Review: Chevy HHR

So Thursday I got to fly out to Maui to get a few installations in. Interestingly enough I found the TSA staff and checkpoints to be about the same as they normally have been.

The only downside though was my short experience having to drive around a brown Chevy HHR. The car itself is sort of a cross between a sedan, a mini-SUV and a hatchback. The closest parallel is the same basic shape of the Dodge Charger. However, the HHR suffers from a little bit of an identity crisis. With a relatively weak engine (140ish HP), a fairly small trunk (unless you drop the rear seats) and fairly loose feeling steering the HHR isn't really a performance vehicle or a great people mover. I found the engine response lacking and steering felt muddy. Feedback from the car wasn't what I was expecting and I often couldn't get a good feel for just how much sway and turning ability I was actually getting out of the car.

In the end the HHR is aptly named because "hhrrrr" is the noise you'll be making as you approach hills. Driving the HHR made me realize how much easier the Malibu Max and Chevy Cobalt were to drive. If you're an HHR owner I hope you don't take offense, but since the renta-car companies usually stock the bargain basement models, my experience with the HHR wasn't the most pleasant.