Over the past two years, the North American subcompact segment has heated up, with many manufacturers joining the fray. A lot of advertising dollars have been spent to boost sales, and experts are predicting that the segment will grow 30% over the next four years. Never content to watch from the sidelines, General Motors has been hard at work creating something worthwhile after repeated missteps over the years, most recently with the Aveo. With the new Chevy Sonic, they’ve finally achieved their goal.

As the Aveo’s successor, the Sonic aims to create a thunderous boom in the subcompact segment, and it already has some of the other manufacturers squirming. Using a different design team, GM completely transformed the Aveo, not merely into another affordable car with legs but into one that combines an aggressive, youthful design with turbocharged performance.

My tester, the LTZ, boasted all that the Sonic has to offer and came in a blinding inferno-orange metallic colour. The Sonic has two incarnations, a four-door sedan and a five-door hatch – my LTZ was a hatch. The LTZ is available only with a six-speed manual transmission, but it seems likely that an automatic is in the works.

The snubness of the LTZ’s snout and the distinct scowl of its headlights give it a rebellious, aggressive air that almost seems to say “I may look small, but don’t underestimate me.” Another welcome change from the Aveo is the hidden rear passenger doors, which provides the hatch with a trendy design that exudes youthfulness. The Sonic might be compact, but its small size is offset by its modern looks and cool personality.

The interior cabin is impressively laid out and, with its brightly coloured gauge cluster and some nice gadgets to boot, reflects much the same youthful spirit of the exterior, With its massive digital speedometer, the gauge cluster resembles that of a motorcycle. There may be a lot of hard plastic on the dash, but at least the upscale leather seats were roomy and comfortable. Even the back seats had ample space for at least two adults.

Of course, the true measure of a great car is in its performance, and in this regard the Sonic can go toe to toe with the Honda Fit, the Toyota Yaris, and the Hyundai Accent. It might be new to the neighbourhood, but it’s making its mark with an impressive 1.4 L Ecotec turbo engine cranking out 138 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque. Weighing in at 2,776 pounds, the Sonic may be one of the heaviest vehicles in its segment, but it’s also the fastest in its class.

One major drawback is the clutch: not the greatest in the biz by a long shot. Although I gradually got used to it over the week, there isn’t much feel in it. With regard to acceleration, the Sonic is a little sluggish on initial take-off, and there isn’t a great deal of power in the lower revs, which doesn’t really declare itself until you get up to the sweet spot: 2,500-3,000 revs. As fast as the car is for its segment, it’s still no sports car, and it will lose some power as soon as it hits the red line.

The drive itself is smooth and quiet, especially for a compact, thanks to a stiff suspension that reduces much of the body roll. The steering wheel is light and quick, which allows this little fireball to execute turns and corners beautifully. On one of my longer drives, which combined both city and highway driving, the Sonic averaged 7.1 L / 100 km.  

The base price of the Sonic sedan starts at a competitive $14,495, with the hatchback starting at $15,495, but that’s with a 1.8 L engine. The LTZ hatch tester I had starts at $20,995 and is accompanied by XM radio, heated leather seats, 17” alloy wheels, not to mention the 1.4 L turbocharged engine.

All things considered, the Sonic performed admirably and will go a long way towards righting the wrongs of past Chevy failures. It remains to be seen whether it will shake up the subcompact segment, but there’s no doubt that it will be a stronger contender.