With our Fit relegated to garage queen status while waiting for a non-grenade airbag to pop up through Honda's supply chain, we're getting the chance to do long-term test drives in some rentals on Honda's dime. Our first rental was a 2015 Chevy Sonic LT hatch. It had the 1.8/6-speed AT combination.
Things we liked: It was pretty quiet at highway speeds for a subcompact hatch. Wind and engine noises were pretty muffled, and the interior didn't have any rattles or weird vibrations over bumps. The engine had a decent amount of power once it wound up, and the transmission did a decent job of picking gears. The ride was pretty good, although it didn't handle like we expected it to. The front seats had a decent amount of room, and sightlines were decent from the driver's seat. Parking the Sonic hatch was very easy thanks to the wheels being at the corners of the car. The radio was pretty basic by today's standards. It sounded fine, and pairing our phones with the Bluetooth was effortless. Like other Chevys with basic radios, the voice commands were simple and easily recognized by the system.
Things we didn't like: The fuel economy wasn't particularly great, at about 30-32 mpg highway and 25 or so around town. I sort of expected this, but was dismayed nonetheless. The interior had an okay amount of room, but nowhere near as well laid out as some competitors. Things like the rear seats not folding flat to the load floor without a removable parcel shelf, or having to remove the headrests to fold the rear seats down. The seats were a deal-breaker after an hour, when both my wife and I got uncomfortable. We never got used to the gauge cluster. It was a bit of a mess visually, and the trip computer in there was not intuitive. The handling was competent, but the steering was lifeless. The car had clearly taken a good hit to the front end, so the lifeless steering could have been that it needed an alignment. The turning circle seemed large for the size car it was. This was easy to get used to, although an annoyance in really shoehorning the car into tight spots.
Overall, we thought it was just average. Decent basic transportation that works decently in a suburban/urban setting. It's quick and thirsty, the dragster of its class. GM made this thing decently. Knowing this drivetrain, I'd expect it to last a long time with rather indifferent maintenance. Same with the rest of the car.
Things we liked: It was pretty quiet at highway speeds for a subcompact hatch. Wind and engine noises were pretty muffled, and the interior didn't have any rattles or weird vibrations over bumps. The engine had a decent amount of power once it wound up, and the transmission did a decent job of picking gears. The ride was pretty good, although it didn't handle like we expected it to. The front seats had a decent amount of room, and sightlines were decent from the driver's seat. Parking the Sonic hatch was very easy thanks to the wheels being at the corners of the car. The radio was pretty basic by today's standards. It sounded fine, and pairing our phones with the Bluetooth was effortless. Like other Chevys with basic radios, the voice commands were simple and easily recognized by the system.
Things we didn't like: The fuel economy wasn't particularly great, at about 30-32 mpg highway and 25 or so around town. I sort of expected this, but was dismayed nonetheless. The interior had an okay amount of room, but nowhere near as well laid out as some competitors. Things like the rear seats not folding flat to the load floor without a removable parcel shelf, or having to remove the headrests to fold the rear seats down. The seats were a deal-breaker after an hour, when both my wife and I got uncomfortable. We never got used to the gauge cluster. It was a bit of a mess visually, and the trip computer in there was not intuitive. The handling was competent, but the steering was lifeless. The car had clearly taken a good hit to the front end, so the lifeless steering could have been that it needed an alignment. The turning circle seemed large for the size car it was. This was easy to get used to, although an annoyance in really shoehorning the car into tight spots.
Overall, we thought it was just average. Decent basic transportation that works decently in a suburban/urban setting. It's quick and thirsty, the dragster of its class. GM made this thing decently. Knowing this drivetrain, I'd expect it to last a long time with rather indifferent maintenance. Same with the rest of the car.
