Short term (test drive): Chevy HHR

[Petra]

NOTE: I was dumb enough not to bring my camera along for this test drive, so this Edmunds stock photo will have to do. More to come!

Exterior

I wouldn't be the first to suggest that the HHR looks like a more muscular PT Cruiser. That formality aside, the HHR's styling is pretty good to my eyes. Tall, boxy and, most importantly, it looks pretty unique parked in a lot full of Impalas. Those who are attempting to wean themselves off of SUVs will find the HHR's bold chrome grille and trucky stance especially inviting. One feature I thought was really nifty: The gas cap is flush with the body, but, rather than pressing a release inside, you push the cap in to release it, rather like clicking a mouse. Nevertheless, no matter how good the HHR might look, there is no denying that it is copying directly from the PT Cruiser, so I give it 1 2 3 4 5.

Interior

This is where that tall roof pays big dividends. My brother, who, you may recall, is about 6'3" and 300 lbs, fit into the front seat with no problem. Even with my Fedora hat on, there was still at least 3 inches of headroom left for me. Plus, you could probably carry some big stuff in there with the seats folded.

However, that is about the only bright spot. Not that the rest of the interior is bad; compared to GM products of the past, it is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, it's still a step or two behind the Imports. As a result, the interior comes off as merely average. The front seats are comfy and supportive, but the rear seats are stiff, and the back is slanted too far back to be comfortable. Also, there is a plastic panel on the back of the front seats, which dug into my femur at about its halfway point... Ouch! The dash plastics, though they have a nice grain, glare in the bright sunlight (a big automotive peeve of mine). There was a noticable gap in between the plastic panel that connects the steering wheel spokes to the wheel, and it looked extremely cheap. The sound system, despite its gee-whiz iPod jack, had medocre sound quality, and the GM corprate faceplate screams "Rental!" Lastly, the Manual shifter, which has a pretty chrome top, is mounted one or two inches too low. The HHR's interior is neither particularily stylish nor does it posess any substance, though it does show a few signs that someone at GM is paying attention. For an average performance, it gets an average score: 1 2.5 3 4 5.

Powertrain

Oh, lord, where to start! The base model HHR we tested was fitted with the base model powertrain, a 2.2L. Ecotec i4 that (supposedly) dishes out 140-ish horsepower and 150 lbs/ft. of torque. On paper, that sounds like decent, if not thrilling motivation. But not all four-cylinder engines are created equal, and you can't believe everything you read on the spec sheet.

I'll come right out and say it: The base Ecotec motor is an absolute dog. It provides adequate acceleration around town (but who wants "adequate"?), where the torque curve serves its purpose. Still, there isn't that much twist to be had... It's just the nature of Detroit engines, which always seem to provide more torque down low than an Import can muster. However, this engine also has one of the worst traits of Big 3 blocks: A distinct, pushrod-like slothfulness when raising the revs. Getting out onto a multilane Highway or Freeway, we instinctively mashed the go pedal. We waited for what seemed like forever as the tach begrudgingly crawled towards the redline. There is no kick-in-the-pants burst of acceleration, no growl from the exhaust pipes, no nothing. Just quiet, and the two dashboard needles slowly moving towards 12:00. Needless to say, the HHR's powertrain hardly lives up to the hot rod styling.

Bear in mind, too, that we were sampling the 5-Speed Manual transmission. I shudder to think how the optional 4-Speed slushbox performs. The stickshift itself, along with the aforementioned problem of being to short, is rubbery and vague, offering little insight with regards to where one gear ends and the next begins. It is like pushing a teaspoon through a big, thick bowl of porridge. The clutch is very nice, but, after all of the above, it is tantamount to saying, "Well, Osama Bin Laden may be an evil man who wants us all to die, but darn if he doesn't have a well-groomed beard!"

While I have no doubt that the optional 2.4L. motor, delivering some 170 horses, would provide a more lively driving experience, the base 2.2L. Ecotec can only be described by one word: Pathetic. It gets a 1 2 3 4 5.

Ride & Handling

I begin to wonder if the HHR was sent to the Buick Academy of Blandness for tuning of the ride & handling characteristics. If there is one thing they got very right, it is the quietness. The HHR cruises in serenity, with a quietness that seems astonishing given its breadbox shape and humble, Cobalt roots. If you're not going anywhere in a hurry, the HHR is a nice place to be. I predict lots of buyers from the 50+ market will be getting into these little trucks... You know, the guys and girls who remember the original Suburban that the HHR is supposed to emulate.

Other than that, it is another average performance. It doesn't do well at anything, and it doesn't stink at anything, either. The ride is okay. The handling is decent, though there is some noticable body roll in the corners, especially freeway ramps. It responds briskly enough to inputs, but not with any particular clarity or precision that some Import models provide (more on that later).

On the other hand, though, the two cars I drive at present are a Grand Marquis and a Grand Caravan. Even with such an milquetoast performance, the HHR could outhandle either one of those boats with little effort. Thanks to the successful quiet tuning and my own bias, I'll let the HHR slip by with a 1 2 3.5 4 5.

Practicality

The HHR's tall interior wins it a few points here. Like I said, it makes sense when you've got a big dude like my brother to cart around. And it would be great if you ever had to carry something very tall and long, like a large TV set... Just flip down the rear seats by pulling up on the golf tee-looking thing near the headrests, which GM finally figured out at least a decade after Toyota. With the rear seats up, there is a decent amount of cargo space. A plastic panel can be removed from the bottom for an extra two inches or so of depth, and the panel can be set up as a picnic table. A splendid idea... If only Chrysler hadn't thought of it years before. As with an increasing number of vehicles on the market, the cargo area and the backseat-backs are covered in hard plastic, which, while easy to clean up, invites a mess by offering virtually no traction for grocery bags and the like... Good thing the HHR doesn't invite spirited driving!

On the downside, the HHR simply doesn't have the versatility that only a third row of seats can offer. What if I want to go somewhere with more than four people, and go there comfortably? And, if you have a third row, you can always take it out/flip it down for tons of cargo room whenever you don't need it. That said, the HHR does great for a conventional, 5-seat vehicle, so I'll award it a solid 1 2 3 4 5 in this category.

OVERALL SCORE: 15 (Max. 25, Min. 5)

FINAL THOUGHTS: I wanted to like the HHR, I really did. Sadly, though, the HHR is yet another vehicle from GM that manages to be merely competent at its debut. Time will not be friendly to this little trucklet, as it ages and far more superior competitors arrive on the scene. Like all GM products, it is a great leap forward over the GM model that preceeded it. But it is not a great leap forward over its competitors in any way. My advise to GM: Don't benchmark the competiton. Rather than taking a look at the PT Cruiser and saying, "We need one of these! Clone it!", you need to take a look at the PT Cruiser thoroughly and think, "If I was Chrysler, what would I do to make this better?"

Edited July 22, 2006 by Petra

[loki]

nice final thoughts.

i have no experience with deltas though...

the picture, wow it looks like it should have a lot of room under that hood for even a v6 rwd setup, that'd be cool.

[ocnblu]

Petra, just one note: the seatbacks are covered in hard plastic because you can fold the passenger side flat for loading extremely long objects. It is to provide a durable load surface.

[The O.C.]

I thought the 2.4L was quite nice in the HHR when matched to the 4-speed auto. It did seem to rev quite a bit quicker. However, it most certainly doesn't feel like 170hp. It felt more like 130hp....but it was very quiet and smooth. Maybe the HHR is packing on a bit more weight than any of us really know...?

[Polish_Kris]

Oh, lord, where to start! The base model HHR we tested was fitted with the base model powertrain, a 2.2L. Ecotec i4 that (supposedly) dishes out 140-ish horsepower and 150 lbs/ft. of torque. On paper, that sounds like decent, if not thrilling motivation. But not all four-cylinder engines are created equal, and you can't believe everything you read on the spec sheet.

169750[/snapback]

This is the exact issue I had when I drove the Pursuit when it first came out. 140 hp, where is the power??? I remember working at Honda and driving Civics with 115 hp, and they felt neck snapping compared to this. And the thrashy sound when accelerating, felt like the engine was going to blow up or something. I dunno, I guess American companies will never be good at 4 cylinders.