12th Jun 2008, 11:55
As usual, the prejudice of the import owner shows very clearly in comments about the Cobalt/G5.
Sport Compact Car magazine recently referred to the Cobalt SS as "The best front drive car ever", and praised its interior, handling and braking.
In 2006 Motor Trend called the Cobalt SS "The fastest front drive car we've ever tested".
I've had experience with those "superior" Civics. It was the worst, most poorly built car I ever dealt with.
I'm currently driving a GM compact that is now 8 years old. It has had ONE battery and two sets of tires (the last were a performance upgrade and not due to tire wear). At 70,000 miles I replaced the front brake pads at a cost of $18. The rear pads are still the original. Other than that the car has never had ANYTHING else except oil changes and air filters. The car looks, runs and drives exactly the same as it did when it rolled off the dealer's lot.
After installing the high-traction performance tires the car handles BETTER than our 2007 Mustang, and even with it's non-turbo 4 will blow the doors off anything in Toyota's line up up to the 2007 V-6 Camry (which is fast until it falls apart in a month or two).
GM is building some of the best vehicles in the world, and has been for a decade now. The Malibu is American Car of the year, the Cadillac CTS is Motor Trend's Car of the Year, nearly HALF of Car and Driver's "10 Best" come from GM, and the Ford Fusion is the highest rated car ever rated by Consumer Reports. "Import quality" is rapidly becoming an oxymoron.
23rd Jun 2008, 13:16
They're SUPPOSED to be cheap, people, so don't die of shock if the options in a base Cobalt don't match up to that of a Buick Park Avenue.
One advantage a car with manual windows and locks has over one with power ones is that, whether the car is on or off, whether it's electrics are working right or not, the occupants can ALWAYS use the door locks and windows.
21st Jul 2008, 21:40
I bought a 2008 Cobalt two months ago. The visibility is TERRIBLE. When you look over your left shoulder, you see your seat and the interior of the car. Same is true when backing up, looking over your right shoulder. It's not an "import" bias as some of these posts have said, it's just the truth- I've never owned anything but US cars.
Yes, you get what you pay for and this car was totally affordable... but I expected basic safety... those little things like BEING ABLE TO SEE OUT OF THE CAR.
Also, the lack of arm rests sound like a silly complaint, but when you drive an hour to and from work each day like I do, you realize it's not so silly. Your arm hurts and there's no where to put it and after 60 minutes in traffic, you feel it.
All in all I am not happy with this car. I'm taking it back to the dealer for a trade in before I have an accident.
16th Sep 2008, 22:15
I just got a Cobalt.
I was upset because the radio didn't seem very good.
Also, I was troubled by the fact that the car was hard to get into in the event you lock your keys in the car.
I ended up damaging some of the interior trim with a coat hanger.
Chevy needs to start putting the gas tank in the back of the car, so the gas entry can be put in the back of the car, rather than on the passenger side. I am always pulling up to the pump on the wrong side.
Also, I am not happy with the spare tire. It is one of those little ones.
When you look real close at the back fender you can see where the wheel wells are connected. It looks like snow and road salt could get jammed into this part of the car.
The color of the car isn't that great either.
17th Sep 2008, 20:07
To the party who posted on 16 Sep, many of your grouses would have been noticed on even the shortest of showroom inspections and a brief test drive.
Colour not OK? Well, you chose it, unless you got a used Cobalt, in which case, you could have walked away and picked another unit in a more preferred hue.
As for the gas cap to be placed in the centre of the car, the latest safety regs preclude this happening. Most would get used to pulling up on the correct side after a short spell with any car, though.
23rd Sep 2008, 08:47
Well I have owned many cars in my life. After a while it is hard to remember all the details about them. The gas tank being one detail that is easy to forget about. Why not make it easy and put it in the same spot on all cars. Someday they will come up with a way to keep the car secure, without making it hard to open if you lock your keys in it. Also, I hate those little spare tires. I don't feel safe with them. Also THEY DON'T HOLD UP. I got two of them for my Focus a few years back and they were both toast after one week of driving.
24th Sep 2008, 20:20
Those 'little' spares are emergency, repeat emergency spares which are meant to get you to a garage to get your flat tire repaired and not one mile further. I've driven on one after having a flat and how anybody can stand the bad handling and steering to the side I don't know. I don't understand why you put "two" of them on your car and drove on them for a week? It's not safe to do that.
25th Sep 2008, 09:28
When I got the little tires for my escort, I thought it was reasonable to expect them to last 10K miles. ABOUT THREE OIL CHANGES. most tires last over 40K miles. To me 10K miles on a tire is temporary. The woman that sold me the tires said they were a special type of donut spare. She said they would last at least 12K miles. When I tried to return them to her she basically laughed and through me out of the wrecking yard her and her son owned. Anyway, it is the fault of the car companies that these tires are out there. If they didn't request them for their low end cars nobody would have to deal with them, OR BE CHEATED INTO BUYING THEM. Also the floor mat is coming apart. Another G.M. product.
16th May 2008, 22:10
I drove a 2008 Cobalt LS two door. Blind spots are a BIG problem cause you can't see anything from that tiny poorly designed window and that column.
Also the rear seats are sooo totally useless, there is like 1 inch of leg room, and I am not exaggerating. The rear seats were put just to make it a 4 seat car, but in actuality it can only seat 2. Four if you want your legs squashed.
I highly recommend people not to buy this car unless it was really cheap, like half the price of a Corolla or a Civic. Heck, even the 2008 Elantra is a much much better buy than a Cobalt.