1,145 mile update.
The transmission is an absolute dog. It's horrible. Gaps in gearing the size of the grand canyon, a completely reluctancy to downshift, morbid response to throttle changes and a completely poor use of the engine's power range. Seriously, it is the worst transmission to use on a daily basis in hilly northwestern PA. It will bog down 10 mph before it will downshift, even after increasing the throttle to 50% or so. Around 70%, it will finally be forced to kick down a gear and once it does, it's a vast difference. Third gear is a much happier place for the engine. In fact, the Cobalt's third ratio is pretty much spot on for the Jetta's fourth ratio. It might be geared just a bit higher, but not by much. As such, once it's in fourth, there is no power. It's the definition of an overdrive ratio. The problem: It's stubborn, it will stay in that ratio until the variables that affect it are vastly different, making it utterly useless. Unless you're living in Kansas with the sharpest slope you travel rising a single foot for every mile, that is.
The seats, I've found to not be that comfortable. They're not horrible, but they lack support, especially for the lower torso. Course, I'm used to seats that aren't designed to somewhat accommodate large, overweight Americans and frankly, VW knows it's seats. I also wish there were more of a natural lumbar support. Adjustable or not, it needs one as the seat back feels flat. After longer drives, my mid-lower back tends to take all the strain of the trip. Also, one odd thing I noticed is that only the passenger has a quick-flip lever for raising the seat back to enter into the back.
Otherwise, there's not much to add that hasn't already been spoken of. The squeaks, random other rattles and whatnot are still there and I've yet to have the bushings taken care of. One of these days when I actually have the time...
In conclusion, it's still a Cobalt.