The 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt shares a foundation with the poorly received Saturn Ion. Critics, however, applaud the Cobalt as a significantly better vehicle than the Saturn, serving as testament to the power of appealing design and high-quality materials, because the Cobalt drives much like the Ion.

Droning from under the hood of our 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt LS sedan was the same 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine found in many General Motors products. This dual overhead cam, all-aluminum, 16-valve engine makes 145horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 155 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm running on regular unleaded fuel.

On base and LS models, this engine comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission. Our test Cobalt was equipped with the optional four-speed automatic that is standard on the luxed-up LT and which includes a standard traction control system. According to the EPA, these powertrain combinations should get city/highway mileage of 25/34 and 24/32 respectively. We averaged a dismal 22.6 mpg during a mix of city and highway driving.

Like the Saturn Ion, the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt comes with electric drive-by-wire steering, an outdated torsion beam rear axle suspension, and drum rear brakes. ABS is optional on the base model, but comes standard on LS, LT, and SS Supercharged. Base and LS models have 15-inch wheels with 195/60 tires, while the LT gets 16-inch alloys with 205/55 treads.

Curb weights range from just over 2,800 pounds for the base Cobalt Coupe to just under 3,000 pounds for the Cobalt LT Sedan. Front/rear weight distribution is 59/41 for sedans and 60/40 for coupes, giving the family four-door a slight nod for balance over the sporty two-door.