2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged
Written by: Tom Jensen
Harrisburg, NC – 12/1/2005 The 2006 Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged delivers riveting performance on a budget. (Photo: GM Media)
WHAT TO LIKE: Fast, inexpensive and worthy of the “SS” name, makes you feel 16 again
WHAT TO CHANGE: A little too much testosterone, especially in the bat wing out back, makes you look 16 again
In the automotive world, there is no such thing as too many fun automobiles, especially ones that are affordable for the masses.
Meet the 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS.
The Cobalt line, which was introduced in late 2004, is Chevrolet’s replacement for the late, unlamented Cavalier, which had been hanging around since 1982.
As you might expect, the entry-level Cobalt comes in a dizzying array of models in two- and four-door varieties. There are entry-level (LS), mid-level (LT) and high-performance Cobalt (SS) flavors available as either coupes or sedans. There’s also the sedan-only luxury LTZ and our tester — and the only Cobalt model you should care about — the coupe-only Cobalt SS Supercharged.
As you’ve doubtless discerned already, what sets the Supercharged Cobalt model apart from the regular SS model is a supercharged motor. Specifically, the hot rod model comes with a 2.4-liter, 205-horsepower motor, a full 20-percent more power than the base 171-horse SS motor provides.
In official Chevy-speak, this is known as the Ecotec 2.0L SC motor. Its power increase comes from an Eaton M62 supercharger, with maximum boost pressure of12 pounds per square inch (psi). The system includes an air-to-water intercooler that cools the incoming air charge to increase intake-charge density, which in turn enhances power and reduces the engine’s propensity to “knock” at high boost levels.
What this means for the driver is a seriously fast little hatchback coupe. The SS S rockets from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 6.2 seconds, which is genuine sports car territory.
Standard with this hi-po motor is a short-throw five-speed manual transmission that works nearly flawlessly. The combination makes for a car with a badass personality – and I mean that in a good way — a quick little coupe with just enough rough edges to feel like a baby Z28.
To harness that power in the corners, the Cobalt SS S features an impressively upgraded roster of suspension components.
Known collectively as the FE5 suspension, the Cobalt SS S comes standard with a 24-mm front stabilizer bar and 22-mm rear stabilizer bar, higher-rate springs and bushings, four-wheel disc brakes, monotube shocks and 18-inch forged aluminum wheels with complementing low-profile P215/45R18 Z-rated high-performance tires.
Every Cobalt comes with a much stiffer body structure than the old Cavaliers had, and increased body stiffness means improved handling.
The FE5 suspension gives the SS S the ability to grip the road ferociously and the standard anti-lock brakes make it stop well, too. The bottom line here is a car that’s great fun to drive in a distinctly American flavor: The Cobalt SS S isn’t as a smooth and refined as, say, an Acura RS-X or even a Volkswagen GTI, but what the Chevrolet lacks in finesse it more than makes up for in brute strength and sheer fun. It’ll put a smile on your face like you were back in high school, doing parking-lot burnouts in a ’69 Chevelle SS.
Unfortunately, though, not only will you have the goofy smile of a juvenile delinquent when you drive the Cobalt SS S, you’ll look the part, too.
That’s because another standard feature is a rear wing/spoiler out back that’s big enough to have come from either the Batmobile or an IndyCar. Seriously, if you’re age 16-19, you’ll probably think the junk above the trunk is way cool. If you’re any older, though, it’ll just look silly.
The otherwise clean interior design features a triangle-shaped vertical column that sticks up perpendicular to the steering column.
By the same token, the otherwise clean interior design features a triangle-shaped vertical column that sticks up perpendicular to the steering column. On it are two set of three lights (two yellow and one red) that flash in ascending order as supercharger pressure builds. The best way to describe it is to say it looks a lot like the “Christmas tree” timing lights the NHRA uses at the starting line of drag races.
Taken as a whole, the Cobalt SS S feels like a car created by one of GM’s best engineers, who let his 13-year-old son finish the final design details.
But maybe that’s just the old guy in me talking. The Cobalt SS S has the performance credentials to make an impression in the rapidly growing tuner market, and perhaps the visual excesses give it street cred, too.
You can even get it with some options normally found on much more expensive cars, including leather seats, XM radio, MP3 capability and OnStar.
Regardless of where you fall on the issues of the boy-racer rear wing and instrumentation, one indisputable fact is that the Cobalt SS Supercharged delivers riveting performance on a budget, which in my book makes it worthy of the SS name.
SPEC SHEET: Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged
TYPE: Front-wheel-drive coupe
SEATING CAPACITY: four
ENGINE: 2.4-liter supercharged four-cylinder
HORSEPOWER: 205
TORQUE: 200
GEARBOX: Five-speed manual
ZERO TO 60 MPH: 6.2 seconds
EPA FUEL MILEAGE: 23 city/29 highway
BASE PRICE/AS-TESTED: $21,430/$23,085
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