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2007 Chevrolet HHR Panel LS Road Test

You'll never accuse the HHR of looking boring. With styling cues that fondlyrecall the 1949 Chevy Suburban, the Heritage High Roof burst on the scene in 2005 with the Chrysler PT cruiser firmly in its sights. It seems that there was an opportunity in the market for a vehicle with retro styling and multifaceted versatility, and the Chrysler guys were getting all the glory. GM responded by introducing the HHR with the intention of beating Chrysler at their own game. We think they succeeded on the styling front at the very least. The HHR looks like it was sculpted from the minds eye of a So Cal surfer; it reminds some of our staffers of Hot Wheels models that were so much a part of our childhoods. Now joining the regular HHR is the Panel model, which eschews the rear doors' windows for solid panels. Notable in their absence are the door handles, further adding to the clean streamlined look. The rear doors are operable from the interior via two buttons on the dashboard.

When the HHR was made available to the public, the tuner and customizing crowd instantly embraced it. If you need evidence of this claim, you should look back to the past couple of SEMA

For a regular car, the HHR isn't boring. For a delivery vehicle, it's far out, man. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

shows. Many exhibitors chose the HHR as a rolling showcase for their products and custom work. With the Panel model being added to the lineup, the HHR becomes an even bettercanvas. The sides offer a large expanse of real estate to show off a cool paint job (if only master pinstriper Von Dutch were still around ...) or as an ideal rolling billboard. Inside, the cavernous cargo bay can be used as an all business work environment or a venue to install the latest in in-car entertainment. The space offers up endless possibilities for aftermarket transformations, enough to make the folks at Unique Whips salivate with possibilities.

Perhaps a little background information is in order here. The HHR platform is underpinned by GM's Delta platform, the architecture that's the basis of the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G5 and the soon to be euthanized Saturn Ion.

With no door handles and glass to get in the way, the sides of the HHR Panel are your canvas. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

While the Ion missed the mark on showing buyers how good the platform can be by an embarrassingly wide mark, product czar Bob Lutz demanded some additional “polishing up”. The Cobalt and G5 are huge improvements over their predecessors and are easily mentioned in the same sentence with the best vehicles in their class. In fact, you might say that the extra attention lavished on the platform saved the architecture from sinking beneath the waters of mediocrity.

In many ways the HHR can be viewed as a Cobalt wagon, and yet with this Panel configuration it's so much more than that. For folks who are on the road all day in Ford Econolines, Chevy Astros and Dodge Ram Vans the HHR Panel makes a convincing argument to downsize. Sure, you incur a penalty in terms of cargo space; but every aspect of living with the vehicle becomes so much more manageable. Ingress and egress is a breeze; this car is actually comfortable. The seats feel too flat to be accommodating at first, but they're deceptively

With the most basic of engines, the HHR Panel only looks like a hot rod. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

comfortable. While going down the road, the driver is treated to a level of refinement not seen in working class vehicles. In short, the HHR will demand less gas, have a less rigorous maintenance schedule (things like fuel consumption and brake pad replacement intervals are much higher than what most are probably used to, the byproduct of a relatively light vehicle) and provide a nicer overall driving experience in general. What's more is that the HHR Panel can be dressed up with most of the options of the regular HHR, including fancy chrome alloy wheels, and leather-trimmed seats, a sunroof and a keyless starter.

As automotive enthusiasts, any car we test gets put through its paces, and the HHR Panel van was no different. When you look at the car in context, it's simply not intended for spirited driving. Rather, it's a utilitarian device, a toolbox on wheels. We still put the spurs to our tester to find out how dynamically competent the HHR really is. We weren't surprised to learn that it behaved very similar to its Cobalt cousin, albeit with a higher center of gravity and more sluggish acceleration. Power is provided by a DOHC 16-valve 2.2-liter four

It's got everything you need, except perhaps window controls at hand and a tach you don't need to squint to see. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

making 149 horsepower and 152 pound-feet of torque.Acceleration is leisurely but adequate, a problem exacerbated by the simple four-speed automatic transmission. The gear ratios are spaced quite widely causing the 2.2 to struggle to get back into the rev range where it can make the most of its output. Where it lacks in power it makes up for in refinement. We were pleasantly surprised to find the engine is a smooth operator, with only a muted hush emanating from under the hood. For the LT model, the Cobalt SS' 175-hp 2.4-liter inline-four is available and would've made for a much more enjoyable driving experience. With that said, we wonder if Chevrolet will do the improbable and drop the HHR SS' 260-hp, turbocharged direct injected inline four into the cargo van bodystyle ...

Back to the 2.2, things are fine until you start pushing it past 7/10ths. It is at this point where you're reminded that such behavior isn't exactly condoned when the HHR Panel is concerned. Handling is decent, although at a certain point the Goodyear Eagle Affinity tires admit their reluctance towards such hooligan shenanigans. Despite that the HHR will handily out handle any of its bigger (and much heavier) full size delivery competitors.

When the HHR hit the marketplace, it was a direct, albeit somewhat late

No back seats, but you get a whole lot more cargo on board than in most wagons. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

response to Chrysler's PT Cruiser. In an effort to stay ahead of the curve, GM has brought the HHR Panel to fruition in an effort to be number one in a niche market spun off a mainstream platform. Admittedly, they are the first. We're happy to report that for what it is, the HHR works well, and satisfies the objectives of product planners and its target consumers. There are a few complaints, but only a few stuck out as ones that need immediate attention. For example, the miniscule tach that resides in the bottom right half of the speedometer is about as useless as the one found in the New Beetle, and must've been an afterthought. Perhaps those aforementioned designers could do something about the location of the power window switches in future models too. Mounted extremely low on the center console, they caused more than one driver to have to take their eyes off the road just to find the darn things. On the positive, the HHR's turning circle is extremely good, at least when compared to the PT's outrageously large diameter radius.

For a group of automotive enthusiasts, it's hard to get riled up about a compact station wagon wearing work trousers, but we could see plenty of people getting excited about it, especially since it costs only $16,160 in base trim. After our test drive concluded we realized how much we relied on the HHR's versatility and even began to miss it once it had left our hands. This in mind, we think Chevrolet has succeeded.

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