Test drove a Cobalt SS........ - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

Batman · 04-19-2005, 05:49 AM

........and I hate to say it, but it is a VERY cool little car. Surprisingly quick in a straight line, seat of the pants I'd guess mid to low 14's in the 1/4, but the real surprise is the handling! It is unreal, puts my WS6 to shame and even makes the Subaru seem a little antiquated. At first it understeers a bit but if you toss it around with authority it really flies through corners. Biggest downside I could find is lack of rear window view (silly spoiler). Sticker on it was $22,850 with an $1100 dealer mark up to $23,950. Dealer said the mark up should be gone by june/july when there are alot more of them. I give 4 stars out of 5!

12secondv6 · 04-19-2005, 09:39 AM

Al's gonna get all happy from this post

j0n · 04-19-2005, 11:05 AM

i sat in one at the autoshow and the shifter had a really rubbery and bad feel to it...did you experience that?

Batman · 04-19-2005, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j0n

i sat in one at the autoshow and the shifter had a really rubbery and bad feel to it...did you experience that?

It was no worse then my stock T-56 shifter, but junk compared to my Pro 5.0 I have now. Had no problems rowing gears, it operated well just alittle soft.

BigAls87Z28 · 04-19-2005, 06:25 PM

Mark up? You should say it better go away NOW. Not in June/July when reports say that GM cant sell there Cobalt because ahole dealres have them up 1200 bucks for a COMPACT CAR!!
Worst part is that GM has no control over it. You could get just about the same car over at Saturn with NO mark up.
That is what is going ot kill the Solstice, is when dealers have it marked up 1200-3k per car, youc an go down and get a Sky with no mark ups and haggling.

Anyway, glad you liked it. It seems to be the best handling compact out there. Did the one you drive have the peformance package of Recaros and LSD? A similar one handed the SRT4 its arse in a recent MT test where the Cobalt SS took #1 spot.
Only thing holding the SS back is the lack of tuning on GM's part for the 2.0 SC motor. Small rev band and top end is a little weak. Hopefuly the turbo 2.0 end up in the Cobalt and Ion next year.

misterjuice · 04-19-2005, 06:38 PM

i'm gonna try and test drive one thurs or friday morning.

what i know of this car.....it's supposed to handle/brake better than my SRT4.........but the SRT4 has an edge in straight line performance. to each their own. I still prefer the styling of my SRT4 over the ION redline or the Cobalt SS....but that's just me.

Batman · 04-19-2005, 08:45 PM

Yup it had recaros, don't know if there was an LSD, didn't really spin much tire and never read the option list. Now all we need is a 12# pulley for it and I am in!

BigAls87Z28 · 04-19-2005, 09:34 PM

If it had the Recaro's, then it had the performance package with teh LSD. Regular seats are color leather seating that matches the interior.

skorpion317 · 04-19-2005, 10:19 PM

the ION Redline i test drove lit the tires up getting on the highway....scared the crap out of the sales guy. I wasn't expecting it to do that. I'll have to go check out the Cobalt SS now.

JL8Jeff · 04-20-2005, 07:44 AM

The Cobalt SS will have some real potential if it gets a turbo instead of the supercharger. Then boost can be played with if the fuel system can keep up.

Tru2Chevy · 04-20-2005, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

Only thing holding the SS back is the lack of tuning on GM's part for the 2.0 SC motor. Â*Small rev band and top end is a little weak. Â*Hopefuly the turbo 2.0 end up in the Cobalt and Ion next year.

HP Tuners is slowly working on that....V8 guys get more attention though.

- Justin