VERY NICE TRY
2012 Chevrolet Sonic LT

By Doug Stokes Here's my sincere comment on this one: Nice Try. And I say that with the very best spirit and intent. The new Chevy Sonic is, in fact, a very nice try. Far ahead of some of the former offerings in this size and class that the wizards of Warren have presented us with in the past few years; but scoring only mildly on my personal motor-meter.

I will now try mightily to explain why that is the way it is. Sum-wise, there are a whole bunch of parts, pieces, and paraphernalia that should add up to a really cool car. Don't get me wrong, this is not an awful car, far from it in fact. But something just didn’t connect all that well for me here. At our test number of $17,570, there was simply a ton of stuff that only yesterday was listed in the far right (extra price options) column on the window sheet. Nice touches like: remote keyless entry, ABS brakes, theft alarm, six months of OnStar, three months of SiriusXM service, a six-speaker premium sound system, alloy wheels, rear roof spoiler, and (honest it say this right on the sticker:) “… thorax side-impact seat-mounted, side-front and rear outboard seat positions.”

There are two motors listed for the Sonic, we had the optional 1.4 liter, turbocharged model that puts out 138 horsepower. The standard engine is a 1.8 liter normally-aspirated rated at an identical 138 horsepower. Both powerplants are double overhead cam fours but the turbo kicks out more torque (148 pounds-feet versus 125). The bigger difference between the two is what Uncle EPA surmises the two will get on regular unleaded. Our tester was rated at 29 city/40 highway, and the 1.8 called it 26/35. The turbo-engined Sonic is only available with a 6-speed manual gearbox, and we found each and every one of those gears quite useful for putting the Sonic through its paces. However (okay, here he goes … negative) there's just one hell of a centering spring in this manual shifter, and you need to really member to pull the shifter straight back (while bearing slightly to the left) out of first gear in order to avoid going directly into 4th and bogging the engine like a bad thing. Remember, even “turbocharged” as it is, this is a small 1,400cc motor, and sticking in into 4th at very low rpm is an invitation to some unhappily slow forward progress.

In the old days, on econo-boxes like this Chevy Sonic, you simply could not order any sort of major upgrades. Those were reserved for the better (bigger) models in the line. And now, as we said earlier, the standard equipment side of the price paper is heavily-weighed with power everything all the way to heated rear view mirrors. The turbo option added 700 bucks (even) to the $15,735.00 standard vehicle price and a "Connectivity Plus Cruise Package" (which includes cruise control, Bluetooth for your phone, and steering wheel controls) priced at $375 were the only options. The ever-present (and ever-unexplained) destination charge added the price of a pretty strong 'Vegas weekend ($760.00) for the above-mentioned $17,570.00 total before taxes and license. Not sure why, but this cute, semi-high-performance car just never once whispered, "C'mon … Let's PLAY!" in my shell-like ear. Not that it wasn't sort of cool to drive, good brakes, a 6-speed "stick", and fairly broad (size) rubber all the way around.

It just never provoked any sort of really spirited driving. I slung it around a couple of favorite freeway on and off ramps and it worked fine, no drama … But there was no egging-on either. Maybe not such a bad thing in these days and times really, what with naughty driving fines now ratcheted up well up into the triple digits of late. But a RED TURBO, with only limited powers of provocation? Darn! Close-cropped at a curt 159 inches long (the sedan version is listed at 173.1), this is the first car that I have driven in a long time that looks better in photos than in person. Again, nothing that one can point a boney finger of accusation at as the fatal flaw, but neither could I find some sense of harmony and balance in the lines as presented in this iteration. Maybe, if Chevy hangs in there with some of the feedback that they got on the bunch of super-tooled-up Sonics at the SEMA Show this past November, this one will take its place with the SVTs and GTIs.

On the day before the car was schedule to get picked up, I got a low tire pressure warning light on the dash read-out. It was actually my first time to see this new (Federally-required) notification in action. Of course, I quickly reigned up and gave each of the tires the old educated thumb test, like we used to do when we raced go-karts. They all felt the same (to my thumb), they all looked good, and I was only about two miles from home, so I drove home and got out the old tire gauge. The left rear was down 10 pounds under the other three tires. Truth, I could not feel that difference. Granted, I didn't really lean on the tires hard, but, if that light had not come on, I would likely not have felt that differential under normal driving. However, if I had to really brake hard and make a some sort of very heavy avoidance moves … well. Low tire pressure warning lights work; no I didn't have any personal agro with that low tire, but I also might not have noticed the problem until it was way late in the game. I don't "need" a car that parks itself, but I do not mind one that tells me that one of my tires is 10 pounds down.

To General Motors great credit, they've put their terrific OnStar safety/information system in this car (and just about everything else that they now build). It works better than I can tell you, and is FAR less distracting (at least optically) than any of the Boy Scout map in-dash video systems. As previously alluded to Chevy Sonic LT buyers get six months of free OnStar service standard. I keep asking myself why I’m not knocked out by this cute, turbo-charged, sport/hatch. If I had that answer, I would have been on the phone back to Warren two weeks ago, halfway through my drive. Maybe next time … - DS TURBO-TALK SIDEBAR: By the way, get ready for all manner of "turbo-magic", as the "free horsepower from the exhaust" method of adding energy to engines is making a comeback. Only this time there's no boost gauge on the dash and only a moderate amount of metal badgework proclaiming the fact on the machine. In fact, Ford doesn’t even call it “turbocharging”, they call it “Ecoboost” but, whatever they call it, it still sticks a pair of little metal propellers in the exhaust stream and now, with the help of some very sophisticated electronic engine controls, turbocharging is back, better than ever, and you are going to see a lot of it on smaller engines using this new/old system. For more information about Chevrolet products, go to chevrolet.com

SPECIFICATIONS Name of vehicle: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic 5DR LT Price: $14,635 (base) $15,735 (LT) $17,570 (LT, as tested) Test car includes Ecotec Turbo1.4L engine, 6-speed transmission, Connectivity Plus Cruise Package (cruise control, steering wheel controls, Bluetooth for phone, USB port). EPA fuel economy rating: 29 city/40 highway miles per gallon Engine: 1.4-liter turbocharged Ecotec in-line four Horsepower: 138 at 4900 rpm Torque: 148 pound-feet at 1850-4900 rpm Transmission: 6-speed manual, with hill hold feature Drive configuration: Front-wheel drive Steering: Column-mounted electric power steering Suspension Front: MacPherson struts with offset coil springs and stabilizer bar Rear: Semi-independent torsion beam axle with coil springs Brakes: Ventilated front disc and rear drum, with standard ABS Dimensions Length: 159.0 inches Width: 68.3 inches Height: 59.7 inches Curb weight: 2743 pounds