Here’s a quick look:

Sonic Z-Spec #1 – Designers took a turbocharged Sonic five-door and dressed it with concept Z-Spec accessories. They added Z-Spec ground effects, a spoiler, unique grille and graphics package – then finished it off with a Torch Red exterior and Z-Spec concept 18-inch wheels. Inside, the Cobalt Red cabin features custom trim, including perforated black suede seat inserts, a Z-Spec sport pedal kit, sport shift knob and a racing-style flat-bottom steering wheel. Additional upgrades include performance brakes with four-piston calipers, a new high-flow exhaust system and performance suspension parts.

Sonic Z-Spec #2 – The next Sonic concept – in Flat White with Torch Red accents – builds on concept Z-Spec accessories with a more aggressive ground effects package, unique grille, rear spoiler and graphics package. It rides on Z-Spec concept 18-inch wheels and also includes a re-trimmed interior with Z-Spec sport pedal kit, Z-Spec sport shift knob and a flat-bottom steering wheel. It also features custom racing seats with the Z-Spec logo. The factory powertrain features the 1.4L turbo engine and six-speed manual transmission. Performance upgrades include brakes with four-piston calipers, a high-flow exhaust system and suspension parts.

Sonic Z-Spec 4D Concept – The more formal look of the Sonic sedan lends itself to a touring car-style motif, which this Ashen Grey Metallic concept picks up with concept Z-Spec ground effects, rear spoiler, grille, “Chevrolet” graphics and larger Z-Spec concept 18-inch wheels. As with its five-door counterparts, this Sonic features a re-trimmed interior – in Dark Titanium with Cobalt Red accents – Z-Spec sport pedal kit, aluminum sport shift knob and a flat-bottom steering wheel (trimmed with Cobalt Red suede). The factory turbo 1.4L engine and six-speed manual transmission are complemented by performance upgrades that include four-piston caliper brakes, a high-flow exhaust system and suspension parts.

Sonic Dusk – The most subtle of the Sonic concepts is the Dusk. It features a Berlin Blue exterior, with a mild concept ground effects package, unique grille treatment and 18-inch concept wheels in dark Galvano Silver. Even the lights are tinted blue for a sophisticated statement. The Mojave leather interior has custom seat inserts, Z-Spec shift knob with satin chrome trim, Z-Spec sport pedals and accessory interior trim kit. The Sonic Dusk also features a suede-trimmed, flat-bottom steering wheel, custom audio system and brake and suspension upgrades.

The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, deemed a subcompact by GM, is a prime example of bracket creep. Fifteen or 20 years ago, it would have been considered a compact. At 173 inches long, it’s exactly as the length of a 1995 Honda Civic. And like the 2012 Hyundai Accent it competes against, it’s large enough to carry four adults comfortably.

So does the new Sonic, which replaces the late and unlamented Chevy Aveo, make a good compact … err, subcompact car?

Absolutely. The high-level sedan model we tested was fun to drive, filled with features, and got decent gas mileage.

MORE 2012 Chevrolet Sonic: First Drive

And its larger size leaves room for the even smaller 2013 Chevrolet Spark minicar just announced two days ago.

Aggressive, but obviously Chevy

The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic has a more aggressive version of the Chevrolet twin-grille “face” than most other models. The projector headlamps are exposed, rather than hidden behind glass, which the company calls “motorcycle derived” styling.

Both the four-door sedan and the five-door hatchback are tall, rather slab-sided vehicles, but accent lines go some way toward hiding that.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic, New York City launch event, October 2011
All models have chrome trim on the front door handles (the rears are hidden in the roofline), body-color mirrors and bumpers, and alloy wheels–even the base model forgoes steel wheels. These are nice touches that give all Sonic models an upscale look.

To our eyes, the best looking model is the hatchback in LTZ trim, which includes the largest 17-inch alloy wheels Chevy offers.

One thing we noticed: The car attracts attention from people on the street and other drivers. Our white Sonic sedan was the antithesis of flashy, but several other drivers turned to look at the car as we passed or as they passed us.

Inside the 2012 Sonic, there’s a simplified version of the Chevy twin-cockpit look. The tiny instrument cluster is simply a tachometer plus a rectangular digital display that includes all other driver info.

But we found it surprisingly usable, along with the large eyeball vents at the edges of the dash, which are effective and easy to adjust without taking eyes off the road.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic
The digital display sits between two horizontal rows of round holes that prove to contain the various warning lights, although you won’t know that until you start the Sonic up.

Another reviewer called them Detroit-derived bullet holes, but we think the tiny molded plastic cluster housing looks like some obscure kitchen implement.

Fun to drive, 34 mpg

One big question for us was whether the 2012 Sonic would actually deliver the kind of gas mileage you’d expect from a fairly small car.

Over our 250-mile weekend road test, we got 34.2 miles per gallon. That’s slightly better than the 33-mpg combined EPA average for the 1.4-liter Sonic with six-speed manual. That model is rated at 29 mpg city, 40 mpg highway.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic, New York City launch event, October 2011
But it’s exactly equal to the 34 mpg we got in the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco we tested in March, which is a larger, better equipped, and quieter vehicle.

We suspect the two Chevies will appeal to different audiences–and that’s what Chevrolet marketer Matt Scarlett said the company predicts. The 2012 Sonic is for first-time and younger car buyers, he suggested, whereas the Cruze skews slightly older and more family-oriented.

Only 30 percent of buyers will be “conquests” from other brands, Scarlett said. Main competitors are the Honda Fit and the Ford Fiesta, along with the new 2012 Hyundai Accent.

Cruze minus $3K

For similarly equipped models (roughly), the Sonic is also about $3,000 cheaper than the Cruze. So the Sonic gives you the same gas mileage, and is a smaller car that’s more fun to drive, for less money.

As for the fun-to-drive part, the 138-horsepower, turbocharged 1.4-liter engine in the Sonic gave us a nice thrust once it reached about 2500 rpm. The Sonic isn’t all that quick off the line, but if you keep engine speeds between 2500 and 5000 rpm, the boost stays on and the little car hustles right along.

GM is launching a television campaign, a rarity for an American automaker, and pricing the Sonic at 1.89 million yen, or about $24,550. Japanese consumers consider a price tag of 2 million yen (about $26,000) as the cut-off for an “affordable” car. GM is hoping that the Sonic, which will only be offered in fully-loaded trim levels, will appeal to Japanese consumers that want to stand out from the crowd.

Chevrolet’s sales in Japan are minimal, but the brand has a high profile as an importer of quintessentially American vehicles like muscle cars and SUVs, which has given Chevrolet a cult following in Japan.

They parade by like so many sculptured strangers, each with looks and a personality hoping to curry favor with customers, especially those still in the bloom of youth.

Some carry names and configurations unfamiliar to potential customers, so they are obliged to introduce themselves. One configuration is the four-door hatchback, a body style once reviled by the American car-buying public. But most also arrive as sedans with trunks for those who cannot escape their upbringing.

The names include Kia Rio, Ford Fiesta, Nissan Versa, Hyundai Acccent and Veloster, Toyota Yaris, Scion xD, Honda Fit, Mazda 2 and, most recently, the Chevrolet Sonic, the subject here. They also include the offbeat: Scion iQ, Fiat 500, Smart and Mini Cooper.

Almost all of them arrive with starting price tags under $20,000 and promise up to 40 miles to the gallon of gasoline, which has become the new economy benchmark.

But they are not quite entry-level because manufacturers have decided, and the car-buying public has validated the notion, that buyers of economy cars have become fed up with, or never considered, bare-bones transportation.

As a result, these new economy cars come with interiors that are nicely designed and executed, though not always with the finest of materials because they are, after all, low-profit vehicles.

More important, they arrive with features that were once the province of expensive machinery: Decent audio systems, one-touch power windows, pushbutton starting, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity, hard-drive storage for music, filtered air conditioning, alloy wheels and navigation systems. Of course, not every car has every item.

But consider the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, designed in South Korea but built here—the first car in this class, according to the Chevy folks, to bear that “made in the USA” distinction.

The base Sonic, the 1LS, has a starting price of $14,495 for the four-door sedan with a five-speed manual transmission and a 138-horsepower, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. If you prefer the four-door hatchback, the price is $15,395.

Standard equipment covers full safety equipment, including stability and traction control, antilock brakes, tire-pressure monitoring and even a hill holder that prevents the car from rolling backward on hills and even from rolling forward if you happen to be backing up. The hill holder also comes with the six-speed automatic transmission, which costs an extra $1,070.

Also included in the standard equipment is air conditioning, remote door locking and 15-inch alloy wheels. Unusual in this class of car, steel wheels with plastic covers are not even offered at the lowest trim level.

The standard 1.8-liter engine delivers smooth performance, especially with the automatic transmission, and fuel economy of 26/35 miles to the gallon on the EPA’s city/highway cycles.

Optional for $700 on all models is Chevrolet’s state-of-the-art 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Its horsepower, 138, is the same as that of its bigger sibling but it has a higher torque rating and city/highway fuel economy of 29/40 miles to the gallon with its six-speed manual gearbox.

Tested for this review was an LTZ hatchback with the stick shift. It had a base price of $17,995, which included power windows, cruise control, 17-inch alloy wheels, a USB port, Bluetooth connectivity, fog lamps and perforated leatherette upholstery. The front seats were heated. Though a navigation system is not available, the GM OnStar communications system delivers turn-by-turn directions on request. But the non-sliding sun visors do not properly block sun from the side.

Although the four-door hatchback is 14 inches shorter than the sedan, it has about the same passenger space but way more room for cargo (19 cubic feet versus 14 for the sedan). Folding the rear seatbacks expands that to 31 cubic feet. The hatchback’s cargo area also has clever adjustable shelves for different sized items.

With basically subcompact dimensions, neither the sedan nor the coupe delivers generous back-seat room. The hatchback, because of its higher roofline, has better headroom but both versions are tight on head and knee room. The center-rear position for a fifth passenger is a perch, but surprisingly with a bit of bottom-cushion comfort for short distances.

Cruising, the hatchback Sonic displayed good cornering control and straight-line tracking, although the car tended to follow grooves in the road, requiring steering corrections. With supportive front seats and a compliant suspension system, the ride was small-car decent.

The six-speed shifter’s linkage was slippery and missed shifts were nearly nonexistent. Clutch engagement was similarly slick, with no grabby tendencies.

Sonic engineers said they benefited from having their car built in the same plant as the new Buick Verano, which has a more upscale orientation toward interior quietness. Because of that, the Sonic has additional sound-deadening material in the hatchback’s spare-tire pit. Despite that, considerable road noise made its way through to the back seat area.

A comparison drive in the four-door sedan with the 1.8-liter engine and the six-speed automatic transmission revealed a car that not only is bigger overall, it feels like a larger car with slightly heavier steering. The automatic transmission also can be shifted manually with a button on the shifter.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic

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One could have imagined Chevy fitting its new Sonic with a winch and a hard-core four-wheel-drive system with locking differentials and a low-range transfer case: How better to extricate itself from the Abyss of Those That Came Before? Instead, Chevy simply focused on making its small car a good car. The result is an unprecedented success.

Small and Stiff

2012 chevrolet sonic ltz turbo

Even from a purely aesthetic standpoint, the Sonic is a home run. With dinky wheels, drab sheetmetal, and a protuberant proboscis, the Aveo was a gas-fired dork. The Sonic looks more bully, with sharp creases, an angry slant to the headlights, an aggressive rearward cinch of the beltline, and beefy fender flares. In its final years, the Aveo looked sort of decent inside, but the Sonic’s thoroughly considered interior design and upscale detailing make even the best Aveo look old. Front and center sits an analog tach—needle hanging straight down at rest—flanked by a digital cluster that reports the rest of the info you need to know.

Grab the steering wheel and you’ll notice nice, chunky ears at 10 and 2. The rest of the rim is a bit thin, but those flanges are perfectly shaped, with a natural contour and a comfortable plane to rest the pad of your hand. Fire up the Sonic and saw at that wheel, and you immediately realize how quick the steering is. This is among the most satisfying drivers in the segment. The steering is sports-car quick—almost too tight for relaxed cruising, with even the slightest inputs prompting directional changes.

The Sonic rides on an all-new platform that is 77 percent stiffer than the Aveo’s. It has an extra 1.8 inches of wheelbase, expanded tracks front and rear, and is several inches longer in both hatchback and sedan body styles. For its part, the stiffer body structure transmits barely a shudder over the roughest roads, and the suspension minimizes body roll without battering occupants. The sense of solidity comes at a cost, though: The Sonic is much heavier than most cars in its class. At 2808 pounds, it carries 500 or so more than the average Mazda 2. When you’re talking about cars that weigh under 3000 pounds, that can be a disastrous difference. Fortunately, it hides its weight well, with an agile and responsive feel, and posts a best-in-class 0.81-g skidpad performance despite an addiction to understeer at the ragged edge.

High Praise for High-Tech

2012 chevrolet sonic ltz turbo

We were likewise surprised by the 138-hp, 1.4-liter turbo four. It’s a gem, much easier to appreciate here than in the heavier Cruze. There is very little lag, power delivery is smooth, and it never groans in complaint like so many other econocar engines. (A naturally aspirated 1.8-liter four is the Sonic’s base engine.) The Sonic’s 1.4 runs out of breath way before redline, though; the fuel cutoff is at 6500 rpm, but shift by 6000 if you want to keep things moving. We saw 60 mph in 8.2 seconds on our best acceleration run, and we snuffed the quarter-mile in 16.5 at 85 mph. A small engine and an upright body are not a good combo for high-speed runs; the Sonic needs 24.7 seconds to hit 100—although that’s almost as good as it gets in this class.

In a move that we’ll assume is blatant pandering, Chevy offers the turbocharged 1.4 only with a six-speed manual. The shifter has a precise bite, although the throws are a bit long. The clutch is pretty bad, with almost no feel; it’s good that take-up is so slow, as it covers a lot of the clumsiness that results from the radio silence between disc and pedal. There are a lot of bad clutches at the low end of the market, and this is far from the worst, but it is just as far from rewarding. When you decide to turn your Sonic into a fire-breathing track beast, this is one of the first pieces you should upgrade. (A five-speed DIY’er is standard with the naturally aspirated 1.8-liter. It also can be had with a six-speed automatic, a gearbox which is likely to be offered with the turbo sometime in the near future.)

The six-speed’s tall gearing couples with a tall final-drive ratio to keep engine rpm remarkably low at highway speeds: At 70 mph, the 1.4 is barely turning 2100 revs. While you’ll need at least a two-gear drop to find any power, that gearing helps the Sonic achieve 40 mpg highway in the EPA’s testing. We saw 31 overall.

Lots of Space in a Little Footprint

Thanks to its hatchback body, the Sonic has decent space all around. The front seats are comfortable and supportive, and there’s a fair amount of room in the back seat. At 41 cubic feet, the rear accommodations are among the roomiest in the segment, and the hatch boasts a slim 0.3 inch more rear headroom than the sedan. It’s not all sunshine, though: While the 19 cubes of storage lag behind the class leaders only a bit, the opening to access that space is narrow, hemmed in on both sides by the Sonic’s mongoloid rear-light fixtures. And folding the rear seats doesn’t net nearly the volume it does in, say, a Honda Fit. The Sonic’s 31 cubes are a woefully uncompetitive 54 percent of the class-leading Honda’s 57-cubic-foot

2012 chevrolet sonic ltz turbo

But the Sonic once again finds itself at the desirable end of the spectrum with its standard and available equipment. Even a $15,395 base Sonic LS five-door, which comes with a poverty-class AM/FM radio and just four speakers—but an auxiliary input—is fitted with 10 airbags: driver and passenger front, side, and knee; full-length side curtains; and side bags for rear passengers. A tilting and telescoping steering column, power locks, and automatic headlights also are standard on all cars. The midlevel LT trim, at $16,495, upgrades the stereo with two more speakers, satellite radio, and a CD player, plus adds heated power mirrors, power windows, chrome exterior trim, and nicer seat cloth. More important, it opens up the option of the 1.4-liter turbo, which costs just $700. Do it. (If $700 breaks the bank at this price point, then you’re shopping above your head; get a used car instead.)

At $17,995, an LTZ model like the one tested here adds Bluetooth connectivity, fog lights, more chrome trim, a USB input, faux-leather seats (heated up front), plus a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio and phone controls. Cruise control, part of a $375 package on LT cars and unavailable on the LS trims, is standard on LTZs. Add $700 for the 1.4 and another $850 for a sunroof, and our Sonic stickered at a rather lofty $19,545. Without the big hole in the roof, it’d be $18,695.

The Sonic’s $15,395 base price is a little high for this class, but only barely. Yes, the backmarker Nissan Versa starts at $11,750, but it is terrible and therefore doesn’t count; the $15,165 Mazda 2 is the only desirable competitor to undercut the Sonic. The $15,945 Honda Fit and $16,295 Ford Fiesta hatch are there, too, but require you to open your wallet a little wider. All three, of course, climb the price ladder when you start checking options; in that light, the $17,195 buy-in for a nicely equipped turbo Sonic seems fair.

Chevy’s newest small car has clambered not only out of the pit dug by its predecessors, but right up toward the top of the small-car heap—especially with the turbo.

Chevrolet Sonic Auto Review

According to Ward’s Auto, John Buttermore, the Sonic’s lead development engineer, confirmed that there are no plans to create a Sonic SS model — but there are “sportier versions coming.”Buttermore suggests these models could debut sometime in 2013.

“It would take a lot more air going through [the 1.4-liter turbo in-line four] for an SS, and there is no SS in the works.”

Right now, the turbocharged engine in the Sonic makes 138 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque mated to a six-speed manual. The base engine also produces 138 hp, but only makes 125 lb-ft and can be had either with a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. Buttermore also says that the turbo engine will receive the automatic transmission as an option in early 2012, slightly earlier than originally anticipated.

We’re happy to hear a hotter version is in the works, but we’re not too surprised it won’t wear the SS label. Although the brand was eager to slap an SS badge on almost anything over the past decade (Anyone remember the Malibu Maxx SS?), Chevrolet management ultimately realized doing so only tarnished the image and reputation of the vaunted “Super Sports” nameplate.

Might we suggest the RS (or “Rally Sport”) name instead, in the spirit of the show car that originally reviewed the Sonic?

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Chevrolet lead development engineer John Buttermore said “For 2013, we do have some sportier versions coming, just not an SS. It would take a lot more air going through that engine for an SS, and there is none in the works.” The 1.4L turbocharged Ecotec engine will initially only be available with a six-speed manual transmission, which will certainly add to its sporting appeal, but also alienate the vast majority of American drivers who choose to have the car shift gears for them.

Buttermore says that a six-speed automatic will join the stickshift model early next year, but adds that it was originally scheduled to arrive for the 2013 model year. The Chevrolet Sonic is just now reaching dealerships as a domestically-produced replacement for the aging, substandard, and Korean-built Aveo.

Source: Wards Auto

This news has been confirmed by the head of engineer development department of Chevy, John Buttermore, who says that the new sporty model will be available soon enough, but it’s far away from SS ideal concept. They’re not planning any SS model and they’re certainly not going to make one.

The 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS is designed as small compact city car that will be available in two options: the hatchback and sedan model. The car will be equipped with 19-inch metallic gun wheels, aluminum construction, headlamps with exposed model, rear spoiler, and exhaust system on the mounted center mode. For the interior cabin, there will be glossy and matte black covering, with a touch of blue and metallic accent. There will be custom stitching in blue as well. The car will be running on Ecotec I-4 of 1.4 liter capacity engine that is able to produce 138 hp with automatic 6 speed transmissions.

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Aimed at 18 to 34 year olds, the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic will launch with a three-month exclusive online ad campaign, sharing footage of a sky-diving Sonic filmed earlier this year in Arizona as well as arranging a 10-story Sonic bungee jump later this year.

Driven by clicks on its custom-built Chevy Sonic website, the bungee jump will take place later this year in Long-Beach, California.

With prices starting from $13,735 for a four door sedan and $14,635 for the hatchback, Chevrolet hopes the unusual advertising campaign for its fuel-sipping 40 mpg sub-compact will encourage a new generation of buyers to the brand.

The whole campaign is Chevrolet’s answer to the advertising used by Ford in its 2011 Fiesta advertising campaign. Desperate for the Chevrolet Sonic to be seen as a cool, hip car, its advertising agency has gone into overtime to get one-up on its old Detroit rival.

Higher gas and insurance prices are pushing more and more young people out of car ownership, choosing to rent when they need a car or borrow from the garage of Mom and Dad — making the market for young drivers extremely tough.

Let’s hope the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic’s imaginative ad campaigns help it soar above the rest, because as Ford has found out in the past, those young people who can afford to buy a new car tend to induldge a little when they find the right car.

Chevrolet Sonic Review