Road Test: 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged vs. 2005 Dodge SRT4
Joy Sticks: One's been digitized for the PS2 generation; the other ought to be. Here's how the Dodge SRT4 and Chevy Cobalt SS perform in the real world.
By Frank Markus
Photography by Brian Vance
Motor Trend, May 2005
The sun SHINES brightly off the white stone buildings, a smooth and lightly traveled road winds along granite cliffs that jut from a glassy Mediterranean. We stop for a photograph of the Dodge SRT4. Click. Minutes later we're plunging down through the corkscrew at California's Laguna Seca circuit, closing on a remarkably well-driven Nissan Primera 2.0 that looks about as out of place here as the Dodge did in Italy.
Of course, it's all as imaginary as SpongeBob's sex life. Our assignment is to evaluate America's latest weapons in the hot-rod econobox wars, but Sony's new video game, Gran Turismo 4, is distracting us. Everything in the game looks real, and the vehicle dynamics are tailored to match track tests of real cars. Drivers in GT4 start with limited funds (just like in real life) to buy a cheap car that can win purse money to spend tuning it for better performance or trading up.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=insetbg>GT4's Tuner Village allows players to buy numerous performance parts for their cars. Real life available upgrades for our testers include: Cobalt SS Supercharged
Exhaust manifold and catalyst-back pipes (5 horses); tie-rod ends; spoiler (June, prices pending) SRT4
Dodge factory ACR package ($1195): smaller, wider 16x7.0-inch BBS wheels, more aggressive 225/45ZR16 BFGoodrich KDW2 tires, adjustable shocks with lowered spring seats, larger front bar (19 mm versus 16 mm)
Mopar turbo upgrade kits: 10 horses/10 pound-feet ($399); 30 horses/30 pound-feet ($999); 35 horses/30 pound-feet ($1599); 70 horses/70 pound-feet (price pending)
Mopar suspension mods: anti-roll bars, springs, bushings, height-adjustable coil-over-shock conversions
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Naturally, the only selling features that count on these digital cars are low price, high performance, and the broad availability of aftermarket parts to further improve performance--the same factors that motivate sales in the real-life sport-compact segment, vastly outweighing traditional concerns like refinement, ride harshness, resale value, or anything else Consumer Reports treasures.
In 2002, two Americans crashed the Asian-dominated rice-rocket party: the Dodge Neon American Club Racer (ACR) and the Ford SVT Focus (both became digitized for Gran Turismo 2). Since then, Dodge has steadily upped the ante, swapping the ACR monogram for SRT4 and jumping from 150 to 215 horsepower in 2003 courtesy of a 2.4-liter turbo. Last year, the SRT gang boosted output to 230 horses and 250 pound-feet and prescribed a Quaife limited-slip differential like Nicorette for tire smoking. Still not hot enough? Visit Mopar for further over-the-counter upgrades (see sidebar).
Ford's SVT group is on hiatus, so the fastest Focus is sidelined for 2005, but Chevy hopes to fill the void with its svelte and swift Cobalt SS Supercharged. Bolting a Roots-type blower onto the light, free-revving 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder adds 60 horses and 45 pound-feet, and another Quaife diff endeavors to keep both front tires spinning and tugging in unison. Tweaks to the steering, brakes, and suspension reveal the potential of the stout Delta platform that first appeared under the milquetoast Saturn Ion. But wait a minute--the Cobalt is a no-show on GT4's list of 700 digital cars. Curses!
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Well, it's time to switch off the game--we've got to park the joystick and go drive the Chevy and Dodge for real.
Twist the key on the SRT4, and a sharp report from the unmuffled exhaust backs up the spec-sheet's assertion that this motor means business. The stats: 25 more horses, 50 pound-feet more halfshaft-wringing twist, and 38 fewer pounds to carry around relative to the Cobalt. The staff odds-makers handicapped the Dodge in the sprints and on the tight Streets of Willow course, where strong corner exits and more straight-line pull were expected to win the day.
Driving the cars up to the track did little to change that impression. The Chevy comes off as a bit less extroverted, quieter, and slicker than the Dodge. But the technology beneath that calm veneer is five years more advanced than the Neon platform. Its 60/40 weight distribution bests the Dodge's 64/36, and its smaller, lighter engine is quicker to rev, feeling almost Japanese (down to the light flywheel that demands more throttle at launch to prevent stalling).
Running an SRT4 at manufacturer specifications in GT4 might vindicate the oddsmakers' prognostication. But in real life, build variations and green engines (1450 miles old) can conspire to lower performance, as our test car's 6.0-second 0-to-60-mph sprint and 14.4-second 100.8-mph quarter-mile time suggest (our last two SRT4s were about a half-second quicker to both marks). Our Cobalt performed well within expected tolerances, returning a 6.1-second sprint to 60 mph and a 14.4-second, 99.3-mph quarter (within a tenth and one mph of our last test). GT4 players should note that to get this kind of performance out of one of the usual sport-compact suspects (see sidebar) requires aftermarket tuning that could easily bring the total tab to well above the $21,195 Dodge or $21,995 Chevy base stickers.
The SRT4's slim victory at the dragstrip was offset by the Cobalt's similarly slender margins in our handling tests: 0.1 second quicker around the figure-eight at an identical 0.69 g average (max lateral acceleration was also tied at 0.88 g), 0.2 second per lap on the Streets of Willow (see sidebar), 1.3 mph in the slalom, and five feet in braking from 60 mph.
From the helm, however, the cars felt different, and our test drivers came away with several suggestions for chassis improvements. We were convinced the Cobalt's limited-slip diff was AWOL, because the inside wheel kept lighting up in hard cornering. But the fault lies with a too-rigid front anti-roll bar that unloads that tire. The Quaife can only multiply the torque of a slipping wheel and send it to the opposite side, so when a wheel's torque drops to zero (nothing to multiply), the result is tire smoke. Chevrolet says there was no budget for a rear bar that might've better balanced the chassis.
Set up as is, the Cobalt pushed like a dumptruck in slow corners during trackmeister Chris Walton's first session. Then he discovered the chassis responds better to a slow-in/fast-out approach, using careful late braking or trailing-throttle deceleration to rotate the car in certain turns. Pirelli PZero Rosso tires make the most of what grip this chassis setup can deliver, but Walton didn't feel he was receiving all the messages the front tires were sending up through the steering rack. The latest version of the electric power steering system we've carped about in other Delta applications is now tuned to provide excellent weighting and to point the car with perfect accuracy. But the electric motor, mounted between the steering wheel and the rack, seems to filter out the tickles and twitches that tell a driver how close the limits of adhesion are--a sad case of life imitating a video game.
Dodge takes those tire messages and amplifies them, sometimes to the point of objectionable kickback on one-wheel bumps. Unfortunately, after a couple of hard track laps, the only message this rubber has to send is "HELP!" The "W" in BFGoodrich KDW tires stands for wet traction, which is achieved with deep water channels in the tread design. These troughs leave tall rubber blocks that can lean over--a lot. The outboard edge of nearly every block across the tread showed serious shoulder wear after a few hot laps, and lap times fell accordingly as each session went on. An upgrade to Mopar's wider 16-inch tire/wheel package should be considered mandatory for competition-minded drivers in the real or virtual worlds.
Low- and midrange torque (and a chassis setup that keeps front wheels on the ground) tugs the Dodge out of slow corners, but when the corners are close together, a crude driveline lash can upset the chassis or at least the driver's rhythm. The light rear end (which carries way less than 36 percent of the car's weight when decelerating) causes the back tires to skitter disconcertingly and overburdens the front brakes when braking hard for a turn.
Leaving the Streets of Willow circuit for the blind twists and turns of the Angeles Crest Highway, one dials back the intensity to seven tenths and discovers different nuances. The Dodge's driveline lash and wandering rear end disappear, and its shifter's closer gates make it a far more satisfying oar to row than the Cobalt's antiquated stick (the pull-ring reverse lockout and unevenly spaced gates feel like throwbacks to the Ms. Pac-Man era). The SRT4 boasts a slightly more forgiving suspension that absorbs sharp impacts more comfortably and quietly than the Cobalt's does.
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0505_joysticks01_l.jpg
Joy Sticks: One's been digitized for the PS2 generation; the other ought to be. Here's how the Dodge SRT4 and Chevy Cobalt SS perform in the real world.
By Frank Markus
Photography by Brian Vance
Motor Trend, May 2005
The sun SHINES brightly off the white stone buildings, a smooth and lightly traveled road winds along granite cliffs that jut from a glassy Mediterranean. We stop for a photograph of the Dodge SRT4. Click. Minutes later we're plunging down through the corkscrew at California's Laguna Seca circuit, closing on a remarkably well-driven Nissan Primera 2.0 that looks about as out of place here as the Dodge did in Italy.
Of course, it's all as imaginary as SpongeBob's sex life. Our assignment is to evaluate America's latest weapons in the hot-rod econobox wars, but Sony's new video game, Gran Turismo 4, is distracting us. Everything in the game looks real, and the vehicle dynamics are tailored to match track tests of real cars. Drivers in GT4 start with limited funds (just like in real life) to buy a cheap car that can win purse money to spend tuning it for better performance or trading up.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=200 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR class=insetborder><TD class=insetborder width=1 rowSpan=6>
Exhaust manifold and catalyst-back pipes (5 horses); tie-rod ends; spoiler (June, prices pending) SRT4
Dodge factory ACR package ($1195): smaller, wider 16x7.0-inch BBS wheels, more aggressive 225/45ZR16 BFGoodrich KDW2 tires, adjustable shocks with lowered spring seats, larger front bar (19 mm versus 16 mm)
Mopar turbo upgrade kits: 10 horses/10 pound-feet ($399); 30 horses/30 pound-feet ($999); 35 horses/30 pound-feet ($1599); 70 horses/70 pound-feet (price pending)
Mopar suspension mods: anti-roll bars, springs, bushings, height-adjustable coil-over-shock conversions
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=insetbg colSpan=3>
Naturally, the only selling features that count on these digital cars are low price, high performance, and the broad availability of aftermarket parts to further improve performance--the same factors that motivate sales in the real-life sport-compact segment, vastly outweighing traditional concerns like refinement, ride harshness, resale value, or anything else Consumer Reports treasures.
In 2002, two Americans crashed the Asian-dominated rice-rocket party: the Dodge Neon American Club Racer (ACR) and the Ford SVT Focus (both became digitized for Gran Turismo 2). Since then, Dodge has steadily upped the ante, swapping the ACR monogram for SRT4 and jumping from 150 to 215 horsepower in 2003 courtesy of a 2.4-liter turbo. Last year, the SRT gang boosted output to 230 horses and 250 pound-feet and prescribed a Quaife limited-slip differential like Nicorette for tire smoking. Still not hot enough? Visit Mopar for further over-the-counter upgrades (see sidebar).
Ford's SVT group is on hiatus, so the fastest Focus is sidelined for 2005, but Chevy hopes to fill the void with its svelte and swift Cobalt SS Supercharged. Bolting a Roots-type blower onto the light, free-revving 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder adds 60 horses and 45 pound-feet, and another Quaife diff endeavors to keep both front tires spinning and tugging in unison. Tweaks to the steering, brakes, and suspension reveal the potential of the stout Delta platform that first appeared under the milquetoast Saturn Ion. But wait a minute--the Cobalt is a no-show on GT4's list of 700 digital cars. Curses!
<!--end page--><!--startclickprintexclude--><!-- Pagination at the bottom of the page -->
Well, it's time to switch off the game--we've got to park the joystick and go drive the Chevy and Dodge for real.
Twist the key on the SRT4, and a sharp report from the unmuffled exhaust backs up the spec-sheet's assertion that this motor means business. The stats: 25 more horses, 50 pound-feet more halfshaft-wringing twist, and 38 fewer pounds to carry around relative to the Cobalt. The staff odds-makers handicapped the Dodge in the sprints and on the tight Streets of Willow course, where strong corner exits and more straight-line pull were expected to win the day.
Driving the cars up to the track did little to change that impression. The Chevy comes off as a bit less extroverted, quieter, and slicker than the Dodge. But the technology beneath that calm veneer is five years more advanced than the Neon platform. Its 60/40 weight distribution bests the Dodge's 64/36, and its smaller, lighter engine is quicker to rev, feeling almost Japanese (down to the light flywheel that demands more throttle at launch to prevent stalling).
Running an SRT4 at manufacturer specifications in GT4 might vindicate the oddsmakers' prognostication. But in real life, build variations and green engines (1450 miles old) can conspire to lower performance, as our test car's 6.0-second 0-to-60-mph sprint and 14.4-second 100.8-mph quarter-mile time suggest (our last two SRT4s were about a half-second quicker to both marks). Our Cobalt performed well within expected tolerances, returning a 6.1-second sprint to 60 mph and a 14.4-second, 99.3-mph quarter (within a tenth and one mph of our last test). GT4 players should note that to get this kind of performance out of one of the usual sport-compact suspects (see sidebar) requires aftermarket tuning that could easily bring the total tab to well above the $21,195 Dodge or $21,995 Chevy base stickers.
The SRT4's slim victory at the dragstrip was offset by the Cobalt's similarly slender margins in our handling tests: 0.1 second quicker around the figure-eight at an identical 0.69 g average (max lateral acceleration was also tied at 0.88 g), 0.2 second per lap on the Streets of Willow (see sidebar), 1.3 mph in the slalom, and five feet in braking from 60 mph.
From the helm, however, the cars felt different, and our test drivers came away with several suggestions for chassis improvements. We were convinced the Cobalt's limited-slip diff was AWOL, because the inside wheel kept lighting up in hard cornering. But the fault lies with a too-rigid front anti-roll bar that unloads that tire. The Quaife can only multiply the torque of a slipping wheel and send it to the opposite side, so when a wheel's torque drops to zero (nothing to multiply), the result is tire smoke. Chevrolet says there was no budget for a rear bar that might've better balanced the chassis.
Set up as is, the Cobalt pushed like a dumptruck in slow corners during trackmeister Chris Walton's first session. Then he discovered the chassis responds better to a slow-in/fast-out approach, using careful late braking or trailing-throttle deceleration to rotate the car in certain turns. Pirelli PZero Rosso tires make the most of what grip this chassis setup can deliver, but Walton didn't feel he was receiving all the messages the front tires were sending up through the steering rack. The latest version of the electric power steering system we've carped about in other Delta applications is now tuned to provide excellent weighting and to point the car with perfect accuracy. But the electric motor, mounted between the steering wheel and the rack, seems to filter out the tickles and twitches that tell a driver how close the limits of adhesion are--a sad case of life imitating a video game.
Dodge takes those tire messages and amplifies them, sometimes to the point of objectionable kickback on one-wheel bumps. Unfortunately, after a couple of hard track laps, the only message this rubber has to send is "HELP!" The "W" in BFGoodrich KDW tires stands for wet traction, which is achieved with deep water channels in the tread design. These troughs leave tall rubber blocks that can lean over--a lot. The outboard edge of nearly every block across the tread showed serious shoulder wear after a few hot laps, and lap times fell accordingly as each session went on. An upgrade to Mopar's wider 16-inch tire/wheel package should be considered mandatory for competition-minded drivers in the real or virtual worlds.
Low- and midrange torque (and a chassis setup that keeps front wheels on the ground) tugs the Dodge out of slow corners, but when the corners are close together, a crude driveline lash can upset the chassis or at least the driver's rhythm. The light rear end (which carries way less than 36 percent of the car's weight when decelerating) causes the back tires to skitter disconcertingly and overburdens the front brakes when braking hard for a turn.
Leaving the Streets of Willow circuit for the blind twists and turns of the Angeles Crest Highway, one dials back the intensity to seven tenths and discovers different nuances. The Dodge's driveline lash and wandering rear end disappear, and its shifter's closer gates make it a far more satisfying oar to row than the Cobalt's antiquated stick (the pull-ring reverse lockout and unevenly spaced gates feel like throwbacks to the Ms. Pac-Man era). The SRT4 boasts a slightly more forgiving suspension that absorbs sharp impacts more comfortably and quietly than the Cobalt's does.
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0505_joysticks01_l.jpg
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IMO turbo has a lot more potential than blown. The srt handles 400-450 on stock internals. Overall the styling on the cobalt isnt bad at all. It has a nicer interior than the srt imo except for the seats. I had mine wrapped in leather 
