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The Cobalt,
which shares its mechanicals with the last-place Saturn Ion, is a relatively
new design that never stacked up especially well in its class. A tiny rear
seat, numb steering, and mediocre gas mileage hurt it as much as does its
generally acceptable but rarely outstanding all-around performance. It does
offer an especially peppy engine for this class, and a comfortable and
reasonably quiet ride, but you can still do better.
The Cobalt has a very
smooth, stable, absorbent, and overall comfortable ride. The car handles
well, feeling reasonably agile and controlling body roll quite well, but the
steering is too light and lacks feedback. The 2.2-liter 4-cylinder provides
prompt acceleration, never feeling taxed in passing or even fully loaded,
impressive for a small car. The car is very quiet except under acceleration,
where engine noise appears quickly and very noticeably. Fuel economy is
reasonable if you consider the car’s excellent acceleration.
Inside, the Cobalt’s
front seats are roomy but too hard and thinly-padded, and not well-shaped.
The rear lacks leg and foot space, the cushion is too low and hard, and the
seatback is too upright.
 The
interior is mostly well-assembled, but a few cheap-feeling plastics detract
from the overall positive impression of quality it provides. The gauges are
very clear, but some instruments are mounted too low. Drivers sit low, but
have good visibility and more fore-aft seat travel than most competitors.
Wide door openings can’t compensate for the low seats or small rear
footwells to sufficiently ease entry/exit. The trunk is roomy and
well-shaped, but it would benefit from a larger opening.
The Cobalt reviewed here
came in at $16,153, very well-equipped. At that price, it includes all the
expected equipment in this group, as well as automatic headlights, an MP3
player, and a remote start system. Unlike on the Saturn Ion, GM’s OnStar
system is not standard, but a $700 option (not equipped on the vehicle
reviewed).
Overall, the Cobalt has
its strong points. It rides comfortably, is more powerful than the
competition, did reasonably well in crash testing, and comes well-equipped
for an acceptable price. But the competition is strong enough for that to be
insufficient in this class. Other cars are much roomier and more comfortable
inside, get better gas mileage, are much more fun to drive, and cost less.
Look to them first.
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