The King has been Dethroned!?!?

Very surprising, I was looking at SS cobalts for my second car before I found the MP3. It was used and only 3 or 4 grand more but I knew the SS wouldn't stand up to the handling I wanted. Thats when the MP3 prevailed.

That lil SS got some great reviews though. But they are dead on in the looks department, even if I did have the money to buy it I wouldn't simply because I don't want to driving a beefed up girls car. I'd rather buy a used MSP and use the left over money to build that up.
 
I don't know if I'd call the new Cobalt the king. Speed is only one factor among many.

I still have zero regrets over buying my MS3.
 
newsflash, every car when released is propped up to be the next "it" thing like the Caliber srt4 with it's thunderous 285hp , yadda yadda yadda........when it gets tested on a regular basis we'll see whats what. Dont forget the biggest factor also , cheap looking through and through....wouldnt mind though that no lift shifting for our 1-2 and 2-3 on our speed3's. And i sont buy the 103.6 trap speeds, even it being 200lbs less, you would need about 350 lbs at least to get another 3 to 4 mph on the top end.
 
I Like my 6speed.. with more torque too..

"The Cobalt SS is available only with a five-speed manual gearbox, and we suspect that the six-speed manual isn't up to the torque loads"

also look at the bottom, the cons, exterior is boring and interior is crappy..

ms3 all the way..
 
All things considered the cobalt is 200 lbs lighter with two less doors and nearly the same power. If you read the the article closely the cobalt is barley quicker than the MS3. For what the MS3 is and that being a heavier four door I think we stack up pretty well if not dead on with this cobalt. Chevy made one fatal error with this car and that's the fact that they didn't freshen up the body enough to accomodate the new tech inside. I'll wait to see the side by side compro in the rags later...it's good that chevy did this though because it keeps raising the bar and we keep getting better performing cars.
 
Kudos to Chevy for the performance, but this thing is butt ugly. For me a car is 3 things, Looks first, then performance, then price. Dont get me wrong Im not hating or being biased either.
 
not even because were on a mazda forum here, but really the cobalt does not come CLOSE to an ms3. they always make such a big deal about cars like the srt caliber and the cobalt and the mustang.. but i know one thing, i will never ever buy another american car
 
I'm happy that chevy's actually trying to make some interesting cars, but a 2-door coupe is useless and the HHR SS is a bit too big/dorky looking. For me the ms3 still has the best compromise of speed, handling, practicality and style for a relatively low price. But, it looks like the ecotec trumps the disi in power delivery with nearly the same output (I'd give up 20lb/ft to have the peak 1000rpm sooner), I wonder if it falls on it's face at higher rpm like the disi?
 
Not to take anything away from Chevrolet's accomplishment, but I'm going to wait and see what kind of numbers magazines like Car and Driver post before I declare the Cobalt SS King of the Hill. I'll note that CD managed to get a 14 second quarter and a 5.4 second 0-60 time out of a MS3 in their May 2007 "Power Toys" comparison test.
And if the SS still turns out to be faster? Even better! It just gives Mazda-and other automakers in this market niche-a new target to aim for. Competition ALWAYS improves the breed!
 
I don't know that the MS3 has been dethroned yet. While the numbers are good on the Cobalt in various tests, the MS3 might still have the advantage. Motor Trend mag. recorded 60-0 braking at 111ft. for MS3 vs. 115 for Cobalt. Car and Driver tested the MS3 faster from 0-30, 40, and dead even to 60 at 5.8 seconds. The fact we have to shift 3 times doesn't help and the no lift shift of the cobalt is a feature I wish we had. Road & Track recoded a lateral acceleration of 0.91g and slalom speed of 69.6 mph for the MS3 vs. 0.89 g and 69.2 mph for the cobalt. This battle will be definitely be decided by the better driver, but until more test numbers come out for the cobalt and a head to head comparison is done, I am sticking to my guns and saying the MS3 has the slight advantage performance wise. The looks and interior is a no brainer though, MS3 ftw!

I'll note that CD managed to get a 14 second quarter and a 5.4 second 0-60 time out of a MS3 in their May 2007 "Power Toys" comparison test.
Click to expand...
I could only find my November 2006 issue which was their first test of the MS3. I do remember these numbers though.
 
Last edited:
MS3-oholic said:
I don't know that the MS3 has been dethroned yet. While the numbers are good on the Cobalt in various tests, the MS3 might still have the advantage. Motor Trend mag. recorded 60-0 braking at 111ft. for MS3 vs. 115 for Cobalt. Car and Driver tested the MS3 faster from 0-30, 40, and dead even to 60 at 5.8 seconds. The fact we have to shift 3 times doesn't help and the no lift shift of the cobalt is a feature I wish we had. Road & Track recoded a lateral acceleration of 0.91g and slalom speed of 69.6 mph for the MS3 vs. 0.89 g and 69.2 mph for the cobalt. This battle will be definitely be decided by the better driver, but until more test numbers come out for the cobalt and a head to head comparison is done, I am sticking to my guns and saying the MS3 has the slight advantage performance wise. The looks and interior is a no brainer though, MS3 ftw!


I could only find my November 2006 issue which was their first test of the MS3. I do remember these numbers though.
Click to expand...

Lol at the no-lift shift. We have that, it's called not picking your foot up... And is the recommended way (by mazda engineers) to get the lowest 0-60 and 1/4 mile times... We just call it flat shifting.

Besides we have that extra .3 liter of displacement.

They will get a lot more after market support out of the box though.

-mk
 
... It manipulates the engine's variable cam phasing and retards the ignition timing so the cylinder contents burn later in the cycle than they usually would, creating more energy to help the turbocharger maintain boost.
Click to expand...
Anti-lag?? (omg)
 
MS3-oholic said:
I am sticking to my guns and saying the MS3 has the slight advantage performance wise. The looks and interior is a no brainer though, MS3 ftw!
Click to expand...

I'd like to see GM fit a six speed transaxle to that motor and then drop it into an Astra five door. Now that would be a nice machine...
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Cobalt SS Ring record 8:22.85 & 103mph in the 1/4
3 4 5
Replies
95
Views
6K
xbox4414
X
Q
    • Like
CX-5 Reliability, cost of ownership and what's been done (personal experience)
Replies
6
Views
6K
yrwei52
yrwei52
D
2019 CX-5 33K miles. Red "teapot" oil lite came on, then CEL…Now all off
Replies
14
Views
2K
David45
D

Latest posts

Back