Car shopping is never easy, especially for first-time car buyers. New or used, the car shopping process can be daunting because you have so many factors to consider. As well as the more obvious choices such as body style, price, and looks, there are many other items to pay attention to. If you are preparing a visit to a Chevy dealer near you, here is a brief rundown of some of the best features to look for when it’s time for you to go shopping for a car.
Performance Features
The Chevy brand is synonymous with road performance. Its illustrious history contains some of the most recognized sports cars and muscle cars from almost any automotive era. So if you’re looking for some of the best features in a car, you’re likely going to be scouting the performance. Whether you
If you need something with the muscle to pump out horsepower on the highway then you’re probably thinking something along the lines of a Chevy Camaro or Corvette. These powerful V8 sports cars are icons of the American automotive scene. However, even Chevy’s more practical models still offer plenty of performance. Indeed, any Chevy with a V6 or higher, such as the Impala or Blazer, will likely net you the kind of horsepower and torque you’re seeking.
The newer generations of the Impala may not produce the same sort of horsepower as the muscle car era, but the 3.6-liter V6 can still yield an impressive 305 hp at 264 lb-ft of torque. For those who are seeking out a luxury town car that can ramp up the revs, then the Impala has the performance features you need to achieve that. Alternatively, if you need a bit more space in your car, then the Blazer SUVs V6 engine puts out 308 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque.
Fuel Economy
Obviously, the compacts and crossovers aren’t going to provide you with the under-the-hood muscle for rubber-burning performance. But if you’re looking for an economy car to get you from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ in a reliable fashion, you’ll want to make sure you’re picking up something with great fuel mileage. If miles per gallon is an important feature for you due to long travel distances or extended commutes, then finding a Chevy with great fuel economy should be a high priority feature for you.
Newer generations of the Chevy Malibu feature considerable fuel economy, with the 1.5-liter four-cylinder petrol route granting you 29 MPG in the city and up to 36 MPG on the highway. The 1.8-liter hybrid is even more impressive, offering up to 46 MPG combined. However, the hybrid was discontinued after 2019, so you will only find it at a used car dealership.
Chevy also offers an all-electric vehicle in the form of the Bolt EV. This incredibly efficient option gets an equivalent to 118 MPGe and has a range of 259 miles on a single charge. For the ultimate commuter vehicle that can even handle the occasional road trip, it is hard to beat a modern battery electric vehicle and the convenience of charging your battery at home.
Infotainment/Connectivity
Just a decade ago, this item probably wouldn’t even pop up on the most obscure of car buyer lists, but here we are in the current year where connectivity makes up an important and almost embedded part of nearly every new car sold on a lot. If you’re interested in buying a new or used car, one of the core features that most people look for now is whether the car has connectivity for their smart devices, music, and cloud-based media.
However, if you are shopping for a Chevy, you’re in luck because of the brand’s state of the art infotainment features. Even for base trims of most recent models come with thoroughly modern features to keep you entertained and informed while on the road. Even the subcompact Chevy Spark comes with dual USB ports, a 7-inch diagonal LED touchscreen, the easy-to-use Chevrolet Infotainment 3 software, and wireless smartphone connectivity thanks to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Other available Chevy tech features include remote connectivity and mobile device integration with built-in features like the MyChevrolet app. This allows you to actually monitor the vehicle’s health, watch video guides, utilize OnStar navigation, and even schedule vehicle maintenance and repairs from your smartphone. The center dashboard console also allows you to stream podcasts, songs, and catch up on current events with the latest news via the touchscreen. If you need a car that keeps up with your fast-paced, networked lifestyle, you’ll need a car that offers infotainment and connectivity. Chevy’s newer generation of cars covers those needs quite well.
Model Years Without Major Recalls
Sometimes the best feature of a car isn’t what it has, but what it doesn’t. By that, I mean that a car that doesn’t feature any major recalls, life-threatening faults, or serious production errors that result in accidents or injury. If you want a reliable, long-running vehicle without having to worry about it giving you any considerable problems, avoid a model year with any serious recalls on record. If you’re buying a new vehicle, this may be impossible to do since recall orders usually don’t go out until some time after the vehicle has already been on the market. However, if you’re buying used, then you have a lot more control over your buying options and can safely avoid any past models that suffered a major recall order.
Now, this isn’t to say that any vehicle with any problem whatsoever should be avoided. Every car has its ups and downs, and no car is perfect. For instance, the fourth-generation Chevy Camaro suffered from some hatch issues after about 100,000 or so miles. So if you were buying an older generation Camaro, it’s something to consider – but it is not a major red flag that has any real effect on the performance or safety of this sporty car. However, if certain model years contain serious complaints from owners, then it’s something to take into account when budgeting for potential future repairs.
Reliability & Car History
Some of the best features of a car are only useful when you can actually use them. That means that the car has to keep functioning for you to make full use of said features. Reliability is one of those traits that will require due diligence on the car shopper’s end because sometimes very reliable cars can end up with very unreliable owners. The result is a car can be put through the wringer and find itself on a used car lot where an unsuspecting consumer picks it up without knowing its history.
This is a two-fold attribute to look for in a vehicle, especially a performance-heavy Chevy, where the previous owner may have really pushed the vehicle to its limits. Without proper maintenance or regular service, even the most reliable of cars can end up being a money sink for its new owner.
This leads into the second part of what you should look for before buying a car: it’s repair history. If it’s new, then you don’t have to worry about this, but if it’s used, then you’ll want to find out if the transmission has been replaced if the engine block has had any cracks, if any major leaks have occurred, or if it’s been in any major accidents. You’ll want to be especially vigilant with the repair history of used Chevy sports and muscle cars because, without proper care or regular maintenance, they could give you some serious issues down the road.
Start Your Search
Hopefully, you consider some of this advice the next time you visit a Chevy dealer near you and begin to browse through the selection on the lot. Chevy offers lots of features ranging from performance to infotainment, and considering your options is the best way to make sure that you end up with a car, truck, or SUV that perfectly fits your personal needs.
