Used 2016 Chevrolet Sonic RS 4dr Hatchback (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A) Consumer Reviews

2016 Sonic 1.4T LT Hatch 100K review

Back in 2016 I stacked a bunch of discounts and got this car in 2016 for 14.5K new. Was torn between a 2017 Cruze RS and a Sonic but chose the Sonic as it was 7K cheaper. Pros: I do like the quirky gen 1 styling a lot better than gen 2. Good reliability (1.4T is considered to be less reliable than the 1.8 but haven't had a problem). The 1.4T is a much more fun car to drive tho and has nice acceleration w/o turbo lag. Comfortable seats, sunroof doesn't leak, decent amount of space for a compact. Road noise is probably best in its class (its quieter than a same year corolla). Doesn't start rattling like other small cars at high speed. Enough room under the hood that w/ a bit of know-how and youtube you can easily fix and/or do preventative maint at home. 6-speed automatic is solid, quiet and doesn't get lost. Cons: only real problem I've had is w/ the cooling system, had to change a thermostat and did some preventative maint replacements, what finally fixed the leaks was LOL a bottle of stop leak. LT is higher to the ground and puts a lot of strain on the front suspension, the suspension is still fine and can prob last another 75K but hits potholes a bit harder. The tradeoff for comfort/styling/quietness is that you pay more at the pump. Car avgs about 29mpg combined. Very poor for its class. Overall: Its fun to drive and can't beat the price. Advise if you buy a used Gen 1 sonic: use synthetic oil especially on the 1.4. Change the Turbo oil feed line ($40 OEM part, can do it at home or a mechanic can do it for 1hr labor). There is no option for 1.4T hatch LT so put it as an RS model.