i have driven cobalt and cavalier . the cobalt failed to impress me, i like the cavalier better . my 97 and 99 cavaliers handled better than the cobalt and the 2000 altima i had , the altima was faster in a straight line . cops here complain the cavalier handles too well , and they have to work to catch them on the tight city streets , on the interstate the impalas keep up just fine . i know the cobalts and some of the imports i see are supposed to be faster , but my cavalier keeps beating them . i dont know why . mine is stock as a rock . looks wise ; the cruse is ok , but cobalt is better , cobalt is nice, but cavalier is better . mod the appearance right and the cavalier is pretty freakin sporty looking . i like my 99 cavalier more and more the longer i have it and look at it . but its true the cobalt has a better crash test rating . so i will try not to crash .
Since this thread is still going on. I ended up getting an 04 Cavalier a couple months ago. It was only $1900 so I couldn't pass it up.
www.gmofhouston.com
pretty cheap for an 03+ is it in pretty good shape?
2000 Cavalier Z24 5spd - Intake, Dynomax muffler, Hawk Pads, Powerslot rotors, Sportlines/Koni reds, Neon Coil, MSD 8.5 Wires - **SOLD**
2014 Kia Forte Koup SX 6spd - 1.6L Turbo - My new car
2015 Kia Sorento EX V6 AWD - Wifes Car
It needs body work, I posted a thread in the exterior forum with pics asking if it's worth fixing or not.
www.gmofhouston.com
on the rust, i too have seen many rusty cobalts, my buddies ss s/c, is a 2007, bought in 07 and was rusting out along panel edges since 2010 when it was 3 years old and it was babied up to that point. must be some with galvanisation issues, he's had it since new so it's not had an unknown repair
for the money Im happier with my 04 Cavalier. I picked mine up with higher miles but for $2500 cash.
I've since put about $2500 in it and it'll beat most light to moderately modded G5's and Cobalts (even boosted).
Insurance is cheaper, I like the interior/feel of the car better.
I drove my friends 06 SS/SC and while it was stable and quick, mine felt more 'controllable'. The cav is lighter, smaller, and feels more like an over sized gokart. It just feels like i can know where everything is and not have huge hood/dash pieces to look over. Though mine is more of a hybrid, with cobalt parts in it...so I guess I can say both have contributed to my cars current state...so both get my vote
Ill go check out the car in the other forum... FOR THE MONEY i think you will get more out of your car. I paid less than half what an N/A Cobalt in mint shape would cost and mine is including all the boosted parts, exhaust, etc.
04 Cav. 2dr. 5spd. My DD. 'Nuff said.
Hey OP,
I had an '08 Cobalt 2lt 4dr. Now I'm in an '03 Cav ls sport. The cav handles better, but the cobalt drove better. Now... My cobalt got T-boned hard on the driver side and I walked away with pretty much no injury. Very safe vs. the cav lol.