Test Driving the Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged Coupe
My dad and I were planning on golfing this afternoon but due to the heavy rains in the morning, it left the ground soggy and we decided to cancel. With the entire afternoon open, we decided to head across the river to Moncton for some test driving. Our test driving sessions started a few years ago when we would go to car dealerships and take out the sportiest of cars for test drives… just for fun.
During the past couple of weeks, I’ve been doing a bit of car researching since I will hopefully have a full-time job within a month and I’m getting tired of taking the bus or walking everywhere. While looking through half a dozen different car manufacturer’s websites, I came across the Chevrolet Cobalt which recently took over from the Chevrolet Cavalier. The price is half-decent and it comes in an SS supercharged trim for the coupe with 205hp under the hood.
We arrived at the GM dealership and saw an entire row of Cobalts which were either the LS or LT trim and the dealer said they were out of the supercharged models. However, on the main lawn of the dealership there were two black supercharged Cobalts. After taking a look around and inside the car, we decided to take a test drive. Several minutes later, we were zipping up Wheeler Boulevard.
Overall, the car is much quieter than I would have expected, especially with a supercharged 205hp engine. It became very evident as I stepped on the gas that there was plenty of available power. The ride was much smoother than I was expecting. Usually, sporty cars shake all over the place when you hit a bump in the road but the Cobalt barely shuddered. Another common occurrence in a sports car is the lack of visibility and increased blind spots, but these weren’t noticed at all except for the view of the wing on the hood when looking through the rear-view mirror.
There were only two small problems with the Cobalt that immediately came to my attention. The interior seemed to have too much plastic and looked a bit cheap. The second problem dealt with the small opening for the trunk. Instead of allowing the rear window to lift up with the trunk to create a larger opening such as a hatchback, the Cobalt only uses the small bit of trunk behind the window for the opening. However, it still shouldn’t be too much of a problem since the opening can still handle a large suitcase.
The price for the 2006 Cobalt SS Supercharged coupe was $28,000 as tested. GM Canada has a graduate program where they will pay the first two month lease or finance payments (up to $600/month) for recent graduates of an accredited university. That makes the Cobalt even more attractive since it’s almost like driving it for “free” for the first two months.
After leaving the GM dealership, we made stops at the Acura, Honda, and Audi/VW dealerships before calling it a day. Other cars on my list are the Acura RSX, Honda Civic, and Mazda6 Sport. Hopefully we’ll be test driving these cars in the upcoming weeks.
That sounds like a totally fun afternoon to me! So when you’re in the car is the Dealer in there with you? Or maybe they let you guys take to the roads solo…
Comment by Julie — September 29, 2005 @ 11:43 amEither way it’s a fun way to spend an afternoon.
When we test drove the Cobalt, the dealer just gave us the keys and we were gone for about 30 minutes by ourselves. However, on Monday we did some test driving at the Subaru dealership and the dealer stayed in the backseat.
Comment by Trevor — September 29, 2005 @ 12:25 pmNice! I wish I had a tradition with my dad like this one. Very cool! What is your favorite car that you have driven in a test drive? What is your least favorite?
Comment by Omallley — September 29, 2005 @ 3:03 pmwow, fun and more fun
Comment by erin — October 5, 2005 @ 3:36 pmalso i like the new blog
so you’re definately going to BC? The Montreal crew are wondering…
Well, I’m waiting to hear back from a job in Halifax. If I don’t get it, I will most likely head out to BC for a few weeks and do some job hunting. Perhaps I could even do a cross Canada job hunting tour. I could make stops in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. Buy your tickets today!
Comment by Trevor — October 5, 2005 @ 3:47 pmsounds cool! Good luck with the job hunt. You should totally stop in here if
Comment by erin — October 6, 2005 @ 12:42 pmyou’re on your way across Canada.
I sense an off the record night…..the lowest price is the law!!!!
Civic’s are solid cars. Melissa owns a new 2005 one and it runs great. It’s very basic
Comment by bazz — October 7, 2005 @ 1:59 pm(not many bells and whistles). Good on gas too.
Another bonus with Honda is they tend to hold a high resell value, as compared to a Chevy or Ford.
Comment by Trevor — October 7, 2005 @ 3:18 pmI bought a 2004 Chevy Cavalier last September (I can’t believe I’ve already had it a year!). This was a 100% improvment from my Mom’s ‘92 Cavalier I had been driving before that. I also took advantage of the graduate program, although I didn’t get the first two payments “free”. I think what they did was remove that amount from the total price of the car. Either way, I got a good deal on it and I’m very happy with it. I had also test drove a VW Beetle (previously owned, don’t remember what year) but the price tag on the new Cavalier was less than the one on the used Bug! Plus, even though I LOVE Beetles (cuz they’re SO cute), I didn’t like it on the inside or the way it handled. So I guess I will simply continue to admire them from a distance. Besides, I do own a model one that I have on my dresser… It’ll have to do
Comment by Felicia — October 10, 2005 @ 3:49 pm