Browse expert reviews and compare info on the HHR at the At first glance, the HHR seems like a rather unlikely candidate to get Chevy s top performance moniker SS. As cool as it may look, the HHR is and always will be an inexpensive family wagon. Right? Well that s what we thought before we drove the new one a few days ago in Arizona. This ain t no wimpy family hauler. And the HHR SS isn t just a badge-and-sticker job like some recent SS models, either. This is a real performance package.

First, there s the business under the hood. Out came the HHR s 2.4-liter 149-hp inline four-cylinder. In its place is a 2.0-liter, turbocharged and intercooled inline four, with 260 hp when paired to a five-speed manual and 235 hp when paired to a four-speed automatic. That s the same motor that Pontiac and Saturn use in their top-level Solstice and Sky roadsters. And it s the same one Chevy will use on the next Cobalt SS.

The folks at Chevrolet say this 3260-pound, five-speed car will hit 60 mph in 6.35 seconds, with the 3350-pound automatic version following in 7.46 seconds (manual models will top out at 150 mph). We spent the majority of our time with the manual car, and it s certainly more edgy and runs much harder. Lucky for us, the snaky roads leading to Tortilla Flats were traffic-free, so we were able to put the car through its paces.

For SS duty, Chevy moves the shifter further forward and shortens the throws. And to make room for that modification, they relocate the window switches to the door panel, where they belong. The shifts are very tight and a bit notchy nosnickety-snick smoothness of a Honda gearbox, but it s a major improvement over other front-drive GM manuals. Okay, so if the transmission gets a B-minus, then the suspension gets an A.