My road test review of the Chevy Cobalt, Ford Taurus, and Nissan Altima

[Big Body LX]

The Chevy Cobalt was an '06 model with around 10,000 miles on it if I remember correctly. This is what I posted on the car after I turned it back in:

After a full week with the Cobalt and clocking a little over 200 miles on the odometer whilst I had it... I'd wouldn't mind owning one if a few things were improved upon.

Likes:
Relatively quick acceleration (4 cylinder) for the size engine
Dash display tells you exact coolant temp, average speed, mpg, and estimated mileage left of tank
DRL can be turned off by flicking the headlight switch back once
Ample headroom
The stereo knows what song, station, artist is playing (FM tuner not XM)
BRIGHT DOME LIGHT
Headlights cut off after a period of time left on when you leave the car (lit up my walk to my apartment door then shut off right about the time I was going inside).

Dislikes:
26 mpg average with 75% highway usage for me
HARD FLAT seats
I hit my head on the side pillar once getting out
It hurt my hand to roll the manual windows up and down as the side rubbed against the hard plastic door panel (not far enough out)
No overdrive button (sometimes I like to turn this off when going up hills)
The stereo EQ kept going back to other presets and losing my settings (ARGH)

Also, just personal opinion here, I hated the looks of the 4 door. A lot of the dislikes I had would probably be fixed by an upgraded model but then the price goes up too... and for what it's worth, I'd rather have a Civic or a Corolla.

2 out of 5 stars on this car.... if you get one, get a coupe and a higher end model

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When Stephanie and I went up to New Jersey to get my 5th gen Accord we rented an '05 Taurus (the last year they were made). The car had around 1200 miles on the odometer when we got it. The model we rented was a SEL so it had all the options (sunroof, leather, power everything, etc). We put just under 1000 miles on this one.

Likes:
QUIET interior
Nice roomy interior
SOFT freeway ride
Digital odometer showing avg fuel mpg, mileage to empty, etc.
Radio sounded nice
Controls were very easy to use and reach while driving

Dislikes:
Small sunroof
Power left something to be desired, but was still faster than my Camry was.
Suspension felt a bit loose.... car tended to sway a bit at high speed lane changes

Really, there isn't a lot about the Taurus I didn't like. The only things that keep me from buying one are the fact that it has Ford reliability and Ford resale value... which is something that is VERY important when buying a $20k+ vehicle. Aftermarket support of course is lacking on the Taurus platform but you're not really wanting aftermarket support when buying a vehicle like this. I don't know if the model we got was a V6 or a 4 cylinder, but judging because this is a SEL I'm assuming it was a V6 (never popped the hood). It got around 30 mpg the whole trip.

3.5 out of 5 stars on this one for a "family vehicle"... not for a young person. Ford, get that suspension tuned a bit better and you'd have 4 stars from me.

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This weekend Stephanie and I went to Atlanta, Georgia for the NASCAR events. We rented an '06 Nissan Altima 2.5S for this trip. The car had around 2100 miles on the odometer when we picked it up. We put about 1000 or maybe a little more on it this weekend.

Likes:
Power was surprising for having the 2.5 model instead of the 3.5
Dash had nice pods that lit up well and gave a sporty feel
LOTS and LOTS of hidden compartments for things up front
Nice large trunk
The material on the door panels are suede and made the car feel more luxurious
Auto stick didn't look like an auto, which kept with the sporty feel (I liked this feature)
Seats had nice side bolsters to keep you in your seat
The suspension on the car felt very well thought out... handled well going up and down monteagle

Dislikes:
The car was LOUD (see next three lines)
You could hear the engine from inside the cab... like Cavaliers sound at 100k miles
When it rained, it sounded like we were under a tin roof.
Interior was not quiet... I could hear lots of wind noise and road noise (cars passing etc)
Driver side window controls were oddly placed (I accidently rolled the rear windows down a few times resting my arm)
The door panel arm rests up front slant downward instead of upward..
Seats were hard... not a road trip car to me

Let me put it this way, if Nissan set out for this to be a sporty family sedan, they succeeded. I guess I'm getting old after having kids... but for an around town car and feeling sporty doing it, this is the car for you. The engine noises we heard may have been a fluke (you get these from time to time).... after all, it is a rental. Our Altima model didn't have a sunroof either... which is a negative for me, but since it may have been optional on this model, I left it out of the likes/dislikes.

3.5 out of 5 stars on this one from me. Definately sporty but IMO, not road trip worthy. Get the in cabin noise down and it might have been a lot better... the seats need softening up, but this happens with age anyways.

The Chevy Cobalt and Nissan Altima were rented from enterprise car rental
The Ford Taurus was rented from Budget car rental.

For drivers from age 21-25 check your state rules with each company to see if you can rent from these companies..... it's $10 per day with enterprise and $30 per day with Budget if you're 21-25 in TN but each state might be different.

If you're considering renting a car for a road trip, one thing to consider is with enterprise, you almost HAVE to return it to the place you got it... if you don't it's a hassle. This is why we went with Budget on the Taurus. We picked it up at Nashville International Airport and droped it off at Philidelphia International Airport with no hassle at all.

[gloryaccordy]

My friends all have Altimas...the cars are indeed paper thin through and through. My car door weighs like twice as much as theirs. They're pretty solid cars though...the V6's are ROCKETS, even with the automatics...

My mom had a Cobalt for a day. You can't even say Cobalt and Cavalier in the same sentence. I hate the GMish details, but if things were laid out a little differently with some more flash and pizazz I could definitely see myself getting one as a 3rd or 4th car. They're pretty decent. The engine's pretty sluggish though, especially to get such awful gas mileage. Good reviews though.

[hondagurlex21]

I drove two out of three of those on the road trips and I would have to say that the Altima had the best brakes.

[GREENCB3]

Love the altimas especially the se-r.Not a fan of the cobalt.

[JaK FRoSTWhiTE]

Very nice write up Chris.

Surprisingly the Altima didnt live up to its hype.
Well, around here people love them.
Maybe because it was the rental version, but the one i've been in was nice.
And yes, the engine is loud!

None the less, i would go with a Altima for a road trip car.
I cant see myself driving a Taurus, unless its the 94/95-ish SHO !!

[daived]

having driven an 05 Altima for a while, i can say i personally like it. its roomy, has power, and is pretty gangster looking. more sporty than the maxima, which i also drove. if all goes well, ill be taking the altima with me back to irvine next year.

[gloryaccordy]

I beat one of those V8 Tauruses in my Maxima a few years back. They make like 240HP and weigh 2 tons...

And yea, my friends love the Altima. They're pretty fast, but they're so flimsy. The 4 cyl. base model weighs like 3,000#...my car weighs about 2,980...the Altima is a big car...I dunno.

[Big Body LX]

Yeah the Altima is a "full size" now... I think it used to fit in the "standard" class (which is a size down) in the older models (gen 1 and 2)