My g/f and I were in Florida last week to see her parents. We rented an HHR LS. While it was cool looking, it left something to be desired.
The car is woefully underpowered with the Ecotec. It really needs a 200-220 hp V-6 for added refinement and power. Many times I had to floor it just to make certain moves.
The interior was kinda chintzy. It had way too much hard plastic (with that aweful pebble graining) in it (on both the dash and the door panels). There are 2 very noticible seams on either side of the stack. The fabric on the seats was low grade. The materials in the stack could have been nicer, like a bit of brushed aluminum or stainless. The same goes for the door panels. The area above the armrest could have been much nicer if they had a cloth or suede insert with a strip of brushed aluminum or stainless. I didn't like the location of the door locks, on top of the door. It would dig into my arm every time I had it resting on top of the door panel. And what happened to the nicer fuzzy headliners? This car had what looked like spun nylon or polyester. They need to bring back the nicer headliners. The steering wheel had a cheap feel to it also. I'm sure the LT's leather wrapped unit is nicer but a nicer base wheel couldn't have been that hard to pull off. It also needed radio controls on the wheel. Maybe the LTs come with that. And the stereo didn't seem to have RDS. I thought all GM radios had RDS nowadays.
The handling was typical small car handling. I'm sure the LT would be better. But the one thing that was annoying was the fact that after travelling over some undulating pavement, this would upset the direction of the car. I had to correct the course of the vehicle. The same thing if the wind blew. The car didn't have a good on-center feel. The ride wasn't too bad.
Overall, the car wasn't too bad. If they just addressed a few things, it could be much better.

The other car we drove was my g/f's father's '06 Corvette 'vert. Now that's a sweet car. That thing has to have some of the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in. The pushbutton start is really cool as are the solenoid activated doors. I couldn't really get into it because it only had 282 miles on it, but it felt like a typical LS based motor.
I was surprised at how similar some of the feel of the Vette was to my T/A. Like the way the engine sounded and rumbled and how it put just the right amount of shake or buzz into the car (ok, maybe those aren't the best words to describe with); it let you know you were in an American muscle car and not some smoothed out euro-trash. The T56 felt just like mine. The ride was similar with the Vette feeling a bit stiffer. Steering heft and effort was similar, also, but you could tell that the Vette is a much lighter car. It seemed like it would turn-in faster and have quicker transitions. The wheel in the Vette is much nicer than my T/A's. The overall diameter is smaller and the actual rim is fatter. One thing I noted was how small the car felt. The interior was not small feeling. Just the whole car. The T/A gives you the sense you're piloting a yacht after you drive the new Vette. Maybe it's the weight or the actual size, but the Vette felt smaller.
I wish I could have driven it farther and MUCH harder but it's a brand new $66,000 car. Maybe next time.

 

The HHR is a pretty cheap car. I don't know if I would have expected any more. Been in a c6, never driven one, but it is a pretty nice car, and awesome for the price you pay for it.

 

go drive a LT with the sport suspension.

 

I got a spin in a new Tahoe... LTZ... reverse camera and everything else... Very nice... Saturn place I went to said end of this month they will have a Sky... Hope I can get a chance to drive that one

 

I hear that the new 'Vette is a big improvement interior-wise. I sat in a y2k 'vette and it was so cheap inside i thought I was in a playskool car.

 

I still do not understand comments about the interior. I sat in a 2004 or whatever and it was the most luxurious vehicle I'd ever been in. Not saying much considering what I drive, but the car looks fine on the inside to me.

 

Stop by a BMW dealership, and look in a few cars, then you might understand what people like to think a Vette should have been interior wise during the C5 years. I am not stating the Vette should have a 3 series layout, but look at the materials, finish, etc...

Back to ineriors, GM has definitely made some serious strides in this area in the last 3 ~ 4 years.

 

I got back from the Philly car show last night, and I got a chance to check out the new M5. From everything I read about this car, I thought I would like it, but I felt as far as interior goes, it is not that great. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say it was a benchmark, at least from what I saw of it. It did have ugly *** wood trim around much of the inside, so maybe that is clouding my judgement some, but I went to go check out the M6 (which was roped off), and the interior pretty much looked identical to the M5s, minus the wood trim. That interior didn't seem all that great either.

 

Was the HHR a 2.2L or 2.4L? Both are Ecotecs. The 2.4L suppoded to be alot better then the 2.2L HHR. But I think a turbo will show up in a year or two.

 

I dont agree with the "Corvette should have a world class interior like BMW's" train of thought. The reason the Vette is so successfull is because of its value. If you try to make the interior like a BMW's, not only are you going to add extra cost to the vehicle, but you also try to make the car like a GT car, which it isnt. The Vette is a sports car, and sports cars dont have luxurious interiors. IMHO, the C5 Vettes had awesome interiors and the new C6's are improvments over that.

 

I don't know. It was just a rental.
It was really lame in the power department.

 

Just a rental? C'mon man pop the hood and take a peek of a car your posting a review of! Ah...don't take that too seriously

I had PT Cruiser for a week. I liked it les and less everyday. That 2.4L was really, really gutless. The Ecotec 2.4L is quite a bit better.

 

Considering it's a rental, it's likely the bottom model.
Confirmed by it being an LS, which only gets the 2.2L engine.

Top level LT models are nicer and have the peppier 2.4L engine.