Chevy Needs a Proper High Performance Small Car
Small, fast cars are really starting to get quite good. The original, the Volkswagen Golf GTI, now in its 7th generation, is one of the best driving cars you can buy. If acting like a hooligan is your thing, Ford has you covered with both a Fiesta and Focus ST. Heck, even Honda is jumping back into the game with the Civic Type-R that is finally coming to the United States.
But what does Chevrolet offer? Bueller? Bueller?
Sonic RS Sedan and Hatchback
The closest thing they offer to a hot hatch or high-performance small automobile is the Sonic RS. Equipped with a 1.4L turbocharged EcoTec motor, it makes 138 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque. On a car that only weighs around 2800 pounds, that’s not bad.
But it’s also the same engine that comes in the Sonic LT, and both can be equipped with the manual transmission. Yes, the RS is a bit lower and has different suspension tuning, my point is that it’s not exactly hot enough with the latest and greatest competition.
Honda’s New Civic Concept
Going back a few years, Chevrolet did offer a performance small car. It was called the Cobalt SS. While it wasn’t the greatest car ever built, it was offered originally in a supercharged version, which had a great whine, and a limited-slip differential.
Then along came a turbocharged version that made even more horsepower. It also was a manual-transmission affair with a proper limited slip differential. Many small cars today use brake vectoring to simulate the effects of a regular limited slip.
I’ve driven several of these brake vectoring systems, and they are pretty good. But in my mind it still feels weird using the brakes to go faster. But I digress.
Ford Fiesta ST
Ask anyone who has driven it, and they’ll tell you that the Ford Fiesta ST is one of the absolute best cars you can buy, and one of the best performance cars in the entire Ford lineup. That includes being more fun to drive than a Mustang GT. It’s very possible to make small, everyday commuter cars fun to drive.
Chevy has the ability to make excellent, high-performance automobiles. The new Corvette is light-years ahead of the previous version in driver engagement, comfort, and overall fun. The SS sedan is one of those hidden, hole-in-the-wall restaurants that has the best food in town.
VW Golf GTI
Volkswagen and Ford have known for awhile that small, fast cars are in. Now with Honda realizing the error of their ways by not making small, fast cars, and coming back strong, what does it take for Chevrolet to get back in on the action? A hot Toyota Corolla?
The Sonic RS is a good car. It’s a safe car (heck, it has 10 standard airbags). It’s a fuel-efficient car, getting 40 miles-per-gallon on the highway with the manual transmission. But it’s not as fun as Chevy is capable of making it.
Now is the time to give the Sonic a proper performance upgrade, badge it a SS, and go hunting the high-performance stalwarts of the small car arena.
What do you think? Let us know in the forums!
