Chevy HHR offers nostalgia, great utility
We have a national fashion fixation for nostalgia.
“Heritage” versions of motorcycles and bicycles keep boomers feeling young. Oldies radio stations flourish and basement-bound rock stars shop for such “classics” as Fender’s V-Neck Stratocaster.
It seems we can’t go forward without looking back.
In this spirit Chevrolet introduces its new HHR (for Heritage High-Roof) multipurpose vehicle. The HHR borrows design cues from the 1949 Suburban and the SSR pickup and blends them into a stylish classic-cum-contemporary sheet-metal brew.
Critics decry the HHR as a PT Cruiser pretender, but for my friend Charlie, himself an artist, hot-rodder and assimilator of wide-ranging fashion influences, Chevy stands on solid stylistic ground.
“Oooh, I like it,” he crooned, stroking a voluptuous HHR fender. “It has that classic Suburban look.”
Yes, the HHR’s Rubenesque body panels and prominent hood swell with post-War vigor and its high roofline and tall greenhouse promise abundant cabin space. Optional chrome exterior trim handles recall past styling glories, and bright-work adds luster to one of the best General Motors interiors in memory.
Because it has a flat floor, the HHR is officially considered a truck, but it’s built on the same platform as the subcompact, front-drive Cobalt sedan and its ride and handling package is decidedly car-like.
Some people look at the HHR and call it a mini-minivan; others see — more properly, I think — a small wagon. Either way, it’s a front-drive utility (but not sport-utility) vehicle. Chevy calls it an “urban, on-road utility vehicle,” and says it has no plans to add an all-wheel- or four-wheel-drive option.
Front-drive addresses 85 percent of all traction needs, it says.
Despite its sporting visage, the HHR is no hot-rod. There are two trim levels and three variants: The LS ($15,590, including destination) and 1LT ($16,690) are powered by a 140-horsepower, 2.4-liter four, and the 2LT ($17,340), gets 170 hp from a 2.4-liter four-banger.
Neither is sufficiently powerful to boil blood but the upside of modest acceleration arrives at the gas pump: the EPA rates both engines at 23 city/30 highway, when paired with the base five-speed Getrag manual transmission and 22/30 with the optional, four-speed automatic.
The engines share a modern, overhead-camshaft architecture, with balance shafts and electronic throttle control, and both run on regular fuel, although Chevy recommends premium for the 2.4-liter.
All trim levels are reasonably well-equipped with such standard features as air conditioning; power windows, mirrors and door locks; an AM/FM/CD player and remote keyless entry. All audio systems incorporate an auxiliary channel and input jack to accommodate an MP3 player.
The 2LT package adds anti-lock brakes, traction control (automatic transmission models only), fog lamps, 17-inch wheels and a sport suspension.
OnStar, XM satellite radio and up-level audio systems are available, along with a power sunroof, larger gas tank, 17-inch wheels and remote starting (included with the automatic transmission).
Interior design execution is nearly as impressive as the standard-features list. Apparently, GM has finally tumbled to the importance of the space in which owners spend their hours.
The HHR is small, but its cabin comfortably accommodates four adults. Drivers sit tall and upright, approximating the feel of an SUV or van and face a pair of chrome-trimmed gauges. Circular, chrome-rimmed air vents echo the theme, as do the climate and audio controls, which are located in a deep and neatly arranged center console.
Slight pause for complaint: Setting indicators on the rim of the climate control knob are poorly marked and all but invisible by daylight; fortunately, they light up at night. Good luck using the satellite steering-wheel audio controls, though; they’re too small to be depressed by human digits.
As promised, there is plenty of headroom all around and even decent legroom for rear-seat passengers. Some long-legged drivers complain the door panels invaded their personal leg space after an hour or two on the road, but your average-sized, short-legged correspondent rode comfortably.
There’s never quite enough room for storage in a cabin this small, but Chevy engineers found room for an “auxiliary glove box” in the upper reaches of the dash.
They also invested some time thinking through the cargo storage possibilities available in a small rig. Behind the rear seats — they split 60/40 and fold flat to create a level cargo area — the multipurpose load floor can be raised by a foot to become a shelf, forming a two-level storage compartment.
As a shelf, it can be positioned horizontally or at a 45-degree angle to allow access to cargo in the lower level with the rear liftgate open.
A bin 5 inches deep nestles between the load floor and the spare tire and hides up to 2.8 cubic feet of secret stuff. At the front of the load floor, a pair of covered storage bins holds smaller objects.
A carpeted mat covers the entire arrangement.
A variety of materials and engineering techniques were employed to increase rigidity and minimize noise and vibration characteristics and the effort pays off in a ride that is stable, smooth and quiet.
Small in dimension and economical in operation, the HHR offers excellent people- and cargo-hauling capabilities. Nostalgia might be the motif, but utility is the calling card. The PT Cruiser may have been here first, but there’s room for more than one player in this game.