Quote:
Originally Posted by Beelzebubba
Not so much.
While I agree that the Cobalt is a MAJOR improvement over it's predecessor and puts GM in a new class of small car quality, I don't agree with it "putting the Civic to shame".
The Civic is still the benchmark for that class. You don't get to be the benchmark unless you are doing something right
All of it's competitors have to use much larger engines in attempt to keep up. (poorly I might add. The 2.4 liter Cobalt SS, 2.4 liter Corolla XRS, and 2.4 liter Lancer are no match for the 2.0 Civic Si.)
I'm very pleased with the turbo Cobalt's performance and can't wait to drive one but it does confirm the fact that if you are going after Honda, you'd better come boosted or with 2 or 4 extra cylinders.
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While I agree that the Civic is the benchmark—the reason I picked it out of that class for comparison—I slightly disagree with you. The 2.4L Cobalt can easily beat the Civic Si, despite the almost 30-hp deficit. The Cobalt SS super was designed to compete with the Civic Si, but the supercharged ECOTEC won almost every race reported on the site CobaltSS.net. While this is clearly a biased set of drivers, it shows that Cobalt SS track times tend to beat Civic Si times. The Cobalt Sport competes more directly in the power game due to higher torque. The ease of getting off the line gave the Cobalt a distinct advantage, but not so many races tend to get won by the Cobalt due to the Civic's top speed efficiency.
Honda is a great company. They make some very efficient, impressive technology that no one can disrespect. They've earned a place of pride with their compact Civic and their sporty S2000.
At the same time, GM is trying to reclaim its position as the top automaker, not just in terms of production with regards to Toyota, but also in terms of perceived quality. GM has outperformed Japanese automakers for years with a few cars, and finally customers are seeing that GM cars are on par or better than anything Asia can put in America's marketplace. The Civics on the road are respectable, if often classless as well depending on the tuner, but the Cobalt is certainly faster*, maybe not as unique-looking as the new Civics, but definitely made from components that are on par with the Civic.
* "faster"—The Cobalt is faster per tier. In other words, the top Cobalt is faster than the top Civic. Since there is no intermediate Civic, we cannot compare intermediate cars. Base economy cars aren't particularly designed for autosports competition, but the Cobalt still boasts more horsepower, although it does not feature variable valve timing like the i-VTEC does. While base results are disputable, it is safe to say that the Cobalt and the Civic are both top notch in the compact segment.