CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
| Car Review #3 - Chevy HHR
Rental for a business week - 5 days with a car with less than 4900 miles on it.
Last week, during yet another work trip to Beaufort, SC, I got another HHR. This is not the first I drove but apparently Avis only gives out Calibers and HHRs for the intermediate category. Not a fan of the Caliber in the least - lets see how the HHR did....
The Good - Driving the HHR in the rain and dry weather - traction was good all around. Wipers worked well and the sound system was very good. Steering was precise and the braking was sound - I like a bit more stiffness in the brake pedal though. Once I played with the seats enough - I found they were pretty good - just took a bit of time to get comfortable. Suspension was pretty good - not fun on 2 of the speed bumps in the govt buildings in Beaufort though. I had to creep over the bumps to prevent my bag from bouncing on the hard plastic.
The merely OK - Fit and finish seemed ok in general. Like a lot of GM cars - a bit more hard plastic than I like. The controls on the steering wheel are not intuitive and I was thinking about that parte being in the 'Bad' or 'Ugly' but I did eventually did figure them out without reading a manual (if it existed). I never could figure out the controls in the Malibu I rented - truly horrible steering wheel controls. Headroom was ok - when the seat as high as I like my hair was touching the top, so I backed the seat down a little bit and was ok. Room otherwise - in the front as I did not sit in the back- was ok. Rear cargo area was - ok - though I really disliked the hard plastic as my laptop and carry on bag slid around a lot. MPG was ok - averaged about 23 mpg and that was with the trip from the Savannah airport to Beaufort and back, being mostly highway - I would have preferred/expected 25-28 mpg. Gas filler on the 'wrong' side - at least for me.
The Bad - Side mirrors sucked - I never got them where I like them and never got comfortable using them because of that. Front window had more viewing area than the Caliber but it was still to small for my liking. Dash gauges were - rudimentry and the steering wheel blocked the top part of the speedometer. Gas pedal too easy to depress - I had a tough time keeping a constant speed outside of cruise control. I do not like using cruise just to get a constant speed. I do not like leather seats at all.... They are lust WAYYYYY to slick. Acceleration was weird - especially with the wheel turned. If the front wheels were turned and I started out - as I unwound the wheel the car would actually accelerate without me doing anything to the gas pedal. I can only guess the large tires really added a lot of drag - I dunno - but none of my cars have done this and I don't think any other rental car has done it either. Seating position relative to the pedals, steering wheel and the center console was only SLIGHTLY better than the Caliber which had a horrible seating position. At least the top side of the shin hit the corner of the center console and this console corner seemed to be a bit more forgiving than in the Caliber. I dislike greatly the way to know what gear you were in on the console. It looks like a dark piece of plastic covers the white letter for the gear selected. Opposite of intuition - I kept seeing all of the other selections and not the one I was in. Only drove at night once and I do not remember if it was the same way at night but I suspect so. I do not remember if there was a dash indicator for the gear selected. That either means there was none or there was one and it was so poorly done I never noticed it.
The Ugly - Side views out the windows were pretty bad and the headrests prevented from seeing out the back at all. I hated backing up at all - just could not see enough of the rear area at all. My headrests was in my way when I turned my head to the back. They were at a comfortable height but they trashed the view out the back. If the car was wet with LOTS of dew or after a good soaking rain and you lifted the rear gate - anything in the cargo area near the door would get wet. Water poured from the door directly into the cargo area. Side step (running board I guess) was irritating to say the least. I could not put my foot down at a 90 degree angle from the knee - the running board was in the way. Seems to have been built for folks with much longer legs or more correctly thighs.
Overall - gives me more ammunition on yet another car NOT to look at and reminds me that - there are no GM cars I would actively look at if I were in the market. The HHR is only, maybe, slightly better than the Caliber imho..
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Brian
"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain |
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Lurch77
Stop looking at me.
Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
 ·CenturyLink
 ·HiOconto
| From day one I have always thought of this as just a copy cat of Chrysler's PT Cruiser. Same rough shape, shame throw back styling, same size, etc. It was blatantly obvious GM didn't come up with this idea on their own.
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Selfish, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others. |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | Yep - when some of the county folks asked what an HHR was - I said - a Chevy version of the PT Cruiser. |
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seederjed
join:2005-02-28
Snellville, GA
| reply to Lurch77
The HHR is merely the midget version of the old GM panel trucks fron the 40's.
I also drove one for a week down in Scottsdale, AZ, and agree completely w/ your accessment.
I found it to be deceptively large inside, but like you said, once inside it was rudimentary.
In all fairness, I despise driving the PT Cruiser as well. |
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Boomerang86
Got FUD?
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join:2002-10-18
VampireState
clubs:
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1 edit | reply to CylonRed
We wound up with one of these in of all places... Molokai (Hawaii) last January. Budget gave us one after reserving an economy car; thank God we didn't have to drive an Aveo there!!
Molokai rental cars lead a rough life, and our HHR had plently of miles on the clock when we picked it up. Yes it's cheap, but plenty of cargo room and comfortable too. IMHO a good value, if you agree with the styling and get a decent deal.
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Don't pay ME back, pay it forward. |
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NOCTech75
join:2009-06-29
Marietta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to CylonRed
HHR-SS classified in SCCA's T3 catagory, chaos ensues behind as the something lets go (probably the turbo):
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JVLy2fsq0M |
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Mchart
Super Joe
join:2004-01-21
Gurnee, IL | Why in the hell would anyone think of track racing a car like that?
I really do wonder about some people.
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THIS IS SPENCER. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - I HAVE JOE. RETURNING TO BASE. |
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mbaha
join:2009-03-01 | reply to NOCTech75
That is awesome!! |
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NOCTech75
join:2009-06-29
Marietta, GA
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to Mchart
said by Mchart  :Why in the hell would anyone think of track racing a car like that? I really do wonder about some people. More or less because it's their.. and it's different. It needs springs badly, about 4 seconds off the other T3 and can get some serious air if he hits the curb too hard.
This ain't the drivers first rodeo, he's been road racing for awhile now. |
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Lurch77
Stop looking at me.
Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
·CenturyLink
·HiOconto
| reply to Mchart
said by Mchart :Why in the hell would anyone think of track racing a car like that? I really do wonder about some people. If it has an engine it can be raced. And I always like seeing something different.
--
Selfish, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others. |
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3SGTE
ST215W
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-23
there
clubs:
| said by Lurch77 :If it has an engine it can be raced. And I always like seeing something different. Agreed!!
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Striving for Parfection. |
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Mchart
Super Joe
join:2004-01-21
Gurnee, IL
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| reply to Lurch77
The problem is that the HHR wasn't designed for track racing, nor can any amount of modifications make it good for such a thing. Certain things aren't made for certain activities. Even if you try making it work for said activity - It's still gonna suck.
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THIS IS SPENCER. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - I HAVE JOE. RETURNING TO BASE. |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | Neither was my '89 Civic HB but DAMN - it was fun to do performance driving schools in the car. |
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Mchart
Super Joe
join:2004-01-21
Gurnee, IL | FWD + Track != fun |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
2 edits | Got the car to 100 on the back stretch and took turn one at Mid-Ohio at 70 mph - that IS fun.
A emergency room doc who was one of my instructors commented on how he had forgot how much fun the car was and considered buying a Civic HB to fix up and take to the track - he usually wen to to the schools with a screaming yellow M3. |
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MattBC
Out of the gym injured for 12 months now
join:2006-02-01
Victoria, BC
| I wish there was a track around here that I could play with my car on. Not the fastest car, but fun nonetheless - an 09 Sentra SE-R Spec V. It's decently set up, just went for a performance drive in it tonight with the wife on a small and quiet highway and back roads. Some good driving to be had around here.
Matt
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Bored? Like to read someone's opinion? Hell, like to listen to someone rant about obscure life matters? Read my new blog at »therantaholic.blogspot.com. It's like crack for the intelligent mind! |
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Ammler
Premium
join:2005-04-19
Pittsburgh, PA | reply to CylonRed
The reason the HHR looks like a PT Crusier clone, is because the same person designed both vehicles.
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Nesbitt |
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·AT&T DSL Service
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| I definitely did not know that but it certainly explains everything.
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The Mogambo Guru economic newsletter, an avocational exercise to heap disrespect on those who desperately deserve it. |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
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| reply to Lurch77
said by Lurch77 :If it has an engine it can be raced. And I always like seeing something different. 1989 Dodge Minivan (Faux wood panelling and all) vs Camaro
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLIlqY6S···=related
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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Mchart
Super Joe
join:2004-01-21
Gurnee, IL
·AT&T Yahoo
·RoadRunner Cable
| The point is that the amount of money that is required to make such a piece of crap DO that, you could have spent /less/ on the Camaro and achieved even better results.
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THIS IS SPENCER. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - I HAVE JOE. RETURNING TO BASE. |
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