Used Sonic Purchase

[Redwolf1155]

I figured id ask the collective mind here on the forum this questions.

Would a 2018 Chevy Sonic Hatch 1.4 turbo auto with 84k miles be a worthwhile buy? Im trying to find something reliable with good gas mileage because i drive over 80 miles per day and im tired of feeding my 20 year old truck that gets 12mpg.

 

[gnonne]

Turbos can get good mpg, but sedans do a bit better due to aerodynamics. I have a 1.4L auto sedan that get 38 mpg running 72 miles/hr. I doubt you would do that well with a hatch, maybe 35, which is still 3 times what you are getting now. Sticks could do even better, but not too many of those out there.

I have had a total of 3 Sonics. Is this a dealer car or a private sale? Either way, you better buy it cheap.

Reliability is pretty good, especially on the newer model years, but resale is pretty bad.

 

[red_devil3187]

I have a 15 with the 1.4 turbo and it's pretty damn good. If you're cranking over 80 a day, then this is perfect for you. Around town I'm getting about 30 MPG's with red lights, but on the highway I've gotten around 33.5. The down side I hate is how small the tank is.

 

[JTee2017]

I have a 15 with the 1.4 turbo and it's pretty damn good. If you're cranking over 80 a day, then this is perfect for you. Around town I'm getting about 30 MPG's with red lights, but on the highway I've gotten around 33.5. The down side I hate is how small the tank is.

Want better MPG. . .. keep the engine out of boost. LOL

The Sonic and many cars can be an economic car to drive if driven with reasonable use of the gas pedal.

 

[T Talley]

It seems to me that the majority of people who complain about their Sonics have the turbo. I have a 2012 Sonic Lt with 135K
I still get 30mpg in town 36mpg highway, I am not a lead foot obviously. If you really want to have extra speed the turbo is the best option. Good luck from Oklahoma

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[JTee2017]

It seems to me that the majority of people who complain about their Sonics have the turbo. I have a 2012 Sonic Lt with 135K
I still get 30mpg in town 36mpg highway, I am not a lead foot obviously. If you really want to have extra speed the turbo is the best option. Good luck from Oklahoma

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

Agree. . . We bought a 2017 Sonic LT Hatch with 1.8L auto. . . . but joined the forum here before buying it, plus daughter has a 2014 LT 1.8L with +130K on it.

Way less to deal with the old school 1.8L MPFI engine.

There are vehicles in every brand that are better and worse configurations in the same model. Sonic for reliability and lower repairs is the 1.8L version.

 

[Silversn95]

Based on my experience you might not need to limit yourself to a small econo hatch or sedan to get great fuel economy. Depends on the roads you drive in your commute and traffic obviously but I can share my experience. I have a 2018 Sonic Lt hatch with the 1.4L turbo with auto and it actually is averaging less mpg than my daily driver which is a 2018 Equinox with the 1.5L Turbo. The sonic is mostly driven around town and is averaging around 31 mpg. When I look at the instantaneous mpg while on the highway it is still struggling to get to 40 mpg.
The equinox on the other hand has easily been averaging closer to 40mpg, sometimes even exceeding this. The commute is 50/50 secondary highway to city traffic but even looking at the instantaneous reading at higher speeds upt to around 70 mph it will better the Sonic. once you get over that speed it begins to drop however.
The main difference between the two engines is the Sonic is port injection where the Equinox has direct injection. There are potential issues with direct injection for sure but there is no question it makes for a more powerful and efficient engine.

Note I also had a 2017 Sonic hatch with the 1.8L and it could not match the 1.4L Turbo for fuel economy and was noticeably underpowered by comparison as well. Having owned both, I would go with the turbo 100% and just make sure to keep up with the maintenance.

 

[JTee2017]

There are two engines GM used in vehicles I would not not buy and being diligent with maintenance would not help with reliability.

One is the 2.4L LEA and LAF engines with Direct Gasoline Injection. . .

And the other is the Cruze, Sonic, Trax, Buick Encore with the Turbo 1.4L engine.
Note. . some later model Encore have the better 1.5L turbo that seems durable and has a better PCV system.

The 1.4L Turbo and 2.4L GDI engines were plagued with PCV freezing/clogging or failure resulting in oil leaks and even main seal blow outs. Also the 1.4L turbo engines have other chronic issues with the water outlet, water pump, valve cover and several other known failure points that will happen. . . just a matter of when.

 

[macdiesel]

One of the reasons I purchased a Sonic was for a 120 mile round trip commute. 1.4 manual did it’s job well. Most of the major issues taken care of under warranty. I couldn’t image driving one of these with an auto. But to each their own. A carfax report should tell you if any warranty repair work was done on some of the common fail points.

 

[luchazo]

My 1.6 manual LT sedan does around 36mpg in heavy traffic

 

[blasirl]

If you reserve about $500 for repairs/upgrades for the 1.4, you will end up with a good running economical car. I have seen highly optioned Hatches with less than 18k miles go for less than $8k recently.