Real Fiero Tech

Driving over a hundred miles a day now, so I got this:



Not terribly fast (or at all fast, really) but it's pretty fun to drive and the fuel economy is pretty good. Turbo 1.4L + 6MT. Bought in May and coming up on 9,000 miles. Begging for a drop and some decent damping and tires, but I'm going to have to resist.

I agree don't mod it. You bought it as a commuter car. use it as a commuter car and nothing else.

When I bought my daily it was tempting to spend money to mod it, but I have to remind myself thats not what I bought it for. I bought my daily to be a nice riding reliable daily. Only factory parts allow that. YOu start modding stuff and its never the same. my buddy spends a lot modding his daily, and he is always fiddling around with it. I just get in and drive mine. Just regular maintenance to mine in the 3 years I have had it.

Looks nice. How's the build quality on those?

Did they finally make it into B-Spec after that concept last year?

When I first started looking for a newer fuel effecient car, I was looking at pretty much every manufacturer except for GM. After test driving a Dodge Dart, Hyundai Veloster Turbo - Accent - Elantra, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, and Honda Fit, I tried a Sonic on a whim and really liked it. The back seat had the necessary room for me to stick 2 car seats back there. One of the big selling points was when I could scoot the front seat far enough away to almost not be able to reach the pedals. That's a rare occurrence, and a lack of front seat room is probably the only thing that eliminated the Dart.

Build quality is surprisingly good - atypical GM. Same for the tech, Bluetooth and smartphone integration is really, really good. The ride is definitely the quietest of any of the small cars I drove. It's not as fun as the Veloster Turbo, but I couldn't swing the extra cash for something that would cost more to insure and cost more to feed.

I don't think there have been any factory-backed racing efforts with the Sonic since GM released their B-spec concept. The B-spec kit is still a rumor at this point as well. There have been a few spec racing entries from private teams, and they seem to have fared well enough. I'm hoping GM will make another push with this car when it gets the 1.6 turbo DI engine for 2015, potentially a PDK box also. I think another 60HP or so would really suit this car.

Did the TDi VW not pass the economic analysis?

The Sonic was pretty heavily hyped at the GM booth for both the 2012 and 2013 Washington Auto Shows. I haven't driven one yet, although I have rented a Cruze for a drill weekend.

Nice car, I like it.

The wife and I just bought a Veloster Turbo on Saturday. She was complaining about having to fill the tank every 2 days. (13 gal tank, 20mpg, 125 miles a day).... We live in the foot hills of Alberta so she has some pretty major hills to climb going to work. Her 99 Civic would slow down to 45mph going uphill. Pretty much ruled our most of the cars under 150hp. The Veloster is actually pretty light, 2750lbs with just over 200hp. Pretty much perfect for her. It's rated at close to 40mpg which is almost double what we are getting with the Evo. If it wasn't for the hills I'm sure we would have gotten something similar to your Sonic.

Converted everything from Metric for easier understanding lol.