Kingston Whig-Standard by Joe Duarte: I love a challenge. If I’m handed something with the potential to be beneficial on some level, I’m going to do everything in my power to maximize that benefit.
Every time I drive a hybrid, I want to get my fuel economy as low as possible, within the boundaries of sensible driving - in other words, I won’t go driving at 80 km/h on the highway or 40 along a signed 60 road, but I will search out 40 km/h stretches of road in order to maximize running on batteries as long as possible.
A couple weeks back, I had the opportunity to drive a Toyota Prius converted with an auxiliary plug-in battery to further electrical range and, consequently, improve on my own Prius fuel-economy by about 25 percent.
So imagine my delight at taking over the keys to a Cobalt LS XFE (the XFE stands for “Xtra” Fuel Economy and promises a 13 percent reduction in city fuel consumption and eight percent reduction on the highway).
XFE is GM’s newly created designation for improved economy models of cars, pickups and utility vehicles. In Cobalt, the designation includes a higher final gear ratio for the manual transmission and low rolling resistance tires.
But this isn’t a “special edition”; it’s the entry-level Cobalt and it comes pretty basic - roll-up windows, joystick outside-mirror adjustments; manual transmission. The only option on our test vehicle was air-conditioning, which in the name of economy, I kept off the entire time I had the vehicle (and it had very little to do with the average -5 degree temperatures while the car was with me).
Let’s get the typical stuff out of the way quickly - beyond what I consider boring looks, Cobalt is a compact car with compact-like interior dimensions. That means room for four adults is reasonable but not extravagant; entry to the rear seats is challenging but not unmanageable; the trunk is large enough and flat-floored with releases to push down the 60/40 split rear seat-backs; and upholstery seems durable over sufficiently padded cushions.
Power comes from a variable-valve timed 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine that is larger than most would expect from this market. As a result, 155 horsepower are on tap, which makes it more powerful than both the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla 1.8-litre “fours” (140 and 128, respectively), with considerably more torque (150 versus the others’ 128). That means you will feel brisker acceleration than you would with its competitors (especially since they are pretty even in curb weight).
The trade-off is in economy, where the Cobalt’s larger engine saddles the diminutive sedan with fuel economy that is roughly eight percent worse in city driving, though it ties the Civic for best on the highway.
Now you may think to yourself, that’s not too bad considering you do get more power - that’s your choice. Me? I’m in it for the economy - after all, it is advertised as XFE.
So that got me thinking about how well I’ve done in past Cobalts, and I found out I hadn’t driven one in nearly two years (and that was the boy-racer SS coupe), and don’t have my fuel records from back then. I did find a colleague who drove last year’s version of this sedan and averaged 8.9 litres per 100 km, and I averaged 8.6 litres per 100 km in a Civic automatic a year and a half back.
So, it’s by no means outrageous to average 7.8 litres per 100 km in this latest Cobalt. I was hopeful it would be better, given the special designation, but it did come in some 10 percent better than other real-world tests, so I’d have to consider it a success.
And in going over my notes, I can’t really find anything to fault with Cobalt - the looks are blah, but that’s wholly sugjective; as is the observation that the shifter knob looks like a large plastic blac-licorice Tootsie Pop.
And that leads me to conclude that on all fronts, Cobalt is a fine entry-level sedan. Is it a segment leader? I’d have to conclude so, when I combine all the objective and subjective information I’ve gathered.
Nice car!
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