During the past week that I've been driving a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 coupe, I was struck by the clear-cut choices the Chevy offers buyers when compared with the Nissan 200SX coupe I evaluated in August.
Both cars are targeted at the same market segment, Generation Xers, and both cost about the same - in the range of $15,000 to $16,000 depending on options.Both are aimed at the affordable performance niche - the "Z" in the Chevy's name and the "X" in the Nissan's are the signals; those letters are code for "sports car."
At that point, though, their paths diverge. Like most Japanese cars, the emphasis on the 200SX is practicality and quality. You feel like the car would hold together long after you got tired of seeing it in your garage.
The emphasis on the Z24 is flash, dash and go-fast. If "styling" is your prime objective when kicking tires on the showroom floor, the "Bright Red" Chevy coupe will take your breath away.
Looking like a scaled-down Camaro Z28 or Pontiac TransAm, the Chevy stands out in the parking lot. With the Nissan, it's "I know I parked it here somewhere."
If the two cars were pocket knives, the Cavalier would be a switchblade while the 200SX - essentially a Sentra with two of its doors missing - would be Swiss Army.
If I were spending my own money, I'd buy the Swiss Army knife. In my book of priorities, flash and dash finish second to fit and finish. But I lived my Generation X years back in the '60s, a fact that renders my opinion irrelevant for today's sports coupe buyer. "The geezer likes the Nissan better? OK, that settles it, we buy the Chevy."
Still, even 20-somethings might want to use their back seat on occasion, and the Nissan's is much more user-friendly than the Chevy's. And no one of any age looks forward to having his car in the repair shop. Nissan traditionally blows Chevrolet out of the water in the Consumer Reports "Frequency of Repair" surveys of its readers.
Still, one can't argue with success. Chevy has sold 3 million Cavaliers since it was introduced in 1982, placing it among the 10 best-selling cars in America. Having been completely redone for 1995 - and all for the better - it isn't going to fall out of the rankings anytime soon.
The Cav is offered in three body styles: the coupe, a four-door sedan and a convertible. All have a nearly 2-inch wider track and a 3-inch longer wheelbase than the '94 version, yet the body is 2 inches shorter, making it easier to maneuver in traffic and more fun to drive. Nice trick.
The engine in the standard Cavalier is GM's 2.2 liter four-cylinder that produces 120 horsepower. The Z24 is motivated by the much-praised Quad 4, which churns out 150 ponies. This engine replaces a 3.1-liter V6 as the top engine in the Cavalier line. That's another good trick: a four-cylinder motor that is 10 horsepower stronger than its V6 predecessor.
Nor did Chevy's engineers install the Quad 4 straight out of the box. They created a new balance shaft for it to dampen vibration and added sequential fuel injection to boost its output. The result is a high-revving four-banger that is quiet at idle and gets raucous only in serious acceleration - a time when many people like a bit of cacophony under the hood anyway.
In short, the Cav is a much better car than its predecessor and needs to be. This segment represents about a quarter of all car sales, and the competition isn't limited to Nissan. Also in the hunt for the entry-level buyer are Dodge/-Ply-mouth Neon, Ford Escort, Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Mazda Protege, Mitsubishi Mirage, Hyundai Sonata and several others.
Handling has been improved in the Z24 along with everything else. Chevy has stiffened the structure, minimizing flex and making the Cav feel more firm and responsive while also improving ride quality. It is now the kind of driving experience that caused millions of American motorists to forsake Detroit's offerings for those of Yokohama and Munich, but Chevy got it right this time.
Chevrolet also eliminated more than 28 percent of the parts numbers in the new Cav to help simplify assembly. The dividend is a tighter body assembly that lacks the uneven gaps, rattles and perception of poor quality control that have also fueled the migration to imports. Still, as noted above, it has a way to go to match the imports in this category.
In theory, a Z24 can grace your driveway for a mere $13,810. But the bottom line on my test car was $16,267 with the addition of such amenities as an electric rear window defogger for $170; stereo AM/FM radio with compact disc player for $256 (no tape player - GM has decided that cassette tape is history); automatic transmission for $695 (but save your money and buy the 5-speed manual); an $851 package of "preferred equipment group 2" that includes cruise control, variable wipers, power mirrors and door locks; and a $485 destination charge.
The Z-car's gas mileage averages 25 mpg, good but not great for cars in the class. Expect to get 22 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. The fuel tank holds 15.2 gallons, which means a decent com-bined cruising range of some 380 miles between fillups.
On the inside, the ergonomics are good, with the possible exception of the seat position. It seemed low and tilted back, making it a bit hard to find an ideal position to operate the floor pedals, although the tilt steering wheel helps some.
Another annoying trait was the tendency of the (empty) passenger seatback to fall forward whenever the brakes were applied even slightly aggressively. I don't recall other GM cars doing this so perhaps something was broken.
Dash controls were nicely placed, easy to decipher and precise to the touch. Can't ask for much more. The theater style dome light that dims down rather than abruptly blinking off is a nice touch of class that is unexpected in an entry-level car.
Dual airbags, ABS brakes and seat belts designed to hold child safety seats are all standard equipment, and Chevy said the engine's platinum-tipped spark plugs are good for 100,000 miles.
The Dexron III fluid in the (optional) automatic transmission is said to be good for the life of the car.