ok, so i married this beautiful and wonderful woman, and now have the GM family discount (and season packer tickets :D ), and am trying to move into a more family friendly car (currently drive an ION Red Line quad coupe (rear doors open backwards) and it's not good in parking lots).

my two main considerations are gas mileage, and functionality.

G6: this is a great looking car. it is very roomy on the inside, and wouldn't have problems fitting another couple in the back comfortably. not to mention car seats. seems as though the trunk is a little smaller than my ION. the things kind of a pig, likely weighing in around 3300 with the ecotec, and no manual transmission. would be a great family car though.

HHR: styling is subjective, but i happen to love the looks of the HHR as well. in no time the "freshness" of the look will wear off and it won't draw as many looks as i assume it would now. it is also very roomy for front and rear passengers, though not as roomy in back as the G6. the interior is nice, and the radio has the iPod hookup, with DIC located in the IP. the rear and front passenger seats fold flat for items up to 8 feet long. that is impressive to say the least. would also be a perfect family car.

my lifestyle: we love to camp, and i am always shoving things in the car, for one reason or another. the quad doors of the ION have come in handy for that. i'm not too sure the G6 is really up to the task of being loaded up for camping, and every year we've got a little bit more to make the trips more convenient. the HHR would be perfect as we could load it to the brim. but then the question comes - when we do have a child (or two), we can keep one seat up, but for the second, we'd need both seats up, and the usefullness of the HHR becomes pretty void, though for everyday tasks and getting things from the hardware store, it's perfect, and gets awesome mileage (bare bones seeing 30-35 mpg with load). but with two children, the G6 reserves the trunk.

also, the wife drives an Alero. so by me getting the G6, we'd essentially have two family sedans, and no cargo hauler. though i prefer the looks of the G6 to "blend in" with the rest of society, i love the look of the HHR in black and it fits my style.

lastly, price. the G6 STARTS at 16999, while the HHR starts at 15600 or something like that. we've got 750 GM card cash to use before the auto show is over, receive the GMS pricing, and are patiently waiting the auto show's arrival so we can see what the rebates will be. what i do know is that GMS pricing is usually below invioice, and the HHR invoice is around 14500, while our GMS pricing on the G6 was 15800 i think. granted an auto tranny costs 1000, but it comes with remote start and traction control, which would make the wife able to drive. we are not able to get remote start with the 1SV G6.

so the question comes, sexy sedan, or wacky wagon?

PS - i've posted this message at an HHR board, to get the best of both worlds. what do YOU think?

I would go with the HHR. A lot of people do not like the looks of them, but that's for you to decide. My husband is wanting the HHR something terrible. I just traded my G6, which he did not want, so there's my 2 cents on it.

I had to get rid of the G6, I had a hard time just getting the grocery's in the trunk, much less anything else. I like the interior of the HHR much more than the G6.

Good Luck!! :)

thanks for the comment. the trunk is that bad? we use the big green (or blue or whatever) tupperwares to store things for camping. i can fit 3 + a cooler in my trunk now, plus other odd shaped things. if you know what i'm talking about, you think they'd fit? (been a while since i saw the G6 trunk).

if i recall, you had steering issues with the G6 right? what else caused you to trade it in?

HHR!!! :cool:

after reading your post, you made the point all by yourself. camping, hauling, yet attractive. (i happen to like the HHR's as well, but like you said the 'newness' will wearoff after a while, like the PT Cruiser. now it seems everybody has one, so they're no big deal. but so what? you will still have a very functional vehicle that is also practical and good looking.

if the HHR had a small V8, i'd be there in a "Heartbeat"......get it? :)

HHR!!! :cool:

after reading your post, you made the point all by yourself. camping, hauling, yet attractive. (i happen to like the HHR's as well, but like you said the 'newness' will wearoff after a while, like the PT Cruiser. now it seems everybody has one, so they're no big deal. but so what? you will still have a very functional vehicle that is also practical and good looking.

if the HHR had a small V8, i'd be there in a "Heartbeat"......get it? :)


damn, so many for HHR, nobody for G6 (including other forums, granted they are HHR forums...).

i'm sort of expecting to see a v8 RWD conversion for the HHR, that would be raw excitement there, plus massive utility.

question, again, is the trunk opening really small on the G6? it's just so sexy, though the thought of having to spend 200+ just for a dash kit to go aftermarket on the radio, and not having a factory mp3 option hurts...

i've decided to just get out and test drive both tomorrow with the wife. i want to know what she thinks of both, and i want to drive both myself. i'll let ya'll know what we decide tomorrow...

damn, so many for HHR, nobody for G6 (including other forums, granted they are HHR forums...).

i'm sort of expecting to see a v8 RWD conversion for the HHR, that would be raw excitement there, plus massive utility.

question, again, is the trunk opening really small on the G6? it's just so sexy, though the thought of having to spend 200+ just for a dash kit to go aftermarket on the radio, and not having a factory mp3 option hurts...

The trunk opening is quite small....I had a very hard time getting a standard size cooler in and out. Just get XM radio, then there is no need for MP3's.

Just out of curiosity, have you looked into the Malibu Maxx? I know its not as sporty if u go with the LS or LT but the SS looks pretty sweet and has plenty of interior room.

thanks for the comment. the trunk is that bad? we use the big green (or blue or whatever) tupperwares to store things for camping. i can fit 3 + a cooler in my trunk now, plus other odd shaped things. if you know what i'm talking about, you think they'd fit? (been a while since i saw the G6 trunk).

if i recall, you had steering issues with the G6 right? what else caused you to trade it in?

Steering really scared me, and a few other minor problems. Other than steering it was size. I think once you drive an SUV it's hard to be happy in a car. I mean I bought a storage tote at Wal-Mart one day and my husband had to meet me at Wal-Mart to pick it up b/c it wouldn't fit in the car, not even in the back seat. I'm very independant, so I didn't enjoy my husband having to come to the rescue b/c I had a little car, not to mention he wasn't happy about it either. :D I also feel safer in a bigger vehicle, I may not be, but I feel like I am. :rolleyes:

You may want to check out the HHR steering. My husband drove the HHR and loves it, however I was looking in the HHR booklet and I think it has the same steering as the G6, but I may be wrong.

Steering really scared me, and a few other minor problems. Other than steering it was size. I think once you drive an SUV it's hard to be happy in a car. I mean I bought a storage tote at Wal-Mart one day and my husband had to meet me at Wal-Mart to pick it up b/c it wouldn't fit in the car, not even in the back seat. I'm very independant, so I didn't enjoy my husband having to come to the rescue b/c I had a little car, not to mention he wasn't happy about it either. :D I also feel safer in a bigger vehicle, I may not be, but I feel like I am. :rolleyes:

You may want to check out the HHR steering. My husband drove the HHR and loves it, however I was looking in the HHR booklet and I think it has the same steering as the G6, but I may be wrong.

i'll make sure to check it out (trunk) to see how it stacks up. i'll likely take both back to our home to try and fit in what we'd take camping. that could be the deal breaker for me...

yes, from what i can recall, the HHR has the electric steering, but the cobalt/HHR don't have the issues, as the 2.4 hasn't had any (from what i've researched) either.

The G6 is a big car, you can fit a lot of stuff in it. I've moved in and out of apartments with it and was surprised by how much I could cram in. Until the HHR gets some more balls in it's powertrain (supercharged or turbocharged Ecotec) I couldn't live with it. I know that a high performance version is in the pipeline, you may want to wait if that matters to you. A 4 banger G6 would be a dog too, so you might be happy with the standard HHR.

how are you torn between two completely different types of vehicles? With something like this you just need to look at what you would be using the vehicle for and go from there. Just by reading that you love camping and have two children, I'd say HHR right there.

Mike

^ I agree . With children, loading capacity and camping as your criteria, the HHR is the obvious choice. ;)

it's silly to think of comparing these two.

test drove both, and hands down i have to love the G6 more. on paper and in pictures the HHR was very appealing, yet when i was in it in person, i was hardly impressed with it's cargo capacity compared to the G6. i had a feeling it would be since it is a smaller vehicle, so it wasn't a suprise.

the G6 is definitely lacking in cargo room, but was definitely the better choice for a daily driver. we love to camp, but her alero can cram it in the meantime.

the G6 rides nicer, which i attribute to the rear suspension. it also feels more solid, which i'll attribute to the epsilon chassis.

we don't have children yet, so we can deal with that as the time comes, but my honest opinion is that the G6 is a decent enough vehicle when it comes down to it, and we drove the 1SV bare bones model. it also fits my driving style much more as well, and i would hardly call it a dog. it may not be as fast as the 3500, but coming from a vehicle with roughly the same acceleration as the G6 GTP provides, i can honestly say it is not inadequate for its purpose. just on the test drive i reset the DIC mileage and noticed it didn't go below 20, and averaged around 30 (mpg) during "normal" driving (read not babied, not beasted). not too shabby. we'll be picking it up shortly.

PS - the steering on it is fine (don't read "if you have troubles with it don't worry") and i felt it was fine. possibly from some different calibration for the 2.4...

we'll be picking it up shortly.


WELL???? DETAILS! we want details.....color? options? are you planning any modifications? have you eaten a 'sub' in it yet? (nevermind, that was another story.....) what kind of 'system' do you have? (sorry, that was another story too.....my bad!) and of course finally, does it have 'mid-range bridges'? :dogpile:

sorry, couldn't resist......but i WOULD like to know what you picked out. :)

WELL???? DETAILS! we want details.....color? options? are you planning any modifications? have you eaten a 'sub' in it yet? (nevermind, that was another story.....) what kind of 'system' do you have? (sorry, that was another story too.....my bad!) and of course finally, does it have 'mid-range bridges'? :dogpile:

sorry, couldn't resist......but i WOULD like to know what you picked out. :)

1SV with the ecotec.

they've held a granite metallic, but i'm now considering taking the silver one we test drove. tough choice. i'm going to go look at them today while nobody's there to make my choice...

definitely granite metallic. the pictures don't do it justice. silver is nice too, but the way you get that goldish look in the light is really cool.

gotta go swap off the tires on my ion. thankfully my snows will swap right over, and i'll hopefully be able to sell off the stockers brand new for a set of light weight cheap rims and decent summer/rain tires.

gotta go swap off the tires on my ion. thankfully my snows will swap right over, and i'll hopefully be able to sell off the stockers brand new for a set of light weight cheap rims and decent summer/rain tires.

its deja vu all over again.....PLEASE tell me we're NOT going to start discussing "wheels" and "tires" again.....if you feel a need, refer to some of the previous posts on those subjects before starting all THAT up again.....ha ha :D

have you eaten a 'sub' in it yet?
Hahahahahaha! :)

its deja vu all over again.....PLEASE tell me we're NOT going to start discussing "wheels" and "tires" again.....if you feel a need, refer to some of the previous posts on those subjects before starting all THAT up again.....ha ha :D

i'm not sure i understand. i take it people have been confused as to what a "wheel" or a "tire" is. understand that when i said my tires will swap right over is because i've got blizzaks on steelies, so i wasn't emphasising the focus on "wheels" because i'm worried about the "tires"

anyways, going to fill out the purchase order tonight, and likely pick up my brand new grantite metallic 1SV G6 in the next day or two.

Vita~ Boy... I snooze, I lose. If I had checked in sooner I would've recommended renting the two for a day (given that your area caters to these new models for rent). But, since you were able to decide on ONLY the basis of a test drive, the $ savings was well worth it. Congratualations on your decision. :D

Post some pics when you get it home!! :)

Vita~ Boy... I snooze, I lose. If I had checked in sooner I would've recommended renting the two for a day (given that your area caters to these new models for rent). But, since you were able to decide on ONLY the basis of a test drive, the $ savings was well worth it. Congratualations on your decision. :D

thanks. honestly, all i needed was a test drive. the G6 is a whole different vehicle than the HHR. the HHR is nice, but not what i was expecting from pictures and reviews. the G6 just has a feel to it that the HHR will never have. undoubtably due to the solid beam rear axle. i connect driving the G6 as closer to having a 4 door tiburon (old car was a tiburon GTv6 '03), and the interior room is insane.

Robyn - i will do so for sure. i think i have enough nite shades to fix up my tails while i'm at it, so i want to wait until i finish that. i just hope i can convince the wife to let me tint the windows, for looks and because bright lights at night bug me out sometimes (gotta be getting old...).

Tinting the windows is a must!! I haven't gotten the windows tinted on the TB yet and it's driving me CRAZY!! I have a habit of seeing what people in the car next to me are doing and without tinted windows I cannot do that without being noticed!! :D

Vita,

Congrats on the G6 decision. I was initially looking at the HHR and thought it would be a great around town car for my wife. The SmartBuy program saves you about $4,000 on the G6 which makes it a no-brainer financially.

For the first three weeks we had the G6 (4 cyl.) my wife would call me every day from the car and tell me how fun it was. She likes it a lot.

My daily driver is a 2001 Formula 6 speed. I love to get into the G6. It literally feels like a luxury car compared to the Formula. I'm not ready to get rid of the Formula, it is just nice to have the G6 as an alternative. It is so easy to drive, quiet, and solid feeling.

Like I said before. Look into the SmartBuy program for financing. You can always refinance for a lower rate in two or three months.

random update since i found this thread through a search... G6 only has 32xxx miles on it and still loving it...

I was looking at three models: G5/Cobalt, G6 and the HHR. I found the Cobalt too small, the HHR was stable on the highway, but a bit squirmy around town (base suspension perhaps?). The HHR also has a high beltline with smaller windows. What good are windows that are 14" tall and so far above the seats that the kids can't see out of them? The base Ecotec with the automatic was a bit noisy all around, too. The G6 was quieter, achieved similar EPA numbers with the V6 as the HHR did with the four cylinder.

The only gripe that I have with the G6 outside of dealer customer service, is that when you electronically 'pop' the trunk open, it opens barely high enough to place a finger under, so your hands get dirty. On my other sedans, including my '99 Taurus, you pop the trunk open and it OPENS, it just doesn't unlatch and sit there.

Like several others, I was considering a HHR or maybe a Cobalt before I purchased my G6. I liked a lot of the features in the HHR, and especially the wagon type body style. But for me, every time I did a test drive in one, it just felt WRONG. Even with the seat all the way down, I felt like I was sitting too high in the vehicle, even though I still had several inches of headroom left, and just generally felt closed in otherwise. I never did try a Cobalt before checking out the G6 and all the additional rebates that GM was offering on it. I would have liked the extra cargo space in the HHR, but the G6 just feels RIGHT in all the ways that the HHR felt WRONG, at least for me. I've had my 6 for two months now and I'm still enjoying it! :cool:

random update since i found this thread through a search... G6 only has 32xxx miles on it and still loving it...At first I thought a noob found this page and replied but I see you are the originator, Great up-date!:)
Another happy G6er.

yup the 2.4 g6 is not a gt/gtp/gxp but its no slouch in the power dept.

to bad the 6spd tranny wasnt a option for ya. adds a little more fun to that ride :)