I think the Cobalts interior is cheap. Feels kinda fragle. I love the way the leather seats look on the SS. The square Ebrake is annoying. The hidden compartment is kinda cool. The silver lined gauges are alright but I like my Cavies dash better. I dont like the fact that you cant have the odometer and temp gauge on at the same time.

The SS is one of the only cars I have driven that can break the tires loose at the top of a gear.

 

OK...but the less costly models are still very cheap looking and feeling. How many LT Sedans with Neutral Leather interior are being sold? Until a majority of Cobalts being sold are non-cheap looking and feeling, it'll have that stigma. I don't expect a $15K brand new car to feel luxurious or anything, but apparently magazines and a lot of customers do.

 

I think the nice little additional touches in the SS are a solid improvement to the car, but adding nicer seats and more believable looking trim pieces still doesn't really change the whole package.

Kinda like polishing a turd. Not to say the Cobalt is a turd, I don't believe that for a second. But I'm just saying that simply paying the extra money to upgrade the seats from cloth to leather and not have quite as hokey-looking add-on bits (dash kit and such) doesn't really change the package underneath.

 

http://www.cobaltss.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5062

http://www.cobaltss.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4823

 

wow. that forum is a bit ****. i dont think a search would come to ANYBODY'S mind when a sunroof button trim falls off, not like its a normal problem for msot cars...or is it?

 

The board is full of retards. And they guy who posted that is a jackass. But my sunroof button trim fell off within a week after I bought my SS. And im almost positive that everyone who has had a sunroof has had or will have thiers fall off too. Hopefully it was fixed for the 06 model.

As far as what they said with the rest: My Seats are very comfertable. My Sterio kicks ***. I have power windows. And my dash is so/so. I have six air bags and the for the handling:

http://www.cobaltss.net/forums//showthread.php?t=5187

All for only $1000 over what the mazda was priced at.(with the gm employee disscount.)

But the GM did cut corners with this car. It does not have an option for power seats.(but i heard you can get heated seats with it....logic anyone?) I have to hold my sunroof button to open it. I mean, even my cavie had a once touch open on the sun roof. And while i like looks of the int a lot, my cavies just feels more duriable. I know this has a more european look. But it does feel cheap.

 

Mazda 3 wins? No wonder we just bought one (wifey needed a new car)! We only cross-shopped against the Subaru Impreza wagon. So far (1 week), so good. Took the parents up to Maine in it over the holiday weekend. Seats 4 very comfortably. Leather seats are very comfortable and supportive. Interior is very nice, the look and feel are on par with cars costing 30,000+, no kidding. Exterior styling is subjective, of course, but I like it. Very sculpted. The exterior details are again competitive with $30k+ cars.

We didn't even consider the Cobalt, no 5-door (didn't consider Civic for the same reason). Similarly optioned, the Cobalt sedan comes in at the same MSRP (actually, ~$200 more at $19,7xx) as our 3 (leather, sunroof, cruise, etc). To be honest, I think the last-gen Cavalier looked better (at least before the uglification of the last few years of it) than the Cobalt.

Anyway, here's hoping the General can get even more competitive in the smaller-car market, and QUICK.

 

Fabric/leather peeling back from the door grip? Ouch.

 

I've sat in several Cobalts of varying trim levels.

I've walked away impressed with the interiors... I think they are very strong for the market segment.

 

I've sat in Volkswagon/Audi interiors that blew me away for the price, but take those same cars for a spin 5 years and 60k miles later and it's a whole new world; one filled with every reason why initial perceived quality can have very little to do with stupid stuff falling apart way too early into a car's life.

 

A valid point, but I highly doubt there are tons of pieces falling off... if there is a recurring problem with a certain part, I hope it would be addressed.

While sitting in the cars, I didn't have any pieces fall off or anything........... . . . . . .

Also, it's rather unfair to insinuate that Cobalt's interior will have a lot of issues 5 years from now (by mentioning the VW's and Audi's)... the car is only one year old.... so obviously there is no historical evidence of this. I understand a few people on a message board have said they have had some problems (and it is totally possible) , but I have also read Internet postings about Honda Civic issues too... so I'm not going to pan the interior based on an Internet post or two versus what I have seen and touched myself.

A good friend of mine has a Honda Civic... it's been a good car to him... 70k miles, I think it's a 2000 model. But, it has a few interior squeaks, the plastic dash trim is "fogged" looking... the stock muffler has rotted out and been replaced with OEM parts.... twice. An engine (or tranny, can't remember) mount has been replaced due to failure. He is totally happy with his car though.

 

I know what you mean. I've owned two VW's. Get a bad one and you'd better learn how to spell the word NIGHTMARE!

 

The Cobalt 5-door is the HHR.

I agree with your assessment of the Mazda3. It's a really well-rounded and polished car for being under $20,000 (even with heavy content). I would certainly (and did) select it over others offered in the comparison.

 

I've driven just about every small car (except the Mazda 3 aka Focus 2.0) and the Cobalt is the best if not a tie with the Civic.

Coblat is leagues ahead of the Focus, Corolla, Neon, and all the Koreans.

On a side note, my last rental was a '05 cavalier god that car is bad, I even found myself likeing Chevy and GM less after driving it for a week.

 

Well, I've owned 2 audis and had no problems with interiors. My parents' Audi which is 11 years old has interior quality and fit and finish that many current NEW cars can envy. So I am not sure what you saw in those Audis 5 years down the road....