Car Gazing
Supercharged Chevy is hot, but not smokin'
Cobalt SS is fun to drive, not quite as exciting as Civic Si
By Derek Price
If this were any other week, I'd love this little Chevy.
It has a supercharged engine that sounds wonderfully obnoxious when it winds up. It has a taut suspension that's tuned just right – firm enough to make corners fun, but soft enough to keep you from needing dental work when you hit speedbumps. Heck, it even looks OK.
But as it is, I detest the Cobalt SS.
That's because last week I drove its competitor, the Honda Civic Si, which puts it to shame in virtually every area. The Honda feels light, zippy, responsive and high quality, a standout sports coupe in every way imaginable. The Cobalt, while fun, just doesn't have the same raw, hard-edged excitement you get in the Honda.
Let me put it this way: This week I'm driving Monica Lewinsky. Last week I was making out with Jessica Alba.
If my luck had been different, I might have been with Roseanne Barr (Dodge Ram) or Barbara Walters (Lincoln Town Car) last week, which would have made Monica look pretty darn hot. But I wasn't, so all I can think about is what happened in the Oval Office and how the Cobalt makes me want to barf.
Well, except for one part. It has a sexy engine.
The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder powerplant makes 205 horsepower, which is a mind-blowing number for such a small car. Better yet, it doesn't feel supercharged.
Most supercharged engines are annoying. You stomp on the accelerator, then sit and wait for the blower to finish its breakfast before – WHAM! – it pumps the engine full of fresh air and gives you a sledgehammer-like dose of power.
The supercharged Cobalt SS isn't like that. Its power delivery is smooth, linear and instant, so the result is a little engine that feels like a big one. It also produces plenty of torque, making it easier to drive around town than its Honda nemesis.
Too bad the other parts of the Cobalt don't stack up.
Its manual transmission – five speeds, as opposed to the Honda's six – feels a tad sloppy. The Honda's shifter says "snick-snick-snick" when you change gears. The Chevy's says "flub-flub-flub," like it's made of rubber.
The suspension, while slightly more comfortable than the Civic's, isn't nearly as thrilling. When approaching a corner, the Honda would say, "Yes, let's do it again!" The Chevy says, "No, please not again!"
Inside, the Cobalt comes close to matching the Civic's quality – which is a major improvement for General Motors – but it lacks the coolness factor in the Civic Si. Yes, it has a nifty boost meter that shows how much your supercharger is sweating, but it doesn't have the Civic's giant tachometer to make it a true driver's car.
Pricing is slightly in the Cobalt's favor, but even that's not a huge difference. It starts at $20,925 for the supercharged version, which is only $165 less than the Civic Si.
Considering the Honda's higher resale values and reputation for longevity, it's likely that the Civic would end up being the cheaper car to own.
It's yet another reason that, if given the choice, I'd stick with Jessica.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.)
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