Originally Posted by redrocket

Take a look at the latest Motor Trend mag, it has a comparison of the two, on news stands now. Other than this test drive them both, and decide. As far as quality, the Cobalt is definitely better built, and the 2.0 thats in the SS has tons of aftermarket support and experience. Just give them time to catch up to the cobalt, as it is a new car, in every way.
TO EVERYONE !!!! If you don't want to wait to get a CobaltSS, or are afraid you won't get one before 06 at all, PITTSBURGH. There are 7 SS's in the pittsburgh area, 5 red, 1 yellow & 1 silver. There are 3 in West Verginia and 2 in OHIO right now that I know of. I know this because I just bought one 2 weeks ago. All are pretty much loaded. I have all options except XM radio and paid $24443.10 final cost, including taxes.

Originally Posted by redrocket

Take a look at the latest Motor Trend mag, it has a comparison of the two, on news stands now. Other than this test drive them both, and decide. As far as quality, the Cobalt is definitely better built, and the 2.0 thats in the SS has tons of aftermarket support and experience. Just give them time to catch up to the cobalt, as it is a new car, in every way.
TO EVERYONE !!!! If you don't want to wait to get a CobaltSS, or are afraid you won't get one before 06 at all, PITTSBURGH. There are 7 SS's in the pittsburgh area, 5 red, 1 yellow & 1 silver. There are 3 in West Verginia and 2 in OHIO right now that I know of. I know this because I just bought one 2 weeks ago. All are pretty much loaded. I have all options except XM radio and paid $24443.10 final cost, including taxes.

Originally Posted by jzchev28

the cavalier has been out for 20 years now, the cobalt is just a MAJORLY updated cavalier with a much better body, chassie, and interior.

Originally Posted by Vooduguru

I think it all depends on personal preference. I for one think that the Cobalt even though the plastic surfaces are painted, they may LOOK nicer, it's 6's in "quality" The only real TRUE quality in the Cobalt over the SRT-4 is the cobalt front seats are actually leather trimmed. the SRT is not.

Originally Posted by ssstraub

I'm not sure what Neon's you've been in, but the 6-year old designed Neons I have been in are nothing like a Cobalt SS interior.

Anyway... I think for "raw power" the SRT-4 is a better choice.

Originally Posted by T-Rex

Thanks guys,

Great help everyone, hmm.... it is a bit tough to decide between the 2 but I think that I'll just have to wait to actually drive the Cobalt.

Oh and Jzchev28, I know what a BOV is, My question is just more about the SC, since I don't have too much expirience with them.... will a BOV affect the performance the same on a SC as on a Turbo? sorry, maybe I just worded my question wrong but thanks anyways. .... hmm come to think, it should be the same since the idea is the same but whatever, what do u think? I just wanna make sure

About the interior.... hmm....well from what I've seen there is a bit of a difference but then again both have certain generallization in common like.... simplicity (unlike the RSX which is a bit fancier if u know what I mean). Still I do like the Cobalt interior a bit more but then again I don't care that much about that and rather would focus on the performance and capabillities and anyways I have never actually been inside any Cobalt for that matter and can't really judge the interior on the Cobalt SS/sc.

Damn just so tough to decide, I need performance and I want to be able to mod it of course so which one is a.... more stable platform if u will for future overall performance? I heard lots of good things about the "delta" but honestly what scares me about the Cobalt SS/sc is the engine and drivetrain. Those need to be able to handle some ponies for me

Anyways, thanks everyone for the great feedback

Originally Posted by T-Rex

Thanks guys,

Great help everyone, hmm.... it is a bit tough to decide between the 2 but I think that I'll just have to wait to actually drive the Cobalt.

Oh and Jzchev28, I know what a BOV is, My question is just more about the SC, since I don't have too much expirience with them.... will a BOV affect the performance the same on a SC as on a Turbo? sorry, maybe I just worded my question wrong but thanks anyways. .... hmm come to think, it should be the same since the idea is the same but whatever, what do u think? I just wanna make sure

About the interior.... hmm....well from what I've seen there is a bit of a difference but then again both have certain generallization in common like.... simplicity (unlike the RSX which is a bit fancier if u know what I mean). Still I do like the Cobalt interior a bit more but then again I don't care that much about that and rather would focus on the performance and capabillities and anyways I have never actually been inside any Cobalt for that matter and can't really judge the interior on the Cobalt SS/sc.

Damn just so tough to decide, I need performance and I want to be able to mod it of course so which one is a.... more stable platform if u will for future overall performance? I heard lots of good things about the "delta" but honestly what scares me about the Cobalt SS/sc is the engine and drivetrain. Those need to be able to handle some ponies for me

Anyways, thanks everyone for the great feedback

Originally Posted by Vooduguru

Do yourself a favor, when you sit in the Cobalt, do some knuckle rapping on the dashboard. You'll see

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

I sat in both the Cobalt SS S/C and SRT-4 at the NY Auto Show, and I thouroughly checked out both interiors, since comparisions between the two always come up. As far as quality goes, you're not even in the ballpark.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

I must say there is really no comparison in terms of quality and driving position. The Cobalt looks and feels like a brand new vehicle, while the SRT-4 feels like a 6 year old Neon with racing seats and a boost gauge - which is what it pretty much is.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

When I sat in the Cobalt, I made sure to check out every surface and panel, and I must say I was very impressed.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

The seats (non-Recaro) were rich, quality leather,

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

and the driving position was perfect. Plenty of leg room up front (I'm almost 6ft and there was still a ton of room between my knees and the dash) and the bolsters were supportive enough without being uncomfortable.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

The Cobalt's dash is a nicely grained hard black plastic, and it feels solid as a rock, no chinsy/flimsy plastic to crack, warp, squeak, or otherwise fall apart.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

The interior panel gaps were also excellent, and the center stack felt like something you would find in a car costing much more than $21K. Plastics were all low-gloss and nicely textured. The shifter also felt great, it was easy to find all the gears (even reverse), and the throws were quick and precise. Overall I was very impressed.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

The SRT-4's interior is not bad, but as I said above, its standard Neon quality.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

The "soft touch" dash is Dodge's effort to make the interior not appear cheap, but all it really does is rubberize all the panels, which in turn collects dirt/dust easier.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

The seats were nice, but there's no way that I would want to ride in them for longer than a short trip. Driving position was very upright, so much so that the shifter has to be about a foot tall just so the driver can reach it. Throws were precise, but by no means short whatsoever.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

The CD player is way under the dash, which makes it nearly impossible to change CD's while trying to drive.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

It took me a while to even find it hidden all the way under there.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

The dash layout in the SRT-4 is old-school - it curves outwards towards the passengers, than back underneath down to the footwells - so the whole center stack is tilted towards the floor. Take a look at any newly designed car, and you will notice that the dash comes out from the windshield and then tapers down to the center stack, towards the cabin. It gives the car a more spacious feel, not to mention its much more ergonomic in terms of HVAC/Radio controls.

Originally Posted by wesmanw02

Overall they were both nice cars, but theres no doubt that the Cobalt SS S/C has a nicer interior than the SRT-4. Its not even worth debating about, and anyone that says different is just plain being foolish and ignorant.

Originally Posted by Vooduguru

seems as if you're stating opinion. Thank you, next plz.



Well I should hope so. I mean a 23 year old platform for the J-body wasn't at all "old" What did you expect from a new platform? Oh and FYI the SRT-4 and the PL body (2nd gen) are only in their 3rd model year of production, not 6th. (The PL was introduced as a 2000 m/y, then the SRT came out 3 years later) So you're saying that the Cobalt SS/SC has a completely different interior, dash, seats, headliner, plastic content, and seating arrangement from the regular cobalt? Wow, that's amazing.

It was a totally NEW car, I mean what were you expecting?


Actually no, the seats are rich quality vinyl with leather trim under your bum.



Again, stating opinion. My wife is 6 foot tall and mostly legs. She has plenty of room for her to sit comfortably AND I can sit behind her (I'm 5'8") in the back seat comfortably with no problems whatsoever. Now I will admit that the "racing seats" are uncomfortable for those of the pudgy persuasion so maybe you're a bit of a bigger fella?




Again talking out your butt, if plastic is HARD and SOLID then it's MORE likely to crack and fall apart because it can't flex and expand and contract as easily as the "rubberized" plastic on other cars.




The Cobalt SS/SC that was at the auto show I went to the car had a combination of a very glossy painted finish with some center areas being a low gloss finish. Paint can deteriorate in the envrionment of an automotive interior, so I really don't think that painted has an advantage over the other type of interior finishes in other brands. I don't know about you but I've never had a problem finding gears in a simple H shift configuration car regardless of make, model.



The Cobalt SS/SC is the same level of quality as the regular Cobalt. The only difference is the seating frames, the materials/patterns of the seats, and oh yea the boost gauge.




listen to yourself. The interior on the Cobalt is going to collect dust just as easy as any other car. Regardless of brand. The only way that statement would EVER hold any water would be that the interior of the neon excretes some sort of sticky "sweat" to attract more dust then any other car. You are clearly new to the car market. I have over 20 years under my belt there son. Trust me, the Cobalt interior materials will collect dust just as easy as a BMW or a Yugo. :rofl:




Maybe you didn't recline the seat or slide it forward or back to see how much adjustment there really was. Now considering that Dodge doesn't advertise that the stock shifter isn't a short throw then I don't know why you would expect it to be one when Chevrolet advertises that the SS/SC has a short throw. But just FYI, Mopar offers a short throw shifter assembly for about 120 bucks. I'd like to also see a measurement of the SRT shifter that shows that it's a foot long from the fulcrum point to the end of the knob.



Really?


You know I'm looking at this picture and the CD player is in plain view. Now if you're referring to the 6 disc changer, why would you be changing CD's in a multi disc changer WHILE driving? I mean is it the fault of the manufacturers fault that it's not convenient to change all 6 discs while eating, talking on the phone, smoking a cigarette, and driving and shifting all at the same time, damn that car MUST BE a POS.


It's generally a good idea to know where everything is in a cars interior before driving it.




To me it looks like the HVAC controls are lower and farther away from the driver, yea the CD insert is a bit higher up on the dash but I really don't find myself changing CD's all that often. I have like 2 MP3 discs that have over 120 tracks on each one and I find that the eclectic selection on those discs does me good enough I never have to change discs while driving. It's not safe donchaknow? It also looks to me that the high contrast siverface gauges in the SRT-4 are easier to read because of the high contrast rather than the "old school" black face gauges in the Cobalt. Also the non modern dash of the SRT has a convenient place to stick my sunglasses, and/or phone that's easily accessible at arms reach. The HVAC controls are easier to reach and give me more comfort control options than the Cobalt.


It's clear that you have your preferences for your reasons and others have their preferences for their reasons, but calling someone foolish and ignorant because they don't agree with you is in and of itself foolish and ignorant.

Originally Posted by jzchev28

look at it this way..... at the end of the day do you proudly say i drive a cobalt?
or do you want to say i drive a neon
then you are going to have to try and defend your car choice by makeing it sound a little more manly and say..."well its not just a neon...its an srt4" and to that i would just reply "either way its still just a damn neon"

Originally Posted by Vooduguru

The Cobalt SS/SC is the same level of quality as the regular Cobalt. The only difference is the seating frames, the materials/patterns of the seats, and oh yea the boost gauge.