regfootball

I'm not gonna beat a dead horse on the engine / trans / powertrain thing. While I don't want to say the powertrain issues are a full deal breaker to say 'don't buy the car', I just think considering some of the other competition, I am certain the non-commital nature of the powertrain will indeed weed out some buyers who might like the car but not feel good about the car's indecisiveness. Some buyers will be lost. Again, at lower speeds and rpm, and from stoplights etc., getting going, there is too much wait and indecision and inconsistency on what the car wants to do and will do. Sometimes it works fine. Sometimes it really does not. It behaves inconsistently. Once the car is going and at speed, there is less erratic behavior, although it still likes to hunt sometimes too. The shifting itself if it decides to do it when you would expect it to, is quick and smooth. I do not think this behavior is turbo lag. I do not think its entirely about any lack of powerband (although an extra 20-30hp/tq would really help this car and probably the trans programming a lot). The problem here is that the engineering work to mate the trans and engine has failed. A job not done. Taken separately, this is a nice motor (although small). The transmission is no doubt a nice unit. They just simply do not work together. It needs to be fixed. If a flash can do it, then fine, get it done Chevy. It's like the employee who is qualified, experienced, pedigreed, and sometimes does great work, but they have a constant tendency to always remind you of how hard they work, or what a great service they are doing for you and how much they toil and sacrifice for you.......and you can never depend on them consistently. Or they will just frustrate you with periodic incidents of letting you down. After a while the bosses and coworkers tire of the drama queen aspect of it. Some folks have a tolerance for it and maybe some never care or notice. For others it just makes them ask 'why can't they just go about their business transparently, without drawing SO MUCH attention to themselves?'. That's really all else I'll say about it. It spoils what could be an A car. It's there, it just depends on how much it bothers you, but it will go out of its way to remind you that life is such a hardship when instead it should just be easy and uneventful.

I took part of a lazy day to go test drive what was a supposedly Cruze Eco manual today, but since the Eco was 'in transit' I took out an automatic equipped LTZ instead. Red, black leather, non RS, sunroof. 24,415 MSRP. I will get a chance to fill in the blanks later and I will be able to go test the Eco when they get it on hand next weekend hopefully. more later..... so, I figured the most expedient way to write this retest up is to basically go back and compare notes with what I previously wrote, and see what indeed is the same and what may have changed. I was glad to see I don't think there is a lot about what I previously wrote that I would change. Maybe I would add some additional thoughts. So regarding the HIGHS, what I would note as changed or extra... Pretty much everything about the cockpit and interior stands. I didn't think the leather was A quality but it was not at all anything that would draw criticism. Perhaps the tan leather would have been nicer. The dash still had the cloth inlays. The interior overall is still very excellent. View out the front is very panoramic and the dash layout is inviting and fantastic. I noted that the rear window to see out the back of is pretty small / mail slottish. I'd like to see a bit more power seat adjustability. I could never really get the angle and position. I really liked the fan switch and auto temp switch but in honesty using the mode button for climate control was a bit annoying although after awhile to see the vent position displayed on the main screen it all started to make sense. The radio is the same way, I think it just takes too many buttons and menus to adjust audio functions and this only adds to driver distraction. Overall sometimes the Cruze conspires to make overly complicated radio and hvac functions that used to be simple. The screen is in a handy spot I am not sure why they don't make a rearview camera to use this screen instead of just reverse sensing. I'm not a fan either of central locking on the dash, but I admit it was located close to the finger when driving. The actual radio buttons and their layout felt great and I did not mind their locations. Plastics while not expensive certainly are low gloss and attractive. Steering feel and quickness I thought was perfect. The turbo motor itself I still classify as frisky (except....) LOWS additional comments The backseat leg room is a major problem and I will add ingress and egress for 6 footers like me it all is what is called PROBLEM. Look under the hood and see all the open wasted space and that tells you exactly where all the extra 2-4 inches of legroom ended up. A v6 would probably fit in there. But why, if there is no backseat? I still had problems with the shape of the driver's seat, specifically the too narrow backrest and weird backrest shape. 20 year old college chick may think its fantastic however. Seat recline lever is stupid, in a nutshell. I could not get the steering wheel up high enough, I have this problem on the Lambdas and other GM's too. WTF? But at least I did not feel so much the gauges were blocked this time. Backseat room, still a problem with the head converging on your noggin. Low rider, but that is why it feels sporty. Cheaply lined trunk. Steering this time around felt fantastic, the 18" tires must have helped there. The 18" wheels though and low profile tires added some extra harshness to the ride IMO. Maybe I am getting old but I would dare say the car rode too stiff. The flat cornering is great though. Handling is pretty nice on this car. They just need to get rid of the crash and add some suppleness to the suspension for bumps. The cold weather maybe added to the sensation of that. Note: car was super quiet, although I thought i was feeling too much vibration on hard acceleration. One new low, not sure why but the windows could not stay defrosted, even when assaulted with blasts of air from the supremely powerful HVAC fan. It was like a blow dryer. I think my additional commentary from the initial review is still pretty much intact. I will comment on powertrain problems in the following post, because I think while probably not a deal breaker for a fair amount of people, I think it just really ruins a bit of the driving experience and really puts a black mark on the car.

-the other site- hey, you were able to test a rare vehicle. i am guessing the blowing up turbo 2.8 GM didn't want to deal with anymore. I am sure a 3.0 is in the future and I am also betting the 3.6 the engine soon.

and now they discontinued the turbo?

essentially another thing to factor in to small cars with big prices, as you say the used can often become more advantageous. all the companies then use incentives to tweak the price month to month. when gas is 5 bucks i suppose there will be no incentives on the cruze.

Versa is garbage, and once optioned up, not a very good buy. Those guys are hacks.

I'd have no prob writing test drive articles of any vehicle if there was a new test fleet vehicle that showed up at my door each week.... but I don't think there are test fleets in my neck of the woods..... and even then i would have to sharpen my writing skills.

I have to admit the new SRX interior is bangup. But 56 grand for a Cadillac Vue is a bit steep. They seriously need to axe the chrome fender vents.

cheers BLU! hope everyone has a good 2011.

yes.

For a used compact, that CIvic is nice, but it still is a Civic....lol The dash on the Civic is a deal breaker for me. I would think the Cruze will be quieter, etc. True regarding the Malibu. The Malibu is decent, but myself I would even pick a Cruze over a Malibu I think. And once you factor in those Koreans the Malibu does lose its luster. When I mentioned the 8200 dollar diff, I meant your GM card + Maxx money from the price of the car. Does that mean the Cruze would be over 22k? Ouch......... My mind doesn't always process right away..... Whatever happened to stellar resale on Hondas?

yeah chevy has that info on their site. I can understand the caution on a new car on a college campus. The cruze must be fairly loaded for an 8200 dollar diff. Remember, Malibus and HHR's are great buys too but I know the appeal of a simple small sedan as well. Just saw an ad today from where i bought my Cobalt. New Malibus are like 5 and 6 grand off. 17 and change for an LS. I wonder how many Cruze buyers Chevy is upselling into Malibus right now.

The trader joes is 'pourable' so that when you refrigerate it, it is still spreadable. Since its so mixable, you can mix in any honey or molasses or a little salt if you want. but sometimes the plain peanut goo is just perfect.

Cruze, top safety pick, 10 airbags, 5 stars all around. Stab control standard. I just can't imagine turning a key on a cobalt now that the cruze is out, aside from having one already in my garage to antagonize me. I think if my cobalt didn't have the steering wheel audio controls and the bluetooth and USB i really wouldn't want to drive it much.

the front lower bumper never i liked in that style and I don't think white is its best color, but nonetheless for 4k that is a really nice vehicle.

Nutella is good, I gotta try Reese's definitely need to try that, but their cheap PB is so awesome its hard to deviate from. the Trader Joes almond butter is fantastic too.

Honesty is fine and very welcome. I just thought the dash was a little nicer than I expected it to be. I might even want to test drive one now.

Do we have a peanut butter appreciation thread? If not, here it is. The only real problem I am aware of with peanut butter is its pretty high in calories. But in return, you get full. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM OK, here goes. My faves in the peanut butter world. TRADER JOE'S the basic creamy unsalted or crunchy unsalted is the best best best! I add a little honey and stir it in, but even without its SOOOOOOOO good! MARANATHA. Expensive, but so worth it. The creamy no stir is awesome, the regular Maranatha is fabulous as well. SMUCKERS A little bland and I am not diggin the finely chopped added texture but otherwise for cheap PB is pretty good. JIF Jif Natural creamy is awesome. Jif Honey if you really have a sweet tooth. Jif with Omega3 is not bad for chance of pace. SKIPPY Skippy Natural pretty much a tie with Jif. Skippy natural with honey is darned awesome too, and not as sweet as the Jif Honey. SMART BALANCE Once they fixed the recipe, its different taste is a nice change of pace sometimes. Earthy. PEANUT BUTTER AND COMPANY "ripoff". What i love is when the oil pools up on top of the PB and you have a little drinkie before you stir it back in....MMMMMMMMMM what's all your faves?

i wanted an Axiom. Very stylish rig. nice call, viper. the Axiom is sharp in its own way.

I was getting the oil changed on my taurus X today and in the showroom they had a new Fiesta. I had not even sat in one yet so I was very curious about it. I think the sticker was like 18k and they did not have much off on it. I have to say i was impressed with the EPA rating on it. I tried to get in the trunk but for some reason I could not. I got in the back seat and the seating itself seemed comfortable but it also seemed tight and claustrophobic in just about every dimension. This particular example did not have an armrest. I am like 'wtf' why do these carmakers not even put in a simple 100 dollar armrest? Once I got in front, I did admire the dash design, the touch and feel of some of the surfaces, and the upper door and dash plastic I thought was well done for a cheap car. If the Focus merely matches this I think its not bad. Seat cloth was kind of cheap. Climate controls seemed flimsy cheap but at least easy to understand. The radio stack was interesting, but this unit had a small display. View out the front seemed nice. the narrow width of the car seemed prevalent, leg room was provided but it didn't seem like you could sprawl out. Front headroom didn't seem to bad. The seat recliner lever was in a dumb spot. The seat bottom felt a bit chintzy. I will say it seemed to have a much more interesting cabin than the Fit. I have to admit it seemed like a pleasant cabin. If the Focus is as good or better, than Ford should do well with the Focus. I'd be a lot more comfortable with this car 2 grand cheaper though. an 18k sticker on a nice penalty box is still a hard paradigm change when the next class and two up is not that much further out of reach and gives you so much more. I thought I did have was if I was single or just in high school or college, and not making many trips, the small size of the car would be totally ok. easy to park, etc. It will be interesting to see how the Sonic hedgehog compares in interior space.

I assume i may be in a regional incentive area. The dealer I bought my cobalt at was even advertising close to 3 grand off the loaded LTZ. I will need to go back and read fine print, maybe there was a targeted incentive for toyota owners or something. The Cruze leases though, the ads are ALL OVER the net. like 1899 down, 159 a month on an LS. I would fully expect the LT1 to have a better residual and if you used that 3500 to cover the down payment and tax and title and license, you could lease with intent to purchase. That is, just know that all you are doing by leasing is buy down the loan at a slower rate than if you borrowed the full amount, but if you hate the car after 39 months give it back. With 3500 down on a lease, the balance after 39 months may not be all that much more than what would be left on a 5 year loan at high percent after 39 months. After 3 years, the residual on the Cruze you lease is no doubt going to be less of a price for a buyout than a 3 year old used Cruze sitting on a dealer lot with a 5,000 dollar markup over wholesale. If you are seriously just looking for a cheap drive for 3 years and won't exceed 12 or even 15k miles, it may behoove you to just consider the Cruze. You spend 17 on a cobalt, after 3 years if you try to trade it, you'll get offered 5 grand and you may still owe 7 or 8 grand. You lease that cruze now your payments may be cheaper and unless you beat on the car you will have the option to just say goodbye to it or buy a really nice used car you know the history on for less than what a dealer will charge for the same thing used and several thousand less than new. I had 3k in GM car dmoney built up I was saving for a new Regal or Cruze lease but then my Aztek sorta f`orced` my hand `before those 2 cars came out. I am still upset over settling for the cobalt. the cobalt fine, but it is what it is. If you get a Cobalt just make sure you are not putting yourself in position for future remorse about paying too much for what you get. as it is for me now, the cobalt was literally the most cost effective option for me, and in return i get a car that is actually fun to drive sometimes. And, I can beat the snot out of it and not worry about ruining a 'nice car'. In no way would I have paid for say, a Jetta. The Jetta is dull and drab and not worth close to what it sells for most of the time and the Cobalt has a personality where the Jetta really doesn't. So in that respect its a bargain and more interesting to boot. I drove an Aztek for like 6 years. But I never could look with remorse on it, because i didn't lose my ass on it. The running costs were requisite with how nice of a vehicle it was. I probably saved 15 thousand bucks vs. a Pilot or something that was similar. I look at a cobalt the same way. It's fine as long as you don't overpay or put yourself in a box with it. I can drive mine for 3 or 4 years and still not lose any money on it I figure. Be sure to look at those Regal leases too. Bluetooth is a cheap option on the LS. Chevy deserves major scorn and outright ridicule for not having made Cruze available on the LS. THat is the old bad GM still tainting the matter, and really people should lose their jobs over that blatant disregard for the customer. Yes, whoever was responsible for that ultimate decision should lose their job.

i can believe that Viper. My rig is still getting broke in, and right now its winter and i confess I need to get my tire pressures back up. But mostly right now I blame that 90% of our driving is in town, and with crappy ethanol blend oxygenated crap gas we are force fed in this corn state. Mine is not an XFE even though it is a stick. I hate low rolling resistance tires and the Hankooks on my American Cobalt are not much of an upgrade either.

Perhaps a Cruze LS may be a better option than that Cobalt. A cruze with Auto is what, 18,500? and i know that some dealers already are like 2 grand off that........a new Cruze at 16,500 is a huge upgrade from a Cobalt at that price. The Cruze will have stability control and 54 airbags....ok, just 10. LOL. But it will lack cruise control and some other goodies. Maybe even a bare bones LT Cruze is worth stretching into?

We've owned our 2010 Cobalt since the end of April last year. I wanted / needed to be in a small car for a bit of time and I had GM money I needed to burn. I explored leasing a Malibu or buying an HHR or Cobalt or G6. At the time, the incentives were not great on the HHR which was what I really wanted although the Cobalt and HHR are pretty much the same thing the HHR has more utility. Since we bought our Cobalt there are nicer deals on the HHR now. We just topped 10,000 miles and have not had to get anything fixed. MPG has probably been about 28 overall. I expected a little better, but when i use non oxygenated non ethanol small engine gas I get about 32 mpg. Highway trips with one person, 35 mpg should be realistic. Ours is an LT1 with Mylink package and ABS. This included bluetooth for phone, leather wrap steering wheel audio controls, and we also have a USB port on teh radio. Ours is also a manual trans and has alum wheels, power windows, locks etc. One of the reasons I bit the bullet and got the Cobalt compared to other brands was because the engine is so strong in the Cobalt. The interior is loud and buzzy, the ergonomics are off, not much creature comfort, but it does accelerate well and even though the steering dead / terrible the overall experience for a small car is ok at the price. I had on two separate instances had 08 Focus as one week loaners before that and I can tell you I do prefer the Cobalt in a lot of ways to the 08+ Focus. The Cobalt's strength is that it chews up miles very well because of the strong engine and decent ride. In top gear at high speed the rpm is lower than many smaller cars and it cruzes (hehe) fairly quiet. I dislike my Hankook tires, but its a cheap car its gonna have crap tires. The HHR for me was a noticeable amount cheaper for insurance in comparison, the higher price might be offset by some insurance savings. The HHR will get a bit less mpg. A very base Malibu will not be much more right now. Other options to consider non GM are a basic Kia soul or leftover 2010 Kia Optima (they are dirt cheap right now). You may want to think about saving the GM card money and buying another brand, if you buy a cobalt, that 3500 you put into it the equity is pretty much gone once you drive it off the lot with a Cobalt. The real truth is that compact cars are now going to be closer to 20k than 13, 14k so you will never have the chance to buy a car that cheap ever again. In that regard and for what you will use it for,a Cobalt may suit you fine. It's not going to be as safe or well equipped as a Cruze. But I think in return for a lower price, you will likely get the durability, operating costs, and nice running behavior that may surprise you. Someone will always buy a used Cobalt, the resale may not be top tier, but if you ever have to sell it, someone will always be interested in buying it. I would just explore finding an HHR LS with auto trans, that will have stability control on it, and may not be too much more than a Cobalt and has more cargo space. Same car, bigger interior basically. I am 'ok' with my Cobalt but I will be looking to move it at the first responsible opportunity I have to do so. That 3500 GM card would prepay a huge chunk of one of those subsidized leases they have been advertising on the Cruze right now.............If the Cruze had been out when i needed to get my car, that would have been what i would have done.

your pictures are very nice, and it is quite striking in that color combo. I was not aware they had that color. Congrats on the new ride. That is a nice Ford Edge you got there!!! j/k CX-9 is the cornerstone of Mazda right now and those who drive them enjoy them. My neighbor has one, actually. Just a side note about Mazdas, I see they upgraded the cloth on the 2011 Mazda6, its actually a tolerable place to be now. Is leather standard on the CX-9? As far as I know the leather in the CX-9 is pretty nice quality. Those wheels look new for 2011, are they a new Mazda design?