Hello all.
I thought I'd share my opinion of the HHR with you after owning and driving it for a week now. I travel a little over 20 miles per day each way to work, so gas milage was one of the main reasons I was looking at a new car. My previous car got 12 miles per gallon. Another thing I wanted was a wagon of some kind. The options are limited if you want to stay out of the $24,000+ category.

I looked at a few Mazdas and Subarus, but either the price or another feature turned me off. I saw the HHR brochure at the dealer when buying my wife an Equinox a few months ago so I went back to check them out. Of course, the rest was history as I ordered it and waited for it to arrive.

Economy:
After 1 week of driving, I still have more than a quarter tank of gas. Well, that's an A+ in my book. I would have used twice that much in my other car.

Interior:
The interior seems to be constructed out of better materials than previous GM vehicles. Solid, fairly quiet and has a mid-price car feel to it. Keep on keepin' on, General. Grade: B. We're getting there, but there's a little more work to do. Oh, the cup holder won't hold my styrofoam coffee cup securely, this kind of bugs me.

Aesthetics:
The HHR is interesting and unusual. I like the attention that it can draw. Styling gets a B+ It doesn't get an A becaise I think the rear bumper should be a little less prominent, and that the bowtie logo on the back is entirely too large.

Ergonomics:
Ergonomically, the car is easy to drive, the steering wheel is comfortable and has a heavy feel. Pedals are spaced well and easy to operate (manual). Seats offer lumbar support and nearly any seat adjustment is possible. I would have preferred a little more bolstering on the seat bottoms and sides, but they are comfortable for at least the 35 minutes or so that I drive each way. Radio controls are simple and well laid out, though I would like the ability to change from CD to Radio via the steering wheel controls.

The gauges are stylish, yet still easy to read and the information in the info panel is handy and easy to access.

It is a little difficult to see using the rearview mirror or see over your shoulder for a lane change. The mirrors are large and allow you to perform highway maneuvers, but it will take some getting used to not looking over my shoulder for that extra piece of mind.

Power:
The 2.4 liter seems adequate to haul the vehicle around with the manual, though when I drove the automatic with the same engine, it seemed a bit doggy. I would like to see a supercharged model in the future for enthusiasts.
I also encountered significant torque steer on hard launches, a persistant problem with front wheel drive vehicles and one that in my opinion, plagues the HHR as well.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and have enjoyed each moment I've spent in the vehicle. Chevy hit the mark with the HHR on most important points. If there is a little continuos improvement as the HHR goes through its life on the drafting board, it should be one of the top small cars on the road.

I'm glad my fourth Chevrolet is my new black 2LT.

Mark

 

I'm glad you like it almost as much as I love my car.

 

I love my new HHR, I have had mine one week as well. The automatic is just fine for me, I did not purchase these vehicle for speed, it is only a four banger, but me previous six banger passat, truly was not that much better off of the line. This is personally my first Chevy, but the third for my family and I am also very happy that it is an sunburst orange 2lt.

 

Nice review and was well thought out and written! I also have a Black 2LT and just rolled 4000 miles this morning. Not a single problem so far and plenty of lookie loo's!

 

i have had ours for 3 weeks now red LS 1st chevy since van in 80`s coming from a pt cruiser 2.2 has as much power as pt but 2.2 runs much smoother and less noise, gas mileage much better, steering better
the only thing we miss off pt is the large side pockets hhr`s are much smaller

 

They are PT Looser's or PT Snoozer's, around here!!!

 

You can also substitute PP for PT and get some funny results. I usualy refer to them as piece of s**t as in "Hey, look at that piece of s**t!". Sorry to offend anybody who may like that piece of s**t.

 

That is pretty accurate account of those. I would not apologize.

 

Hey Mark. I'm not sure what kind of styrofoam coffee cup's or sizes that you have used in the cup holders. But med or large dunkin dounts and starbucks cups have no problems for me. Its just a pain if you have the armrest down while trying to reach a cup up to drink.

 

I started my new job this week and I've been playing around with the DIC controls and I'm AVG's are 28 MPG and 53 MPH going to and from work.