Those eyeing the upcoming Chevrolet Sonic will be happy to hear that it will achieve a lofty 40 miles per gallon on the highway and 29 miles per gallon in the city when properly equipped with the available 1.4L turbocharged Ecotec engine and six-speed manual transmission. And yes, that is the very same 138 hp, 148 lb.-ft. of torque engine found in the beloved Chevy Cruze, where it sees 38 miles per gallon in the non-Eco application for the 2012 model year. The Sonic equipped with the base 1.8L engine and a five-speed manual will get 26 mpg city and 35 mpg highway but will lose 1 mpg in the city when equipped with the six-speed automatic. Note that the six-speed automatic — the only auto gearbox on the Sonic — is only available with the 1.8 liter Ecotec, and not with the turbo 1.4.
Acceleration figures claim that the 1.4L Sonic can go from 0-60 in a matter of 8.2 seconds, which is fast for its segment believe it or not. But this nevertheless makes us fantasize about an even more propulsive variant to compete with the upcoming Ford Fiesta ST. Also, will there ever be an Eco model?
Comments
The suggested retail price of the Sonic begins at $14,495 including destination but excluding tax, title, license and dealer fees.
For 15 grand my radio should not look like it was pulled from a 1984 Crapalier… Sorry, back to the drawing board please, I would expect a fix/ replacement on this rediculous radio soon my fellow GM bretherin…
Lol! Crapalier! The Sonic is made in the US, as you know… There is only so much “awesome” you can squeeze out of something like that, you know?
LS starts at 13,735 and one craptastic base radio; my bad…
Rear disc brakes? Does anybody know?
Sorry I keep harpin on the radio, I just couldn’t believe how bad it is. They must realy want people to go for the upgrade, straight up I would walk if the dealer didn’t give me the upgrade…
My guess is the LTZ has disc breaks in rear, being the premium package.
I think they should offer 6 spd auto on 1.4 for this car
Yeah, interesting that they don’t. Maybe their research tells them that the 1.4 will be bought by performance-oriented drivers… who in turn prefer a stick?
well isn’t it Fit kinda performance-oriented too?
It handles well and is just a good (Honda-good) car. That’s about it for its performance orientation. The Sonic is much more sports-oriented.
6 spd auto in turbo model an absolute 4 me, some of us have wives that can’t drive a stick to save there lives. With gas milage set at 40 mpg this is only model I would consider, unfortunately no auto no purchase, prbly look at Cruze eco.
38 MPG on non-Eco Cruze… I actually get mine up to 50 MPG on the highway with cruise set at 65 MPH.
But I guess it all depends on how people drive… Like other people said, “Your mileage may vary.”