Compact, Reliable, and Easy on the Gas Tank

 The 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt

 
The Cobalt is a front-wheel-drive subcompact vehicle from Chevy and was first rolled out in 2005.  The bottom line with the Cobalt is it's a small, but reliable vehicle with good fuel economy.  The Chevrolet Cobalt improves for 2009 with variable valve timing on its 2.2-liter engine in an effort to improve mileage. Furthermore, GM's OnStar communication system becomes standard on all models. Also, the Cobalt has removed the Sport trim. The Chevrolet Cobalt is available as either a two-door coupe or a four-door sedan, each available in four trims: Base, LS, LT and high performing SS Turbocharged. For this price range, it is a handsome, well-equipped car. It carries four people comfortably, five only in a pinch.  The new SS model promises exciting performance. The downsides to the Cobalt include its small backseat space and rear entry/exit, and its rather noisy engine exhaust.  The benefits to the Cobalt for 2009 are its excellent crash-test ratings, its comfortable ride, its straightforward cabin, and little road noise.  The 2009 Chevy Cobalt has a staring MSRP $14,990 - $23,525.  It has an EPA mileage of 22 - 25 mpg through the city and 30 - 37 mpg on the highway.  Competitors include the Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla.

Cobalt Cabin Features

The Cobalt has comfortable front seats and a 60/40-split folding rear seats.  The trunk of the Cobalt has room suitable for its class and can be accessed from inside the car. Cobalt uses different seats in the different trim levels, each with detail changes in foam, padding and trim. The design theme inside the Chevrolet Cobalt is simple and straightforward.  On models with an automatic transmission, an optional remote start system allows drivers to start the engine with a key fob. Bluetooth connectivity is available. Rear-seat passengers pay a price for the coupe's sporty looks.

Headroom, legroom, and hip room are reduced by 2 inches, 1.5 inches, and 3.5 inches, respectively; enough to make the difference between a comfortable place for adults and one best left to kids.  Up front, the coupe actually offers more head and legroom than the sedan, but only by fractions of an inch.

2009 Chevy Design

The Cobalt SS has a special design, featuring upper and lower grilles with a specific diamond-mesh texture. Rocker extensions are unique to the SS, and a rear deck-lid spoiler is standard. The Cobalt is built on a 103.3-inch wheelbase, and is longer than any of its competitors. At 67.9 inches wide, it's narrower than the Civic and Corolla but wider than the Focus by more than an inch. At 57.1 inches, the Cobalt is about half an inch taller than the Civic but still shorter than the Focus and Corolla. The Chevy Cobalt is built on GM's Delta platform, which it shares with the Saturn Astra and European-market Opel Astra. But with its single-bar grille and bowtie emblem, Cobalt looks like a proper Chevrolet small car right in every way. 

Cobalt's Shining Star: The SS

The Cobalt SS coupe and sedan are powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged and intercooled Ecotec four-cylinder that uses direct fuel injection to balance performance with fuel efficiency. With direct injection, fuel is delivered directly to the combustion chamber to create a more complete burn of the air/fuel mixture. Compared to a conventional port-injection system, less fuel is required to produce the equivalent horsepower, especially at normal cruising speeds. It's quiet for a car for something in the $20,000 price range. Chevy developed an all-new FE5 Sport suspension specifically for the SS, including upgraded stabilizer bars, spring rates and damper tuning, for a claimed cornering grip of 0.9 g.Front brakes are from Brembo and have a performance-oriented fixed-caliper design, which resists fade better than floating calipers. Rear discs are vented for better heat dissipation. This combination enabled the Cobalt SS to set a new class record of 8 minutes, 22.85 seconds at the famed Nurburgring racing circuit.

Power for the Cobalt

The 2009 Cobalt has a ch oice of two power sources.  The SS model uses a turbocharged and intercooled 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which uses direct injection. LS and LT models use a 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine with new variable valve timing. According to GM, this engine is both more powerful and fuel efficient for 2009. The LS and LT are available with a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission, whereas the SS is only available with the manual.

Lineup for 2009

The Chevrolet Cobalt LS sedan and coupe come standard with cloth upholstery, air conditioning, height-adjustable driver's seat, 60/40 split fold-down rear seat, automatic headlights, electric rear defogger, tilt steering column, PASS-Key III Plus theft deterrence, driver information center, two 12-volt power outlets, and a four-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo with a new USB input jack and XM Satellite Radio.

Cobalt LT gets upgraded upholstery, adjustable lumbar support for the driver, power windows and door locks, and other amenities, including woodgrain trim.

Cobalt SS comes with upgraded suspension and brakes, sport seats with suede-like inserts, additional gauges, fog lamps, and spoilers and air dams all around. A heavy-duty five-speed is the only transmission offered. Tires are 225/40R18 summer-performance Continentals on 18-inch forged aluminum wheels.

Summary


The Cobalt is an adequate performer with great fuel economy and enough upscale cabin options to entice a large audience. However, its class-leading competitors have similar qualities and more comfortable seating. The Cobalt offers dependable performance, available entertainment options, and noteworthy gas mileage. Still, the Cobalt is small and rather bland in the world of auto design.  For another view of the Cobalt see Motortrend's review.  There is speculation that the Cobalt's reign may end, but with small engine cars on the rise, the production on the Cobalt might continue. Safety features include dual-stage front air bags, front seatbelt pre-tensioners, rear center shoulder belts, and the LATCH child seat retention system. Head-curtain side airbags are standard on all models, as is a tire pressure monitor. SS and 2LT come with StabiliTrak electronic stability control. For more details on the 2009 Cobalt, click here.