Used 2017 Chevrolet Sonic Sedan Consumer Reviews
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Blue Fire
C. D. Willoughby, 01/15/2018
updated 01/16/2019
2017 Chevrolet Sonic LS 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
16 of 17 people found this review helpful
The car I bought was a Chevy Sonic (four door Kinetic Blue Sedan) and it's so cool looking. I've gotten compliments on it already. It drives well and I love the bluetooth features. Plus it's great on gas.
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Sonic Surprise!
kalli, 01/11/2020
2017 Chevrolet Sonic Premier 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
I bought a 2017 Sonic Premium Turbo Sedan used with 46,000 miles on it. I have 66,000 miles on it now. The car is fun to drive, has a peppy motor as far as acceleration goes (that's the turbo). The seats are amazingly comfortable for a little car (i've owned pontiacs so this was nice). I owned an Acadia before I downgraded but didn't suffer in the convenience department with a premium. I have heated seats, heated steering wheel and plush seating. Husband and I have had SUVs before and this is our first "car" together and it is a cramped car for two grown adults. It is hard to grocery shop, even though it has ample trunk space it doesn't seem to fit a lot of stuff. The low profile tires are cheap and I had one bubble on me that was a factory tire. I also had to replace the water pump after mysteriously losing heat and the engine overheating (no temp gauge so I was freaking out about cracking an aluminum head). This is a problem with the Sonics as I researched. It is a rough ride due to the smaller diameter tires and rims. I've considered switching them out. Also, parking is great BUT almost everyone owns a SUV or a big truck where I'm from so you cannot see anything nor can they see me. It's like I'm an ant. There's a lot of road noise in the back seat area. I don't expect luxury from a car I paid $10k for. I am looking for another vehicle to better suit our needs at this point, but I would recommend it for a single person who commutes! Before you buy one, drive over a bumpy surface and also, remember the water pump. It cost about $300 incl. labor to replace. I love cars and I've owned a lot of them and drove a lot, husband was also a valet so he has driven lots of cars and was impressed by this lil car. And if you buy one make sure it has the Turbo, I test drove one without it and was like, just throw the car away. Thank you for reading, hope it helps you.
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2017 Chevrolet Sonic for sale near you
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- Premier SedanMSRP: $7,99512 mi away
- LT 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $14,998In-stock online
- LS SedanMSRP: $13,998In-stock online
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Catchy Title
Mack, 12/29/2017
2017 Chevrolet Sonic LS 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 6A)
13 of 16 people found this review helpful
Nice car for an "inexpensive" car. Would not want to drive it long distances on the expressway but is a reliable car;
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A Proper Car at a Proper Price
F. Gallagher , 10/14/2019
2017 Chevrolet Sonic Premier 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
55K on my Sonic Premier and absolutely no issues at all. It has the 1.4 ltr turbo which has more power than most cars in this segment. The Apple/Google Car Play is nice on the big screen. I use Waze or Google Maps for Navigation. The Stereo is surprisingly good at this price. It feels solid in your hands at the wheel. The brakes after 55K still feel the same, very good. I bought it because my Dad asked me to give an American car made by American's a chance. I have not had any regrets.
Straight LEMON
I was sold a lemon, 07/25/2019
2017 Chevrolet Sonic LT 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 6A)
19 of 26 people found this review helpful
I bought my 2017 sonic in June 2017 and as of today July 2019 I've only had it 2 years first owner and I have been to back and forth to the dealer 4 times all less than 30 days or 20 days apart for the same problem engine light on and the car cuts off whenever I'm at a red light, stop sign or just sitting in traffic while in drive. It just went back to the dealer 07/3/2019 for the same issue and jerking while at a stop and they told me the diagnosis machine read no problem so they did nothing. Now it's 07/24/2019 and the freakin car has been jerking at every stop engine light back on and cut off on me and my baby st night while driving on the parkway. CHEVY SOLD ME A LEMON AND MY CAR HAS ON 14,668 MILES WITHIN THE 2 YEARS OF HAVING IT. ACTION IS GETTING READY TO BE TAKEN AGAINST THEM WITH THE LEMON LAW SUIT. I WILL NEVER INVEST IN ANYTHING CHEVYBIN MY LIFE AND I DON'T RECCOMEND ANYONE ELSE TO PURCHASE EITHER
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Was happy
Matthew, 03/15/2021
2017 Chevrolet Sonic LT 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 6A)
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
We bought this car in Sept 2018. Had around 49,000 currently about 100,400 kilometres. At around 98,700 the “engine light” came on took it to get checked out was told O2 sensor and use “premium” fuel. Spent the extra .10-.18 per litre helped for a bit then again light back on around 99,200 km’s. In December changed oil. Again helped no light then on again. Took it in February 26th 2021 had O2 sensor replaced and told All was fine after paying $528 to also have spark plugs replaced (manufacture warranty says good for 156,000k). Told took it for a couple test drives no issues. Didn’t even get it home (less than 50 kilometre Drive) light back on, also back the RPM dropping, the car almost stalling, and the jerking at stop. So took it to another place had oil changed (still 67%) life, changed spark plugs as the “new” ones were covered in fuel and oil and told everything wreaked of gas under the hood. Had asked shop A to make sure no fuel in oil or worse engine was laughed at. Shop B repairs $400.99. I’m now replacing the purge solenoid valve on my own as part costs under $40 but would’ve been charged $200-$300 by a shop and may not actually replace the old parts. This car with the sensor issues is obviously a lemon as my version is no different from reading similar stories online especially around the 100,000k mark. Will be the last sedan I buy as clearly they are trash for commuting on highways daily. Also our 2008 Kia Rio has better fuel mileage. Definitely not happy anymore with this car and not happy as a Chevy owner
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Constant Coolant Leak Problems
Julian, 06/27/2022
2017 Chevrolet Sonic Premier 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
*disclaimer I live in the Mojave desert in Las Vegas so it’s a very hot and dry climate* I bought my car a few years ago in January of 2019 with 41k miles on it from a Chevy dealership here in the city as a certified pre-owned car. The car ran fine up until April of 2021 when my car had around 63,000 miles my engine overheated out of nowhere with no warning. My dash lit up saying my engine was overheating and the computer is programmed to cut your power in half when this happens to prevent a true overheating incident until you pull over. (This is extremely problematic since the design of the dash has NO engine temperature gauge like other cars, so you do not know how hot your engine is while driving until it just overheats and you need to pull over.) I took it to the shop and the infamous thermostat module needed to be replaced since it was leaking coolant. Then two days later my engine overheated again. This time it was my water pump that was leaking. In total these two repairs costed me around $1,000. Then in February of 2022 (71k miles) my coolant reservoir cracked and had to be replaced for around $300. Then the big one a few months later in April of 2022 (73k miles). My coolant flange, water pump flange and Radiator fan all needed to be replaced. They also said the other components could’ve broke because the radiator fan wasn’t even running when the A/C was on like it’s supposed to. This was another $1,000. If you do buy this car make sure to get a good warranty as my warranty wouldn’t cover anything because I didn’t call them beforehand and take it to a shop in network (long story lol). In total over the past few years I’ve spent around $2,500 on repairs which includes a messed up window seal when I first got the car because it melted from being parked out in the heat. If you live in the desert DO NOT get this car at all. In general if you do get it no matter the climate, always have coolant in your trunk just incase. Other than the features and the value of what you get, the cars overheating issues are not worth it. GM also apparently only acknowledges this being an issue for the 2012-2016 model year sonics and not the 2017-2019 models even though it definitely is an issue.
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Lemon
Alissa Cook, 01/07/2019
2017 Chevrolet Sonic LS 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 5M)
23 of 35 people found this review helpful
Do NOT buy a Sonic. I’ve had two and both cars have been an absolute headache. The first car didn’t even last 5 years with numerous issues. The second is a 2017 and already is having me back and forth to the dealership who has done NOTHING. Always back with the same issue. This shouldn’t be happening with a brand new vehicle. The first car was costing me $400 extra every few months and this one is still under warranty for 20,000 miles but I’ve been back three times since Thanksgiving for a camshaft issue. I will NEVER buy a Chevy again till the day I die.
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great for what we need
jessie michael cutler, 02/01/2020
2017 Chevrolet Sonic LT 4dr Sedan (1.8L 4cyl 6A)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
it's a great car. Can do all that we need it to do. It has no problems. Thanks
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Hilarious Vehicle
Archi Gaebel, 08/11/2017
2017 Chevrolet Sonic Premier 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
23 of 111 people found this review helpful
The Sonic Turbo Premier is hilarious to drive (for a day or two) while my ten year old BMW X3 is in the shop for age-related repairs and maintenance. "Hilarious" as in "It's a joke", not it's actually fun to drive. First off, my 10 year old Bimmer, worth about half of what you can buy this Chevy Sonic for, still vastly outperforms it and is a ton more fun to drive and feels safer to boot. So much for "Would I ever consider owning this vehicle?". The answer is a resounding NO! Why not? I mean first impressions are of this car are not so bad. The exterior styling is not crazy or terrible. It is not good either. It just is. The Sonic sedan has a very basic, neutral car shape, the kind you get when you ask a toddler to draw a car. It is somewhat narrow and short but tall when compared to our BMW 328i, almost like Chevy took a Malibu and just trimmed off some excess fat on the sides, rear and front. The cabin is not a terrible place for an econo box. It appears roomy enough, has quite a few gadgets, buttons and a touch screen (in this trim level) and the plastics LOOK decent. All of these judgements, however, vanish when you start driving it. While there is plenty of headroom, even for tall people, legroom is cramped, not just in the back but also annoyingly in the driver seat. I am six foot tall and my legs are too long for a comfortable use of the left foot rest or the accelerator and brake pedals when I adjust the seat to allow a normal arm distance to the steering wheel. (Gorillas with really long arms might do better.) Visibility is not great either. Although the windshield is large, the short stubby hood just vanishes from view and it is very difficult to get a feel for where the front of the car starts. Rear visibility and right side visibility is severely compromised by the enormous headrests (which clearly come from a full size truck and take up most of the airspace of this small car). Once you start touching the visually decent plastic trim you realize that it is not the softer, richer material it masquerades as, but very cheap, basic hard plastic straight from a Yugo. But now to the truly hilarious part of driving this car, its performance. I drove it mostly in town with speed limits around 45 miles per hour. At first I thought I was going way too fast until a look at the speedometer informed me that I was actually chugging along about five miles below the speed limit! The car feels strained and bothered when driven at speeds greater than 35 - 40 mph. Still this is not yet the most fun you can have with the Sonic Turbo. Go find an empty stretch of road without speed bumps (like the access road to my work's parking lot) and floor it. I did just that, going about 30 mph I floored the accelerator and ... absolutely NOTHING happened for at least a second, then the little beast huffed and puffed and lurched forward at the breakneck speed of 40 mph, I almost died laughing. This lack of performance is unfortunately less laughable when you have to pull out into heavy, fast-moving traffic, then just pray a Rosary (or two) while you wait for any acceleration to quick in ...
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2017 Chevy sonic premier turbo
SuperSonicLinc, 06/05/2025
2017 Chevrolet Sonic Premier 4dr Sedan (1.4L 4cyl Turbo 6A)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
I got mine with 97,000 miles for less then $8000, I’m averaging 36.5 combined mpg and the little turbo engine is peppy and fun to drive. It has sxm radio, heated leather front seats and steering wheel, hands free control 2 one up touch windows and a nice infotainment system. It’s a huge upgrade from a 2003 Nissan Altima I used to have. Couldn’t be happier! His name is Sonic btw
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