What's this? A Chevrolet? A small car... impossible!

Who would have thought that Chevrolet would have produced a decent small car?

THE STORY BEGINS

I find myself firmly planted in the driver’s seat of a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS N/A. This is the SS without the supercharger. It’s a midnight blue, with a grey/black interior. I will say that I do like how this car looks- it has aggressive 17” rims, and a very nice profile. The first small car from Chevrolet I’ve ever liked. Ever.

The engine underneath the hood is a 2.4L, 170HP four cylinder with Chevrolet’s variable valve timing. On paper, with the 160 ft/lbs of torque, it should be able to move. Is that true once you mash the pedal to the floor? I feather the clutch at 3, 200 rpm and move to find out.

DRIVING

Acceleration is timid. Climbing the rev range I’m not feeling any real power here. I’m disappointed. Then, suddenly, the tach his 4,700 rpm and NOW the car starts to move. This reminds me of my old Honda Civic Si- anemic until you hit the choke point, and suddenly it becomes a pocket rocket.

Flying down Highway 2 I’m thoroughly enjoying the car’s power band. Though I’m having fun, I couldn’t help but with that this was equipped with the supercharger. Now THAT would have been fun, eh?

The car shifts very well. Each motion of the shifter will land itself in very defined shift gates, and the transmission is not half as notchy as I was expecting. A good point for this Chev.

What surprised me is how the car handled in the corners. Yes, it’s a “SS” from the factory. No, it’s not the top trim level. So why am I having so much fun whipping this car around corners like it’s a full sized go-kart? Oh yes, that’s right, how silly of me to forget: it is.

This car literally goes where you point it. Come through a tight bend, feather the clutch, drop a gear and feel brake and you’re in and out quickly. Not only that, but the car feels like you could do that each and every time. Brake fade was minimal while I enjoyed it, and they certainly surpassed my expectations.

INSIDE THE CAR

The car looks very pretty from the outside, yes. It’s more aggressive, more defined, and more appealing. Inside the car, well, is typical of a sport compact. The dash and most of the trim are varying shades of plastic. Yes, plastic. For $24,000 CDN what were you expecting?

The CD/MP3/WMA player does its job very well, and the car came with a 10” pioneer subwoofer and amp in the trunk. You can literally buy this car, drive it off the lot, and go for a “cruise” with the stereo blaring and your head bobbing. The sub will have people in the car next to you wondering what the heck is going on. Depending on your tastes, that’s a good thing. I’m going to call it a plus for the Cobalt, as even if that’s not your taste, you can just turn the bass down.

The seats are comfortable, and the heated leather does a great job in the cold weather. All the controls are easy to understand and use, except for the stupid mess of the headlights.

It had to be explained to me three times how you can turn the headlights off while parked. Why can’t there just be a simple “off” switch? Right, that’d be too simple.

CONCLUSIONS

Besides the stupid headlight weirdness (which 9/10 people probably wouldn’t even encounter nor want to encounter), this car is a fantastic offering from Chevrolet and has restored some of my faith in the domestic manufacturers.

I’d love to get my hands on a SS supercharged model, and take that out for a rip around the block. But, if you can’t afford one, this car will definitely tide you over.