First New Car

[SonicHKS]

1.4L turbocharged ecotec, 6-speed manual. Best handling FWD car I've ever driven, and I'm getting 39 mpg city in it . Set me back $16,7 and I got it with 0 miles on it

[noob5,000,000]

Nice! I must admit, I am intrigued by the Sonic (especially the turbocharged manual one ). Is it pretty quick?

[Squint]

Nice! I must admit, I am intrigued by the Sonic (especially the turbocharged manual one ). Is it pretty quick?

This.

And yeah, I'm not a Chevy fan, but I was excited when they said they were coming out with that vehicle. I'm all in favor of small hatchbacks with turbos and peppy engines.

Welcome to the forum!

[AHTOXA]

Welcome to tthe forum. I was curious to see the performance specs for this car. Turns out the 0-60 times and 1/4 mile times are nearly identical to my 2.0 soul.

[bk7794]

Sweet car, I'd be interested in hearing what you have to say about it as time goes on.

Also maybe you should consider re-sizing your pictures. A bit too big.

[Saabstory02]

Nice car OP; great purchase for your first new

I took a look at these as well while car shopping; they were pretty decent on driveability and impressed me with the overall feel.

[SonicHKS]

Nice car OP; great purchase for your first new

I took a look at these as well while car shopping; they were pretty decent on driveability and impressed me with the overall feel.

Yeah I didn't actually mean to buy a new car, I'd just gone out to check out the new Hyundai Veloster after my friend told me they were good cars. The Veloster drove like an appliance though and there was a Chevrolet dealer right next door. I drove a Sonic N/A 5-speed and fell in love with the handling, braking, and clutch+shifter. Was the best new car I've ever driven and I knew I had to get one.

I wasn't going to settle for a N/A 5-speed though (or....slush!? ), especially with the turbo model getting better mpg and only coming in 6-speed manual. I waited and looked, found one near me and got it shipped here free of charge . I originally wanted a sunroof, lighter grey interior, and white exterior but in order to get it right away I had to take what I could get.

It drives like a turbo diesel. Small turbo, on a small engine. IIRC 138 hp and 150 lb ft, with it achieving and maintaining peak torque from 1800-5000RPM. It'll cruise around town at 1500-2000RPM just fine and then when you want power the turbo spools quick and pulls hard to 5500-6000RPM. Also, on the highway it'll do 70 @ 1800RPM in 6th all day long. Its very easy to get 35-40 mpg city in it, and something like 40-50 highway.

As for handling, the suspension was tuned by Corvette engineers. I fell in love with the handling because it tends to dive into corners (it has a LOT of turn-in) and it'll hold driving line very well. The ride is also very smooth especially over rough pavement and not much upsets it. The interior is also very well put together, nothing rattles/clunks and you can barely hear wind noise from outside. Braking is decently strong but not very progressive and the car uses rear drum brakes, which I don't mind.

This is my first new car because up until now, no one built a car that I wanted to buy. There was always something that turned me away. Not with the Sonic, though. Its exactly how I would design and build a small hatchback, and it feels very European. Its solid and not built like an aluminum can, has a very small efficient turbocharged engine that gets 40 mpg, and basically a 5-speed manual with an extra overdrive for hypermiling. 6th gear in this car is LONG, 3.65 FD with a 0.61 6th. And did I say that I recently moved and everything I moved in it fit perfectly? Its an awesome car and I knew I couldn't turn down buying one .