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2008 Chevrolet Cobalt Review

July 8, 2008

STYLING | 7 out of 10

Expert Quotes:

The look of the Cobalt is forgettable and uninspiring
Car and Driver

a much more modern entry in the economy-car segment
Edmunds

an attractive small car
Kelley Blue Book

a tastefully designed cockpit with high-quality materials
Detroit News

Attractive, if basic, interior
Cars.com

The 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt is Chevy's entry into the compact-car segment. Launched in 2005, the Cobalt replaced the Cavalier, and it's built on the same front-drive Delta platform as the Saturn Astra.

For 2008, Chevrolet offers many different flavors of Cobalt, and the styling ranges from mild to sort of wild, depending on the particular model. ConsumerGuide notes that the Chevrolet 2008 Cobalt comes as a two-door coupe or four-door sedan. Edmunds briefly describes the complicated offering from Chevrolet: "Cobalt is available in compact sedan and coupe body styles, each split into LS, LT and Sport trim levels. Additionally, the Cobalt SS is a coupe-only model for 2008." Cars.com adds, "Both body styles feature a horizontally split grille with a gold bow tie badge." Edmunds calls the styling plain “unless you upgrade to the Sport or SS model.” The top-of-the-line SS version of the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt has by far the most flamboyant styling, described by The Auto Channel as "dressed up with unique front and rear fascias, slightly lowered ride height and increased track, special rocker molding, standard rear wing, 18-inch twin five-spoke forged aluminum wheels, SS badging and some great, vivid colors." Other models are less gussied up, however, leading Car and Driver to describe the 2008 Chevrolet as "forgettable and uninspiring."

All Cobalts share a common interior styling that includes "attractive gauges and a full-featured stereo head," Edmunds says, giving "the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt a modern feel." However, "compared to the interiors of the Honda Civic or Saturn Astra,” they add, “the Cobalt's design seems rather bland." Car and Driver is less kind, reporting that it has a "dashboard design that tries to ape the previous-generation Volkswagen Jetta but comes up short." ConsumerGuide gives a mixed review of the little Chevrolet, 2008 model, citing a "neat, logical dashboard," but adding, "Some testers find the gauges a tad small and recessed too far into the dashboard for easy reading." Cars.com notes "some cheap-looking controls," but ConsumerGuide is pleased with the "neat, logical dashboard."

Conclusion

The 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt elevates its styling game only on the kitted-up SS version.

STYLING | 7 out of 10Expert Quotes:The look of the Cobalt is forgettable and uninspiringCar and Drivera much more modern entry in the economy-car segmentEdmundsan attractive small carKelley Blue Booka tastefully designed cockpit with high-quality materialsDetroit NewsAttractive, if basic, interiorCars.com The 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt is Chevy's entry into the compact-car segment. Launched in 2005, the Cobalt replaced the Cavalier, and it's built on the same front-drive Delta platform as the Saturn Astra. For 2008, Chevrolet offers many different flavors of Cobalt, and the styling ranges from mild to sort of wild, depending on the particular model. ConsumerGuide notes that the Chevrolet 2008 Cobalt comes as a two-door coupe or four-door sedan. Edmunds briefly describes the complicated offering from Chevrolet: "Cobalt is available in compact sedan and coupe body styles, each split into LS, LT and Sport trim levels. Additionally, the Cobalt SS is a coupe-only model for 2008." Cars.com adds, "Both body styles feature a horizontally split grille with a gold bow tie badge." Edmunds calls the styling plain “unless you upgrade to the Sport or SS model.” The top-of-the-line SS version of the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt has by far the most flamboyant styling, described by The Auto Channel as "dressed up with unique front and rear fascias, slightly lowered ride height and increased track, special rocker molding, standard rear wing, 18-inch twin five-spoke forged aluminum wheels, SS badging and some great, vivid colors." Other models are less gussied up, however, leading Car and Driver to describe the 2008 Chevrolet as "forgettable and uninspiring." All Cobalts share a common interior styling that includes "attractive gauges and a full-featured stereo head," Edmunds says, giving "the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt a modern feel." However, "compared to the interiors of the Honda Civic or Saturn Astra,” they add, “the Cobalt's design seems rather bland." Car and Driver is less kind, reporting that it has a "dashboard design that tries to ape the previous-generation Volkswagen Jetta but comes up short." ConsumerGuide gives a mixed review of the little Chevrolet, 2008 model, citing a "neat, logical dashboard," but adding, "Some testers find the gauges a tad small and recessed too far into the dashboard for easy reading." Cars.com notes "some cheap-looking controls," but ConsumerGuide is pleased with the "neat, logical dashboard." ConclusionThe 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt elevates its styling game only on the kitted-up SS version.  2008 CHEVROLET COBALT STYLING | [7 out of 10] Car and Driver: "The look of the Cobalt is forgettable and uninspiring" Edmunds: "a much more modern entry in the economy-car segment" Kelley Blue Book: "an attractive small car" Detroit News: "a tastefully designed cockpit with ...

Read More of this Review:

  1. styling
  2. performance
  3. quality
  4. safety
  5. features

Other Choices:

Nearly all of the Cobalt's rivals have been redesigned in recent years, except for the Corolla, which is due for a full face-lift for 2009. And like the Cobalt, the Ford Focus and Honda Civic are available in coupe or sedan versions; the Ford Focus was just restyled for 2008 and has a very refined, attractive, and quite roomy interior, while the Civic feels especially nimble and responsive on the road, though it's tight on backseat headroom. The Sentra, Elantra, and Corolla are each very well-designed small sedans, conservative and basic but more refined and just as roomy, if not more so. Ride comfort is one of few categories where the Cobalt has an edge.

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See the Chevrolet Cobalt in Other Years:

2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

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