Used 2013 Chevrolet Sonic Consumer Reviews
See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
RS Manual - fun drive, great value! Built in U.S.A!
As a college student and an avid auto industry enthusiast, It was time for me to sell my old beast of an SUV and purchase my first NEW car. I was sorting through competitors such as the Mini Cooper S, Volkswagen GTI, Volkswagen Beetle, Fiat 500C, Hyundai Veloster Turbo. After adding up all the features I wanted in my next car purchase, and compared the competition, the answer was clear! For what I would be spending on a GTI or Mini I got a whole lot cheaper with the Sonic RS. Granted those vehicles are better performing, yes, but I'm a college guy on a limited budget, that wanted character, performance, and value! I love my Sonic RS. The 6-speed is a blast and sharp corners are my favorite!
Love my Sonic!
The only thing that I do not like on this car would be the crappy tires that come from the factory. Even with traction control and just a tiny bit of snow there is no traction. I truly feel that better tires would make this car unstoppable. I have had a few issues with the bluetooth system and my phone. Some phones work better than others but I have not had my dealer check these issues yet. The car is easy to drive, gets around in traffic like a dream, and with the turbo, it can certainly keep up. Gas mileage is great. I'm getting around 35mpg on the highway consistently. I'll say so far so good. I've had the car almost a year and have around 15,500 miles on it.
Great, great choice for a small car
Have LTZ with the 1.4 Turbo. Great engine, feels strong and pulls well. Combined gas mileage so far is above 30 MPG in mostly city driving. Composed ride, car sticks to the road in turns. The car feels very solid, a pleasure to drive. Visibility is great. The media system works well, the phone operation, the media applications and the radio itself. Large screen provides a lot of information in a friendly and clear manner. Remote Link with OnStar allows you to start the engine from far, far away, all done via satellite. Tried to use the turn by turn directions via OnStar and it did work very well too, you can download your route via smartphone. Overall happy with the car.
110,000 miles and going strong
We bought the sonic LTZ in early 2014. Since then the only thing it went in the shop for was a minor coolant leak at the thermostat housing.(covered under warranty of course) We have had one other problem and that was with the OEM battery. All new car batteries are of low quality. This one was no different, it developed a bad cell at around 32,000 miles. It was rated a 3 year battery and became problematic at the middle of the second year. But that's it! No problems since, not even a flat tire. The ride is surprisingly comfortable. All our compact cars were always a compromise in ride vs MPG. The Sonic is the only exception so far. The mpg is not as good as I would like. However the power delivered is great, and there is the trade off I guess. Overall one of the best car purchases we have made in a long while and are happy to have an American brand finally deliver what we expect. Update: After passing 125,000 I have only one issue that really shouldn't have been. The aluminum oil pan drain plug threads came apart. There was only one time that the oil was changed by a shop. I have done all the other changes using a torque meter set to 14nm. Even if the shop over torqued those threads it should have never came apart that easily. Replacement is rather costly and made much harder by lack of a gasket system rather than silicone bead. This problem is eliminated by aftermarket replacement pans as they add a steel insert into the pan and eliminate the stainless thread insert. Should have been done this way in the first place. Other than a battery replacement and now a timing belt maintenance replacement I haven't had any problems. I will be doing these repairs myself saving hundreds of dollars. This car has been a very good purchase. Still getting 35 on the highway and 27 or so mixed driving. 135000...the biggest thing is the oil pan ..the plug and the pans threads in the pan ..strips when mech use air tools to tighten the plug...14nm to tightening only!
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
My 2013 sonic
It’s not a BMW, people, it’s an economy car! For an economy car i couldn’t be happier. My daughter and I drove ours 2000 miles in 5 days. I was amazed at how it handled at 80 mph, got 32highway mpg (it’s a ‘13). I’m 6’2 and had plenty of leg and cabin room. Turbo excellerates very well, lots of power, never felt cramped or restless at all. Love the fact that it fits anywhwere, moves around everything with ease, and a great “zipping around town” car. We have harsh winters, so a couple of sandbags hidden in the spare tire compartment helped a ton. Overall damn good car.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value