You know … it might just be my age showing … but I can’t get used to regular ol’ cars being $20K and up. Of course, I always buy cars 2-4 years old, so I’ve not seen that price range just yet 
Another option would be a Mini Cooper S, though it might push more towards $24k with a decent set of features. It’s obviously smaller, but a very nice interior/features and VERY sporty handling.
This is when I don my Kevlar underwear and confess that I don’t like Mini Coopers. I know they’re sporty and the coolest cars evar, but I just don’t like the way they look. I don’t like the way the Civic Si looks, either, but I’d rather drive one of them than a Mini. 
No flames here. Originally I wasn’t that thrilled with the look either, but they rate very highly in user surveys and Consumer Reports, so I went to test-drive one. When it took off like a bat out of hell, I was impressed enough to find a color combination I’m quite happy with. Since then I’ve also gotten a shorty antenna to minimize the toy car look.
That is a good color combo (nice!), and I know that they move like a dream … they just remind me too much of old Citroens.
Nomer,
For $23k I think there are better cars out the, especially the Mazda 3. Hell, I think Accords are in that price range.
But if a 2 door car is what you want, check out the 2 door VW Rabbit. It’s about $17.4 K with decent options, and probably comparable with the Colbalt. The Colbalt is a decent car, but not at $23K. $5K is a pretty good difference.
One car I really like at the $23K point is the Chevy Malibu Maxx. But it doesn’t look like what you are looking for, while the Rabbit does.
I’ll not recommend any of the others in the following Edmunds comparison test (they don’t seem to meet your criteria), but they did have this to say about the 6th place (and last) Cobalt SS:
Might I also throw out for your consideration the Hyundai Tiburon 2.7L V6 (it seems like one gets a lot for their money with the Korean brands) and the Ford Mustang 4.0L V6 (you’d probably be into the V8 if you went a couple of years old). Although, if one’s willing to go used (and I’m not saying one should), then suddenly the Mazda RX-8 and Nissan 350-Z are into your price range.
Personally, if I wanted a coupe for low-20’s, I’d look seriously at the Civic Si - and I don’t even dig the styling. I think the sedans look less bizarre, and they are more practical to boot. Good luck.
“Cobalt” is a odd name for a vehicle. Makes me think “any color you want, as long as it’s blue.”
I was seeing it advertised for about $24k brand spanking new. Maybe those are just New York area prices…
In any case, I prefer the interior touches on my used Matrix.
But cobalt is a gray metal…
Maybe so, but the first bell it rings with me is the color “cobalt blue”. . .which I also assumed was the color of the element, until I just wiki’ed it.
Having rented one, I’d second this opinion. If I had to sum up the Cobalt in one word it’d probably be either “flimsy” or just “cheap.”
For that price, can I interest you in a Pontiac G6 with the sport package? It’s what I am driving right now, and stickered at around 21K.
It has V6, 220hp, a very small nearly unnoticeable spoiler, and mine came with remote start!
They come in coupe and 4 door versions, and, to me, don’t scream “cheap car for a teenaged boy” quite so much as the Cobalt does.
Also, you’ll want to make sure you CAN get it without the spoiler. A lot of times the high HP cars have to have those ugly things takced on, because they come from the factory like that.
I have the V6 Mustang (2006) and love it. LOVE IT. It’s great fun to drive. Good acceleration, good handling, and it feels very “planted” on the road. I know that Ford has reliability issues in a lot of people’s minds, but I decided to take the chance. I drove the Tiburon before deciding on the Mustang, and it’s sporty, but felt like a go-cart compared to the Mustang, very skittery and light. And the interior looks like crap. The outside’s very nice looking, though.
I’d say, if you want a sporty coupe under $25k (mine was about 22), take a drive in a V6 Mustang.
I’ve only encountered cobalt in a chemisty set. Yeah, the cobalt was blue.
Have you driven one of these?
The Cobalt really doesn’t look all that different than a Cavalier, IMHO. I’ve not driven one, so I can’t comment on it. However, if my choice was between a Cobalt or a Honda, the Honda would win hands down. As long as you do routine maintence on a Honda, you literally can’t kill the car. They are tight, tight, running machines, IME. My daily driver is a 1981 Honda Prelude, and she’s the best running car I’ve ever owned.
Sorry for being AWOL all weekend!
I’ll start by saying that I’ve decided against the Cobalt. Partly because of this thread (crazyjoe nailed my lingering reservation with “cheap car for a teenaged boy”), and partly because I finally did the math and realized that it’s not really the right time for me to get any new car, but mostly because I realized that I’ve been wanting a Miata since they first came out and if I wait just a little while longer I can get one. Who needs a trunk. 
I haven’t driven one yet, but when I am ready for a new car that’s the one I’ll be after.
That said, let me address some of the comments I’ve gotten since Friday:
I’ve looked at the Rabbits – I’ve looked at all of the VWs, actually. My first car was an '81 Rabbit. But they aren’t really what I’m looking for. The only VW I’d give any serious consideration to is the GTI: it’s got the right stuff for the right price, but I don’t really want a hatchback. Still, when the time comes for me to test-drive a Miata I might just have to check out a GTI, too.
I was a fan of the Tiburon when it first came out, but it doesn’t do anything for me these days.
I do like the new Mustangs – in fact, I just said so to my boyfriend this afternoon – but I have a total prejudice that a 35-year-old woman driving one would look like she was trying a little too hard to be “one of the guys.” I don’t like the idea of “chick cars” and “guy cars,” but I have to admit that I sorta think me driving a new Mustang would be like a guy driving a new Beetle.
I’m not.
Don’t get me wrong, the car I’m driving now was used (it’s an '02 that I bought in '04 with only 12k miles on it), but I definitely want the next one to be new.
My boyfriend’s Cobalt is blue. Heh.
No, that’s about right. I meant $20k in a ballpark way, not actual price. My bad.
Nope, but I swear that I considered the GTI before seeing your comment.
Just FYI, something like 80% of mustangs are sold to women between 19 and 40. You would not be trying to be “one of the guys.” The mustang Demographic has ALWAYS skewed toward women, with guys getting more interested in the GT and Cobra models.
That just means that 80% of the people who buy Mustangs are trying too hard to be one of the guys.
It still strikes me as a guy car that women get when they don’t want to seem like fragile flowers … you know, like the type who would get a Miata.