silver26

Hi, Im pretty new here, this is my first post.

I am looking at buying a new car in the near future, and have been looking for a while. The cars I really like are the Ion quad coupe, Mazda Protege 5 and the Cobalt coupe.

I am not into tuning, I just want a dependable, good looking car with a good stereo.

I haven't driven either of these cars yet, and I guess that will really play into my desicion, but does anyone have a heads up on why I should consider a Cobalt over other cars in their price range?

beretta93

Well, The Ion quad coupe and the Cobalt Coupe are essentially the exact same car with different interior designs. For Mazda, its compact car is no longer called the Protege 5 but the Mazda 3, which is supposely rated as being a very good car.

I don't which is more expensive, the Cobalt coupe or the Mazda 3, but they are both good buys.

zstyle

Both the Mazda 3 and the Cobalt are "premium" small cars. Nice interiors, strong engines and of course good looks. The cobalt is available with a 228watt Pioneer 7 speaker stereo (includes a 10" sub), if you're looking for good sound. The Mazda 3 is arguably more refined, but since the Cobalt coupe isn't out yet its hard to compare. Mazda 3 is more expensive.

Ion quad coupe is same engine and chassis as Cobalt, but much different exterior interior and exterior styling. It's a matter of personal preference on that one.

SilverCSS

Very well said, Z.

RedCavyRS99

it all will come down to your tastes like said before you really wont be able to decide till you test drive all 3 and get to compare for yourself. because even tho the ion and the cobalt are essentially the same car they will have different traits that may play a roll in choosing so dont test just the ion or just the cobalt look at them as completely different cars.

silver26

The Cobalt coupe isnt available to test drive yet, so I can't decide on my car until then

I mentioned the Protege 5, and not the Mazda 3 for a reason. I can get a 2002 Protege 5 that only has about 20k km's on it for a bit cheaper than an Ion or Cobalt.

I get the impression that Mazda 3's are great cars as well, but for some reason I like the look of Protege 5's better.... I dunno why. But that could be thrown out the window when I test drive them.

So, anyways, I guess I shouldn't try to make up my mind until I test drive all of the cars. And Ill keep an ear out for deals.

Thanks for your help pple

AnthonyGP

Since you don't want to add performance parts to the car, personally I would also look at the Scion Tc. My friend just bought one and I love driving in it. It's peppy, looks good, comes with ALOT of options standard, and gets great gas mileage. I'm not I fan of the Mazda 3 or Portege 5, but I hear they are good cars. If your getting a car for realibility, I would go with the imports. Don't get me worng, the engine in the Cobalt is amazing but as for the rest of the car, I can see having to replace tierods and hubs within 3-4 years. Although, we won't know if that's the case until it happens.

That's just my opinion though

Happy car shopping

-Anthony

zstyle

The hubs would be covered under the powertrain warranty (5 years, 60k miles).

Tie-rods - I have a 94 Z24 with 170,000km that has been used and abused by me personally since 100,000. I've never had any tie-rod problems and never replaced anything front-end wise other then a cv joint that I tore the boot on. Haven't heard of anyone else replaceing tie-rods either.

In reliability I would definitely class GM's recent vehicles against mazda's.

silver26

Scions aren't available here Damn you Toyota.

Eddie

what gm should do is drop the whole other SS idea for the 2.4. and give it a different name make it a Z car or something ls sport like the cav. and give the sedan w/ a 2.4 and give it the same look as the ss sedan concept and it would definatly compete with the mazda 3 as far as performance wise. gm should definatly consider putting a 5 speed in the car. and giving ss s/c 6speed for next year. i heard the 2.4 engine was a verrry strong engine once they get the cinks worked out. heard it had 4 bolt mains so that makes for an awsome engine.

zstyle

Yeah thats a good idea. The SS should be called the LS Sport or Zxx or something. Cobalt SS Supercharged is too long of a name and there shouldn't be two SS cars in the Cobalt lineup IMHO. The 2.0L S/C should just be the Cobalt SS.

RedCavyRS99

yea your both right i must agree one SS one Z and then the LS and so on

cobaltss87

if you want a good stereo i would go with the cobalt over the ion....redlines just have two front speakers unless you order different and i dont think you can get the 7 spk pioneer with sub like the cobalt

stlurbanpunk

Yeah, I'm waitin for the reviews on the 2.4. I wanna get a cobalt coupe if I can have it with the 2.4 and a manual. I think it will be better than the supercharged model. call me old fashion but I still perfer bigger N/A engines. What the hell is 2.0L? I'm not bashin on the s/c cobalt, I would take one in an instant. I relize it had to be a small 4 or the gas milage would be horrable too. At least they put a supercharger on it instead of a turbo. remember (IMO); turbo-import, s/c-domestic. BTW the 2.4 should be called SS like the concept. its obvious if u have a ss s/c cobalt because of the body kit and the huge wing on the trunk. just my 2 cents

giovanhalen

Well if we are looking at other cars than the Cobalt I would say take a look at the Hyundai Tiburon. It is better looking than all the cars mentioned in this thread and has a V6 available. Price and warrranty are good too.

turbostang

The 2.4 will be auto only. no manual.

zstyle

I've looked at buying a Tiburon before. Here's why I didn't:

1. the highest performance model has a V6 - only 176hp. Sounds good, but doesn't perform up to my requirements.

2. cobalt's second highest performance model basically matches that (170hp) from 2 less cylinders and .3L less displacement.

3. tiburon looks good, but good luck putting anything other then groceries in the backseat

4. highest trim tuscani model (now GT V6) has nice leather and decent interior, but it was $33K Canadian. Cobalt SS S/C has nicer interior (IMHO from pics, yet to see the quality), better sound, better performance, bigger wheels and what looks to be more interior space for a base of $25K Canadian, fully optioned to about $28k.

5. Hyundai has a great warranty, but parts are expensive

6. the people at the dealership were utter and complete ********. I was honestly looking to buy a new car, and they wouldn't even come out to talk to me. I could see the one guy standing in the dealership doing nothing, but he didn't want to come out into the cold to talk to a "stupid kid" I guess. I eventually went into the dealership and asked at the front desk to see a car, and then he finally came over and talked to me, but was very reluctant to help at all. The techs in service were also very indignant.

In conclusion, I will not buy a Hyundai until I am sure of their service and I definitely will never buy a Hyundai from that dealership.