3rd place: 2008 Chevrolet HHR SS
The HHR is the most family-minded of the Hot Hatches, as it offers the highest roofline and the much interior space, particularly in the cargo hold. Yet it offers plenty of punch. With a direct-injection, turbocharged 2.0-litre mill that develops 260 horses and the same amount of torque, acceleration is pretty good: 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds, quarter-mile time of 15.6 seconds at 147 km/h.
However, the engine doesn't seem to have a wide power band, and its soundtrack is rather ordinary, although none of these cars' engines sound trilling. Torque steer isn't as bad as in the Caliber, but you will feel it.
The handling traits of the Chevrolet were also judged as average in this pack, due to the higher center of gravity and more noticeable body roll. Braking performance is the worst of the bunch.
Inside, testers liked the supportive seats, although they're not as good as in the GTI and Mazdaspeed3. The dashboard looks rather plain for a sport model, but we liked the low noise level at speed. The rear hatch doesn't open very high and is a head-banger.
Fuel consumption was also reasonable during the test, and although the other Hot Hatches pack 6-speed gearboxes, the SS has only 5 forward gears; not a big issue, as it proved up to the task.
The HHR SS sports an interesting look; some like it, some don't. But cloaked in speeding-ticket red and shod with 18-inch bright alloys, it draws a fair amount of stares. It carries a reasonable base price, at $28,240, and unlike the Dodge and the Mazda, it's available with an automatic transmission.
In short, the hopped-up version of Chevrolet's retromobile has the firepower but lacks the driving dynamics necessary to overtake the Hot Hatches that ranked above it.
"It's good, and there isn't much missing to make this HHR SS an all-around success." -Marc Bouchard
The HHR is the most family-minded of the Hot Hatches, as it offers the highest roofline and the much interior space, particularly in the cargo hold. Yet it offers plenty of punch. With a direct-injection, turbocharged 2.0-litre mill that develops 260 horses and the same amount of torque, acceleration is pretty good: 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds, quarter-mile time of 15.6 seconds at 147 km/h.
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However, the engine doesn't seem to have a wide power band, and its soundtrack is rather ordinary, although none of these cars' engines sound trilling. Torque steer isn't as bad as in the Caliber, but you will feel it.
The handling traits of the Chevrolet were also judged as average in this pack, due to the higher center of gravity and more noticeable body roll. Braking performance is the worst of the bunch.
Inside, testers liked the supportive seats, although they're not as good as in the GTI and Mazdaspeed3. The dashboard looks rather plain for a sport model, but we liked the low noise level at speed. The rear hatch doesn't open very high and is a head-banger.
Fuel consumption was also reasonable during the test, and although the other Hot Hatches pack 6-speed gearboxes, the SS has only 5 forward gears; not a big issue, as it proved up to the task.
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The HHR SS sports an interesting look; some like it, some don't. But cloaked in speeding-ticket red and shod with 18-inch bright alloys, it draws a fair amount of stares. It carries a reasonable base price, at $28,240, and unlike the Dodge and the Mazda, it's available with an automatic transmission.
In short, the hopped-up version of Chevrolet's retromobile has the firepower but lacks the driving dynamics necessary to overtake the Hot Hatches that ranked above it.
"It's good, and there isn't much missing to make this HHR SS an all-around success." -Marc Bouchard
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