2012 Chevrolet Sonic Front View
With the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, General Motors is ultimately totally in the tiny-automotive game. That might sound silly to people who can recall a laundry list of former Chevrolet little cars—Chevette, Vega, Spectrum, Cavalier, Cobalt, Aveo, Metro, Sprint, to say a few—but most of those vehicles actually felt like halfhearted efforts that took second stage to the automakers trucks and bigger cars.
That's not the case with the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, a utterly new, global tiny automobile that fortunately has nothing to do with the rental-car-mainstay, the Aveo, that it replaces—therefore the new model name.
At a time when the subcompact class seems to be segmenting into 2 camps—with the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, and Hyundai Accent on the larger aspect, and therefore the Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris, and even the Fiat five hundred at the lower finish of the size—the Sonic lands principally in that smaller cluster, at least by the EPA's definition. Yet in trying at curb weight (concerning 2,600 pounds), the Sonic ranks mutually of the heavier vehicles during this category.
Factor in an all-new structure that feels transformational compared to the Aveo's, and vaultlike next to several different tiny-automotive designs, combined with a high-notch safety list (already an IIHS Prime Safety pick, 5-star federal ratings, and 10 customary airbags), and we tend to have no hesitation in calling the Sonic the safest subcompact pick among 2012 models.
There are 2 engines offered within the Sonic, and both of them are poached from the Chevrolet Cruze lineup: a normally aspirated 1.eight-liter four, or a turbocharged 1.4-liter four. Each will be had with either a manual gearbox or an all-new six-speed automatic. The 1.4T is definitely our favored alternative between the 2, because it's a lot of versatile furthermore more fuel-economical. Nicely weighted steering rounds out the driving package, and while the Sonic is really surprisingly sensible fun to drive, the steering is if anything a very little too isolated and damped. That speaks for the remainder of the package—that is nice, from a passenger and luxury perspective. The Sonic is supremely roomy, snug, refined, tight, and quiet for a small car, and it's extremely exhausting to find any serious flaws with the complete package—and in our opinion, it looks higher than most in this class in sedan form, even though we love hatches.
The Sonic delights with surprise standard options like alloy wheels on all models, and remote keyless entry and air-con, and comes virtually-equipped for around $15k. But then, during this arms race of options and price, there are some disappointments. For instance, you'll would like to succeed in to LT or LTZ models to be in a position to possibility to the one.4T engine, and a few tech essentials like USB (with full iPod management) and Bluetooth are optional and only offered on the prime-of-the-line LTZ model. That said, a loaded 2012 Sonic LTZ ought to still total below the $20k mark—a seriously sensible deal in nowadays's market.
2012 Chevrolet Sonic Interior
2012 Chevrolet Sonic Headlight
2012 Chevrolet Sonic Side View