After my aging 1997 Dodge Neon was having a few more issues, I decided to go car shopping, I mainly did it online due to a busy schedule, and after comparing my Neon's specs to other cars, the Cobalt was in the price range I was hoping for, and had the features I had hoped for - and the dealer had what I wanted in stock.

I made a day to test drive the car, and it was a smooth ride, drove it around the busy areas of town (which is where the dealership is) - and found it very responsive, stock radio in the test model was "good" the model I had picked out was better.

So after thinking it over, we drove to the other dealer lot where the model I picked out online was held, reasons for this specific model were:

- MP3 Disc Ability
- iPod/Aux Audio Hookup
- Enhanced Speaker Package
- AC / Rear Defroster

I got the car home and immediately got a blank CD, burnt some MP3's to it, and dropped it in the car, it indexed the disc and gave me a virtual jukebox to choose from, play back has a touch of lag (loading files/decoding vs. reading audio data from a track) - but not horrible.

Travel wise I have taken this car to the coast (Central California -> SLO), and it has performed well, even with 5 passengers, it handles well, and works great to get you from point A to point B.

Gas milage I suppoe "could" be better, but it is as advertised, 32MPG on Hwy. - and I average 26-28MPG in town, so not horrible - better than some other cars on the market.

The "bleh" stuff includes a overly sensitive clutch sensor. not being a car guy I first thought this sounded "bad" but it turns out this sensor simply tracks how many times the clutch is applied, or in this case foot resting on the clutch counts as a "pushed in the clutch" and it has a ratio of shifting/clutching - if the ratio is not correct, the engine light comes on.

The car windshield is not very "rugged", my Neon had little gravel bits just hit and bounce, however the Cobalt has several chips it in now, dealer said at my next service they would "check it for defects" so it may be something I can get replaced, but just wish I had brought a bucket of gravel to the test drive and had the associate throw some at the windshield :)

All in all, I don't regret the purchase, I needed a new car, wanted AC - wanted the built in MP3 capabilities, and wanted something safe for taking friends/family places as needed - it's spacious, comfortable (even for a big guy like me) - for the price, you can't go wrong.
Amount Paid (US$): 14999
Condition: New
Model Year: 2007