2012 Chevrolet Sonic Sedan

The market for first time new car buyers remains fairly the same, but with one interesting twist: buyers want cars that are well-equipped, not stripped.

Gone are the days when air-conditioning, power windows, reclining bucket seats and a stereo system were options if there were available at all. Today’s car buyers may prefer a small car, but they want big car amenities including Bluetooth connectivity, available navigation system, supportive seats, leading safety features and great fuel mileage.

Young Drivers

Today’s cohort of subcompact cars is geared to the youthful driver such as twenty-something college students and recent college grads who have started their careers and need cheap and affordable transportation. Cheap does not mean tons of plastic either – soft touch materials and amazing seating surfaces are of interest to them.

GM is targeting college students and young professionals with a subcompact car designed by its Korean production arm, GM Daewoo, but will be built in Michigan when it goes on sale later in 2011. The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic replaces the subcompact Aveo, itself imported from South Korea, but bearing a name hard to pronounce or remember.

The new Sonic is powered by a fuel efficient 1.8-liter four cylinder engine and will offer an optional 1.4-liter turbocharged motor. If this engine line up sounds familiar it is: the compact Chevrolet Cruze offers both, in a slightly larger and more expensive package.

And that is the appeal of the Sonic: give the buyer what can be found in a larger model, but charge them a small car price. Though GM has yet to firm up price, its reasonable to assume that standard models will retail for about $15,000, which is the price its chief competitors the Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit and Hyundai Accent command.

Body Styles

Two body styles will be offered: a sedan and a hatchback. At the 2011 North American Internationl Auto Show in Detroit, those models plus a sporty concept were put on display. Likely, the concept will become a reality at some point, a hatchback with coordinated striping and color schemes on the grille, hood, roof, wheels and rear deck.

Both models offer seating for five passengers and includes standard electronic power steering and StabiliTrak electronic stability control with rollover sensing. This model also features OnStar with turn-by-turn navigation, providing buyers with a six-month renewable subscription. Of significance are amenities generally not found in this segment including a sunroof, remote start capability and heated front seats. Chevrolet will include 10 airbags which also is an uncommonly generous number for a subcompact car.

Buyer’s Choice

Will buyers flock to the Sonic? Maybe. Now that the model has a much more memorable name and gains important feature any new car buyer wants and offers them at a rock-bottom price, this model just may find its way into the driveways of many young drivers.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic Hatchback

Source: General Motors Company

Resources

Motor Trend Magazine: 2011 Detroit: Chevrolet Sonic, Tuned Z-Spec Revealed

Winding Road Magazine: Detroit 2011: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic’s Live Debut

One of Chevrolet's best selling cars is its subcompact Cobalt. The Cobalt XFE model offers best in class fuel savings.

For students needing a car while on campus, your choices abound. From a well used family vehicle to a late model used car, the used-car market for buyers remains strong. However, thanks to the demand for smaller cars, the compact market is overpriced. Clearly, paying $5000 for a seven year old Dodge Neon is a bit much, especially one with more than 80,000 miles on the odometer.

On the other hand, the new car market is in tatters due to the tough economy and the almost overnight shift in consumer tastes from V8 powered vehicles to almost anything with four cylinders. While the demand for smaller cars is up sharply, prices are generally not, making the purchase of a new set of wheels an excellent option for some college students.

The 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt XFE

When shopping for a new car, many students look at entry level models, knowing that these are the types of cars which they can afford and are usually the most fuel efficient. The under $15K price tag of various Scion, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, and Chevy models makes this segment interesting, one filled with a variety of cars — some rather stripped, others fairly well equipped.

Leading the way in fuel economy in this category is the Smart Fortwo, a two seater mini minicar that gets 40 mpg on the highway. Unfortunately, the $11,750 Smart can barely hold enough gear to transport students with all of their stuff from home to college and back again. Slightly larger, and seating at least four passengers are the Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus, Nissan Sentra, and the Chevy Cobalt to name a few. Speaking about the latter, the Cobalt XFE retails at $15,070 before incentives are included and for 2009 the model will get 26 mpg city and an excellent 37 mpg on the highway.

Your Fuel Efficient Cobalt

The Cobalt’s fuel efficiency is its strong point, thanks to low resistance tires, special gearing, and computer tweaking which, together, helps to squeeze out an extra 3 mpg highway miles for the XFE (Xtra Fuel Economy). With a cloth interior, standard air conditioning and AM/FM radio with CD player and MP3, and with a 2.2L I4 powered engine, the Cobalt comes with many of the features drivers crave. Mated to a five-speed manual transmission, the best fuel numbers are achieved with this combination.

All Cobalts meet required safety conditions including dual frontal airbags and a “good” rating for front impact. Side airbags, antilock brakes, and stability control are also available on select models. Quality for the Cobalt is average, bettered by more established models such as the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. GM says that they sell 200,000 Cobalts annually, making it the second most popular car in the entire GM fleet.

Shop For Incentives

Buyers looking for a good deal on a Cobalt may want to consider end of the model year specials for the 2008 Cobalt. Achieving 36 mpg on the highway, the 2008 Cobalt XFE could offer the best value when incentives are taken. Consider taking the rebate and finding your own automotive financing in order to save money.

Some colleges forbid or actively discourage students from having cars on campus, while others are tolerant and understand the needs of their future alumni. Check with your insurer before buying any car to learn what costs you’ll have to pay to keep your car at school.

All isn’t lost, however, as many car manufacturers are slashing prices in a bid to move inventory. The bad news of lower sales translates into good news for the consumer: there are some really fantastic deals out there.

So, to give you a picture of the savings currently available, we’ve compiled a list of some of the special offers for many of the entry-level cars on the market, the type of vehicle just right for the college student.

Deep Discounts Are Widely Available 

For additional information, please visit each manufacturer’s site and remember that some incentives vary according to region:

Hyundai — The first two months of 2008 was very difficult for the South Korean automaker as a double-digit drop in sales was totally unexpected. In March, deep incentives began to appear, savings that are still available right now. Qualified buyers can get $1500 cash back when selecting an Elantra from dealer stock.

Ford — The restyled for 2008 Focus is Ford’s economical leader, a car that is carrying a discount of $1500 now through June 2nd. Your Focus must come from dealer stock to qualify for the discount.

Volkswagen — VW had an excellent March, thanks to a bunch of special leasing offers for the month. Those same offers have been extended through April which means that you can lease a Rabbit 2.5L S 2-door Manual Transmission for $249, with no money down.

Chevrolet — March wasn’t a kind month for the entire GM line up, but current discounts are reserved for larger vehicles. However, you can find discounted financing on the Aveo and Cobalt, Chevrolet’s two smallest models.

Dodge — Fleet-wide discounts are in effect for Chrysler’s best selling brand with savings of $2000 for most Caliber models. Additionally, I came across an extra $1000 discount on the car in my area for a total savings of $3000.

Toyota – There was a time when finding a discount on any Toyota model was a rarity. Today, buyers can get $500 cash back on the Yaris or save $1000 when choosing the Corolla.

Mazda — Cut rate financing is available on most models but for cash back consider the B-Series truck to save $2000 on 2008 models. Mazda still has some 2007 trucks on their lots and they are offering $3000 back on those.

Kia – $500 discounts on the Rio and $1500 on most Spectra models allows Kia to retain its role as the value champion. The automaker also has deep discounts on whatever 2007 models are still sitting on dealer lots.

Suzuki — Across the board 0% financing on all 2007 and 2008 models or customers can choose to receive $1500 back on the entry level Reno.

Some Cars Aren’t Discounted

Popular small cars such as the Smart and most Honda models aren’t being discounted as sales demand remains strong. Some manufacturers are holding their offers fairly close to the vest, but it doesn’t take much to realize that most sales people are in the negotiating mood.

You can find additional discounts on top of the ones already listed if you are a recent college grad, a member of the military, and a previous owner of the same brand (owner loyalty).

Finally, with sales being down, your leverage with the dealership should be quite good, allowing you to ask for an additional price cut.  So, if you do your research and negotiate a great deal, then your collegian could end up driving an affordable new car that will give them many years of driving satisfaction.

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Hyundai has made progress over the years to provide quality cars at a cost lower than that of competing models from Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and GM, to name a few popular brands. However, that hasn’t always been the case.

When the first Hyundai models appeared stateside during the 1980s, the price was right but quality didn’t match up. It took more than a decade for Hyundai to catch up, but today many automotive critics consider Hyundai as one of the top quality brands in the world.

Industry Leading Quality, Low Prices

Fortunately, better quality hasn’t resulted in a huge spike in prices as Hyundai continues to produce some of the lowest-priced cars on the market including the Accent, the subject of this review.

The Hyundai Accent is the replacement model for the Excel, the very first Hyundai sold in America. Available as either a three-door hatchback or four-door sedan, the starting price for the Accent is $10,775, one the lowest prices for any new car on the market.

It gets better than that — from now until the end of March 2008, Hyundai is offering $750 cash back on most 2008 Accents, an incentive which might be extended, modified, or reintroduced later in the year.

What You Get With Your Accent

Even at a rock solid low price, Accents come with some decent standard features underscoring that the car you get isn’t completely stripped down. Sure, you’ll have to pay extra for air-conditioning, a sound system, or automatic transmission, but the five-passenger front wheel drive Accent does include:

• 1.6L DOHC four cylinder engine w/5-speed manual transmission.

• 8-way adjustable driver seat.

• Power steering with tilt.

• Front seat-mounted side-impact airbags, and roof-mounted curtain side-impact airbags in addition to the front airbags.

• 60/40 split fold-down rear seatback.

The interior is spartan, but nicely designed with driver controls well within reach. Fitting three grown up passengers in the rear seat means tight going, but it can be done in a pinch.

Rear Storage With The Seat Down

Like so many smaller models, storage room comes at a premium unless you fold down the rear seat. With the Accent, the split rear seat makes carrying lacrosse sticks or a floor lamp less of a chore, with no need to have anything hanging out of the rear when packing stuff from home to college.

Sip That Fuel

Although not the most economical car in its class, the Accent delivers a respectable 27 mpg city and 32 mpg highway, numbers which any student can learn to love. Tighter EPA fuel measurements have lowered the numbers over the past year, closer to what many consider to be real-time figures.

The Accent won’t turn many heads for you, but that isn’t the reason to buy one. Still, with so many college students driving an old family car, the safety and reliability of a new Accent is worth noticing.

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