Is it as shitty as everyone says?

Is it as shitty as everyone says?

Yes. So shitty that I ended up buying a Malibu.

Yes and no.
The Build quality is absolutely horrendous. Panels that don't quite align right, shit material and clunking suspension are considered normal

HOWEVER. Do not think this means they are unreliable. That is a myth. World War 3 could break out and those things would still be running like nothing happened
The 2.2L Pushrod is SLOW.
The 2.3L Quad 4 (1995 only)/2.4L Twin Cam (1996-2002) are fun high revving screamers. These are what powered all the Toyota branded Cavaliers sold in Japan.
The 2.2L DOHC Ecotec (optional in 2002, standard from 2003-2005) is glorious. It's reliable, but has the aftermarket to keep up with K-series Hondas. GM has refined this engine. Hell, you can find a version of this engine powering multiple Cadillac models.

Drivetrain is pretty good but the rest is GM shit, like the rest of GM

Nah. All in all good little commuters.

Reliable as fuck. Remarkably safe.

I had an 2.4l sedan years ago.
Body was alright, clear panels on the turn signals simply fell off on the highway.
The interior trim on the dash and around the stereo was brittle as shit and cracked if you looked at it wrong.
But like others have stated, the engine was just about bulletproof. I beat on mine every day i had it, took it for multiple 500+ mile drives across my state and never had any issues. Just basic maintenance like oil, tires, and I had to replace the alternator once in my 5 years of having it.
I bought mine at 97k and sold it at 227k only because the transmission started slipping.
Overall, 7.5-8/10 car based on reliability.

Best american shitbox thats still easy to find at poorfag prices

Yes. Think about the kind of people that bought this new over a civic of the same year. Poor people, and it usually only goes down hill after the first owner.

Mine was once unable to climb up a 20° incline hill in the rain. They're fucking weak as shit.

Like others have said though, damned fucking reliable and cheap to maintain.

Just buy a saturn ion or dodge neon for the same price. make sure the saturn is NOT a CVT because those are SHIT.

cobalt ss, saturn ion redline, or dodge neon srt4 for balla niggas who wanna go fast for 3k or less.

>tfw taking my 05 cavalier on gravel mountain roads in Kodiak, Alaska

You don't know how to drive a shitbox until you've driven a shitbox in Alaska in all 2 seasons.

Very reliable platform; just needs some nudging...they produced a turbo that was quite fast.

>they produced a turbo that was quite fast.
No they didn't. You're thinking of the Chevrolet Cobalt.
The Cobalt is not a Cavalier. They use completely different platforms.

>No they didn't. You're thinking of the Chevrolet Cobalt.
The pic is a Cobalt. That's what I'm addressing. What makes you think, you know what I'm thinking?

That's a 03-05 cavalier cavalier engines run forever if properly maintained but it's a very cheaply made car so stupid things will break

The pic is a 2003-2005 Cavalier you fucking retard.

it's a general motors product of course it's shitty

That's a Cavalier you mong.

THIS is a Cobalt. Get your eyes checked.

The question is: which is better? Cavalier or Cobalt?

Are right
The problems you hear about are from people who change the oil every 50k miles

depends on what you want.
Safety? Cobalt. The J-body chassis of the Cavalier was released in the 1980's and it shows. The Delta chassis gives you a much better chance of survival in a crash
Road feel? Cavalier. The Cobalt uses an Electronic power steering system that robs road feel through the wheel. The Cavalier still used a hydraulic power steering system with a conventional pump.
Handling? Cobalt. Though that being said, you CAN make the Cavalier handle like it's on rails. Also, unlike the Cobalt, the Cavalier CAN be converted to an IRS using an N-body rear suspension with the links to each side being shortened by an inch. This has been hypothesized, but the only people to ever do it were GM engineers who did it for a few concept cars to promote the Cavalier and Sunfire as tuner cars. Aside from shortening the links, it's supposed to bolt right up.
Aftermarket? Toss up. Both have great aftermarket support. The Cavalier has more only because it's been around longer.
Comfort? highly optioned non-SS Cobalt.
Fuel economy? It's pretty much a wash between them. Not much difference either way.

I own one.

It's the ideal Chevy product. It's cheapness is apparent everywhere, but there's so little to it that there's not much to break.

The 2.2l 4cyl Ecotec is very reliable and so is the Getrag standard tranny, and that's all that matters in a cheap shitbox.

Yes. It was the standard poorfag/bad judgment mobile for decades.

Only recently replaced by the kia soul

>Only recently replaced by the kia soul

You think?

I'd say g5 and cobalt are its direct successor in poorfagness

>you mong.
Hahahahaha. Oops. Sorry I offended your Cobalt sensibilities. Wait, what's the difference again? An inch in wheelbase? Please, bathe us in the plethora of your Cobalt knowledge...

>Wait, what's the difference again?
As the resident Delta nerd. A Lot. The only things shared between them is the 2.2L Ecotec engine, 4T45E 4 speed automatic transmission, and the Getrag F23 5 speed manual transmission.

EVERYTHING else is different. The floorpan, the firewall, all the chassis hardpoints. They may look similar but they are completely different cars

Now kindly fuck off.

>EVERYTHING else is different.
I love how mad you are...this is awesome. So since they were produced from the same plants, Ohio and Mexico, what do think the chances are that it's literally the same dudes welding these shit boxes together? Do you think they suddenly "raised their game" when the name changed to Cobalt? Please continue...

I think you killed him. I mean. Brutal takedown comrade.

>toyota quality

Never said they raised their game. The high school drop outs in the assembly plant don't need to. Honda has proven this. Just look at the quality of American built Honda Accords.

The engineers car the ones who raised the bar, granted the bar was only raised with regards to handling and overall comfort, but it was raised. Quality was shit. I'm not disputing that.

But the Cobalt and Cavalier are still COMPLETELY unrelated cars. Show me proof they're related beyond just "Well they look similar"
A 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix coupe looks almost identical to the 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO, but again, there's not a single part shared between them, except the V6 engine in the Australian market.

I love how erect with anger you are...I can feel it in your all caps. I hope you talent for recognizing shit with corn in it and shit without corn in it is rewarded financially in whatever job you have and I apologize if my comments have been....
cavalier.

>and I apologize if my comments have been....
>cavalier.

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it almost looks like an ae86

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This.

I owned one for five years until just recently, an '04. The interior quality is pretty horrendous, though I do love the bucket seats. Lots of cheap plastic panels that rattle.

If you enjoy rolling down the windows, don't buy one with power motors. All of them fail eventually, and all four of mine were completely fried. Also, the clear coat is going to peel away from it, and it will look like shit.

I did enjoy the 2.2L Ecotec engine. It's pretty fun to drive for a low-budget economy car. The gas mileage was wonderful too. $20 will fill up the tank and give you roughly 300 miles.

Like this poster said, they'll survive a nuclear apocalypse. They're real popular among kids and dopeheads because they're cheap and the parts are cheap/easy to find.