What is the "modern day" Chevy Cavalier?

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89)
06/02/2015 at 11:27 • Filed to: None

The Cavalier, as I can tell you from first-hand experience, is a pretty awful car. Poor build quality, cheap materials, and unstable at speed. But they’re cheap, and still common on the road today.

What currently built car fulfills that same criteria that the late 90s-mid 2000s Cavalier did?

My vote is for the Mitsubishi Mirage. It’s cheap, light, very basic, and dated looking. Despite being a different bodystyle, it seems to echo what the Cavalier embodied 10-15 years ago. It’s certainly nothing spectacular. Just an appliance in every sense of the word, even more than a Camry.

Runner up would probably be the current-gen Hyundai Elantra. Yes, it’s a bit bigger, and you can get a whole lot more features on it, but it’s ubiquitous in the same way the Cavalier was. They’re all over the place. Though, I’d say a big part of that is the warranty.

Any nominations?

DISCUSSION (38)

For Sweden > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:31

Hyundai Elantra

Alex B > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:32

Chevy Spark perhaps

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:34

Chevy Cobalt

carcrasher88 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:34

Kinja'd!!!

Nissan Versa. In fact, this could probably count for both the previous AND current generation Versas, with the possible exception of the Versa Note, but that’s subject to opinion.

BKRM3 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:36

nissan sentra.

BigBlock440 > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
06/02/2015 at 11:36

I think it’s the Cruise now

BeaterGT > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:40

Ford Fiesta. I would have chose the Elantra but I rented one recently and it came with a folding ARM REST which I forgot ever existed in vehicles.

Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed > For Sweden
06/02/2015 at 11:40

Chevy sonic sedan. I had one as a rental last year; complete and utter mediocrity. It was just like the Cavalier in that, even brand new, it already felt like a car a generation or two older. Also like the Cavalier, it will probably run 250,000+ miles despite daily abuse and the deficiencies in interior quality.

BeaterGT > BigBlock440
06/02/2015 at 11:41

Actually it’s the Cruze because screw proper spelling of words.

For Sweden > Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed
06/02/2015 at 11:42

The Powershift in Steve's '12 Ford Focus killed it's TCM (under warranty!) > carcrasher88
06/02/2015 at 11:43

Came to post this, but you beat me to it.

These cars are the epitome of getting lots of car for very little cash, even if it’s forgettable to drive and extremely cheap feeling and looking.

BigBlock440 > BeaterGT
06/02/2015 at 11:43

Ah, oops.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > BigBlock440
06/02/2015 at 11:45

yea still sucks

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:52

Kinja'd!!!

My driver’s ed car was a ‘99 Cavalier, and the second day out was Old Fort Mountain. About 1000 feet of elevation change in only a few miles. WHEEEE!

Leon711 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:53

The Cimarron was Market as a Vauxhall Cavalier in the UK.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 11:59

There are reasons to buy a Mirage. It comes with a good warranty, gets good gas mileage, and is functional. None of these things describe the 1995-2005 Cavalier.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed
06/02/2015 at 12:00

Cavaliers are spiteful pieces of shit. The more you hate it, the more likely it is to last.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > carcrasher88
06/02/2015 at 12:03

Nailed it! A car so mediocre, I completely forgot about it until you mentioned it.

MultiplaOrgasms > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
06/02/2015 at 12:20

The more you hate it, the more likely it is to last.

This sentence applies to both my mom’s and my sister’s cars:

Kinja'd!!!

GhostZ > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 12:20

Chevy Sonic Sedan, Honda Civic, or Mitsubishi Mirage.

In other words, I agree with Short-throw and Wesbarton, and want to throw the new Civic in to the mix.

LongbowMkII > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
06/02/2015 at 12:31

cavaliers had good gas mileage.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > LongbowMkII
06/02/2015 at 12:32

I don’t remember my brothers or friends ones ever getting out of the mid 20s on the highway.

Textured Soy Protein > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 12:35

I don’t think any modern car comes close to approaching the shittyness of the Cavalier.

There are certainly mediocre cars out there, but the Cavalier was just bad.

thebigbossyboss > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
06/02/2015 at 12:53

Here is mine!!

Kinja'd!!!

Mileage: North of 125,000 miles or 202,000 kms.

thebigbossyboss > LongbowMkII
06/02/2015 at 12:53

My Cavalier is functional.

thebigbossyboss > Textured Soy Protein
06/02/2015 at 12:54

It’s a good car for poor peoples like me.

thebigbossyboss > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 12:55

That unstable at speed is so true. Anything about about 75 feels a bit not nice. However the speed limit here is 62 so I dont get no tickets!

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > thebigbossyboss
06/02/2015 at 12:56

Tiny trunk.

thebigbossyboss > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
06/02/2015 at 12:57

Seems to do ok for my family of me, myself, and my beer :D

But yeah I test drove a challenger recently and the trunk was the same size haha.

thebigbossyboss > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 13:03

I am about to take my cavalier on a 3000 mile road trip. How jealous are you? lol.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > thebigbossyboss
06/02/2015 at 13:16

I had mine up to 85 once. I thought I was going to die.

thebigbossyboss > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 13:17

Yeah me too. Once.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > thebigbossyboss
06/02/2015 at 13:17

Make sure you’re up to date with AAA.

thebigbossyboss > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 13:38

That is a thought.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > thebigbossyboss
06/02/2015 at 13:54

IIRC, it’s about the same size as my BRZs trunk, too.

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 13:55

Toyota Yaris. My dad has an Echo, and compared to it, the Yaris is terrible.

bryan40oop > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 17:28

Chevy cruise. They’re resale value is just as hilariously bad as the cavi

ranwhenparked > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
06/02/2015 at 20:25

The Mirage is a good choice. It feels cheap, tinny, and somewhat unfinished - like you wouldn’t be surprised at all if you cut your finger on a rough metal edge while opening the door. That was kind of the feeling I always got from the Cavalier.