The electric steering is nicely weighted and communicative in general. I found it to be fairly precise although maybe a little light once cruising on the highway. A very tight turning radius of 10.2 meters allows for easy u-turns on almost every road.

The front disc / rear drum brakes perform well. The pedal feel is softer than what I have typically come to expect from a GM product. Not only that, but feedback is very limited because of the wooden sensation generated by the pedal.

The road manners of the Pursuit are surprisingly civilised. Lateral grip is strong with a touch of body roll in quick tight corners. The ride is never harsh and fair sized bumps are soaked up with little drama.

Safety

The Pursuit has standard dual front air bags, optional side and side curtain air bags, available ABS brakes with electronic brake force distribution, and seatbelt pre-tensionners. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) awarded the Cobalt 4 stars (a good result) for the driver and 5 stars (a perfect result) in a frontal impact. The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) has rated it a "Best Pick" in its category in frontal impacts and rated it average in lateral impacts. There are no crash results for the Pursuit.

Conclusion

There is no doubt in my mind that the new Cobalt and Pursuit are better built cars than the ones they replace. It is clear that a greater effort was put into the design and assembly of these new cars.

These vehicles are basic transportation and will surely be showered by incentives from the manufacturer. There are still plenty of new Cavaliers and Sunfires on dealer lots. However, I would firmly recommend you to buy a Cobalt or Pursuit instead, especially if you are planning to keep the car only for a few years due to its higher resale value. The reason is due to the fact that the old models, which already lost a huge portion of their value in a short period of time, will depreciate at an even more blistering rate.

To help avoid any headaches, I would suggest that the equipment levels also remain very basic. Reliability has not been a strong suit as of late with new GM products, however it is possible to do worse. Competition is very strong in this segment and GM has only barely caught up with these new cars.

Good stuff:
Ecotec power
Looks and design

Not so good stuff:
Interior space
Short and long-term reliability??