Topic: Test Drive: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ sedan

[Autos_Editor]

A turbocharged 138-hp 1.4-litre engine and 6-speed manual transmission give the Sonic LTZ a sportier character than other Sonics.

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[Winterpeg]

Nice, agressive looking vehicle (front end yes, rear not so much)and the 17in wheels are a killer. Good standard options but when I read that the sedan had a 19 in. trunk, I thought holy Crown Vic Batman.......then realized it was the hatchback with the Grand Canyon size loading dock and the sedan with a decent 14 inch cave.   

[JohnM]

I guess the Sonic is the first nice small car GM has made since the Corvair.  (let the outrage begin)

However, "The Sonic sedan is fairly light, weighing 1,273 kg (2,806 lbs)" 2800 pounds is not light for a sub compact or even a compact.  And the pricing seems to be $2k+ over a comparable Hyundai Accent or Elantra.  Tough sledding here but obviously GM is up to their old tricks appealing to their much less informed base.  Gullibility Marketing at work once again.

I'm sure GM will throw in massive amounts of incentives to move the cars while scalping the occasional hapless individual who pays the over-inflated list price.

The only thing that seems to have changed from from the old GM is that now they have a decent car to hawk.  At least there is some progress here.

And yes, most manufacturers now seem to be offering their small cars with much more advanced options so they climb into higher luxury ranges.  Small no longer means down-market.

Cheers,
John M.

[Winterpeg]

I guess the Sonic is the first nice small car GM has made since the Corvair.  (let the outrage begin)

However, "The Sonic sedan is fairly light, weighing 1,273 kg (2,806 lbs)" 2800 pounds is not light for a sub compact or even a compact.  And the pricing seems to be $2k+ over a comparable Hyundai Accent or Elantra.  Tough sledding here but obviously GM is up to their old tricks appealing to their much less informed base.  Gullibility Marketing at work once again.

I'm sure GM will throw in massive amounts of incentives to move the cars while scalping the occasional hapless individual who pays the over-inflated list price.

The only thing that seems to have changed from from the old GM is that now they have a decent car to hawk.  At least there is some progress here.

And yes, most manufacturers now seem to be offering their small cars with much more advanced options so they climb into higher luxury ranges.  Small no longer means down-market.

Cheers,
John M.

Oh come on now John M.....What about the baby Camero like Chev Vega?!?.....ok sooooooo it had a "few" issues.   

[JohnM]

A friend of mine at work owned a Vega with some sort of Sport package.  I was out with him on the 401 and it was the worst car I've ever been in.  I had an extremely strong desire to climb up on the roof to get away from the noise.  Simply unbelievably brutal.

Fortunately the Vegas disintegrated rapidly so he might still have some of his hearing left.

Cheers,
John M.

[theonlydt]

I have to agree that 1275kg is by no means "fairly lightweight". When you consider that a Mazda 2 (a lightweight in this category) is 1050kg. A Fit is about 1150kg, Fiesta 1150kg, a Focus starts at 1270kg and indeed most Compact cars are around 1350kg and no more than 1400kg.

Another point to add, which makes me sound like a grumpy old man is to do with the huge wheels this car comes with (and some other sub-compacts). An R17 with 50% profile is the same size as you'd find on a Mazda 5 as the GT option - and these are on a sub-compact? Designers need to make cars that look good with smaller wheels - my 98 Civic had 14" alloys, my Accord had 15" steels (60 profile for both). A higher profile improves ride quality and reduces the risk of cracking an alloy.

[Winterpeg]

A friend of mine at work owned a Vega with some sort of Sport package.  I was out with him on the 401 and it was the worst car I've ever been in.  I had an extremely strong desire to climb up on the roof to get away from the noise.  Simply unbelievably brutal.

Fortunately the Vegas disintegrated rapidly so he might still have some of his hearing left.

Cheers,
John M.

 Second everything you said.Owned a Pontiac twin ('73 Astra or Astre?). It was great for "fogging" mesquitos and yes I do have a hearing aid.......and have "breathing" problems.   

[Ex-airbalancer]

almost all cars back then were crap compared to today
Toyota, Honda, and Datsun were no better in early _ mid 70's

[D70]

Hopefully this car will sell well for GM and will offer more than adequate transportation for many young families and seniors especially when the used versions, heavily depreciated, enter the used car market

http://www.flickr.com/photos/d70w7/6131597394/

[JohnM]

"almost all cars back then were crap compared to today
Toyota, Honda, and Datsun were no better in early _ mid 70's"

They were certainly crap compared to what we have today but the Vega was crap compared to what was available then.

John M.

[5 Wheel Drive]

The hatch got all the press, I forgot Chevy was even making a sedan.

[richink]

Sales tactics aside which the informed buyer expects from a GM dealer, and your typical GM buyer needs so "they get their deal"; it does finally seem that GM has a decent player in this segment. The negotiability of the price might be a turn off for some buyers, but the average well informed shopper will snif out a good car as well as taking a peek at what it can be bought for.

The 1.4l turbo motor and tall 6 speed box seem like they were made for this beast. The car looks great, it's nicely equipped, excellent fuel economy return and hopefully it doesn't have the tinny sounding doors that the Aveo had.

The LTZ is definetly a halo model, majority of sales will be base models with some mid-level cars, but as with in my Hyundai days we would sell/stock 1 in 20 base versions vs. sport or highline models. That includes those 17 inch monster wheels with spray on rubber normally found on a 17 year old's "souped up" Civic. They might give nice road feel to start but once all the joints, bushings and shocks loosen up after a few k's it's crash bang boom city over even the mildest of roadborn imperfections. I am curious about Grant's comment - those front tires that wanted to bust loose all of the time. Slippery Ottawa streets? Junky tires? An overly rearward weight balance? Maybe some high quality rubber wrapped around 16" wheels instead?

[dkaz]

6.9L/100km real world city mileage? That's awesome.

[dkaz]

BTW, where the heck can you get this interior??

[dirtyjeffer]

it looks like a nice vehicle, but that price creep is putting it in some stiff competition...$23,290 and no automatic transmission available...in terms of "sales", the fully loaded Elantra is $24,699 (about $1500 more, which is close to what most companies charge to upgrade to an Automatic) and you certainly get a lot more for your money in the Elantra...i have never driven the Sonic Sedan, but i am sure it drives well, but my point is more about the "mainstream buying public"...i think some might be turned off by no automatic available, but then might be amazed at what they can get in that price range from a larger car, with more content, a better warranty and just won North American Car of the Year...again, i'm not saying the Sonic isn't any good, i'm sure it is, but i can see a lot of people questioning it's value proposition.

[hemusbull]

GM is notorious with poorly made small cars. In last decade they tryed korean made rebadged cars without any serious sale success. Reliability is all the time their issue and from here the resale value. Nothing is writen about this in the article (at least initial quality and expected resale value after three years could be mentioned).

[dirtyjeffer]

Transaction price is not the same as MSRP.  For better or worse some manufacturers (notably domestics) have opted for a pricing strategy entailing a high MSRP combined with rebates.  (My November Ford purchase was over $17,000 less than MSRP.)  So there is not much to be gained by grumbling about sticker shock as rebates will come.

i find that type of pricing policy shameful...i understand incentives, but that is just plain ridiculous...i am more of an "integrity pricing" kind of consumer...you will find that Hyundai, Honda and Toyota (to name a couple) who seem to keep their pricing rather consistent...sure, cash discounts can be had (although, it often isn't much), and the incentives usually involve low interest financing...in Hyundai's example, i like the fact their cars seem to be priced properly to the market and their finance rates are also decent...in the past, Ford would give a nice discount on their vehicle, then slap you with 9% interest, so you either got a properly priced vehicle OR a competitive interest rate, but never both.

[Ex-airbalancer]

it is better for car industry to keep prices high and offer rebates , since it easier to sell used cars

Just look this 2010 car has an mrsp of x$ , used is$y you are saving really big on this deal 

[Mike]

it is better for car industry to keep prices high and offer rebates , since it easier to sell used cars

Just look this 2010 car has an mrsp of x$ , used is$y you are saving really big on this deal 

What do you know about rebates?  Have you bought a vehicle recently with huge cash on the hood? 

[conwelpic]

It would be interesting to see a back to back comparison between this Sonic LTZ sedan and the new Rio EX-Luxury sedan as both have the same MSRP - $20,495.  However, vastly different in equipment.  The Rio EX-L comes standard with cooling glove box, heated steering wheel, 6 speed auto, fully auto climate control.  Navigation is available as an option.

"only a sunroof, a feature rarely found in this class" - that's standard on the Rio EX model at $16,695
heated seats are standard on the Rio LX+, as well as fog lights, a/c, cruise, 6 spd manual and Bluetooth at $15,295

GM is good at putting a lot of features in their higher priced model that are standard on lower models of the competition -there is some tough competition out there!