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"Points: 382.6   The Cobalt SS may be the most underrated car in the world. We&amp;#039;re about to set it free of that title.   It&amp;#039;s no secret GM engineers spent a lot of time tearing around racetracks in the Cobalt SS, fine-tuning the car&amp;#039;s FE5 suspension. They did one heckuva job, as how else can you explain a car with a torsion-beam rear axle handling as well as this one does?   And handle it did \u2014 everything we could throw at it, from the racetrack-worthy back roads of California&amp;#039;s Central Valley, to a challenging autocross course, to our traditional performance testing. In the last, the Cobalt SS posted test-best numbers in the skidpad and slalom \u2014 a superb 0.92g and 70.0 mph, respectively. And it didn&amp;#039;t just win, it dominated the others.   But what surprised us even more than the raw data was how composed and quick the Cobalt SS was on back roads. Its slightly heavy steering has near-perfect weighting, and the car goes exactly where you tell it. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m impressed!&amp;quot; said Kott. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s the rental car that went to hot-rod school. It feels light, turns in like crazy, has lots of grip and only moderate body roll.&amp;quot; He admitted the Cobalt SS occasionally displayed an &amp;quot;odd, disjointed feel while cornering \u2014 probably attributable to the torsion-beam rear axle \u2014 but it&amp;#039;s sure hard to upset this car.&amp;quot;   Another strong point for the Cobalt SS is its 2.0-liter turbocharged and direct-injected 4-cylinder, which makes 260 bhp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. Not only is this sweet engine virtually lag-free, it&amp;#039;s also vice-free, as it&amp;#039;s smooth and quiet, and has &amp;quot;right now&amp;quot; power at all times. Torque peaks at just 2000 rpm \u2014 yet it makes usable power all the way to its 6300-rpm redline. It&amp;#039;s mated to the most precise gearbox of the group, a 5-speed, &amp;quot;marred only by its cheap-feeling plastic knob,&amp;quot; said Kott.   One of the few sore points dynamically for the Cobalt SS is its ability at times to put this wondrous power to its front wheels, because for reasons we can&amp;#039;t comprehend, GM gave us a Cobalt without the optional limited-slip front differential. So in tight turns, spinning the inside front wheel was as easy as, well, pressing hard on the throttle pedal. This was especially apparent around the autocross, where exiting slow corners was an exercise in right-foot willpower. But because of its nimble handling, its best time was just 0.16 sec. slower than the all-wheel-drive WRX. Just think what it could have done with the $495 limited-slip diff!   What else is cool about the Cobalt SS? For its $23,510 as-tested price, it comes with forged-alloy wheels, 4-piston Brembo front brakes, a boost gauge and the ability to perform no-lift shifts via an algorithm in the engine controller.   What&amp;#039;s not cool about the Cobalt SS? The interior. &amp;quot;It doesn&amp;#039;t have the quality feel of the others,&amp;quot; said Hong. The plastics, the fabric covering the seats (although the lateral support is quite good) and the lack of proper cubbies are annoying. Obviously, engineering time was spent elsewhere.   Then there&amp;#039;s the exterior. Despite those racy wheels and new front air dam, let&amp;#039;s face it: it still looks like a Cobalt, which means bland with a capital &amp;quot;B.&amp;quot; But maybe that&amp;#039;s part of its allure: &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a sleeper car,&amp;quot; said Hong, &amp;quot;and no one will expect it to be so fast.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-comparison-tests/reviews/a20326/a-time-for-turbos-chevrolet-cobalt-ss/>