All Cars, All the Time

Driving the Cobalt

The Saab has sprouted a leaking water pump at 23,000 miles and went to Ellis Brooks in San Francisco for warranty repairs. EB called and said the car was ready, but before it left the garage the Viggen had lit up a new idiot light--so back it went. Enterprise hooked us up with a Cobalt with less that 1k miles, so I thought I'd offer a few opinions.
First off, this Cobalt LS is an absolute stripper: manual windows, locks, and most frustratingly manual side mirrors. My wife can't adjust the passenger side mirror while in the driver's seat--a real safety issue in my mind. The interior is stark, but the gauges are attractive: very clean, without a lot of cheesy looking fonts. The radio is Radio Data System (RDS) capable so we can see what's playing on KFOG. The car also has a trip computer with average fuel economy and speed, outside temp, oil life index, coolant temp, etc. Because this car doesn't have the side airbag package we are left with low rent blanks where the Side Airbag logo would go. I hate switch blanks (look what you couldn't afford), but these look even worse--just glaring at you from the A and B pillars of the car with little cutouts where you can pry them out. There is nary a buzz or rattle from the interior trim, but there is a lot of suspension crashing noise when driving over bumps. Acceleration in town is good, but the engine is buzzy when prodded. The headlights do a very good job of lighting the way. The trunk opening is rather small which will limit usability somewhat. The steering feel of the car as I drove around city streets was very numb and contributed to the "just a rental car" feeling. After an enjoyable experience in the HHR I was a bit surprised. I was expecting more from the Cobalt. To be sure this is the entry level model but I didn't catch any hint of passion in this appliance. I'd save my pennies for a Mazda 3 or a Honda Civic.