2012 Chevy Sonic 1.4L Automatic Sedan
The Chevy Sonic is, simply put, the Aveo. It's the second generation Aveo. That's all. go home.
Maybe it's better than the Aveo. At least in the textual reading it provides, even if it doesn't necessarily offer substantial differences compared to the Aveo.
I was first acquainted with the Aveo lineage in about 2013 when I was learning to drive; the driving school I attended used Aveo hatchbacks as their behind-the-wheel teaching cars, outfitted with the requisite secondary brake pedal and know-it-all cop instructor. The Sonic had already entered production, but I wasn't yet familiar with the brand update. Back then, the Aveo was a simple, cheap, easy to drive, and reliable (I hope!) compact car. The Sonic is still that car, except for literally everything you see and touch.
What is it like?
The Sonic was a comprehensive brand update/renewal for Chevrolet's entry into the compact car market. It discarded the somewhat sad and dated styling of the Aveo, which unfortunately never stood out even when it was new, and replaced it with more aggressive styling and design accents that reminisced of exciting things like motorcycles, and getting pulled over on an Italian freeway. This isn't to say that the Sonic isn't an interesting or exciting car, however; it's merely interesting in ways other than how Chevrolet intended. The closest parallel to the Sonic, culturally, would be Scion, Toyota's foray into the Youth Market™ in the early 2000s to the mid-2010s. The underpinnings of Scion models weren't substantially different from Toyota's usual fare, but they were branded as more exciting and more adventurous, qualities that young buyers ostensibly cared about. The round, podded headlights of the Sonic, as well as its small gauge cluster that stood proud of the dashboard, heavy with digital gauges and gear-based styling cues, made the cockpit of the Sonic feel lively and exciting, compared to the tired and dull, if perfectly acceptable, interior of the Aveo. Another reason for the aggressive styling and marketing of the Sonic was the fact that the Cobalt, particularly its coupe version, had gone out of production just a couple years prior; Chevy needed a sporty-seeming budget compact that would appeal to drivers who didn't have much cash but had more dignity than to buy a Corolla or their neighbor's ailing Cavalier. The crucial detail that Chevy missed with the Sonic is that the youth of today don't actually have the money to buy new cars. Young adults' first cars these days are nearly always secondhand, and often aren't even that new; a given 20-something is as likely to be driving a three year old Civic as they are to be driving an ex-police Caprice or grandma's old Bonneville. With its laidback performance, upright seats, and easy to use interior controls, the Sonic honestly appeals just as much to the older crowd as it does to young adults.
If my parents had the money in 2013 to buy me a first car, they would likely have given me a Sonic: it combined the reliable and familiar lineage of Chevy compacts with youthful energy that I suppose would have appealed to a hot-blooded high schooler with a lot to prove.
How does it drive?
If the Sonic was made to sell to hot-blooded youths with much to prove, then Chevrolet certainly did a good job of providing contingencies to mitigate such driver behaviors; though it looks fierce and exciting, the 1.4L automatic Sonic drives like a sensible city commuter. The transmission is responsive enough for what it needs to do; upshifts come early, keeping engine revs nice and low, and downshifts come predictably, but kickdowns happen with reluctance. A side effect of this is that the engine always growls; though it's quieter from the outside, the Sonic's engine noise is nearly impossible to ignore. Fortunately, that works towards its branding as a sporty yet affordable compact car. Like many cars, the Sonic would be better with a manual, though the automatic far from ruins it. I have driven a manual Aveo and power was very responsive and the car was quite fun to drive; instead, the Sonic is given an auto-manual mode in the transmission.
The auto-manual mode is perhaps the best thing to happen to modern automatic transmissions, next to electronically-controlled shift logic that can be changed with a "sport mode" that also speeds up the throttle response. Drivers of modern automatics don't always have to be bound by the selections their gearbox makes, and if they want to select a certain gear to maintain traction or shift down to prevent the car from entering overdrive while towing, they can do that. However, the auto-manual functionality in the Sonic is perhaps not ideal, ergonomically. While many cars have the driver bump the shift lever to one side, where it can be nudged forward and back to shift, the Sonic merely has one (gated) stick position beyond Drive, and then uses a small thumb switch on the stick to select gears. This switch is nicely sized and shifts come quickly enough after selection, but to take one's hand off the wheel and then locate the switch instead of just the stick takes just a little more time and effort.
Additionally, using the Sonic in manual mode also illuminates just how heavily optimized the transmission is for city driving; ratios are fairly close, which does improve acceleration (which I was only too happy to test!), but 5th gear is a bit short, and it's possible to get up to fifth while just cruising down a hill at 38-40mph. This means that acceleration at highway speeds is a little underwhelming, kickdown requires and/or prompts a great increase in engine speed, and the engine turns surprisingly quickly above 55-60 mph. The Sonic's powertrain is happiest when you avoid the interstate altogether.
The driver will notice almost immediately after sitting in the front of a Sonic just how much room there is; with high headroom and upright front seats, driving the Sonic feels much like driving a very small minivan; the difference of course comes with the Sonic's more responsive brakes and steering. This height does feel a bit offputting when making faster turns, but the Sonic is reluctant to accelerate out of a quick turn regardless, making the driver less likely to worry about this in the first place. This means that the Sonic's rear drum brakes and semi-independent rear suspension don't bother the driver at all.
In short, the first-generation Sonic's bark is far worse than its bite; though it looks mean and sounds aggressive from the cabin, its small engine, generous interior space, good visibility, and upright seating position all make for a very good city commuter. The Sonic is more than happy to never get on a freeway, and its drivers are well advised to avoid too much fooling around with the engine and transmission, as the transmission is almost certainly smarter than you anyways. The Sonic's drawbacks are largely limited to metrics that don't really matter for what it is; while other companies may put effort into the details that the driver doesn't always notice, Chevrolet had no such pretentions: all of the aspects of the car that the driver actually cares about are present, like phone connectivity, cruise control, and automatic headlights, while details like rear discs, rear independent suspension, a faster-revving engine, and a transmission that isn't completely hellbent on efficiency are ignored. The Sonic is fine. It's okay. You can stop laughing at it for being "just a tarted up Aveo" like I do.
Who's it for?
The Sonic is for anyone who says they want a car, and then refuses to say that they want anything out of it except space and efficiency. The Sonic is far cheaper than a hybrid, but it sips gas, and when it's kept off the highway and away from higher revs, it gets perfectly acceptable gas mileage. If you like pounding down twisty roads, pretending you can afford an M4, then the Sonic isn't for you. Its suspension is too reluctant to help and its steering too coarse to let you get away with that, and its engine would hate you for it regardless. Don't let the mean headlights fool you, the Sonic is the old Aveo you've always had a little bit of distaste for, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just fine. Just remember what it's made to do, and you won't be disappointed by it.
