The Chevy Sonic is still standing. Despite the Cruze and Impala getting the axe, the subcompact is apparently still worth something to General Motors. Either that or the company would prefer keeping Orion Assembly running until a future vehicle can replace it. Regardless, it’s still around. And there are also plenty of used examples looking for a new home. Some of them are a bit more unique than others. That’s certainly the case with our featured Sonic.
The Sonic was riding high in 2014. Chevy moved just under 94,000 of them that year. Presumably, the sharp drop in gas prices killed a lot of the demand for these. A lack of updates probably didn’t help things either. The 2020 model isn’t that far removed from the one that debuted in 2010. That being said, a lot of the subcompacts on the market today are getting a bit long in the tooth. Doesn’t really matter in the big picture. Plus, we’re here to talk about the Sonic of 2014.
General Motors 21st century small cars were a mixed bag. The Cavalier, Cobalt, and Aveo failed to really take on the Japanese in any meaningful way. But their successors made substantial improvements. American automakers introduced some positively dreadful looking vehicles in the 2000s. They eventually atoned for their sins with a few attractive designs, and this Sonic was one of them. A cursory glance at the overall profile suggests GM borrowed some elements from the Golf but decided to go a bit more angular, especially out back. Overall, the Sonic is quite aggressive looking. That’s thanks in part to Australian designer Ondrej Koromhaz, who spearheaded the design. He goal was to make the Sonic into a “four door motorcycle.”
The Sonic’s interior largely cashed the checks written by the exterior, especially when it came to the driver’s cockpit. That really did resemble something akin to a motorcycle. Chevy equipped post-refresh models with a more traditional gauge cluster, so it may not have resonated with customers. Regardless, this is a pretty well-equipped Sonic. Bluetooth, heated seats, and a 7 inch Chevrolet MyLink touchscreen that can potentially be swapped out for something capable of running Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
As the second highest tier in the 2014 Sonic lineup, the LTZ presents itself as something more than basic transportation. It can back up its relatively muscular design and ample feature content with a decent powertrain too. The 1.4 liter Ecotec four cylinder made good power in the Sonic. With 138 horsepower and 148 Ib-ft of torque on tap, the Chevy’s optional engine represents something of a half-step between a regular model and a performance oriented vehicle like the Fiesta ST. A claimed 0-60 time of around eight seconds is pretty good for the segment.
This particular Sonic has a fairly unique selling point. Apparently, Chevy only produced “Cool Blue” for a very limited time. According to the seller its availability lasted three months. Perhaps they received negative feedback about the color relatively quickly? Did it too closely resemble the color of a virtual hedgehog? Who knows. Personally, I think it’s a pretty nice color. Reminds me of a robin’s egg.
Here’s the seller’s description:
2014 Chevy Sonic LTZ for sale. Car needs nothing but a new owner. Transferable GM maintenance plan included. This car is painted a unique factory color called “Cool Blue” that was only available for three months in 2014. Currently at 61,636 miles, but will go up since this is my daily driver.
There’s always something to be said for a well written craigslist ad. And it does appear that this Sonic is in very good condition. However, the seller’s pricing is a tad optimistic, at least according to Edmunds. But there is value in a lightly used subcompact with a decent engine. Hopefully the owner doesn’t have to wait too long before they find a committed buyer. This is a bit of a niche vehicle, regardless of color.
Source: Hudson Valley craigslist
IIRC the brief window of Cool Blue availability was a deliberate marketing decision, GM’s version of Scion’s Release Series. There were a couple other short-term colors, both shown in the screenshot above – Dragon Green and Deep Magenta. They weren’t run down the line and available for order at the same time but apparently were in the dealer pipeline long enough to list on the same webpage.
Personally I think it would be a great runabout or a first car if you want your kid to know how to operate a manual trans. I preferred the original interior with the “motorcycle” gauge cluster but even at that time wondered how long it would last. Every time GM does something outside the norm stylistically it usually gets killed in the first refresh.
If you could get the seller to under $7K on price, it would be appealing.
The chrome strip under the side windows always bothered me, it seems to start in the middle of nowhere and end in the middle of nowhere. The all-black trim on the base models looks better for that reason.
In today’s market the manual tranny is an asset to less than 5 percent of the population. That means that it’s a deal-breaker to 90 percent and about 5 percent will be interested regardless. That is a crackpipe price. Cool blue does look nice though.
Mom mom owns this exact car is white. While the LTZ model has some unexpected niceties like heated seats, alloy wheels and a backup camera, these cars are still very much basic transportation. The turbo engine moves the car with unexpected authority, but is noisy. It has been very reliable, I must say.
I don’t see how a deluxe color is worth any more on a car like this. It seems quite contrary to its mission.
Local Chevy dealer has a habit of ordering base vehicles and then spec-ing extra cost paint for them. I really hope he isn’t getting folks to pay an extra $400 for a no options car with extra cost paint.
I will say though that the extra cost colors do make the vehicles more appealing on the outside.
More often than not, those rare paint colors are a hinderance to resale rather than a benefit. One of my favorite stories on that subject is the old Chrysler ‘High Impact’ color generally known as ‘Sublime’. It’s that light green shade that some have colorfully referred to as ‘vomit’.
Anyway, that shade of green occasionally rears its ugly head, and one of those times was during the introduction of the first generation Neon (which seemed to have a whole assortment of pastel shades). A local Dodge dealer general manager ordered up five Neons in that shade of green. As one might imagine, those Neons ended up being ‘nailed to the showroom floor’ and at least two (maybe three) years later, that Dodge dealer was still trying to unload them. And the general manager who ordered them had long since been fired…
Is that a tow hitch in the picture of the rear side?
Yup, so a small trailer could be towed I suppose or maybe one of those metal trays that people have to expand cargo capacity.
Virtually no one tows with those small hitch receivers. Bike racks are the most common use.
For our Slovak small town life the tow hitch on such small vehicle (subcompact) would be almost necessary. My mind is set on scanning vehicles’ rear ends for a tow hitch, it makes them even more useful. But of course, our tow ratings are a bit different than those in the US of A.
Before I saw your valuation screen I thought to myself “If a guy could buy it for $6k it might be a good purchase.” I guess I was right. While the stick is what makes me interested, I would probably offer $5500 and wait. I’ll bet I would soon own a car, unless Mr. Owner is upside down on his loan.
That color reminds me of the color AMC used to offer on Hornets and Gremlins that my friends and I called “periwinkle blue”. If this were mine, I would be tempted to come up with a black side stripe reminiscent of the Gremlin X.
The Sonic is interesting mainly in how good it is compared to its predecessor, the hoary old Aveo. The Sonic was a 180 degree turnaround from the bottom-feeder Aveo, a car that gets my vote as the most recent, worst car.
Regardless, the “Sporty Urban Runabout” phrase in the title reminds me of the Chevy Spark Activ (introduced in 2017) which portends to be a quasi-CUV with roof rails, lower body cladding, and a whole 10mm lift increase. To be honest, it’s not a particularly bad effort (although the price premium for it is a little off-putting), sort of like a bargain-basement Subaru Crosstrek. For someone looking at an entry-level CUV, it just might fill the bill.
I would want to make sure the 10MM drainplug is not rounded and the oil filter housing not cracked before buying this Sonic. Also, I prefer the rim and tire combo the LT version comes with since the low profile tires on these make them look more like a hot wheel and probably make the ride more uncomfortable.
I like the colour its not far off the blue I painted my Hillman, the Sonic meh it looks vaguely familiar but GMs smaller offerings over here were not very popular in this era and they serem to be one offs of various captive brands rebdged with no parts back up as a friend found with a 2013 Holden Barina it couldnt be fixed for a reasonable amount so she let it get repoed and went back to cheap disposable ex JDM inports.
I had the non-turbo version. I think I COAL’d it, but it’s a bad memory. By 50k, enough coolant was magically disappearing to set an OBD code once a week. I dumped it at a huge loss and bought the used Prius I should have bought in the first place.
The best, the very best thing about the Chev Sonic is this commercial featuring OK GO. If you’re not familiar, look at some of their other videos; they’re all spectacular productions. My favourites are “This Too Shall Pass” and “The Writing’s On the Wall”.
I saw them live a couple of years before they did their first commercial. They were really great. It was outdoors in 50 degree drizzle but they knew how to play the crowd and kept us all energized throughout their act.
Yeah, the price seems optimistic, but if the seller dropped it I’d be interested. Even with an automatic they’re a BALL to drive.
And I truly like the color.
Love the colour. Anyone else getting Firebird Skybird vibes?
I like the Sonic. It was a massive improvement over the Aveo. And it was one of the best looking subcompacts, even after the facelift. I’ve thought that if I wanted a used runabout, I’d consider I’ve but alas with the facelift here, they ditched the turbo engines and so the Barina only came with the naturally aspirated 1.6. Lame.
I rode in a lot of Aveo taxis in Ecuador in 2017. And I rented a Sonic sedan a few years before that, here in the US. No comparison. I was prepared to hate the Sonic but found it very enjoyable to drive. Not quite Mazda 3 class, but far superior to Corollas and even the Fit Sport I test drove.
Always liked the looks of these, something quite different and more interesting looking than its barely related Opel cousin. Too bad that due to Chevrolet’s budget focus in Europe – a failure story for another day – it was deliberately kept downmarket here. No turbo engines for the Aveo as it was still named. However, the poor Daewoo image stuck while the price was quite high. It failed.
Recently I finally had seat time in one in Mexico. Surprised by the plasticky interior in the back. The Hyundais and Kias of the day did significantly better than that. It may be specific to the Mexican-market version however, like the local VW Polo/Vento versions.
This one seems very nice with that engine, spec and colour, but the price is very optimistic. On mobile.de most similar Aveos cost around €5000. Even with the better engine, no way this one is that much better.