Official Chevy Sonic Review Thread

[Prayos]

Two year review

I bought my 2013 Sonic LT in March of 2013(first car I bought myself). When I test drove it, it had 2 miles on it. Other than that, I've put every single mile that is on there. I've just recently hit the 88k mark. In that two year time, I've done an oil change every time my indicator is at 5%. I've taken it into the dealer at the milages according to the manual(I've been accused of being overly cautious, but I like to take care of my toys). I have had zero problems with this car that wasn't caused by an outside force (someone put something in my gas tank in Dec. 2014). It's run like a champ across the country. The milage is great. The interior still looks fantastic (maybe some slight rub wear on the wheel). This car has lived up to every expectation I've ever had about owning a car. I've not had to replace anything on the car except for tires(duh) and wipers. I love this little car.

My daughter will be 16 in 7 years, and I plan on giving her this car. I think it'll be a great starter car for her. And at that time, if there's a 2022 Sonic available, I'll be picking that one up.

 

[busterbrown]

I bought my 2013 Sonic LT in March of 2013(first car I bought myself). When I test drove it, it had 2 miles on it. Other than that, I've put every single mile that is on there. I've just recently hit the 88k mark. In that two year time, I've done an oil change every time my indicator is at 5%. I've taken it into the dealer at the milages according to the manual(I've been accused of being overly cautious, but I like to take care of my toys). I have had zero problems with this car that wasn't caused by an outside force (someone put something in my gas tank in Dec. 2014). It's run like a champ across the country. The milage is great. The interior still looks fantastic (maybe some slight rub wear on the wheel). This car has lived up to every expectation I've ever had about owning a car. I've not had to replace anything on the car except for tires(duh) and wipers. I love this little car.

My daughter will be 16 in 7 years, and I plan on giving her this car. I think it'll be a great starter car for her. And at that time, if there's a 2022 Sonic available, I'll be picking that one up.

Nice review. Hope you'll have many more troublefree miles.

 

[2014 Blue RS]

Small Cars, Big Fun

 

[chevydude]

2015 Chevrolet Sonic LT Review

I scoured the internet when buying my car, looking for all sorts of reviews. So if you've found mine, hopefully it helps. I've been driving my 2015 Sonic LT sedan for about two weeks now. It has around 1,000 miles under its belt. This car came with the fog-and-wheel package, and the Chevy MyLink touch-screen radio upgrade. Beyond that, it is stock for the LT trim; I bought mine in Ashen Gray.

I have grown to love the car, and it comes down to a few reasons.

The Good

* Fuel Efficiency - 25 surface streets, 35 interstate. The average for me is sitting around 30-31, and I am not slow on the pedal. I love the good gas mileage. I can fill up (at today's prices anyway) for $25 and get 350+ miles out it! This makes road trips cheap, frequent, and fun.

* MyLink - the ability to listen to stuff seamlessly (cordlessly?) from my iPhone is an awesome feature. It's pretty simple to pull up audio from iTunes, e-mail, messages -- even opening a youtube video will play the audio from your phone through the car speakers. You can make hands-free calls, have texts read or dictate your own to send, and use apps like Pandora and Stitcher. (The car also has OnStar with in-car Wifi hotspot. The car came with a free subscription for a few months, but I believe future data plans are around $10-15 for a couple gigs. If you travel a lot, it may be worth it.)

* Style - the car looks aggressive from the front, but refined and sleek from the sides. The motorcycle-style headlights are stunning, and the front face seems iconic. The back of the car is a little unremarkable, revealing its small size in a trunk that doesn't allow wide loads like a bicycle.

My cons are a few as well.

The Bad

* Material - at least for the LT model; the dashboard, driver and passenger doors, and console areas are all very hard, cheap plastic that catches dinges pretty easily. The gray plastic is a better quality, but the black plastic looks and feels like a cheap skin. Scuffs on the floor plastic aren't uncommon, however, they do wipe out for the most part with armor-all.

* Seating - the arm rest is pretty uncomfortable, and yet a little unfair to the passenger. Ha. The seats on the LT model aren't powered, which is unusual. Cranking the levers to move around reminds me of the 1990s. Power seats should come with power windows in my opinion.

The Verdict

These cons are petty in comparison to the good, and I don't feel they should sway anyone's decision about the car. Most models in this class have mediocre interior materials.

Starting speed is pretty slow on this car without the Turbo option, but once you are cruising, passing maneuvers are no issue. You can gain speed once you have some with ease. The engine is quiet, and the car's low frame makes for tight, fluid turning. The wheel responds on a dime and gives a feeling of confidence over the road.

On a personal level, I commend the car for being made in America. The union sticker will remain on the inside seal of my car door. I also appreciate how this and other subcompacts have helped reduce pollution over the last few years. When comparing the fuel economy of my old car (a Chevrolet Impala) with an online calculator, it was estimated I would save $1,200 per year in gas costs! The car practically pays for itself for anyone driving a gas guzzler. That's also a lot less pollution in our skies.

I would give this car 8.5/10. If you have the money and option, spring for the Turbo engine, and upgraded seats (if they offer this, I am not sure). Otherwise, this is a great, fun and stylish car, perfectly tailored for millenials or anyone wanting to stay connected and travel economically.

 

[dannyg]

One year review 2015 LS

One year ago I picked up a new 2015 LS 1.8L 5sp sedan with zero options and so far I've been very happy with the purchase. No repairs needed, 18K miles, one minor recall (the radio was reflashed), two free oil changes so far. Runs great. All I've done is buy snow tires (Goodyear Ultragrips) which really helped here in Maine. Just in case, I bought Autosocks (Google it!) but so far haven't had to use them so that's good.

PROS
Very happy with the MPG, I get around 40-41MPG in warmer weather and 37-38MPG in colder weather in the rural driving that I do. (That's with 87 octane Top Tier, 10% ethanol, I tried three tanks of 93 but didn't see much if any increase at all so stopped buying it.)

I realize this car isn't a 'Vette, but I'd say it's fun to drive for the price. The shifter is smooth and snicks nicely into gear. The car is good on the highway, smooth and reasonably quiet for a small car. Excellent on the 55-60MPH states roads that I drive every day. Fun!

I like the style of the car a lot, distinctive without being too "flashy", and the sedan has a huge trunk for a small car which is nice.

Seats are comfortable, at least for my butt (the most I've driven in one shot is about 6 hours). Back seat is spacious for a small car.

I really like the two glove compartments. You can put your iPod and stuff in the upper one and flashlights and manuals in the lower one. Nice.

Base radio is just OK but then I rarely listen to it, I just use my iPod via a $10 Bluetooth receiver plugged into the jack.

The OnStar stuff is fun but I didn't pay for it after the free 6 months. I did however buy 60min of cellphone time for emergencies. So that's a good feature.

CONS
Given the price of the car I like the interior a lot, but I have the usual gripes about the lack of padded armrest on the doors and lack of armrest on the passenger seat. The driver-side armrest is too tall for me...adjustable please.

My brother tried the car and just couldn't get the headrest into a comfortable position...adjustable headrest would solve that. Not an issue for me.

For winter driver would really like a temp gauge or idiot light. Something like Subaru Imprezas have, where the light stays blue until the engine is fully warmed up...good to know when it's 5 degrees out.

I hope someday GM puts Cruise Control into base-model cars. Just for kicks.

Interior plastics are just OK.

As long as the car stays reliable I'm a happy camper!



SIDE TOPIC: SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT VERSION
--Please keep the Sonic in the lineup even though gas is cheap and sales are down! It could be Chevy's "pocket rocket" with the updated 1.4T or the Malibu's 1.5T. Of course it's too much to ask, but a $1500 AWD option would be awesome. The AWD Trax is built on the same platform, it could be done!

--Keep the four round headlights! Distinctive!

--Keep the digital speedo and large tach combo! It took me awhile to get used to it but no way I want to go back to a dial speedo!

 

[black granite sonic]

I purchased my 2015 Sonic RS six months ago, I love everything about the car. The style, has all the other compacts beat, the nose has a really nice aggressive look, the overall look of the car is just beautiful. Then you have a awesome interior, the gauges are really cool, the seats are very comfortable just the overall layout of the dash is nice. The drivetrain, My sonic has the 1.4t matted to the auto trans. so far I finding that I'm really liking the combination, when on the highway rolling 80 and above the car is real smooth, I live where the highways have some really nice curves, so being able to shift between 5 and 6 makes the car real fun, just be careful you'll find yourself above 100 real fast. And its still all stock, Another nice thing about the Sonic is you can get more power out of the motor by putting in a tune. To sum it all up, the Sonic is the best compact out there for the money. I found a fully loaded car for under 20 grand.

 

[Kannisto]

I'm a new owner of a 2016 Sonic RS hatch manual and I'd like to do a quick review from the last 2 weeks I've owned this car.

I bought this car having previously owned a Dodge durango rt 5.9 and was pissing my money away on gas. When i finally had enough i decided a small car would pay for itself in fuel savings. Im not a rich man so this sounded logical. Also I'm a single dad and i like owning sporty vehicles. I find it very difficult to find practical 4 door cars that are worthy of my car obsession.

The first thing i liked about the sonic hatch was that the rear door handles are hidden. Chevrolet nailed it with the styling. All i will say is that there is no aspect i dislike. I've even learned to appreciate the small size and the convenience of getting around town. The 5 star safety rating is VERY reassuring when driving a smaller vehicle though.

The RS package remedies everything i dislike about the sonic. Mainly the drum brakes. Also I like to enjoy driving and even autocross when i can so the RS was a no brainer. The steering is very sharp (took some getting used to after driving a truck for so long) and i've noticed minimal body roll. The gearbox is perfect while the clutch is a tad soft. Still, I could row though those gears all day...

Aaaaaaaand the motor. The 1.4 turbo. Now i could have bought a fiesta st and had 200 hp for a few grand more. But the thing is that the power the 1.4 in the sonic is more then enough for this chassis to have fun. People complane about the RS not getting an upgraded motor but the sonic 1.4 is quick to begin with. And it's not overkill that will only get you in trouble.

About the fiesta st. I decided against it because it does a few things WRONG (mainly i couldn't live with the seats) whereas the sonic does everything RIGHT.

Actually that about sums it up...

 

[dannyg]

Two year review

Two years ago, I bought a new 2015 Sonic LS, 5sp manual, with zero options. My first brand-new car (I'm not a youngster). I wrote a one-year review (#45 above), thought I'd just add that everything is still going great after another year. A couple of comments:


--I'm up to 28.5K miles, zero problems, so I'm still very happy with the car.
--So far I've been doing all maintenance at Chevy dealers, by the book, and I think I'll continue to do that until the 3yr/36K bumper-to-bumper warranty expires. After that, I'm not sure. So far the dealers I've gone to (in Maine and New York) have been fine if not excellent...as near as I can tell! Just oil changes and inspection stickers.
--I bought snow tires (Goodyear Ultragrip) which are really good, as others have noticed the stock Hancooks are horrible in the snow. That's pretty much all I've done with the car (no tunes/mods), happy with it as-is.
--I did buy a set of Sonic aluminum wheels (15") at a junk yard, off a 2014, and put the Hancooks on those. The snow tires are on the original steelies.
--In the first year I put about 20K miles on the car, I've only put about 8K in the last year. Where I'm living now I should only need to put 6-8K per year on the car, so that should extend its life.

So that's it, as long as the Sonic stays reliable I'm happy!

 

[dannyg]

Three Year Review

Time flies, three years ago, I got my 2015 Sonic LS 5sp, still the only car I've bought brand-new.

Wow this thread is dead, the last post on here was my two year review! (One year was #45.)

I'm up to around 33K miles, so that means I've only put 4K miles on it the last year. I put 29K in the first two years, so my driving has changed a lot after moving back to NY from Maine.

Still very happy with the car. My mother has a Subaru Impreza CVT, which is a really good car, I drive it a lot, but it doesn't put a smile on my face the way the Sonic does when I go out for a spin. Manual trannies rule!

In the last year, there's been one reliability issue, the thermostat was replaced under warranty (free) at 30K miles. A bit disturbing, I admit, that it failed after only 30K miles. All maintenance has been done at dealerships.

Chevy is telling me (via their my.chevrolet.com site) that I should change my oil after 12 months, even though I've only put on 3-4K miles. Oil has always been dealership blend. The oil system tells me to change it after about 7K miles usually. Should I change after 12 months even with only 3.5K miles? Any thoughts out there?

My bumper-to-bumper warranty has now expired, but the drivetrain warranty is good for quite a while yet. Does it cover thermostats? I'm not sure. Overall the car looks good, so I'm not too concerned about the expiring warranty...famous last words...

Well that's it. As long as the Sonic is reliable I'm happy!

 

[2014 Blue RS]

I change mine every 5k. Nice round number that's easy for me to remember.

Thread has died down a since I joined. Guilty as charged as I've personally not been on here much myself. Daughter took my car to college. Since I couldn't do anything with car I lost some interest or need to get on here.

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[dannyg]

I change mine every 5k. Nice round number that's easy for me to remember.

Yeah I suppose I'll do it when I hit 5K, should be in a couple of months (when it's warmer!). That would be about 18 months since last one. Thanks.

 

[JTee2017]

Yeah I suppose I'll do it when I hit 5K, should be in a couple of months (when it's warmer!). That would be about 18 months since last one. Thanks.

wow. . you're brave. I will continue to change the oil every 3,000 to 4,000 miles max or every 6 months. Whichever comes first. And use a synthetic blend or full synthetic.

Also, since I live in the snow belt and can get very cold weather, I will change oil in September, then in early to mid January, and then in early to mid April.
That winter oil gets contaminated with moisture and lot's of combustion blow by from cold starts. That builds up acids in the crankcase oil Acids eat into metal.

These small engines stress the oil pretty hard. You can get a 6 quart case of Dexos certified oil for $15 to $22 on sale if you shop. And $5 for a filter on Amazon.

Dirty oil can and does build up sludge and internal carbon. Cam shaft actuators have fine screens that can get clogged easily. Better to try and keep the innards clean than try and eke out a long oil change interval.

Just my 2 cents after owning over 38 cars and trucks.

 

[2014 Blue RS]

I use full synthetic and changing more often than oil and car manufacturers recommendations. Not too brave.

Inclement weather I'd prob change with seasons also like you tho

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[LetThatBassDrop]

Well I currently own two Sonic’s, but I’ve had three. All hatchbacks.
A 2012 1.8l manual (gone), 2013 1.8l auto and 2018 1.4l auto.
Wife drives the 2013 and I just got the 2018 like 8 days ago.
The 2012 had, if I recall right, about 68,000 miles, the 2013 is sitting at 31,000 and the 2018 has 256. Lol.
Obviously I’ve enjoyed them or I wouldn’t keep going with them. They’re actually, despite their flaws, my favorite cars I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned a lot. I actually bought a certified used 2016 Chrysler 200 S. Absolutely loved it but I only had it for a hair under 6 months and traded it in for the 2018 Sonic. I missed it. Lol.
The 2012 other than basic maintenance had 3 failures. The front end needed rebuilt twice (don’t remember exactly what, it was in 2012 both times, both times under warranty) and the driver side window switch failed. Other than that she was pretty solid in the time we had her.
The 2013 has a couple weird things about it. It shakes violently at stop lights for about 3 seconds then stops. Not at every light but at least once every time it’s driven, it also does a little wobble when in drive and just idling forward. The power locks also are funky. Locks when put into gear and drives, 30 seconds later it unlocks then tries to unlock 2-3 more times or if you start it and sit in park long enough it’ll do it. Every. Single. Startup. I haven’t been able to figure out any of the issues in the 2013 but she still does us good.
The 2018 is brand new. I love it, however it does something weird too. When highway driving (45mph+) and cruise is set, every 20-30 seconds it feels like some just ever so lightly grazes the brakes, then normal, then 20-30 seconds later the same thing. I also have to set an appointment at the dealer because the seals in the tail lights are compromised so condensation is getting in them and then freezing so that’s always cool.
Despite all these things, I still love the Chevy Sonic. The styling is pretty unique and the interior, while cheap as hell feeling, is solid and looks good. I’d recommend these beautiful, peculiar, slug of a car to anyone.


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[JTee2017]

I still love the Chevy Sonic. The styling is pretty unique and the interior, while cheap as hell feeling, is solid and looks good. I’d recommend these beautiful, peculiar, slug of a car to anyone.

I agree. .. there are the odd bits that wear or need attention. . 5 or 6 items is all really. But I saw one owner who has gone 335,000 miles on one and another +200,000.
And, as you say. . some cheap bits interior wise, but not too many and the l@@k is good. . . . Better than most of the competition . ..

 

[JTee2017]

Yeah I suppose I'll do it when I hit 5K, should be in a couple of months (when it's warmer!). That would be about 18 months since last one. Thanks.

Living in a colder climate (as I do) the cold/hot cycles play havock with oil in the winter months. Lot's of moisture builds up in the crankcase and upper valve area especially with short trips. If you take your oil cap off in January and look, you may find a yellowish kind of coating. That is oil/water emulsion.

I too put low miles on both our vehicles . . . maybe 8,000 a year. But i change oil twice a year. Once in November and then again in March or April after those cold winter months. Then form March to Novemeber, I know I'm running on clean acid free oil. Cheap insurance.

Yes. . the moisture in the crankcase oil combines with PCV vapors to make acids that can and will eat at metal engine parts.

 

[dannyg]

OK this thread is dead, but I thought I'd comment that I'm up to five years on my Sonic, bought new on 2/10/2015, and all is going well. Here's a couple of details:

--Only one issue in five years, a broken thermostat fixed (free) under warranty.
--I'm up to almost 45K miles total, 12K in the last two years.
--Paid off my five-year loan in around 3.5 years...nice not to have a payment!

At some point I suppose I'll either get a second vehicle (maybe a midsize truck for hauling/towing), or possibly "upgrade" the Sonic, but for now I don't really see a need for it.

What is the future of the Sonic? Not sure. Sonic was already cancelled in Canada, only automatics sold here in the US for 2020. Hoping Chevy will update it at some point, I for one would trade in my 2015 for an updated version with manual tranny. I personally prefer the sedan but would buy a hatch if that's all that what was available. To me, I rather see them offer a hatchback with both manual and automatic rather than both sedan and hatch but with only automatic transmission. What can I say, I like working the gears.

Going well, hoping for many more good miles...

No issues since my last "review" two years ago:

http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...l-chevy-sonic-review-thread-5.html#post382392