hue that can only be described as grey-beige. Compared to the ‘93 Cavalier- a little quicker, quite a bit smoother on the highway and less road noise- but still not in the league of the ‘93 Civic from 13 years earlier!!!