12th Aug 2009, 16:43
"The down side is that... it's a Honda Civic."
Hmm, the Civic has better build quality, a high reputation of reliability, and is made from better materials. Explain what the downside of that is. If you're going to complain about a vehicle, back it up with some evidence.
13th Aug 2009, 11:11
I wonder why this innocuous Cobalt review has attracted so many people who feel compelled to talk about how great the Civic is. I personally wouldn't own either one because I'm not a "small car" person. Still, why attack the person's review? Do you feel threatened because somebody bought a car that is different than yours?
13th Aug 2009, 11:16
Civic's cost more, are not any more reliable, and have the appeal of a shoebox. The interior looks surprisingly like the interior of a shoebox --- flat gray and bland. No thanks!
13th Aug 2009, 18:04
At least the Civic's interior stays together, unlike the Cobalt's which is plagued with problems like trim pieces and glove compartments falling off.
13th Aug 2009, 18:23
Have you ever even seen a Chevy interior?! They're awful! Everything is one solid color (usually gray) The fit and finish is awful and the dashboard squeaks over every bump!!
14th Aug 2009, 13:43
Comment 13th Aug 2009, 11:11 I total agree with you. This is not an import bashing review and it's getting hijacked. I too personally prefer bigger cars and am not biased toward import or domestic; I like them both. But my sister has the Cobalt clone the G5, and car has been dead reliable except for one warranty issue and it didn't break down. It gets 30mpg and no interior pieces have fell off, and there are no squeaks or rattles, and it's pretty quiet and has 45k miles on it in 2 years. The interior looks like an econo car interior. What do you expect? It doesn't bother her or anybody else who rides in it. It's a car, it drives, and is reliable, that's what really matters.
2nd Oct 2009, 16:02
The armrest will not work with the manual transmission. Was going to order one for my car until the dealer showed me that.
3rd Jan 2010, 22:46
My Cobalt XFE with a manual transmission works fine with the (center) armrest or console and vice-versa, but I can understand what you are talking about. At first the shift lever felt a little close to the console, but after a few days it feels normal, no problem.
1st Apr 2010, 13:59
I felt compelled to “jump into the Cobalt/Civic” fray going on here, because as the owner of a 3 car family, we own a 2008 Civic, and in the next week or two will pick up our brand new 2010 Cobalt LT as well (2002 Mustang is our other car).
The Civic has been great and I’m glad we got it, BUT, it was the very bottom of the line model and does not have power locks, which has turned out to be more of an issue than we expected.
Zero maintenance problems, BUT there is no way it is getting 45 MPG. The cars range with blended hwy/city has been approx. 520 kilometres.
I’m buying the Cobalt because it’s a great price right now, and I checked with the insurance company, and our rates won’t go up much at all. With the Civic the insurance went up $70 a month.
To buy a Civic with all the same options/upgrades was way beyond my means. I’ve driven both cars and the ride is very similar. I expect that the gas mileage will be similar as well.
I am fully expecting some extra maintenance on the Cobalt in the long term. But given the extra buying costs and insurance, and I’m getting a more upgraded vehicle, I am willing to accept that.
I believe that both cars have their pros and cons. Depending on personal preference and situation – they are both good choices.
18th Jun 2012, 10:41
Um, that's because the Cobalt has about 30 more horsepower than a Civic, which is very slow (the base model, not SI). Sorry, the Civic has morphed into an overweight old-lady car, not unlike the Corolla. I work at a Honda dealership and no one under about 45 buys the Civics anymore (and about 90% of the buyers are female). Trust me, Honda is coasting on a very outdated reputation - they have lots of reliability problems, just as any brand.
20th Jun 2012, 00:28
I cross-shopped the Civic, Corolla, Mazda 3, and Cobalt among other cars back in 2010. I like my Cobalt; it is better than and worse than those cars in different ways.
The ultimate reason I bought the Cobalt was value for the money. Unfortunately, even if the price of the cars is very close with the same options, it seems that the import dealers don't negotiate as much on price (at least here in VA). That is because of real and perceived quality issues, which resulted in massive rebate offers among domestic manufacturers over that last two decades. Now that domestic quality is better, I feel it is still easier to get a lot of discounting on American cars. The Cobalt, with a similar sticker price and options to the other cars, ended up being so much cheaper that I really couldn't afford anything else (I'm on a really, really tight budget).
To be honest, I most likely would have bought a Civic or a 3 if I could have gotten one for anywhere near the same price. But, as I said before, the Cobalt has been a really nice car, and I'm happy with it.
11th Aug 2009, 18:28
I love my Civic. I've never driven a Cobalt, but heard horror stories of their poor reliability and build quality.