Is the Chevy Sonic the old Sentra SE-R reincarnated?

Ever noticed a car like you just saw it for the first time? The other day while going to lunch that happened to me, I was pulling in to a parking lot and happened to notice a funky looking car turning the corner, I knew the front end from a distance, big bow tie, big grill, small car, it's a Chevy Sonic. What caught my attention though was the profile as it turned the corner, there was no chopped off tail on this one, but a nice flowing C-piller down to a small trunk. I can honestly say up to that time I had never seen a sedan version of this car. The hatchback version is the only one that has registered with my senses before and I wasn't impressed enough to take a closer look. But this one caught my eye.

I came back home and started google-ing, I was crossing my fingers, BINGO! The 6 Speed 1.4T was an option, and sure enough, they have sold them like that since 2012, huh.. color me impressed. But surely this car being made with all the government nannies looking down on it must weight over 3000lbs, nope. 2600-2800 depending on trim level is what my searches came up with. I knew it wasn't a big car, the wheels looked pushed to the very edge of available space, but coming in at only 173 inches, that's only 3 inches longer than a '91 SE-R, cool.

So is this car the reincarnation of the SE-R? I know it's missing the LSD, and the independent rear suspension, has a couple extra doors, but I think it's about as close as we're gonna see to something like that.

The reviews on it said that the handling was excellent and it was fun to drive. I'll have to find one and see for myself. I did a Craigslist search and they seem to be coming in around 8-12k dollars, not too shabby. Anyone here have one?

Obligatory shot of the car.

its leading my list for a commuter mile eater (Hatchback version, i think the sedan is fugly)

I've got to see how comfortable the front seats are, and if my kids can fit in the back seat for any length of time.

Coincidentally, I saw one of the sedans this morning. It was a lurid shade of green with wide black hood stripes. I have seen the hatches regularly, but maybe the regular colour sedans just don't show up. Camo cars, or something.

I had one (a base Sonic sedan) as a rental when I was in Hawaii last year. I did a review on it here someplace. Cliffs: the base engine is underpowered but still pretty peppy. Handling, braking, and ride even with base wheels/tires was actually pretty good. It felt light and tossable, like if it was modded a bit (or had the turbo motor and better tires), it could be a lot of fun.

If Chevy did a Sonic version of, say, the Fiesta ST.....it could be "the new SE-R" I could see...

This is so backwards from my take on things. I think the sedan Sonic is blah city and the hatchback Sonic is pretty interesting.

I think the little Sonic RS hatch with the 1.4 turbo is kind of a middle ground between a Fiesta ST and a Fiesta 1.0 ecoboost. It's not slow, it's not super boring in the suspension department, and it gets much better than average mpg. Now if they put the 1.0 in the hatchback fiesta body style i'd still prefer that but i think the Sonic RS hatch 1.4T is an attractive little car.

irish44j wrote: If Chevy did a Sonic version of, say, the Fiesta ST.....it could be "the new SE-R" I could see...

Trifecta Tune on a stock 1.4L turbo. +30WHP and +50TQ for under $400, not bad.

155+ HP 175+ TQ

http://www.ddmworks.com/Turbo-Advantage-Calibration-Plus-by-Trifecta-Chevrolet-Sonic-14L-_p_493.html

Add in some suspension goodies that the B-Spec racing crowd use and your all set.

Unfortunately I hate the front end on that thing.

Fr3AkAzOiD wrote:

irish44j wrote: If Chevy did a Sonic version of, say, the Fiesta ST.....it could be "the new SE-R" I could see...

Trifecta Tune on a stock 1.4L turbo. +30WHP and +50TQ for under $400, not bad. 155+ HP 175+ TQ http://www.ddmworks.com/Turbo-Advantage-Calibration-Plus-by-Trifecta-Chevrolet-Sonic-14L-_p_493.html Add in some suspension goodies that the B-Spec racing crowd use and your all set. Unfortunately I hate the front end on that thing.

Yeah, this. I've read that the Trifecta tune will really wake the 1.4 up without hurting fuel economy. I fell in love with the Mazdaspeed3 when I drove it, but if my budget won't allow $15-$17k for a nice used example, you can pick up a nice LT or RS used for well under $10k.

I own a '14 Sonic hatch, the milage isn't quite as good as in the sedan, but I've had nothing but hatchbacks / station wagons since 1976, just couldn't talk myself into a sedan

on summer gas I got one road trip at 42.xx and the return was 37.xx … winter gas, the best I've gotten is 35.xx … I'm hoping that this summer I'll start seeing a slight improvement (I'm at 5000 mi now… should be getting well broken in)

the sedan "should" handle a bit better (lower, less top heavy) even so I like the way my hatch handles, and there are rear bars and coil overs available

I read the initial post and was getting ready to say that due to having come from Europe I far far prefer the hatch version to the (IMHO) Fugly sedan, but to my delight that seems to be the general consensus here.

But to be honest, what is the advantage of this over a Fiesta ST or MCS?

HEck if you're addicted to a sedan you can pick up an early Manual trans Fiesta Sedan for $8-9K with 120hp weighing in at 2100-2200 lb's

Adrian_Thompson wrote: But to be honest, what is the advantage of this over a Fiesta ST or MCS?

$$$

Right now, there aren't many used Fiesta STs on the market. The ones that are out there are still $7k+ more than a nice low mileage Sonic hatch. That's serious coin.

Klayfish wrote:

Adrian_Thompson wrote: But to be honest, what is the advantage of this over a Fiesta ST or MCS?

$$$ Right now, there aren't many used Fiesta STs on the market. The ones that are out there are still $7k+ more than a nice low mileage Sonic hatch. That's serious coin.

True, but the non ST Fiesta is 600 lb's lighter than the Sonic and can be had for less than $8k used

Don't get me wrong, I like the Sonic, but I am duty bound to blow to Ford trumpet!

According to the Ford site. The 1.0 ecoboost is available in the hatch as well as the sedan.

I love little hatchbacks but most of them have too many doors.

I'm becoming interested in these little sedans. Finding one used with a manual is tough, but they seem to exist.
Is the Fiesta sedan actually sub 2200? The hatch weighs more than that, doesn't it?

I test drove the little 1.0L Ecoboost in hatch form. Nice little car with decent umph. I wish it could be had with a sportier tuned gearbox though. I would give an extra 1k for the ST unit in the 1.0l car.

mazdeuce wrote: I'm becoming interested in these little sedans. Finding one used with a manual is tough, but they seem to exist. Is the Fiesta sedan actually sub 2200? The hatch weighs more than that, doesn't it?

Looks like I was wrong on the weight. First Google hit lead me astray. Looks more like 2,500+

I need an embarrassed emoticon

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

Well that's less interesting then. An extra 300 lbs in the 2 transformed the car. Not in a good way. Are the sedan versions of the cars legal for B-spec?

The sonic offers a useable rear seat over the fiesta.

The Sonic RS was my favorite car at last month's auto show. I liked it better than the Fiesta ST even (to sit in) It seems to be a very honest little car.

nocones wrote: The sonic offers a useable rear seat over the fiesta.

This. As much as my inner Ford fanboy wants to love the small fast Fords I can't get past the lack of passenger/cargo space. The useable interior space was one of the best parts about the Escort and original Focus and then they went and done messed that up.

t25torx wrote: So is this car the reincarnation of the SE-R?

No. The SE-R was actually fast relative to other cars in 1991. Using the turbo chryslers as a benchmark, most of them ran mid 15s stock, and the SE-R would be right there with them.

If the Sonic had an incredible 280hp normally aspirated engine and could run with the Fiesta ST we could probably make a case for it.

I think you answered your own question.

Too tall, too heavy, too many doors, no LSD, and worse suspension

It's not a bad car as econoboxes go, I'd look at one if I were in the market. But an SE-R in good shape would smoke it stock for stock.

It amazes me that a 25 year old econo car is still the benchmark for "pocket rockets". Nissan did well on that one! I'd still like to own one someday...

The SE-R is a great car, but are we viewing it though rose tinted glasses.

How's this for a magazine article suggestion. Might work for Classic Motorsport as well as GRM.

Take hot hatch icons from the past. Say MkII Golf GTi, SE-R, Civic SI, R50/53 and compare them to either the Sonic or preferably the Fiesta ST which seems to be the current darling of the press.

Find A1 condition stock examples of each and take them to either Ocala Grand Prix or the FIRM and compare times on an autocross and a small track. I think you will find that the modern cars wipe the floor with the older ones in objective terms, but not necessarily subjective.

Also take the current bottom of the barrel. Something like a manual Versa sedan and see how it compares. It's interesting to see how our old heroes compare to new heroes, but also to current crap. Sort of a re-do of the famous minivan article from the past.