2014 Chevrolet Sonic RS Sedan

The 2014 Chevrolet Sonic RS sedan clearly has sporting aspirations -- you can see that as soon as you look at it. The subcompact four-door has a sportier front fascia, side, and rear aero stylings, a lowered stance, and tasteful but clear RS badging. Inside, the feel comes from black leather seats -- with microfiber inserts -- that have red contrast stitching, as do the steering wheel and the signature floormats.

But the subcompact performance market (Ford Fiesta ST, pricier Mini Hardtop Cooper S, Fiat 500 Abarth) is pretty competitive. So we spent some time in a manual-transmission Sonic RS to see how engaging it is to drive and what value it offers. The mechanical upgrades on the RS are singularly aimed at improving road handling, which isn’t shabby to begin with in lower-trim Sonics. The RS gets a sport-tuned suspension and disc brakes fitted with 17-inch aluminum wheels, and it sits a half-inch lower than other Sonics.

Drivers will immediately notice that the view through the enormous windshield is fabulous, and glass stretches almost the entire side of the car until the C-pillar gets in the way. The car feels a bit Spartan, with little up-front storage for phones and such, but it’s not supposed to be a luxury experience. Our RS with a six-speed manual starts at $21,150 including destination charge. Add a $325 Advanced Safety Package and you get forward collision alert and lane-departure warning. Even though the seats are adjusted manually (yes, a first-world problem) it’s easy for the driver to find a commanding position.

Driving the 2014 Chevrolet Sonic RS is a gratifying, engaging experience. The steering is a real find for this class. It’s very well-weighted, giving good feedback without transmitting so much that it would be burdensome on long trips. And you wouldn’t call the shifter short-throw by any means, but neither is it a giant lever as in a school bus. It’s fun. Easy-to-find gates lead to a soft “thunk” when you land them. The performance-look pedals are spaced well for heel-and-toe braking on downshifts. The 1.4-liter turbo I-4, with 138 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque, likes to rev, and the gears are more closely spaced than on other Sonics, so to keep up with quick-moving traffic (it exists sometimes in L.A.) the driver must put in some work. If I were Chevrolet I’d include an option to turn off the “hey, buddy, it’s time to shift” indicator, as it’s clearly programmed for efficiency and demands shifts far too early in the rev. That seems especially wrong for a car with such sporting aspirations. Are they hollow aspirations? Let’s see: The 2825-pound Sonic RS made it to 60 mph in 8.7 seconds. That’s light-years away from America’s hot hatch of the moment, the Ford Fiesta ST, which speeds to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds. The far more expensive Mini Hardtop Cooper S is a shade quicker still at 6.3 seconds. The more utilitarian Honda Fit we last tested in 2012 (we haven’t yet tested the 2015 Fit) made the run via its manual five-speed in 8.4 seconds.