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Chevy Cobalt vs. Ford Focus

76 messages,  Last post on Nov 25, 2008 at 12:31 PM

You are in the Chevrolet Cobalt Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Sedan

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#30 of 76 Title goes here by muffin_man Jun 12, 2005 (2:13 pm)
ambull - They should have left it out. The LT is and has always been a 'luxury' trim. There is nothing sporty about the car, it does not compete with those other cars - it shouldn't have been in the competition   exporerx4 - Even a 5-star rating doesn't buy you much safety against a 4500+ pound truck. It's very unfortunate.
#31 of 76 Ford Focus ZX5 vs. Kia Spectra SX by huntley Jun 13, 2005 (7:26 am)
As a 54 year old male who does minimal driving, I am trying to decide on whether to purchase a Ford Focus ZX5 ($16,800) or a Kia Spectra SX (14,800). I have narrowed my choices down to TWO vehicles. According to Consumer Reports, the Ford Focus is rated number one, whereas the Kia Spectra is "out of contention" due to poor crash results . Owners of the Kia Spectra have said the car suffers from "nose plow" when braking, as well as "understeer" and a noisy engine at highway speeds. I tried BOTH vehicles and found that the Focus had a better seating position, but cheap looking interior materials. The Spectra's interior looked superior and the handling felt similar to the Focus, even though it had a much lower stance. This is a difficult decision. I also drove the Mazda3 but ruled it out because I found the seats were as hard as concrete. I tried the Cobalt and those seats were the same. The most comfortable seats are in the Focus and the Spectra. Because of Kia's poor history and "pooh poohing" from the auto industry, I am reluctant to purchase one, plus I have never seen one on the road. Even the salesperson at KIA told me the car was a hard sell. Could someone please offer some advice and suggestion to help me make my final choice? Are both cars silly looking for a 54 year old male? One added piece of info . . Kia and Ford are both conveniently located near my home. Replies to this message: pat (Jun 13, 2005 8:47 am)
#32 of 76 Re: Ford Focus ZX5 vs. Kia Spectra SX [huntley] by pat HOST Jun 13, 2005 (8:47 am)
Replying to: huntley (Jun 13, 2005 7:26 am) Hi - welcome! I think the Low End Sedans is the best place of three you posted for this conversation, so let me ask those who would like to respond to continue at this link: huntley, "Low End Sedans" #3137, 13 Jun 2005 11:38 am.   Good luck!
#33 of 76 Re: Cobalt and Cavalier? [brookesmithey] by cobaltls Jul 14, 2005 (8:01 pm)
Replying to: brookesmithey (Mar 31, 2005 9:54 pm) I disagree brookesmithey. I own a Cobalt LS and if you look at it from the side it resembles a cavalier. From the back it looks nothing like a cavalier but the side and possibly the front definatly has some aspects of a cavy.
#34 of 76 Re: Colbalt vs. Focus vs. others [dieselg4] by spchampton Aug 06, 2005 (5:30 pm)
Replying to: dieselg4 (Dec 13, 2004 12:51 pm) The Chevy Cobalt is a much much better car than the Ford Focus or the Mazda 3, It has a heck of alot more power than the Mazda 3 or the Ford Focus. I know this because I have gone head to head with each car. The cobalt not only took both cars off the line but stayed ahead of them the whole time. The styling is far superior that of the Focus or the 3. I have also driven the focus which sits way to high and does not handle as well as the Cobalt. Replies to this message: mdaffron (Aug 08, 2005 5:31 am) vanace (Jul 06, 2006 4:33 pm)
#35 of 76 Re: Colbalt vs. Focus vs. others [spchampton] by mdaffron Aug 08, 2005 (5:31 am)
Replying to: spchampton (Aug 06, 2005 5:30 pm) Huh? How do you figure?   Here are a few stats and comments from Car & Driver magazine regarding your Cobalt and my Mazda3:   Cobalt: 2.2-liter, DOHC 16-valve inline four with twin balance shafts: 145 hp Mazda3: 2.3-liter, DOHC, 16-valve inline four with twin balance shafts and variable valve timing: 160 hp   Acceleration, seconds: Cobalt, 0-60 mph: 8.4 Mazda3, 0-60 mph: 7.4 (Both had manual transmissions)   And acceleration isn't everything. What did C&D think of that old-fashioned twist-beam rear axle in the Cobalt?   "Still, extra body roll and softer helm responses—there's a reason twist-beam axles aren't on F1 cars—mean less entertainment for the Cobalt driver than for drivers in some other value cars, notably the Focus and Mazda 3."   Hmmm.   Some other stats they measured:   Braking, 70-0 mph impending lockup: Cobalt, 188 ft Mazda3, 169 ft   Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: Cobalt, 0.77 g Mazda3, 0.87 g   Now, get an SS and maybe we'll have something here -- but keep in mind that it's no longer in the same pricing league as the Mazda3 -- C&D reports the base price of the Cobalt SS is $21,995, and the SS it tested had a sticker of $24,560. My 2005 Mazda3s hatch had a sticker of just over $17.5K.   I guess the moral to the story is, bring some numbers with you next time. There are too many variables in traffic-light drag races (including a big one -- the honesty of the reporting party) for them to be very reputable against actual measurements taken by the automotive press under much more controlled conditions with people who know how to drive cars.   Meade   P.S. Styling is very subjective. But since you went there, we had a '95 Cavalier in our driveway for five years and the Cobalt looks WAY too much like it 10 years later.
#36 of 76 One other question ... by mdaffron Aug 09, 2005 (6:44 am)
Were you "racing" a 3i or a 3s? Do you know the difference?   Meade
#37 of 76 mdaffron - here are the numbers by muffin_man Aug 10, 2005 (8:19 am)
I guess the moral to the story is, bring some numbers with you next time.   Mazda 3i [2.0 liter] 144hp/135tq Cobalt [2.2 liter] 145hp/155tq (obviously a big advantage here)   Mazda 3s [2.3 liter] 160hp/150tq (less than the base Cobalt) Cobalt SS[2.4 liter] 170hp/170tq (to be released)   Mazdaspeed 3 [???] ???hp (to be released) Cobalt SS S/C [2.0 liter] 205hp/200tq   So there are the numbers - the Cobalt wins on power easily (it also weighs an extra hundred pounds). Is it the better car or the better performer - different discussion. These are just the numbers.
#38 of 76 And on that note by pat HOST Aug 11, 2005 (11:10 am)
let's drop the Mazdas from this conversation since they are not part of the topic.
#39 of 76 Focus or Cobalt? by mspeach Aug 12, 2005 (12:33 pm)
I had a 2000 Focus and loved it, but totalled it in a wreck and I replaced it with a Cobalt. Although I loved the Focus, I have found that the Cobalt is a much smoother, quieter, solid car. Very comfortable, and gets better gas milege than the Focus. I went into the Cobalt because of the employee discount deals, which Ford now also has, but didn't at that time, or I may have bought a new Focus, but am really glad that I tried the Cobalt. The only thing I don't like about the Cobalt is that the trunk opening is small. It has an ample trunk but the opening is small and higher than the Focus, so it is hard to get something big and heavy in by myself.

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