2008 CHEVROLET Cobalt Sedan 2.2L Ecotec 4AT FWD (148 HP)

Vehicle Overview

In 2007, Chevrolet introduced a facelift for its existing small-class sedan, the Cobalt. It was a good moment for a budget car.

The world economic crisis started to pick-up and affected all the car-makers not far from the introduction moment. There was a hard moment for the Detroit-Three and for the city itself. On the other hand, the Cobalt was an inexpensive vehicle that still had a bow-tie on the grille and history in the back.

The GM design department succeeded in building a simple successor for the Chevrolet Cavalier/Pontiac Sunfire models in 2004, and the facelift enhanced those qualities. The rakish design with curved greenhouse and short rear overhang amplified the dynamic look. The new headlights were bigger and enhanced the night illumination factor. The standard version was fitted with 15″ steel wheels, but light-alloy wheels up to 18″ in diameter were on the options list.

The interior was slightly changed, but the three-color interior was not such a great idea. But the customers didn’t care, as long as they have leather seats on the options list, automatic transmission for selected trim levels, and a pair of cupholders in the front.

Chevrolet installed a new engine lineup under the hood, with some units carried-over from the European branch, Opel. The naturally aspirated 2.4-liter was now rated with 174 hp, while the supercharged version reached up to 260 hp and competed against the new hot-hatches and sport-coupe vehicles from other Japanese car-makers.