Why Cobalt?
November 2013. Money was 550 thousand. Here are Rio and Solaris, and other Polo-Emgrands-Logans... A car - only a new one, preferably an automatic, I need it right now - I couldn’t wait.
And further. A long time ago, I promised myself not to buy a car made (assembled) in the Russian Federation... This was after two years of absolutely problem-free operation of the 22-year-old Mazda-323. So far this principle has not let me down. Although here I was already ready to give up.
I didn’t like Polo because he knew real folk cars– Golfs 2 and 4. And with an automatic – beyond the budget.
Rio and Solaris - the soul is not in love, especially with Solaris.
Logan/Sandero - outdated. And the French gadgets are infuriating (everyone already knows which ones). Sandero with automatic is not available.
I liked Emgrand, but I was disgusted by the ugly Circassian assembly. If they were supplied with a Chinese assembly, like in Ukraine, I would take it on the mechanics. I read the forum, ours are in order more problems than in Ukraine.
Nissan Almera is the same Logan. And there seem to be problems with quality? Out of stock when they don't know to wait.
Gentra – out of stock, no test drive, don’t know when it will be
I read about Cobalt in Auto Review, Behind the Wheel and others, everyone noted the suspension and a good engine paired with an automatic transmission. And also everyone noted his controversial appearance.
It so happened that I needed to kill an hour and a half of time, and I went for a test drive of the Cobalt.
A car with a tangled pedigree pleasantly surprised by its dynamics for 1.5 liter engine, more than adequate 6-st. Automatic transmission and suspension performance on our potholes. The manager specifically encouraged us to drive faster on the shitty road.
I came home and re-read everything again. The decision was prompted by the fact that Cobalt completed a 60-hour test at maximum speed in Behind the Wheel and 30 thousand accelerated km without a single breakdown. life tests in Autoreview. I'll take it.

Choice of equipment.
In terms of money, I could easily fit into the maximum LTZ package. I began to confer with my toad, which is choking, can we get a cheaper set? It turned out that the maximum is better. The difference was 30 thousand, but:
Firstly, in the lower trim levels Chinese tires exotic size 185/75 R14 on stamping, and in LTZ Сontinental 195/65 R15 on casting.
Try to find it out of curiosity Winter tires 185/75 R14, you will be pleased with the wide selection of tires available.
Secondly, in LTZ head unit. Of course, you can buy something better, but install it from non-officials - possible problems with a guarantee. And the officials have outrageous prices. And here it plays, USB and Bluetooth are there, what else...
Thirdly, and this is not written anywhere, there is some kind of noise in the LTZ. In LT you can hear pebbles in the arches.
And fourthly - pleasant little things in the form of chrome rims, primitive alarm systems and a computer, the best materials finishing.
Also at the whim of marketers, ABS is not available in LT with automatic transmission.
So 30 thousand for the LTZ is justified by the wheels, tires, and other not fake whistles, but the necessary ones
The color is radically black, which seems to hide a little of the achievements of Brazilian designers.

Purchase.
The car was available, 530 thousand. PTS waited 3 days. Additional supplements were not imposed. There were no discounts, only free grille nets and a bottle of champagne.
There are no complaints about the paintwork. The joint gaps are uniform. The next day I went to check the overpass. Everything is screwed on, everything is in place, nothing was stretched.

Exterior.
Hmmm... Well, not worse than Logan. But he is original. And in the back it’s generally good. And in general, anyone can offend an artist’s taste and color.
But seriously, I think that up to 1 million rubles. there is no point in thinking about the appearance of the car.

Interior.
Gray. Cheap but clean. The plastic is hard, but doesn't stink. Easily scratched. There are gaps, but they are even, and the assembly is generally neat.
But the interior does not creak at all on the largest potholes.
The seats are good, adjustable in three planes. The back does not get tired, the seat is medium soft. A solid 4+, I would like a slightly longer pillow. The range of adjustments is good, mine is not pushed back all the way, another 5 centimeters is possible. There are heated seats.
The back is also spacious, a little less space than in Logan. Unlike Logan backseat folds 2 to 1.
The steering wheel is familiar from Opel and Chevrolet Cruze. The steering wheel is good, comfortable, the material is pleasant.
The headlight switching unit is also Opel.
In general, everything is good with ergonomics, everything is thought out, in its place. The levers-buttons are pressed with exactly the force that is necessary. The mirror adjustment is in an unusual place in the front of the door, but it turned out to be convenient. One problem is with the radio controls. Often, instead of turning up the volume, I blindly scroll through the menu. I should have spread the rounds further
The doors have triple pockets, although they are shallow. Between the seats there are three pockets for bottles, and the back one fits a two-liter bottle. There are shallow niches on the front panel; it is convenient to put your phone in the left one. Illuminated glove compartment, large.
Motorcycle tidy. It seems comfortable to me, I got used to it right away. When starting, the tachometer needle circles. Shows average consumption, average speed, estimated remaining mileage, travel time. The speed is overestimated by 3 km/h, and the consumption is very accurately displayed. One line on the gas tank scale is approximately 4 liters.
Codes for simple faults, such as burnt out lamps, are also displayed. The backlight is adjustable.
Visibility is normal, although the body pillars are massive; when turning left, I sometimes lean forward. The mirrors are normal, salon mirror brings the display closer, this is not for everyone. Heated mirrors.
The turn signals may flash three times if you pull the lever lightly.
The wiper pause is not adjustable, the washer nozzles are fan-shaped and spray water dust. The capacity of the washer reservoir is 2 liters, which is not enough.

Motor and gearbox.
Automatic transmission – 6 speeds. Engine – 1.5 liters, 105 horses.
Unambiguous big victory designers! Great working couple. The automatic operation algorithm is written very competently, does not annoy you with unnecessary switching, and maintains speed when necessary. It's not dull at all. I had a two-liter Nissan, it was really stupid. Cobalt is much more energetic. The passenger, who knew nothing about the car, suggested that the 1.8 engine came from Cruz.
In winter it does not warm up quickly, I must say.
6th gear is engaged at 70 km/h when driving slowly and at 130 km/h with the pedal to the floor.
Shifts on a warm box are absolutely not felt, even from 1 to 2, only by the sound of the engine. You can manually change gears using the buttons on the lever.
In terms of consumption - here in the photo, my average consumption is 9 liters, this is from January 1 to today, the city all the time. For an automatic rifle, I think it’s very good.
On the highway 6.3-6.5 at 110 km/h, for the sake of experiment I threw up 75 km/h, achieved 5.6.
Now it’s funny - 95 gasoline consumes more! Although of course it drives more cheerfully.
And the main joke - octane number gasoline is not regulated. It is written that below 92 dynamic indicators may decrease. Uzbeks successfully drive 80 with donkey urine, there are mileages of more than 100 thousand without problems. I pour 92.
The engine compartment is laid out competently, access to all units is not difficult.
The notorious EGR valve, unlike Opel, is also visible.

Suspension
Front MacPherson strut, rear torsion beam. Simple, like everyone else. But the suspension is absolutely impenetrable, much like on Logan. Jumping through our pits is the best!
At the same time, in terms of handling, the car steers quite confidently, without rolling, and is responsive. And yet - this is power steering, not an electric booster.
In general, the suspension is the second significant trump card of this car.
Clearance – 160 mm

Trunk
Everything is simple here - he is the biggest in the class. No one else has it yet. For someone else, another plus, for me the size was not critical.
Under the floor there is a Chinese spare wheel from the LT version, a jack, a screwdriver, and a wheel wrench. Around the spare tire there is space for a small set of tools and other small things.
The trunk lid has no padding and can only be opened with a key or key fob.

Headlights
Good. Both near and far. Of course, with such and such dimensions. There is DRL.
LTZ has fog lights

Brakes
Quite. Of course, there are drums at the rear, but the brakes are not bad. I didn't have to get used to it.

Breakdowns
The license plate light bulb has burned out.

conclusions
A car for third world countries, developed in Brazil, assembled in Uzbekistan, given an American name. Terrible on the face, kind inside. The complete antipode of Almera.
Assembled at its finest modern factory GM, well assembled. I don’t know what will happen next, maybe the quality will drop, let’s remember the first three or four years of Nexia production.
She's reliable. I read the forums, nothing has broken on anyone, everyone is still driving without problems. But spare parts are not cheap, and few are original.
She is resilient. Runs on any gasoline. The oil doesn't eat up. At full load there is almost no sagging.
She was born ugly so as not to take away buyers from Cruz and Aveo.
There is absolutely nothing to show off in it. There are no optitron devices, parking sensors or other wow factors. It has modern engine And modern box, two airbags and ABS.
No multi-link suspension, but the one we have works exceptionally well on our roads.
This is not a sports car, but it pulls well from traffic lights.
Whether to buy or not is up to everyone to decide for themselves. I recommended it, if only because of the automatic transmission; I haven’t seen anything better than this.
A version with a 1.8 engine is available to Brazilians, leather interior, best finish.
The price of the car has gone up by 30 thousand, and now I think the price is too high.