| Author | Message | ||
     Gearhead |
I'm looking at Cobalts to replace my wife's '99 Monte Carlo. She is not interested in driving an all-door car (that's why I love her!) or any kind of van or cross over. There just aren't too many options unless you get into high end 2 doors. She test drove an '06 and an '08 tonight and thinks it could fit the bill. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks in advance. | ||
| Bhillberg |
My mom just bought the pontiac version (G5 I think) it's a little sportier and you can get some deals on pontiacs now. She loves hers but has only had it a couple of weeks. | ||
| Swordsman |
Cobalts/G5's are supposed to be great for modding. That Ecotech or whatever it's called is rumored to be a wee beastie under boost. ~SM | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
I own one. I like the car well enough to say buy one. It gets decent mileage (28) and has plenty of power for a four banger. If I would do it again, I'd get the SS version. That little thing gets down the road quickly. If you gonna do the four door make sure it has the bigger motor. I think its a 2.4 instead of the 2.0 or 2.2. yes, that .2 makes a big difference in how they go. No problems now for 65000. Tires, brakes and oil changes so far. As with any uni body car, keep it aligned and the tires will go 50k easy. Best wishes, hope I helped. (that 28 is around town ie stopngo) (Message edited by wile_ecoyote on June 11, 2009) | ||
| Froggy |
My sister has a Colbalt, and my best friend has the G5 which is the Pontiac version of it. Too cramped for my liking but a nice car. I took the G5 to my dad's shop the other day to get a mirror replaced (tree damage), and was getting just under 50mpg on the highway. (I believe its a 2.2L)
It ain't a rumor, I love watching bone stock Cobalts hand Mustang GT's their lunch.  | ||
| Crusty |
We have a 2009 Cobalt and love it. It's got a 5 speed Manual transmission and it gets an honest 30 MPG in the city. It's fun to drive (for a car). The only problem we've had is a wire got disconnected from the trunk release button on the dash. (It took all of ten minutes for the wrench to find the problem and reconnect the wire). I'd buy another one. | ||
| Paw |
I owned 2006 untill I had to buy the mini-van if not for needing the room I would still have it. The cobalt was my 3rd chevy I bought new and my wife had a sentra when it came down to general maintinace the cobalt was so much easier to work on...I found that is the case with most American cars as compared to Jap cars. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I own a 2006 Supercharged SS (new ones are Turbo instead). I really like mine. Really fast, likley under rated for horespower to be honest. Handling is superb, though you give up ride quality with the stiff suspension. I have about 60,000 miles on mine now - brakes, tires and oil. The steering column was replaced under warranty - I don't recall seeing a recall on it, so that could be something to look for. I also replaced fron sway bar links already, but if you don't get an SS/SC or Turbo that likely won't be an issue as the suspension won't be as hard on itself. I've gotten a steady 27mpg around town with mine (it's only rated for 21), and average 31-32mpg on the highway (rated for 29). I've seen as high as 38mpg on the highway - not bad for a four banger with a BLOWER hangin' off the front. Engines and trans on these cars are bullet proof. Chassis is good, but things can wear out just like any other car. I like mine, and would consider a new one again if this one got wrecked or something. | ||
| Swordsman |
Have you seen the drag Cobalt with the giant front tires? Talk about odd!  ~SM | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
i have a 04 caviler with the ecotech engine that the cobalt has in it and I think it is a pretty good engine for an IL4, and I usually hate IL4s with a passion. | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
by the way gm-performance claims you can get something like 1000 hp out of that engine (granted it is not street worthy at that point). | ||
| Swordsman |
Er, maybe out of the block, but I bet that would be the only piece that was still stock. Even the Mustangs need new internals to pull that off. ~SM | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
I'm sure that is probably true. I used to have a pdf on my computer at home that gave instructions on how to build it up to like 800 hp. I never sat and read it so I don't know what it took i just know it is possible | ||
| Swordsman |
Holy cow, can you just IMAGINE a 1000hp front wheel drive car? I'm thinking you'd need to be Lou Ferrigno just to handle the torque steer!  I'm curious about the drag bar in the pic I posted above. Wonder why it needs one? Not like it's going to pop a wheelie, the fulcrum is on the front....? ~SM (Message edited by Swordsman on June 11, 2009) | ||
| Bads1 |
Ralph, Not to change the subject but have you looked at some other makes of cars in that category?? Like say a WRX or a Lancer. These cars are built like a rock. I just bought a 09 WRX and it is just flat out fast,rides really really nice for the type of car and it has many bells and whistles. Got say it guys.... its faster then the Colbalt.  | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
but its ugly and its a 4 door, he said he wanted a two door | ||
| Jb2 |
We've worked on many of them here. They wad up pretty good on impact but that's what they're designed to do. The rear of the car is a lot softer than the front. I've seen several rear-end hits roll through here that had both 1/4 panels buckled in a mild rear impact. The interiors are a little on the cheap side, more in line with a Geo than GM. But, overall they seem to be good cars. The G5 is better looking in my book and may even be collectible in 20 years. JB2 | ||
| Bads1 |
Hmmm ugly?? Nah not really. It'll out handle and put a whoppin on a alot of different higher end cars. To me the colbalt is ugly. | ||
| Swordsman |
The 4 door Cobalt is all kinds of bland. You gotta get one of the upper trim 2 doors before they start to look good. I just looked up a 2009 WRX. Not a fan, but that's just me and my tastes. I know performance-wise they're darn feisty. I like the new Lancers, but seems like you don't hear much out of Mitsubishi nowadays. the press seems to have forgotten about them, and that makes me wonder why...? ~SM | ||
| White |
Froggy:"It ain't a rumor, I love watching bone stock Cobalts hand Mustang GT's their lunch." Stock Cobalt runs 16.2 1/4 mile Stock Mustang runs 13.5 1/4 mile Stock Ford Focus 15.7 1/4 mile The top of the line Cobalt is faster than the Ford Focus though. | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
I have owned two Mitsubishis one was brand new and both had lots of issues with them. When I was younger I loved the looks of the eclipse but quickly learned to hate them. I still like the looks of them even the lancers but they just don't seem like very reliable cars. the 05 I had that was brand new was in there shop 5 times in 2 months before I told them were they could stick there car. | ||
| Froggy |
White, the Cobalt SS Turbo does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, 14.1 in the quarter, Nürburgring time is 8:22. | ||
| Bads1 |
One thing I can say for sure. The Colbalt,WRX,EVO,GTI,Cooper Clubman,Civic SI or the Speed 3 are all confidence inspiring cars to drive and drive fast. They all get darn good mileage for the performance. They all give pretty good comfort level. You really can't go wrong with any of them. | ||
| Swordsman |
OOOoooooooo LUV the Minis! Seriously considered one of those before my Mustang GT. And Froggy, I don't know from personal experience, but last I saw on the specs, the '08 GT does 0-60 in 5.1 seconds. But when it's that close, it's all driver.  ~SM | ||
| Lake_bueller |
And I thought you were talking about boats...  | ||
| Bads1 |
Dennis, I thought about a boat once but to costly to keep up and the gas to run them and have good use is just not worth it. Many in our Marina are selling or going the other direction into a Sail Boat. | ||
| Froggy |
Sword, I saw some awesome races on Speed a few years back, they had all kinds of cars going against each other including the supercharged Cobalt and Mustang GT, BMW M3, and others. Pretty much everything short of a Peterbuilt was in it. I need to google and figure out what the hell that was. | ||
| Texastechx1 |
I'm curious about the drag bar in the pic I posted above. Wonder why it needs one? Not like it's going to pop a wheelie, the fulcrum is on the front....? with out it, the car would shift its weight to the rear when launching (like all cars). this would make it hard to put the power to the ground with the front end being so light. with that bar, it shifts LESS weight to the back, making for better launches. I still think if you want to launch hard, it needs to be rear/all wheel drive | ||
| Xl1200r |
its faster then the Colbalt. A WRX costs roughly the same as a turbo Cobalt, has 5 more hp, and needs to put it through an AWD system. I would say they'd be pretty even. (Message edited by xl1200r on June 11, 2009) | ||
| Bads1 |
A WRX costs roughly the same as a turbo Cobalt, has 5 more hp, and needs to put it through an AWD system. I would say they'd be pretty even. Actually just about all tests the Cobalt was a 5.5 second car 0-60 and the WRX 4.7 0-60. The Cobalt in tests rans almost a 14 flat. The WRX is down in the 13.40's. The 09 base WRX is actually faster then 08 STI WRX. That saying something considering the STI is up in HP. |
