As a native Detroiter, I know about a few things and one of those things is CARS! This weekend, I had the opportunity to check out the All New 2012 Chevy Sonic LTZ and I must say, I was impressed. This was a week filled with “FIRSTS” for my family, friends and I – luckily the Chevy Sonic was along for the ride & was a great addition along this holiday journey. The Sonic is Chevrolet’s newest subcompact, developed to be fun to drive…and boy was it ever….
First Connect
Once I got over the spicy bright color and 17” wheels of the Sonic, I was ready to get behind the driver’s seat and take it out for a ride. The Sonic LTZ is indeed a small car with big personality. While inside, I immediately checked out the bells and whistles. From the OnStar capabilities, in dash USB connect port, Bluetooth & steering wheel mounted controls. With a bag full of gadgets, for once I didn’t have to rely on my iGo charger to keep my phone and other gadgets charged. All I needed was my USB chord and I was good to go…all day long.
Baby’s First Ride
With a week filled with firsts, we welcomed a new addition to the family – a brand new baby boy! Guess who got to take mommy, daddy and baby home during baby’s first car ride? – ME – The Sonic is a safer small car with class-leading 10 standard air bags (IIHS Top Safety Pick). Every Sonic comes with a healthy complement of safety features that include 10 air bags, stability control, four-wheel anti-lock brakes (disc in the front, drum in the rear) and a tire pressure monitoring system. Which is very important when transporting precious cargo (like my nephew). It’s also a segment leader in interior roominess and versatility. It’s True! The Chevy Sonic may appear small on the outside, but it’s quite roomy inside. Can you believe that it was roomy enough to fit my sister (5’9) her husband (6’10) the baby (1’5) and me (5’10) with ease? It was a great ride from NYC to New Jersey (so much so, the baby stayed asleep the entire ride home.)
First Tri-State Shopping Spree
If you followed my tweets over the weekend, you saw that I snatched up a couple of friends on Saturday and headed over to a few New Jersey malls (Don’t judge me. I grew up going to the mall and I like to relieve those moments from time to time…lol.) I had such a blast weaving in and out of traffic on I-95 on Saturday, that I got up extra early on Sunday for a full NYC driving experience. Starting uptown, I made several stops throughout the city – including Columbus Circle, Fifth Ave and SoHo (I must admit, I’ve never enjoyed parallel parking as much as I have enjoyed parallel parking the svelte Sonic in the most petit of parking spots in NYC.) Somehow, I made my way to New Jersey for some tax-free department store shopping – can you believe I got lost? No worries though, I had OnStar!
With the Sonic’s 29 MPG – I saved a little change on topping off the tank (I still can’t believe that I drove the entire weekend on one tank of gas!) At under $18,000 – the Sonic blends the affordability and practicability of a small car with the athletic and agile performance of the more expensive models. The festive tangerine color definitely stood out in traffic (and the shopping parking lot) – but I think the sleek Sonic in black would be best suited for everyday use (just my opinion.) For more on the Chevy Sonic LTZ check them out online at www.chevrolet.com/sonic
