The Chevy
Cobalt is built on GM's Delta platform, which it shares with the domestic
Saturn Astra and European-market Opel Astra. But with its single-bar grille and bowtie emblem, Cobalt looks like a proper
Chevrolet small car right down to its shoes and socks.
Body panel fits are extremely tight. So tight, in fact, that there are no rubber trim gaskets around Cobalt's compound complex headlamps.
The fastback coupe bears a resemblance to the Cavalier it replaced in 2005, right down to its high, rounded tail and triangular rear quarter windows; though in fact Cobalt shares little with its predecessor but its looks.
The Cobalt sedan looks less like its curvier Cavalier ancestor, and more like a contemporary small sedan, with a tall roofline and short, chunky tail.
The coupe weighs about 50 pounds less than the sedan, although it's doubtful anyone but a professional race driver would feel the difference on the road. Same for the sedan's slightly better front-to-rear balance: 59/41 vs. 60/40 for the coupe.
Cobalt is longer, wider and lower than most of its direct competitors and its interior dimensions and trunk capacity are comparable for the class. next page