Boost! It’s a magical thing. Just the name alone evokes visions of a spacecraft screaming through the atmosphere at warp factor speeds with a trail of fire spewing out the back. Boost, in the automotive world, can transform two liters into four and four into eight. It can take a small power plant made for economy and turn it into a power house made for embarrassing unsuspecting sports car drivers.
I will never forget my first experience in a turbo car. It was the late ‘80’s and I was working at an Exxon station. My girlfriend’s friend needed some work done to her Nissan Pulsar so she brought it in. After a brief discussion we hopped in the car, me in the driver’s seat, and set out to take her back home. I put it in gear, hit the gas and merged into traffic. At first the response was pathetic and weak, just as I had expected. Then, all at once a tidal wave of acceleration pulled the car forward as though the little Nissan had been hooked up to an invisible catapult. I was fascinated at how easily the turbo was able to move the car, and from that point on I have been a big fan of forced induction.
That said, fast forward to my latest automotive evaluation. One week ago I was handed the keys to a 2009 Chevy Cobalt SS sedan. The Cobalt, a car that by no means lights the flames of excitement and passion as it’s your typical compact four door sedan. There is nothing special about the shape or design but on the other hand it’s not something you would be embarrassed to be seen in either. The true beauty of this particular automobile lies within. With the SS package you get a drive train and suspension set up that, in my humble opinion, will blow your mind.
Imagine if you will, sitting at a stop light when a Porsche Boxter pulls up in the lane next to you. You can see that his lane merges with yours a couple hundred feet down the road and you know he is going to jump off of the line and cut in front of you before his lane ends. Unfortunately for mister cool guy Porsche owner, you are sitting in a turbo charged rocket ship 
pumping out 260hp and, more importantly, 260 lb ft of torque. You see that the light is about to change so you quickly hit the traction control button on the dash, but this time you hit it twice activating the launch control. Yep, you read that right, launch control! Just before the light changes you stab the throttle and the engine management system holds the revs at 5300 rpm. The second you see the green you dump the clutch and explode off of the line like John Force with a bad attitude.
Within seconds the turbo is at full boil and the boost gauge on the pillar is quivering at a registered 15 psi. One more beat of your heart and it’s time to grab second gear. Just as you are about to yank the shifter you remember that your little unsuspecting family sedan is also equipped with the “no-lift shift” F35 manual transmission, which allows you to keep your right foot firmly planted to the floor board while you steroid jerk the tranny into second gear. By now you are firmly into the two liters 260 lb ft of torque and the car is pulling like mad, darting back and forth like a pack of wild dogs at the end of a handlers leash, clawing for traction with everything the 225/40/18 Continental Sport Contacts have to offer. Before you know it the lane merge has come and gone and cool guy Porsche owner, who is now in your rear view mirror, isn’t feeling so cool any more. Okay, truth is I don’t do things like that on the highway but to know that this car could do exactly that was a pretty nifty feeling. The funny thing is, with a 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds and a ¼ mile ET in the high 13’s, is a scenario could be played out with any number of more expensive sports cars and hardly expected in a little family sedan like 
the Cobalt.
Now, going fast in a straight line is one thing but being able to carve corners also is what makes this car outstanding. Personally, I detest front wheel drive vehicles. It was a system originally created for economical grocery getters and was never intended for performance use. Front wheel drive cars have a gnarly tendency to under steer and torque steer. Both of which I find repulsive. With the Cobalt SS General Motors has minimized those inherent flaws normally associated with FWD. Don’t get me wrong, you are still going to put your life, and the lives of the people around you, at risk anytime you mash the throttle and negotiate a turn at the same time. I spent more time sawing at the wheel than most lumberjacks do taking down a 100 ft redwood, and this is with the traction control on!
I read a review on this car where the author made a comment about this very thing. It read “If you are a fan of car accidents, disable the traction control and floor it in traffic” When I first read it I laughed hysterically. Now I know it wasn’t a joke. The suspension is so tight and the tires are so sticky that this bad boy generally goes wherever it’s pointed and it 
does it in a frantic matter. The plus side of that equation is that this car handles as well or better than any other front wheel drive car on the planet. As hard as I tried to upset the cars balance I just couldn’t do it. Now, keep in mind I only drive these cars on public roads so I do my best to observe all the pertinent motor vehicle codes, but any chance I got to push it I did. At no time whatsoever did the little SS lose its cool, never.
Speaking of suspension, the Cobalt SS holds the fastest lap for a front wheel drive sport compact vehicle around Germany’s famous Nurburgring with a time of 8 minutes 22 seconds. To put that into perspective, the new 556 horse power Cadillac CTS-V did it in 7 minutes 59 seconds. That’s only 23 seconds behind the pace of the Caddy; simply incredible.
Of course all of this performance comes with a price, and I don’t mean money because this thing is as inexpensive as you can possibly find for this kind of performance. I am referring to refinement and daily driving. The seats were the only redeeming value due to their nice bolstering and suede like inserts. Cost had to be cut somewhere so don’t expect high end fit and finish.
That said, the level of performance that GM has achieved in the new Cobalt SS is impressive on any level. If you take into account its sub $25k price, it represents the same bang for the buck domination that the current Z06 enjoys. This is a performance car that just happens to be inexpensive and have four doors. Maybe the most impressive fact here is that it manages to offer all of this performance while still returning an eco friendly MPG rating nearly 30 for the highway. All of this from four little cylinders and two tiny liters; boost, it is a magical thing!
