City

Hey just wondering if you guys got the new Car and Driver or had heard about it yet?

In short, there is a comparo between the Cobalt SS, Ion RL, RSX, SRT4, WRX.

I don't feel like going into details, just here to brief everyone...but you guys aren't going to be happy.

The results:

5. Ion RL
4. Cobalt SS S/C coupe
3. SRT-4 ACR
2. WRX
1. RSX

I'm starting to get sick of Car and Driver (huge GTO guy here), there's no reason the RSX should win out over all those cars, esp the WRX. Ah well, just wanted to let everyone know. I'm sure someone will post more info and scan in some pics.

-Ryan

glockglade

An RSX should NEVER be ranked higher over a WRX Plain and simple you cannot compare those cars even. And a word to car and driver an RSX is a glorified honda that will lose in a race to every single car tested, and since these tests were done on high performance low cost cars don't you think a car that lost in almost every category (cough the rsx) should be lower in the rankings. In my opinion the article seemed to be derived from how comfortable these cars were in comparison to each other. One more note the month before car and driver said the cobalt ss s/c could run a 14.4, and pull a .88 g-force on the skid pad, but this month it can only do a 14.6, and pull only .86 g-force. (Just a little confusing to me!)

tiny

what did they rank it in?

cuz the rsx has better build quality
cobalt is the fastest i think
acr handles the best
wrx is the new DSM
ion is the most recyclable

glockglade

Absolutely Hilarious I love this guy!

DC52NV

i dunno why you guys are getting so worked up. it's just the opinion of ONE magazine. you guys make it seem like all tests and magazine will think the same thing. an rsx won this competition, big f'ing deal. i would choose a wrx over all those cars listed.

2006ArrivalBlueSS

That's funny because the September 2005 issue of Road and Track (Car and Driver's sister mag) just rated the Cobalt SS/SC higher points over the RSX Type S.

Build quality is better on a RSX than a Cobalt? How can you make such a conclusion knowing this is the Cobalt SS/SC's debut year? Only time will tell if this is the case. Is Honda known for having better build quality than all GM cars? Some, but not all. Impala out of Oshawa, Ontario Canada has one of the lowest recall/owner complaints of any car built in North America. I rest my case.

BlueSSupercharged

this compairison was on car and driver tv last sunday. i was very disapointed with them. But it seems like they choose the imports over the american cars. they said srt4 acr was the fastest and the cobalt ss sc was the second fastest.

wesmanw02

A summary of the C&D article was posted over on JBO - I was very dissappointed with C&D after reading the results. How on earth the RSX-S beat out all the other cars for the win is beyond me.

Wait...whats the title of the Article?? Thats right, its Cheap Speed - therefore they should have been reviewing them based on performance rather than by dash stroking the RSX-S throughout the whole test

Based on the performance per dollar of each vehicle, they should have been ranked as followed:

1. Dodge SRT-4
1. (Tie) Cobalt SS S/C
2. Subaru WRX
3. Ion Redline
4. Acura RSX-S

They concentrated so much on "how refined" the RSX was that they seem to have forgotton about the actual purpose of the test. These aren't luxury cars, therefore they shouldn't be reviewed as such - they are high performance sport compacts, and that didn't seem to correlate with their final rankings

DC52NV

speed isn't everything. it's funny though how the rsx-s is the only car on that list that is N/A and still be in the same category w/ those F/I cars.

zinner

At this point with my limited magazine experience it seems that 5 magazines could do 5 reviews on the same 5 cars and have 5 different answers.

After reading that article I feel as though the reviewers failed to review the 5 cars based on the parameters they set up in the beginning. They claimed to be reviewing based on the best speed for the price, and they don't pick the best speed/price value. Thats my problem with their article. They picked the worse price/speed combo, I am not goint to argue fun to drive cause I am sure it's fun to drive, but Car and Driver just decided to throw out their criteria and just pick whatever they "liked" the best.

DC52NV

thank you. why can't people think the same way as this man? you see a magazine review w/ your precious car being in 4th place and all of you lose your head. it's just one car magazie people. calm down, no need to get all butt hurt about it.

zinner

I should also add I think the points they made about the SS/SC where valid, the engine makes weird noises and the steering is a video game like, but that car put down some solid numbers in that autocross course and it's got a decent interior and comforts.

Nightcrawler

Why does everyone just disregard the redline? It matches the Cobalt SS/SC in performance. It's even arguable it's a smidge faster. I don't see how the Cobalt SS/SC and Redline can be anywhere but right next to each other in ranking since they are so similar.

AZESS

Even as the owner of an RSX I'm not going to pretend to believe the rankings in a magazine mean diddly ****. After all, I didn't buy my car based on any editor's personal preferences, did you?

That is what I thought. The key point is that every magazine article comparing cars gets down to the writer's personal preference, and while I don't even begin to think the RSX is the best performance for the dollar, I wouldn't rank the SS/SC ahead of the WRX either.

You guys have great cars that came into a market that needed the Cobalt SS. Rest assured that when I go to trade the RSX, I would put the SS/SC at the top of my "to test drive" list. I'm glad to see Chevy put $$ behind their performance heritage again. Now, bring me the 5th gen. Camaro.

alleycat58

Most comparisons I've seen, the Cobalt and RL ARE right next to each other. I think where the RL loses out to the SS/SC is in fit and finish. Yes, under the hood they are essentially identical. Inside, I hate the Redline (and Ion in general). The placement of the instrument panel is horrid and the whole interior, even the Redline, just feels "cheap" to me not to mention the fact that I find the seats to be incredibly uncomfortable. (Not saying that the SS/SC has the best interior out there, but for me it's head and shoulders above the RL, I love the seats and aside from a few minor complaints I think they did a great job on it.) My best friend has a non-RL Ion and I thought my Cavalier had a nicer interior. Until the SS/SC was announced I wouldn't have considered the Redline at all despite the fact that I thought it had good technical specs...when it all came down to it, it was still going to be my daily driver and I really dislike the interior enough to dissuade my from buying it. Had the SS/SC not come around, I would probably be driving an SRT-4 right now.

It's all personal taste, some people don't like the SS/SC's interior - all a matter of personal preference. Also, had this car not been my daily driver I would have been more open to considering the RL just because I wouldn't have to drive the car day in and day out.