2019 Chevrolet Sonic Road Test and Review

2019 Chevrolet Sonic sedan and hatchback atpark ・ Photo by Chevrolet

Crossover SUVs are so pervasive these days that if you were a subcompact sedan in today’s market, you’d probably feel like an accordion player who wants to join a rap act. You might be the best accordion player in the world, but the public just doesn’t want that.

The 2019 Chevrolet Sonic isn’t the best subcompact in the world, but it has something in common with that fictional accordion player. It does exactly what it is designed to do. It will transport four adults in reasonable comfort, provide space for their luggage, deliver credible performance, and offer excellent fuel economy.  But in this market, that doesn’t guarantee sales. In fact, it doesn’t even guarantee a car’s future existence. Still, we figure if you’re reading this, you have an interest in buying a small sedan or hatchback, and the Sonic offers both. Chevy’s subcompact competes with models like the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, and Toyota Yaris, and we think it's one of the best of the bunch.

Exterior

Some vehicles in the subcompact segment are so plain they fade into the background. Others go to extreme lengths to get noticed. The 2019 Chevrolet Sonic’s exterior style is somewhere in between. Since the Sonic is sold in a number of markets around the world, it has an international flavor. To our practiced eyes, both the sedan and hatchback versions are attractive and clean, and you could make the case that the hatchback looks like a diminutive crossover suv.

It’s hard to call an entry-level vehicle like the Sonic upscale, but the use of LED daytime running lights is one upscale touch. And the model offers a sporty RS package that includes a rear spoiler and black Chevy “bowtie” emblems on the front, rear, wheel center caps. The RS kit is available on sedan and standard on the hatchback. The base Sonic LS has steel wheels with plastic covers, but all other models sport attractive alloy wheels. While many small car buyers choose sedans, we're partial to the hatchback version. 

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Interior

The designers of the Chevy Sonic resisted the impulse to draw a wacky, hey-look-at-this interior. Instead, they opted to craft a comfortable cabin equipped with controls that are logically placed and easy to use. 

The Sonic’s instrumentation, dashboard, and controls are neither boringly conventional nor wildly innovative. Instead, the instrument nacelle and centrally mounted audio and heating/air conditioning controls are tastefully designed and well-executed. You won’t need to thumb through the owner’s manual to see how things work. At the same time, the Sonic offers a lot of stuff. Steering wheel controls, air conditioning, and 60/40 split-folding rear seat are all standard across the line. A power-adjustable driver’s seat and heated front seats are standard on the Premier trim and available on the LT. A heated steering wheel is available on sedans, and a front map light and rear cargo area light are both standard across the line.

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Infotainment

Most vehicles in the subcompact segment are built to a price, so you can’t expect much in the way of high-tech infotainment. But in both sedan and hatchback configurations, the Chevrolet Sonic exceeds expectations.

The standard system is the Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system, which, in this installation, features a 7-inch-diagonal color touchscreen. The good news for those of you who are addicted (or would like to become addicted) to phone-enabled navigation is the fact Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone projection capability are standard as well. Beyond that, the system can also be equipped with a Chevrolet 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, and it includes a 3GB/one-month data trial. Two USB ports are standard on all models as well.

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Powertrains

Most subcompact cars are engineered to offer excellent fuel economy at a palatable price and thus driving enjoyment mostly goes out the window. Not so with the Chevrolet Sonic. Fuel economy is just a few miles per gallon below the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris, but the Sonic offers about a 25% horsepower advantage over the Nissan and Toyota and eight more horsepower than the Fit. The result is a small car that offers much better acceleration and overall performance than you might expect — a genuine advantage for the Sonic over its competition.

The single available engine is a 1.4-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder with a cast-iron block and aluminum head. Fuel delivery is via sequential multi-port fuel injection with electronic throttle control. The mighty little engine whirs out 138 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque. It's backed by two transmission choices: a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. It should also be noted that the automatic is a conventional transmission instead of a continuously variable design that has what some see as peculiar characteristics.

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Driving Impressions

As might be gleaned from what we just wrote about the Sonic’s powertrain, its driving performance is significantly better than virtually all of its subcompact sedan/hatchback competition. Expecting a car with its low purchase price and emphasis on comfort to perform at “hot-hatch” levels is expecting far too much, but that’s not what the typical subcompact buyer wants anyway.

What they will find in the Sonic is a vehicle that will easily accelerate onto expressways, stop cleanly in a relatively short distance, and offer a quiet, comfortable ride. You might expect a bit of lag from the turbocharged engine, but since it has been tuned for around-town drivability rather than peak performance, those fears are unfounded. As a front-wheel drive vehicle, it tends to understeer, but the tendency is not so pronounced that it’s disconcerting. We don’t think most Sonic drivers will push their cars that hard in the first place.

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Safety/Driver Aids

Many people who drive small cars are cognizant of safety issues since they are aware most vehicles on the road are bigger than the ones they drive. Since physics suggests mass wins in a collision, it is important that a small car carry as much safety equipment and technology as possible.

The Sonic fills the bill with 10 standard airbags, including side-curtain airbags, pelvic/thorax side-impact airbags (both front and rear), and front knee airbags. Seat-belt pre-tensioners are standard, as is the OnStar communications system that can be helpful in the aftermath of a collision. Heading the list of standard active safety features is the StabiliTrak electronic stability control system, and a rearview camera is also standard. The Sonic offers a Driver Confidence Package on LT and Premier trim levels that includes a forward collision alert, a lane-departure warning, and rear parking sensors. 

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Passenger and Cargo Space

In addition to a very pleasant driving experience, the Sonic also offers useful interior space. The Sonic sedan is 2 inches longer in overall length than the Toyota Yaris and almost 12 inches longer than the Honda Fit hatchback. It is also wider than most of its close competitors.

Those dimensions make a slight positive difference in the interior room. The Sonic sedan offers 90.0 cubic feet of passenger space, which is about the same as the Versa and slightly larger than the Yaris. The Sonic sedan’s trunk measures 14.9 cubic feet, and the Sonic hatchback offers 19 cubic feet behind the rear seat with that seat in use. With the rear seat folded (it folds almost flat) the rear cargo area is 47.7 cubic feet.  In the front seats, headroom, and legroom are nearly identical to its key competitors.

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Fuel Economy

The Chevrolet Sonic's 1.4-liter turbocharged engine offers good fuel consumption numbers with either six-speed manual or the six-speed automatic.

Fuel economy for the front-drive, manual-equipped Sonic is 28 mpg in the city and 37 mpg on the highway. With the six-speed automatic, fuel economy drops slightly to an EPA-rated 27 mpg city/35 mpg highway. In comparison, the front-drive Honda Fit has EPA ratings of up to 33 mpg city/40 mpg highway, and the Nissan Versa has ratings of up to 31 mpg city/39 mpg highway. The Toyota Yaris achieves up to 32 mpg city/40 mpg highway. The Sonic has a 12.2-gallon fuel tank, offering good range before a fill-up is required.

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Trim Levels

The 2019 Chevrolet Sonic is offered in both four-door sedan and five-door hatchback configurations. The sedan comes in three trim levels — LS, LT, and Premier — while the hatchback is offered in LT and Premier trims.

As mentioned previously, for 2019 the hatchback features the RS appearance package as standard equipment. In addition to the exterior appearance items we’ve already described, the interior features piano black décor, leatherette flat-bottom steering wheel, RS-logo floor mats, and available red cloth seating. The RS package is optional on the sedan. Cruise control is standard on LT and Premier trims, while the keyless-open-and-start feature is standard on the Premier and available on the LT. Remote starting is standard on the LT and Premier hatchback and the Premier sedan and available on the LT sedan with automatic transmission.

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Pricing and Value

The Chevrolet Sonic is a good-looking, well-equipped, five-passenger subcompact that is offered as both sedan and hatchback. Because of its spunky 138-horsepower turbocharged engine, the Sonic delivers a more satisfying driving experience than some of its “pure transportation” competitors. We like its simple, well-designed instruments and controls, and we applaud the 7-inch touchscreen infotainment interface. Much more expensive cars have a far poorer set-up.

In a sea of blandness, we think the Sonic is one of the best-looking vehicles in its segment, and we especially like the hatchback version. The least expensive Sonic LS sedan has an MSRP of $15,420. An LT hatchback has a suggested retail price of $19,420, and the top-of-the-line Premier hatchback has a base price of $21,520. Pricing is in line with most competitors with the exception of the Nissan Versa, which is significantly less expensive.

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