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10-04-2012, 11:02 AM
Filed under: Budget (http://www.autoblog.com/category/economy/), Hatchback (http://www.autoblog.com/category/hatchbacks/), Chevrolet (http://www.autoblog.com/category/chevrolet/), First Drives (http://www.autoblog.com/category/driving/)
A Rally Sport Badge Is Exactly What The Doctor Ordered
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/10/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-fd.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive/)
After spending a week with the Chevrolet Sonic LTZ (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/06/2012-chevrolet-sonic-ltz-review/) five-door, and realizing how much better it was than its Aveo (http://www.autoblog.com/chevrolet/aveo/) predecessor, we were excited to get behind the wheel of the all-new 2013 Sonic RS (http://www.autoblog.com/chevrolet/sonic/) - the gussied-up hatchback seemed to smartly address all of the standard model's minor shortcomings of appearance and driving dynamics.
To test our assumptions in the flesh, we braved a crowded airport and jetted to San Francisco to spend the better part of an afternoon with the impressive Chevrolet (http://www.autoblog.com/chevrolet/) B-segment five-door.
The hour-long flight gave us plenty of time to do our homework, pore over its specifications and set realistic expectations based on its price and performance. When it arrives later this year, it will have a base price of $20,995, meaning it will compete with loaded versions of the Ford Fiesta (http://www.autoblog.com/ford/fiesta/), Honda Fit (http://www.autoblog.com/honda/fit/) and Hyundai Accent (http://www.autoblog.com/hyundai/accent/). More importantly, Chevrolet's RS (Rally Sport) badge means it gains an appearance package with minor mechanical upgrades - thus it should not to be lumped into the hot hatch category with more focused adversaries (we'd have to see an "SS" badge and hardware for that to happen).
Armed with the insight, we eagerly jumped behind the wheel of a bright-red RS and zipped around real estate north of the Bay Area for a few hours.
We arrived. We drove. We enjoyed.Continue reading 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS [w/video] (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/04/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive-review-video/)
2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS [w/video] (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/04/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive-review-video/) originally appeared on Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com) on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
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More... (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/04/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive-review-video/)
A Rally Sport Badge Is Exactly What The Doctor Ordered
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/10/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-fd.jpg (http://www.autoblog.com/photos/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive/)
After spending a week with the Chevrolet Sonic LTZ (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/01/06/2012-chevrolet-sonic-ltz-review/) five-door, and realizing how much better it was than its Aveo (http://www.autoblog.com/chevrolet/aveo/) predecessor, we were excited to get behind the wheel of the all-new 2013 Sonic RS (http://www.autoblog.com/chevrolet/sonic/) - the gussied-up hatchback seemed to smartly address all of the standard model's minor shortcomings of appearance and driving dynamics.
To test our assumptions in the flesh, we braved a crowded airport and jetted to San Francisco to spend the better part of an afternoon with the impressive Chevrolet (http://www.autoblog.com/chevrolet/) B-segment five-door.
The hour-long flight gave us plenty of time to do our homework, pore over its specifications and set realistic expectations based on its price and performance. When it arrives later this year, it will have a base price of $20,995, meaning it will compete with loaded versions of the Ford Fiesta (http://www.autoblog.com/ford/fiesta/), Honda Fit (http://www.autoblog.com/honda/fit/) and Hyundai Accent (http://www.autoblog.com/hyundai/accent/). More importantly, Chevrolet's RS (Rally Sport) badge means it gains an appearance package with minor mechanical upgrades - thus it should not to be lumped into the hot hatch category with more focused adversaries (we'd have to see an "SS" badge and hardware for that to happen).
Armed with the insight, we eagerly jumped behind the wheel of a bright-red RS and zipped around real estate north of the Bay Area for a few hours.
We arrived. We drove. We enjoyed.Continue reading 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS [w/video] (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/04/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive-review-video/)
2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS [w/video] (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/04/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive-review-video/) originally appeared on Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com) on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/04/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive-review-video/) | Email this (http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20340973/) | Comments (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/04/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive-review-video/#comments)
More... (http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/04/2013-chevrolet-sonic-rs-first-drive-review-video/)