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Old 05-27-2014, 11:50 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Regular Car Reviews: 2009 Chevy Cobalt XFE (YouTube)

Warning #1: Regular Car Reviews are often Not Safe For Work. This one is milder than most, but it probably still qualifies.

Warning #2: the style & humour in these reviews will not be appreciated by everyone.

I get a kick of them - I've watched 'em all! They're an absurd, original, entertaining mix of genuine automotive enthusiasm & knowledge, plus obscure cultural references, plus potentially offensive/bizarre NSFW jokes/rants/grunts.

With that out of the way!



RCR has reviewed an EcoModder special: 2009 Chevy Cobalt XFE.

And they appreciate it for what it is, a 40 MPG "sleeper" fuel economy machine that many owners probably don't even know what they've got.


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Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
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Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



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Old 05-27-2014, 08:01 PM   #2 (permalink)
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I just searched Vancouver (BC) Craigslist for "XFE". None. Zero.
Then I searched Seattle Craigslist for "XFE". None. Zero.
Hmmmm....
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Old 05-27-2014, 09:03 PM   #3 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mechman600 View Post
I just searched Vancouver (BC) Craigslist for "XFE". None. Zero.
Then I searched Seattle Craigslist for "XFE". None. Zero.
Hmmmm....
I've found that when using CL many people won't put anything other than "Cobalt" for instance, even though their car may very well be an "XFE".
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Old 05-27-2014, 09:16 PM   #4 (permalink)
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I did actually browse through them all. Only LT, 2LT and SS trims. No XFE.
But there isn't much difference between the XFE and regular old 2.2L/manual as far as fuel economy goes: Compare Side-by-Side
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Old 05-27-2014, 09:22 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeyjd View Post
I've found that when using CL many people won't put anything other than "Cobalt" for instance, even though their car may very well be an "XFE".
Less than 5% of cobalts were manual cars, let alone
XFE's

Quote:
Originally Posted by mechman600 View Post
I just searched Vancouver (BC) Craigslist for "XFE". None. Zero.
Then I searched Seattle Craigslist for "XFE". None. Zero.
Hmmmm....
I would sell you mine but then again you live in another dimension with Doctor Whos companions.
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Old 05-27-2014, 10:15 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Afaik all '09 and '10 cobalts w/ a manual and a 2.2 are xfe

Edit- so I saw that fueleconomy.gov lists non xfe's, couldn't really find much more solid... But all the 09 manual cobalts on autotrader within 500miles of me, that have pics. All either have an ss or xfe badge on the back

Last edited by 2000mc; 05-27-2014 at 10:37 PM..
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Old 05-28-2014, 10:13 AM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2000mc View Post
Afaik all '09 and '10 cobalts w/ a manual and a 2.2 are xfe

Edit- so I saw that fueleconomy.gov lists non xfe's, couldn't really find much more solid... But all the 09 manual cobalts on autotrader within 500miles of me, that have pics. All either have an ss or xfe badge on the back
Non-xfes are TRUE base cars.

Oddly enough my XFE has more options (if you exclude the automatic transmission) than a base or base LS car (depends on the year)

My car also has more options than a basic LT trim from pre-2007.

Odd how GM made the different trim packages mean totally different things from year to year.

Believe it or not a base Cobalt can come without the following

Onstar
Air conditioning
Satellite/CD/MP3 radio
Spoiler
Spare tire.

Very very rare to find a base car.
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Old 05-28-2014, 11:30 AM   #8 (permalink)
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The xfe wasn't its own trim level, at least for 09 and 10, you could get a base, ls, or lt with xfe
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Old 05-28-2014, 11:46 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Con. Fus. Ing!

And now to throw another wrench into the works: I wonder if it was available in Canada, or if it was a U.S.-only version like the Metro "XFi".

Edit: all-knowing Google says Canada too... http://www.auto123.com/en/chevrolet/...2&artid=105843
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Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
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Old 05-28-2014, 01:22 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2000mc View Post
The xfe wasn't its own trim level, at least for 09 and 10, you could get a base, ls, or lt with xfe
Yes but what is the difference between a base LT XFE and a base XFE car?

I can tell you that the interior is identical

The seats are identical

The wheels are identical (there is an option on the LT)

Both could come in 2 door and 4 door (though GM tended to not produce 2 door LTs and tended not to make 4 door xfes, that said you could order however you want)

The LT had a few extra exterior colors

The base LT had cruise control standard, Base XFE (and LS) was optional

Spare was optional on both (but almost ways included except on cobalts with no lables and no XFE)

Spoiler was optional on both (but from the factory the XFE tended to have it and the LT and unlabled cobalts did not)


So for an additional fee you could get
1. Cruise control standard instead of optional
2. 4 doors on the lot instead of having to order it special
3. A blue color instead of the 3 or 4 XFE colors also offered on the LT
4. The ability to buy other options not offered on the XFE but also not standard on the LT.

Add to this the 5mt cars that weren't labled XFE almost always were generic white 4 door cars with no options, I even found one without AC

The ones labled XFE off the lot almost always were 2 door with a spoiler, onstar, spare tire, AC

Likely not worth it, odd how their upsell system worked back then.

Almost everything was the same between the Cobalt models on cars you could actually buy off the lot, the only one that really was different was the SS which isn't worth mentioning for fuel economy.

So whether GM stated that the unlabled base cobalt and XFE labled cobalt were not packages the XFE always came with some sort of "Standard options package" whereas the Cobalt with no badges tended to come with nothing. I know because I looked all over for manual transmission cars and unless someone had ordered it special you basically never saw a true base cobalt, XFEs always had the spare and spoiler and LTs were very very rare to have a MT.

Cheers
Ryan

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