The Sonic from Chevy replaces the Aveo, and is a completely new car engineered from the ground up to work as a global compact.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
The Sonic uses Chevy's current grille arrangement, crossed laterally by a bow-tie bearing bar. As with most cars today, the Sonic features a high beltline. The sides feature a clean design and the roof is rounded for internal headroom.
The base engine on the Sonic is a 1.8-liter four-cylinder, but this turbocharged 1.4-liter is available as a $700 option, bringing fuel economy up by about 5 mpg.
The suspension is very basic, and the Sonic only uses disc brakes on the front wheels, with drums on the rears. But the ride quality is good, engineered well for a compromise between rigidity and comfort.
Although interior quality has been improving across the board, the Sonic still features plenty of hard plastics in the cabin. Onboard navigation is not an option, but the Sonic does have OnStar, which can provide turn-by-turn route guidance.
This six-speed manual transmission comes with the turbocharged engine option, helping the Sonic achieve its 40 mpg highway EPA number. With the 1.8-liter engine, the choices are a five-speed manual or automatic.
The Bluetooth phone system is primitive compared with those found in vehicles from other carmakers. It does not read a phone's contact list, instead requiring digits.
