Opinions on Chevy HHR

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Originally Posted By: m0ntels
She's the artsy type so she like things that are "unique." We haven't driven one yet, we most likely will this weekend.


The HHR looks practical, but imo it definitely isn't artsy. If she wants something unique and a little artsy then I second the Nissan Cube. It's a lot smaller than the HHR though.
 
Everything is relative. If she's coming from a dying cavalier, then the HHR will seem pretty peppy. I used to get them all the time as rentals on travel, most with pretty low mileage on them. I liked them, and thought about getting one before I bought my Escape. The only hangup is that the window switches are on the center stack under the radio (IIRC) which I found annoying. That and visibility isn't the greatest out of the windows..

Definitely better than a PT Cruiser..
 
MUCH better than a PT Cruiser.

The PT Snoozer has two problems. No power and no fuel economy. The HHR HAS power and fuel economy, and much more.

I drive a Silverado with a topper, but after renting two or three HHR's, I realized that the HHR could do about 90% of what I need a truck for, while getting twice the gas mileage.

The only problem I found was that a model with a sunroof takes up an extra couple of inches of headroom, and that my hair was touching the headliner. That wouldn't be an issue for someone shorter than 6 foot 3 inches.

I really liked the ones that I rented, and I could see one in my garage.
 
If she likes the HHR, get her the HHR. It's not a BAD car and kinda like the previous poster said, if she's coming from an old Cav, it'll seem like a Ferarri. Of course, you said she liked your Fit, as well. You could give her yours and use it as an excuse to get another, lol. But if Mama says HHR, you better be heading to the Chevy dealer.
 
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
I think the Vibe would be a better choice. My dad had an '06 Ion, which I think is based on the same platform and it felt really cheap. He had unexpected problems with the front bushings giving out causing it to clunk badly at around 20k miles of gentle highway driving. He also had a lot of problems with all of the weather stripping on the car. It fell off on at least 2 of the doors and was peeling off the back window as well. Is the HHR significantly different than the Ion/Cobalt? Gas mileage was good, though.


I agree. I think the Vibe beats the HHR in every mechanical aspect.
 
Originally Posted By: JakeR22
I agree. I think the Vibe beats the HHR in every mechanical aspect.


Are there any facts to be delivered here, or is this just based on the completely bogus reason that the Vibe has a noisy, slow Toyota engine?
 
I have not read any of the post on this thread, but did drive an HHR for a month as a rental while in San Diego. It was by far my least favorite car that I've ever driven. The ergonomics were terrible for me. I had to duck to see traffic lights and the air flow over the open sun roof actually hurt my ears. I'd ask for a downgrade before I ever drove an HHR as a rental car again. In my opinion it was a POS from top to bottom. I've driven many of the economy and compact cars for a month at a time and this was my least favorite to drive.
 
I just read through the thread...

Have her rent one for a week and drive it around town in traffic. I'd be willing to bet she looks for something else.

Why not get a Scion XB or Mazda 5 (sporty microvan that gets 30 mpg)?
 
I had one for a rental for a day, and while the ergonomics of it aren't great, it wasn't horrible either. It's not a car I'd want to drive everyday, but I thought it was kind of fun to cruise it around for a bit. It was especially nice with the sunroof, and I had no problems with clearance. I'm 6'2" for the record, and I do have a problem with clearance in my Monte Carlo, my head is against the roof if I sit straight up. The powertrain used in them is excellent.

It's hardly my least favorite rental car, the atrocious Nissan Versa currently holds that title.
 
Originally Posted By: mstrjon32
Originally Posted By: JakeR22
I agree. I think the Vibe beats the HHR in every mechanical aspect.


Are there any facts to be delivered here, or is this just based on the completely bogus reason that the Vibe has a noisy, slow Toyota engine?


As you'll notice, I stated I "think", as in it's my opinion, just like every post in this thread.

I think the Vibe has better visability, better console storage are, better ergonomics, and a few other things that are just my opinion.

Not to mention it's cheaper, and I don't think the engine is noisy.
 
Well, we took one for a quick drive yesterday. We drove a 2009 with the 2.4 motor. The car itself drove okay and it had much less body roll than I expected. I would have liked some bigger brakes. The window switches were on the door panel where they belong, so they must have changed that. The inner door handles felt like I could rip them right off. That was the cheapest part of it to me.

I drove it first, and while mechanically it seemed fine, I couldn't stand driving it. I'm probably a little over 6 feet tall and I had the seat lowered all the way and the corner at the top of the A-pillar was right at eye level. It was hard for me to see to make a right on red. With the sun visor down, I had to learn down to see at all. Sitting in the passenger seat was okay, but it seemed like my shoulder was pressed against the side of the car, so I don't know if I'd want to take a long drive in it.

She didn't have any of the problems I did of course, so she still loves it. I want her to drive some other things yet, but we'll see what happens I guess. There wasn't anything wrong with the car itself, it just wasn't right for me.
 
a womans expaectations and requirements in a vehicle are completely different than what her husband thinks she should get/like/want.
when I was selling saturns in '02, my wife wanted a VUE, but I would not get a 1st yr car. I wanted a LW200 (better equipment, better mpg, more room) but she would NOT drive a station wagon. we got a L200 sedan instead. when the lease was up, I relented and let her get her VUE. we still have that '04 VUE, 5 yrs and 70K miles later. she made a good decision (as usual).
 
Originally Posted By: MGregoir
Side windows the size of postage stamps. I don't like the shrinking glass area of modern cars.

Some cars have such short windows, it looks like it would be impossible to rest your arm on the window sill unless you were sitting on 5 pillows? Can very short people actually see out those windows without raising the seat?
 
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Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
MUCH better than a PT Cruiser.

The PT Snoozer has two problems. No power and no fuel economy. The HHR HAS power and fuel economy, and much more.

Everybody seems to knock the PTC, but it has been around a long time and is one of Chrysler's better selling vehicles, so it can't be all bad. Most people I've spoken to that own them like them, despite the poor mileage. Say what you want about it's exterior styling, I think the interior is one of the best designs around. It's interesting that GM hired the designer of the PTC away from Chrysler to design--you guessed it--the HHR.

Hey, does anyone know if a MT is available on the HHR?
 
A Chevy HHR is just a big ugly PT Cruiser, made with real GM quality. You might as well get the real thing instead.

The base PT Cruiser is somewhat underpowered (since the PT cruiser is so heavy), so don't try to win the Indy 500 with it, or do tricks in it.

But taken as a whole it looks nice, and is convenient to drive. Perfect wife/mom car.
 
Quote:
It's interesting that GM hired the designer of the PTC away from Chrysler to design--you guessed it--the HHR.


He went downhill fast. Did GM give him drugs or a pre-frontal lobotomy?
 
Originally Posted By: Cogito
I think the interior is one of the best designs around. It's interesting that GM hired the designer of the PTC away from Chrysler to design--you guessed it--the HHR.


The PT Cruiser looks like a chrysler from the 1930s, the HHR like some GM car from the 1940s. Except less atractive and with a lower build quality.

The PT cruiser is fabulous body/interior design (I have the 2004, before they moved the window controls from the center console), but the engine/drivetrain and suspension are not that good for car sold in the year 2009. The PT cruiser is also very heavy for some reason which contributes to its middling gas milage and performance.

If chyrsler put in electronic stability control, a turbo-diesel engine, and a chrome grille they would have a real winner. The problem is that chyrsler is probably going to manage this for cashflow, vs sinking any new R&D into this.

The fact that this car has sold over 1.3Million vehicles with essentially two model years, means its obvious that its a good fit to the market segment which wants a tasteful, roomy, compact and distinctly American car.
 
Yesterday I saw an HHR with the rear side windows tinted the same as the body colour. Looked pretty much like this.
2007-chevrolet-hhr-panel-front-left.jpg

It's the best looking HHR I've seen. I wish the HHR was a bit bigger, not as big as the Flex(where most people look tiny inside) but somewhere inbetween.
 
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