2011 Chevrolet Cobalt 1.8L 5MT FWD (105 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Chevrolet ditched the Cobalt nameplate for U.S. customers but let it live in some other countries as a small-sized sedan for emerging countries.

While still struggling to get back on its feet after the world financial crisis, the American automaker thought that using the same Gama II platform for the Cobalt as on the Sonic would lower production costs. The strategy partly worked, but the vehicle still had a steep price compared to its competitors. In addition, neither the car’s exterior design nor the interior was something to write home about it.

Sporting a set of headlights that resembled those installed on the Splash, the 2011 Cobalt was a three-box sedan with a clean design and nothing fancy on it. Still, the horizontal slat that featured the bow-tie badge was carefully adorned with chromed trims. On the lower bumper, depending on the options, the automaker also placed the fog lamps and a secondary, smaller grille. The Cobalt’s profile revealed a three-box sedan shape, with slightly enlarged rear quarter panels that resembled those installed on the Renault/Dacia Logan.

Inside, the materials’ quality was low, with hard plastic areas on the dashboard, door panels, and other easy-to-reach areas. But Chevrolet gained some points in front of its customers thanks to the instrument cluster that featured a large analog dial for the tachometer and an LCD for the onboard computer and for the speedometer. In addition, the automaker offered an option for an infotainment system placed on the center stack above the HVAC control panel. At the front, the Cobalt sported slim bucket seats, while at the back, there was a split-folding (60/40) bench seat.

Chevrolet offered the Cobalt’s second generation with different engines, depending on the market. Thus, while the South American customers could get dual-fuel engines, in CSI (the Russian Federation) they could get the car with a turbo-diesel.