Chevrolet Sonic RS ~ Mobil Motor Sport

Chevrolet Sonic RS

The acclaim amped up adaptation of the Sonic (America’s booty on the Aveo) a car which barter allegedly told Chevrolet they would body themselves if the architect autonomous not to advance it. Such is the abeyant ability of aftermarket personalisation in the States that the blackmail was taken seriously, and the RS is the result.

Why do we care? Well, abreast from the amore and fuzziness we acquire from any broiled up hatchback, the archetypal is currently beneath analysis for barrage in Europe. If the new Aveo proves accepted enough, and Chevrolet thinks there’s allowance at the top for an able-bodied aura archetypal (there is) again we could potentially see the RS in the UK abutting year.

Chevrolet dressed up the interior in athletic wear, too. There are sport seats, a thicker steering wheel with a flat bottom, aluminum pedals, and a unique instrument-cluster design. Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system, which features a seven-inch touch screen and Bluetooth connectivity, will be standard. A smartphone app will be available to push navigation info to the display.

While we’re a bit bummed the RS doesn’t get any more power, the turbocharged 1.4-liter four’s 138 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque were good enough to propel a Sonic to 60 mph in just 8.2 seconds in our testing. In this class, that’s pretty quick. Turbo Sonics are currently only available with the stick, but the RS ushers in a new era of choice, offering both the six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic. The auto will be available in other turbocharged Sonics in the spring. Engineers did fiddle with the RS’s gearing a bit—the manual gets closer ratios, and the automatic gets a shorter final-drive—so it will likely be slightly quicker than the standard turbo..

Chevy did a bit more underneath the RS. Its suspension is stiffer and lower, and it will be the only Sonic with rear disc brakes. The electric power steering is untouched, which is fine by us—we found the rack plenty quick in the standard car.

Chevy’s going to have a tough time pricing the RS. Normal Sonics can get pretty expensive, especially the higher trim levels. The last LTZ Turbo we tested cost $19,545—and it wasn’t even fully loaded. Even a modest premium for the RS could push it into the territory of the larger Chevy Cruze and Ford Focus. (If Ford’s Fiesta ST goes into production, it will face a similar problem.) Regardless of the potential price woes, though, we’re excited to see what a racier version of GM’s best-ever small car will be like to drive.