Car Review - 2008 Chevrolet HHR

Yoshi, a friend, rented the 2008 Chevrolet HHR this weekend, and I got to ride in it with him.  So, here's my review -

The name:  To start with, what's with the name?  HHR?  Healthy Human Resources?  Hullo, Here's Roger?  No, Chevrolet says it stands for Heritage High Roof.  Um....

The looks:  Here is my first reaction - who stretched the Chrysler PT Cruiser, and made it look a little less retro?  To be serious - it doesn't look as nice as the PT Cruiser.  But it isn't too bad.  The exterior does look plastic-ey, and the interior does too.   Which brings us to..

The interior:  The car is long enough, and has a good amount of space in the trunk area (see photo below).  But width-wise?  No, it seems really narrow.  This partly seems to be due to bad interior design.  the center column in front (you know, the one with the radio, air controls, all those pretty knobs and lights) isn't well designed.  It seems too wide, taking up leg room in a car thats already narrow, while simultaneously looking like everything there is pushed together.  Seriously, how can 6 radio buttons in a row look so spacious in an Accord or BMW, but look so crushed together in this car?  (One hint - stop putting extra chrome between buttons!)

And why are the window controls just out of reach, near my feet, at the bottom of that center column?

A nice positive - I loved the interior door handle design.  Loved it!

 

The ride:  The ride is like a lot of American cars, unfortunately - a bit like a boat.  You can get seasick while driving in a straight line at a constant speed along a highway.  It isn't as bad as the old Ford Taurus, but still, isn't this car aimed at the younger crowd?

Power-wise, the car is adequate.  Yoshi doesn't push cars, but with what we saw, the car seemed to respond when you needed a little push.  But we got the impression it doesn't like going fast on curves.

Car Review - 2008 Chevy Malibu

I drove with a bunch of friends to Yosemite this weekend.  The original plan was to rent a Mazda 6, but we got a free upgrade to the new 2008 Chevy Malibu, with less than 2,000 miles on it.  The best part was that there was plenty of trunk space, so the upgrade was worth it in that regard - we completely filled the trunk, and even had stuff left over for the back seats!

It had an inline 4-cylinder engine with 169 horsepower.  Now I drive a 300+hp monster of a BMW 335i, so I was expecting a disappointing drive.  However, given my lower expectations, the Malibu did well.  It had decent pick-up, nice and comfortable at top speed.  The only hitch came when the accelerator was floored while driving on the freeway;  the engine screamed loudly, the car shuddered a bit, but it took perceptible seconds before it started accelerating.  I would be cautious about overtaking in tight situations.

The car's exterior looks have changed a bit.  I like the new aggressive front grill.  But Chevy had better know what its doing - the grill looks like it would appeal more to younger folks; but I can't imagine the 20 - 30 year old set buying a Malibu over a Honda Accord, a Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, or even the Ford Fusion.  So they might completely miss their current older market segment, who might prefer a more relaxed look.

The interior is nice and relaxed, though, and very spacious, specially in terms of leg room.  I do also like that there is a single "info" button on the steering wheel, which gives you major car data, including tire pressure.  Thing to note, though - seemed our tire pressure readings were off, way off.  The interior has no major bells or whistles, but that's ok in this price range.  

Ok, on to the one major flaw - you can't drive it aggressively on turns.  The car can't maintain its grip, and skids if you aren't driving carefully.  Again, that means the Malibu is really for the 40+ age group, or at the least for the cautious and conservative type.... who like a dash of danger, delivered by the grill.

Finally, a close-up of the aggressive grill