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Chevy Cobalt vs. Ford Focus

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

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

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#60 of 76 Re: Problems and Solutions [nifty56] by vanace Jul 06, 2006 (4:40 pm)
Replying to: nifty56 (Nov 17, 2005 2:10 pm) Check again... there are PLENTY of problems
#61 of 76 Cobalt vs. Focus by drivinncryin Oct 13, 2006 (6:56 am)
My last company car was a Focus, my current one a Cobalt. I'm in my work car several hours each day. I used to complain about the Focus until I got the Cobalt. My biggest complaints of the 2006 Cobalt: "> 1) The seats give very poor body support. The headrests are permanently tilted forward. You have to recline the seat quite a ways back to have the headrest in a vertical position (not an option for me, because now I can't reach the steering wheel.) 2) This car has ELECTRONIC power steering. Be warned that if you have a habit of "dry steering" - turning the steering wheel when stopped - the system can get screwed up, making it almost impossible to turn the steering wheel. This problem may occure sporadically and self-correct, or may require a trip to a mechanic. Note: I dry-steer only when I park on a steep hill, which is every day, and had this happen to my car. 3) The "auto" headlights feature is awful. On a very dim and rainy day, it only activates the parking lights. This could get a driver a traffic ticket, or worse - an accident. Switching to "manual" headlights is equally disappointing. The headlights activate, yet the instrument panel lights are still activated only by the photosensor on the dashboard. It must be VERY dark to activate the instrument panel. I covered the photosensor with a piece of electrical tape so the "auto" lights and the instrument panel are always illuminated. 4) The turn signal lever is overly sensitive - it is too easy to accidentally activate high-beams, and can be difficult to manually return the signal to the neutral position. Other Cobalt complaints: Cheap little tires, and wheels that make annoying little clicking sounds; a rear window that likes to open on its own about a quarter of an inch every few weeks; cheap little sun visors; very poor interior lighting; cheap seat fabric and carpet ("hairball" effect.) The 2001 Focus that I used to drive gave much better body support than the Cobalt, but I would still rate it only as "OK". I never felt safe driving that car at highway speeds or in the rain/snow. It felt a bit out of control in those conditions. The cheap little tires had much to do with this problem. The Focus was always in the shop. It had lots of problems with the engine. My final recommendation: Buy something completely different. Good luck! Replies to this message: deftone4u (Nov 01, 2006 2:45 pm)
#62 of 76 Re: Cobalt vs. Focus [drivinncryin] by deftone4u Nov 01, 2006 (2:45 pm)
Replying to: drivinncryin (Oct 13, 2006 6:56 am) I don't seem to share the same complaints about the cobalt. I currently own a cobalt LTZ. I have no complaints about the electronic power steering. The "auto" feature isn’t as bad as it seems. The parking lights turn on automatically; day or night. The headlights turn on at the slightest hint of darkness. And the instrument panel lights turn on way before I even notice it's getting dark. It also came with Pirelli p6's, which aren't exactly cheap tires. I do admit that the sun visors are a bit cheap. My girl friend always complains that the mirror doesn’t come with a light so she can do her touch-ups of make up at night. And the car came with leather, so I don't have that "hairball" effect. And the radio and pwr steering controls on the steering wheel is a plus. If you're going to get a cheaper version of the cobalt, of course it won’t come with much of the good stuff. Even fully loaded, the car still sells at a good price. It’s a great car to own but my advice is...spend a little extra, for the extras.
#63 of 76 Re: my room mate [randydriver] by wooble Dec 15, 2006 (8:52 am)
Replying to: randydriver (Apr 28, 2006 8:09 pm) I have a 2001 Ford Focus about to hit 150,000 miles... I loved it. I've only had to pay for routine maintenance, brakes... that's it.
#64 of 76 2008 Chevy Cobalt's factory tires by pjm16 Jan 23, 2008 (4:42 pm)
I love that the Cobalt has a Tire Pressure Monitoring System(TPMS), but if you buy new tires like i did (even though the factory tires we're new) the TPMS has to be relearned in order for the DIC(driver info center) to read the correct position of the wheel. I have learned the hard way. My dealer where i purchased the Cobalt told me only after i asked. He said that the place where i got the new tires should have done it, but didn't, and now i have to take my car back to dealership so they can "Relearn Position" of each tire! Replies to this message: okko1 (Jun 25, 2008 3:22 pm)
#65 of 76 Re: focus v cobalt [welcenbach] by mosfetman Jun 25, 2008 (12:24 pm)
Replying to: welcenbach (Nov 02, 2005 8:37 am) I just bought my first car on my own my parents bought me a ford ranger as my first vehicle and it kept breaking down and all i did was put money into it so i decided to get a new car and i got a 08 chevy cobalt ls and i love it even though it only has a 2.2 instead of the 2.3 in the focus it still has a good amount of power and incredible handling the only thing i dont like is that it has an extremely plentiful amount of trunk space but not a big enough opening to fit anything large and the seats in the base model are extremely light and will be easily stained so i had to get seat covers and another reason that i decided to go with the cobalt instead of the focus is because my sister has one and it is always in the shop but she didn't buy it new so it could just be cause the original owner ragged on it and it is also a older version so it really would be unfair to judge it just on those grounds Replies to this message: dromedarius (Jul 22, 2008 9:54 am) vanace (Sep 15, 2008 3:22 pm) dispencer2 (Sep 16, 2008 5:02 am) and 2 more... ljonk (Sep 15, 2008 1:20 am) poncho167 (Sep 15, 2008 5:52 am) dispencer2 (Sep 15, 2008 11:25 am)
#66 of 76 Re: 2008 Chevy Cobalt's factory tires [pjm16] by okko1 Jun 25, 2008 (3:22 pm)
Replying to: pjm16 (Jan 23, 2008 4:42 pm) your owners manual has the procedure for the relearn. next time you have a tire repaired or rotated have it at the ready.
#67 of 76 Love my Focus by nvazn Jun 30, 2008 (11:56 am)
My 2000 Focus ZX3 151,650 miles on it, and I have been averaging 33mpg. Other then normal wear and tear the only things that have been changed are the thermostat and rear wheel bearings.
#68 of 76 Re: focus v cobalt [mosfetman] by dromedarius Jul 22, 2008 (9:54 am)
Replying to: mosfetman (Jun 25, 2008 12:24 pm) I own a 2000 Focus, which isn't much different than even the new 2008s, and I rented a 2007 Cobalt and find both to be solid vehicles. I still feel they are a step down from the Civics and Corollas, especially in fuel economy, but used they are a TREMENDOUS deal. I had a 2001 Chevy Prizm which I totaled this past April, and while the Focus can't touch it fuel mileage wise, the Focus was MUCH cheaper and had a LOT more options. You can buy a lot of gas for the $3k or more price difference in used Civics/Corollas vs. Foci/Cobalts.   PS: mosfetman - Please consider using punctuation. I wanted to read your post but it was nearly incomprehensible as I am unable to decipher a 300 hundred word sentence.     Replies to this message: vanace (Sep 15, 2008 3:22 pm) dispencer2 (Sep 16, 2008 5:02 am) poncho167 (Sep 20, 2008 9:47 am) and 1 more...
#69 of 76 Re: focus v cobalt [mosfetman] by ljonk Sep 15, 2008 (1:20 am)
Replying to: mosfetman (Jun 25, 2008 12:24 pm) Your Cobalt is a 2008, what was your Ranger. Was it used when you got it? Wait a while and your Cobalt will start coming apart. Check out Consumer reports which doesn't listen to any of this biased stuff we all write. They don't take money from advertisers (Ford or Chevy) and just report statistics. They show the absolute best and the absolute worst used cars (cars you need to avoid like the plague). Although Ford didn't do much better in the "best of the best" category than GM, they only had one car in the worst of the worst category. GM dominated the worst of the worst with 19 out of the total 32 cars in that category being GM. This disappointed me because I thought they'd improved over the 80's/90's era where they were really bad. Every mfr has gotten better since then, including GM. They just need to improve way more to catch up. I know more people who have GM cars who's glove box doors, sun visors, door handles, etc. have either fallen off or broken off in normal use. Sad. Replies to this message: poncho167 (Sep 15, 2008 5:52 am) dispencer2 (Sep 15, 2008 11:25 am)

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