Introduction post
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 02-14-2007
Posts: 380
From: Luskville, QC, Canada
Introduction post
Good day everyone !
As my forum name implies, my HHR is still nothing but a dream....
I currently drive an '04 Hyundai Elantra GT that I enjoy very much, but I plan on changing it within the next couple of years or so. (When it's fully paid, or before if I get a very good deal) I'm strongly considering getting an HHR when I replace the car and I'm doing my homework beforehand by being here.
The way I'm seing this, it may end up being a late '08 or early '09 model, and hopefully the SS will be an available option at the time.
If I were to buy today, I'd be hesitating between a barebone LS (2.2 and 5M) and a automatic LT. I've been driving 4 cyl standards all my life and i know that the power would be sufficient, but part of me wants an automatic now, and I wouldn't want to mate that with the base engine.
The good thing about the base LS is that I could keep the stock wheels for winter tires and invest the price difference between the LT and the LS to get myself some basic mods and a really cool set of alloys.
I'm not new to GM; my wife has had a couple of Saturn cars in the past and now drives an '03 Malibu. None of them were really bad nor really exceptional cars; I hope it's different with the HHR.
So if you don't mind me being around and asking questions once in a while that'll be good.
Yves
As my forum name implies, my HHR is still nothing but a dream....
I currently drive an '04 Hyundai Elantra GT that I enjoy very much, but I plan on changing it within the next couple of years or so. (When it's fully paid, or before if I get a very good deal) I'm strongly considering getting an HHR when I replace the car and I'm doing my homework beforehand by being here.
The way I'm seing this, it may end up being a late '08 or early '09 model, and hopefully the SS will be an available option at the time.
If I were to buy today, I'd be hesitating between a barebone LS (2.2 and 5M) and a automatic LT. I've been driving 4 cyl standards all my life and i know that the power would be sufficient, but part of me wants an automatic now, and I wouldn't want to mate that with the base engine.
The good thing about the base LS is that I could keep the stock wheels for winter tires and invest the price difference between the LT and the LS to get myself some basic mods and a really cool set of alloys.
I'm not new to GM; my wife has had a couple of Saturn cars in the past and now drives an '03 Malibu. None of them were really bad nor really exceptional cars; I hope it's different with the HHR.
So if you don't mind me being around and asking questions once in a while that'll be good.
Yves
to the site. Ask away! There's always someone willing to give an answer 
Senior Member
Joined: 07-21-2006
Posts: 1,708
From: Ft Walton Bch FL
Welcome! The 2.2L with the automatic has plenty of power. I, too, drove stick shifts most of my life and felt I needed a manual transmission to get more power from a small engine. I don't feel that way about the HHR. Sometimes it has more power than I really need.
Senior Member
Joined: 04-30-2006
Posts: 9,149
From: Maryland Heights, MO
Welcome!~!
For me it wasn't a choice, for the money, I thought the 2.4 with the extra 30+HP was the way to go. Especially when the mpg's are pretty much the same! Either way you can't go wrong, the HHR ROCKS!!
For me it wasn't a choice, for the money, I thought the 2.4 with the extra 30+HP was the way to go. Especially when the mpg's are pretty much the same! Either way you can't go wrong, the HHR ROCKS!!
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 02-14-2007
Posts: 380
From: Luskville, QC, Canada
I see what you guys mean when you say that the 2.2/auto combo has enough power. I guess it comes down to how good the transmission is at squeezing the power out of the engine. In general, I like GM's auto transmissions; it's just that I'm used to picking my own gears with my 2600 pounds/138 HP little car. It's not a bomb but it's peppy....
In the end, I'll just need to go and test drive the two, but I want to delay that as much as I can, 'cause then I'll buy one sooner than I wanted to...
I'm a big fan of engine torque. I don't like to rev the engine up to redline to get the car moving, and to that regard I like the fact that the 2.2 engine torque peak occurs at a lower RPM than the 2.4. Also, the 2.4 being VVT, I assume that the valves only really open up above 5000 RPM, where I spend less than 1% of my time while driving. Are there torque / HP curves available for both engines?
Yves
In the end, I'll just need to go and test drive the two, but I want to delay that as much as I can, 'cause then I'll buy one sooner than I wanted to...
I'm a big fan of engine torque. I don't like to rev the engine up to redline to get the car moving, and to that regard I like the fact that the 2.2 engine torque peak occurs at a lower RPM than the 2.4. Also, the 2.4 being VVT, I assume that the valves only really open up above 5000 RPM, where I spend less than 1% of my time while driving. Are there torque / HP curves available for both engines?
Yves
