One of the best ways to test drive a car is to rent one for a few days. Better still is to rent one for a few weeks. That's exactly what I was able to do with the new 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. Now I can't say it's the best car I've ever driven; but is it a good car? Yes! It's fun to drive, it's got room, it's comfortable, and it's even got a few surprise features that I was happy to see. I'm actually rather impressed with it.


The Best Kind Of Test Drive

My daily driver is a BMW 330i. A BMW, the Cobalt is not. However, the Cobalt does not require premium fuel, it has a great power train warranty, and costs 1/3 of the price. And while it may not be exactly track-ready out of the box, it actually handles exceptionally well for a car in this price range. In fact, the only real complaint I have is a somewhat lack of horsepower, but perhaps I'll attribute that either my being used to a lot of low end torque; or perhaps driving the car at over a mile above sea level in the Denver Colorado area, I'm sure that can't help the pick-up. So I'll give the car the benefit of the doubt and say that hopefully accelerations is a bit better at lower altitudes.


Form

I hasten to immediately label the car an 'American econobox', but I guess that's what it is. It looks....functional. But not in a purely utilitarian grocery-getter way. It has some styling, although it resembles perhaps a Hyundai of similar purpose. It is certainly not styled as nicely like some of the new Japanese makes (i.e. the new Honda Civic has evolved into a great look in my opinion), but then if you wanted to buy a car in this price range on looks alone, I would presume other selections might be better.


Features

Features were a nice surprise with this 2009 Cobalt. While it's not loaded to the hilt whiz-bang gadgetry, it does come with some interesting extras; and one actually surprising feature.

Beyond the basics nowadays (power windows door locks, radio, engine, wheels, etc.) it also comes with a key-less alarm/remote with lock/unlock, trunk release, and panic button, as well as some other cool stuff like:


Safety Features

-Antilock Brakes (ABS)
-'Enhance Traction System (ETS)'
-'Electonic Stability Control (ESC)/Traction Control System (TCS)'
-Child seat LATCH points
-Weight sensing airbag
(And a great little picture story in the manual about 'why seatbelts work'... in case you were wondering)


Internal Features

-Exterior side mirror adjustment
-Cruise control and control on wheel
-Automatic daytime headlights and running lights
-Aux. input for mp3 player (nice)
-Two 12V plugs up front (very nice)
-Adjustable Steering Wheel (height only)
-Battery Run-Down Protection (automatically turns internal lamps off after 20 minutes)
-A multifunction display which shows:
-Outside air temperature
-Oil Service Life (in % life remaining)
-Coolant Temperature

And lastly (and most shocking to me for a car in this category)...

-Tire Pressure Sensors For All 4 Wheels!

This feature I found quite by accident when scrolling through the 'info' button, which effects a small display in the tachometer port. The display gives you front left and right tire pressure, and then rear left and right tire pressure with the next button push. It also has an integrated tire pressure warning light in the dash, to alert you when one of your tires is dangerously low. This feature, for me, was quite a surprise. (It was fun to watch the pressures change slightly as the tires heat up and cool down.)


Function

On the Twists

As I noted in the introduction, despite the relative average appearance of the vehicle; and a less than intimidating look, it's actually fun to drive. As I noted I drove the car in the Denver area of Colorado. I spent a great deal of time driving the car in the small mountains, the 'flat irons' of Boulder. While going up mountains with more than 20% grade at 7500 feet, the car did seem sluggish. I regularly had to keep the accelerator on the floor to maintain speed (between 25 and 45 mph) while going up the steeper grades. But coming down was a completely different story. Depending on conditions, I continuously found myself pushing the car to the limit of its capability (I was living at the top of a mountain, and I was usually late for a meeting at the bottom of the mountain on a regular basis). Probably 1/2 of the road I used to descend the 'hill' was switchbacks. While at time I may have been wanting for my BMW, the Cobalt really held its own. Once I had gotten used to the road and I began to remember the turns, I found I could really speed things up. On turns posted for 35, I found that 45 was no problem. Braking in and accelerating out, at no point did I ever feel like the car try to pull or push too far one way or the other. At no point, up until I felt uncomfortable did I feel like I would lose control. The little car never felt unstable, even on some slicker conditions as rain or dew persisted to make the street wet. Even then the grip was great. Never did the car feel too loose or too tight. Another important 'feature' when going downhill are or course, brakes. While I tried to downshift on the automatic as much as possible (it has an 'I'ntermediate and 'L'ow option), the brakes had only the most minimal amount of fade after some pretty intense usage. In fact, I found that I used the brakes more than I would have liked because the 'Intermediate' really didn't slow the car enough, and the 'Low' slowed the car too much, so I had to brake quite a bit.


On the Highway

Highway-wise the car also impresses. At speed, it handles very well. The steering is solid, and one of my biggest pet peeves with any car is 'highway float', which with the Cobalt was non-existent under 75 mph. Some road noise was present which can be expected, but it is relatively quiet and not annoying. The cruise control was easy to use, and the speed was maintained well. The ride was also very comfortable which was also a bit surprising. I would have thought the ride to be rough with the handling capability performing so well, but thankfully the suspension really isn't too stiff. The car is really quite comfortable for longer trips.


What's Lacking (Negatives)

For a car with most versions under $20k, there's really not much left to want in this vehicle. While you can't expect leather and power adjustable seats (although they would be nice to have), and presuming that the 2.2 liter engine might have better pickup at lower altitudes, the only real drawbacks for the car are it's lack of good gearing for mountain travel. While going up a mountain is underpowered but manageable, going down the mountain, using engine braking is a bit off. When downshifting to slow, the 'I' or Intermediate gear is too high and the 'L' or Low has gearing that is too low on medium grades This causes more brake usage that should be necessary, and will probably shorten brake life quite a bit if mountain travel is typical for you. Otherwise, the only other thing I would like to see with the car are radio controls on the wheel. While I think this is an available option, it was not available on my vehicle.


Conclusion

I was able to drive the 2009 Chevy Cobalt for three weeks as a rental car in Colorado, and I really put it through its paces, and surprisingly, really liked it. Now you might be saying to yourself, 'but by the time you get a rental, usually it's a beaten-to-pieces quivering hulk of metal that's been whipped to an inch of it's life?' How is that indicative of an owner who cares?' While I tend to agree (I've been known to thrash a rental or two), but in this case, I was in the right place at the right time. The keys to this car literally went from the dealer delivery guy (who I met) to the rental company (Enterprise), to me - all in about 10 minutes. I was the very first renter of this car, so I would hope that it is pretty much what you'd get if you buy one off the lot. It had less than 20 miles on it. On highway or twists, the steering is solid, well connected, and responsive. The amount of feedback is practically perfect, and you can feel the road, while not having to fight it.

Amount Paid (US$): 568
Condition: New
Model and Options: 1LT Sedan