High roller
10-23-2005, 11:23 AM
#1
Founding Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 08-21-2005
Location: NE OH
Posts: 1,207
High roller
If there's ever been a case of a picture of a so-called sport utility vehicle being worth a thousand words, the Chevrolet HHR should be it.
According to plan, the HHR looks like a 1949 Suburban panel delivery truck, with the edges smoothed over. The HHR was designed by the same man who designed the PT Cruiser; he left Chrysler for GM shortly afterward.
The designer's latest venture hopes to cash in on the retro movement, too. And, as if to add obscurity to curiosity, HHR stands for Heritage High Roof.
The roof of the HHR two-wheel drive SUV is higher than a sedan, and its heritage dates back those 57 years. The HHR is built on the platform of the winning Chevy Cobalt small sedan, and incorporates the Cobalt's best features: engine, transmission, suspension.
It's meant to compete against the two-wheel drive PT Cruiser, as well as the likes of Jeep Liberty, Ford Escape and Honda Element, all of which offer four-wheel drive ‹ and have a higher roof, for what it's worth.
In driving the HHR for one week, I got a lot of comments on its styling, all of them favorable. Some thought it was the latest PT Cruiser, and others had no idea.
"Wow. That looks terrific, just terrific," says one fellow in the Jantzen Beach Safeway lot. "I've got a '23 dump truck," he says, "which I wish I could drive on the street because it looks so cool." So there's your market, GM.
Actually, the HHR will be appreciated by people who have the soul of a 1950s California surfer.
My test HHR didn't have leather, but leather might be worth the extra money. The tan cloth interior, despite its name, "cashmere cloth," looks like upholstery from a little old lady's couch.
There's no significant storage in any console between the seats ‹ two cupholders and one slot, is all. The door pockets are very small. However, there's a useful flip-up compartment on top of the dash, as well as a small glovebox.
The windows are controlled on the console by four buttons, located just forward of the gear lever.
So if you park with the windows down and want to lock the car, you have to reach down with two hands in front of the gear lever and hold the buttons down two at a time (or reach with one hand, hold the four buttons down consecutively, and wait).
This arrangement is awkward: Window switches should be in the driver's door. Overall, the cargo storage possibilities are excellent ‹ although the total cargo area of 55.6 cubic feet is 8.4 cubic feet less than in the PT Cruiser.
The rear split-60/40 seat folds flat easily, as does the front passenger seat. The rear cargo floor flips up to reveal a 5-inch- deep tray, where you might hide a wallet or many wallets or a few short stacks of pancakes from a firefighters breakfast.
The rear liftgate is one piece, and raises easily.
Not surprisingly, there isn't much legroom in the rear seat. But kids are fine, as long as three of them can share one drink, because there's only one cupholder back there.
I carried six 10-year-olds on a soccer team for 60 miles, and they were all happy, even the two who squeezed into the "way back."
But cargowise, the HHR isn't in the same league as the Honda Element. GM does not think like Honda.
My test HHR was equipped with the optional 2.4-liter Ecotec engine, which is a wonderful little aluminum four-cylinder, making 172 horsepower and 162 foot-pounds of torque at 5,000 rpm.
It used that torque to climb like a champ up the steep, slow hill to my house, without the four-speed automatic transmission shifting down (which is more than can be said of the powerful Pontiac GTO I tested in the spring or the $74,000 Jaguar I'm driving right now).
I think the five-speed Getrag manual transmission (same as in the PT Cruiser) would be a better bet for the HHR, but the automatic was good.
You get remote starting for an additional $1,000. Just think of how it might feel to climb into a toasty and warmed-up car in your garage or driveway on icy mornings.
The acceleration was as good as the torque. Onto the freeway, foot on the floor, and the HHR 2LT really scoots, which makes it a lot of fun to drive.
The 2.4-liter engine also is relatively efficient; it gets the same Environmental Protection Agency-rated 23 miles per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway (manual transmission) as the standard 2.2-liter engine, which has 30 hp less.
However, premium fuel is recommended for the 2.4 ‹ but not required, GM says.
I averaged 23.4 mpg light-footed around town, including about 120 freeway miles at 70 mph.
The engine also is quiet, thanks to special laminated steel in the firewall.
Read more at http://www.portlandtribune.com/adxl8.cgi?id=X102105
According to plan, the HHR looks like a 1949 Suburban panel delivery truck, with the edges smoothed over. The HHR was designed by the same man who designed the PT Cruiser; he left Chrysler for GM shortly afterward.
The designer's latest venture hopes to cash in on the retro movement, too. And, as if to add obscurity to curiosity, HHR stands for Heritage High Roof.
The roof of the HHR two-wheel drive SUV is higher than a sedan, and its heritage dates back those 57 years. The HHR is built on the platform of the winning Chevy Cobalt small sedan, and incorporates the Cobalt's best features: engine, transmission, suspension.
It's meant to compete against the two-wheel drive PT Cruiser, as well as the likes of Jeep Liberty, Ford Escape and Honda Element, all of which offer four-wheel drive ‹ and have a higher roof, for what it's worth.
In driving the HHR for one week, I got a lot of comments on its styling, all of them favorable. Some thought it was the latest PT Cruiser, and others had no idea.
"Wow. That looks terrific, just terrific," says one fellow in the Jantzen Beach Safeway lot. "I've got a '23 dump truck," he says, "which I wish I could drive on the street because it looks so cool." So there's your market, GM.
Actually, the HHR will be appreciated by people who have the soul of a 1950s California surfer.
My test HHR didn't have leather, but leather might be worth the extra money. The tan cloth interior, despite its name, "cashmere cloth," looks like upholstery from a little old lady's couch.
There's no significant storage in any console between the seats ‹ two cupholders and one slot, is all. The door pockets are very small. However, there's a useful flip-up compartment on top of the dash, as well as a small glovebox.
The windows are controlled on the console by four buttons, located just forward of the gear lever.
So if you park with the windows down and want to lock the car, you have to reach down with two hands in front of the gear lever and hold the buttons down two at a time (or reach with one hand, hold the four buttons down consecutively, and wait).
This arrangement is awkward: Window switches should be in the driver's door. Overall, the cargo storage possibilities are excellent ‹ although the total cargo area of 55.6 cubic feet is 8.4 cubic feet less than in the PT Cruiser.
The rear split-60/40 seat folds flat easily, as does the front passenger seat. The rear cargo floor flips up to reveal a 5-inch- deep tray, where you might hide a wallet or many wallets or a few short stacks of pancakes from a firefighters breakfast.
The rear liftgate is one piece, and raises easily.
Not surprisingly, there isn't much legroom in the rear seat. But kids are fine, as long as three of them can share one drink, because there's only one cupholder back there.
I carried six 10-year-olds on a soccer team for 60 miles, and they were all happy, even the two who squeezed into the "way back."
But cargowise, the HHR isn't in the same league as the Honda Element. GM does not think like Honda.
My test HHR was equipped with the optional 2.4-liter Ecotec engine, which is a wonderful little aluminum four-cylinder, making 172 horsepower and 162 foot-pounds of torque at 5,000 rpm.
It used that torque to climb like a champ up the steep, slow hill to my house, without the four-speed automatic transmission shifting down (which is more than can be said of the powerful Pontiac GTO I tested in the spring or the $74,000 Jaguar I'm driving right now).
I think the five-speed Getrag manual transmission (same as in the PT Cruiser) would be a better bet for the HHR, but the automatic was good.
You get remote starting for an additional $1,000. Just think of how it might feel to climb into a toasty and warmed-up car in your garage or driveway on icy mornings.
The acceleration was as good as the torque. Onto the freeway, foot on the floor, and the HHR 2LT really scoots, which makes it a lot of fun to drive.
The 2.4-liter engine also is relatively efficient; it gets the same Environmental Protection Agency-rated 23 miles per gallon in the city and 30 mpg on the highway (manual transmission) as the standard 2.2-liter engine, which has 30 hp less.
However, premium fuel is recommended for the 2.4 ‹ but not required, GM says.
I averaged 23.4 mpg light-footed around town, including about 120 freeway miles at 70 mph.
The engine also is quiet, thanks to special laminated steel in the firewall.
Read more at http://www.portlandtribune.com/adxl8.cgi?id=X102105
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post