Overview & Reviews

The Chevrolet HHR was something of a late arrival to the compact wagon scene. Its name stood for "Heritage High Roof," referring to its tall retro-wagon styling, which Chevrolet claims was inspired by the '49 Suburban. Everything else about the vehicle, however, was decidedly modern.

Though compact in size, the Chevy HHR featured clever interior packaging solutions, including a split-folding rear seat, a fold-flat front passenger seat and a cargo area floor (with built-in grocery bag hooks) that allowed it to accommodate bulky and/or long cargo items. For shoppers searching for a used versatile compact wagon that's also stylish, the HHR certainly merits consideration.

Most Recent Chevrolet HHR
The Chevrolet HHR was a compact four-door wagon produced from 2006-'11. It shared its front-wheel-drive architecture -- and thus many of its driving characteristics -- with Chevrolet's Cobalt compact sedan.

In testing, our editors commented favorably about the HHR's smooth and quiet ride, ample cargo space, attractive interior, excellent visibility and versatile sound system. The cabin boasted nicely detailed gauges, tight construction and substantial-feeling controls. There was, however, no shortage of hard plastics on hand that sullied the overall ambience. The HHR's tall ceiling provided headroom aplenty, but the narrow body limited comfort for adults riding in the backseat. Other downsides included weak brakes, underwhelming handling dynamics and a lack of refinement from the 2.4-liter engine.

Four trim levels were offered: LS, 1LT, 2LT and a high-performance SS version produced from 2008-'10. A two-seat panel van version that came in LS, LT and SS trims was available every year but 2006.

The base engine was a 2.2-liter four-cylinder that initially produced 143 horsepower, but was bumped to 149 for 2007 and to 155 for 2010. Available on the LT was a 2.4-liter four-cylinder that produced either 172 hp or 175 depending on the year (it actually went back and forth). The SS featured a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder good for 260 hp, along with stronger brakes and an enhanced suspension that together made it quite fun to drive. Front-wheel drive and a five-speed manual were standard with all, but a four-speed automatic was optional.

Besides the minor horsepower bumps, changes to the HHR were limited to standard features. Most notably, this included stability control for 2008 as well as antilock brakes and side curtain airbags the following year.

User Reviews:

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  water leak - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By dmilesi - June 19 - 2:00 pm

  my 2006 chevy HHR is leaking on the passenger side. The water is coming in from the air filter that is located under the hood. below the right windshield wiper. There is a big pocket and a air filter there so when it rains it runs right in under the dashboard. I read that many other people are having the same trouble. Chevy needs to make this a recall or they are going to lose hard working peoples business. Just one person will tell hundreds of people. If there are enough complaints maybe they will do something about this major problem. I went to [violative content deleted] , Still waiting for a response . Also read they are terrible in the snow even with studs on them.

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  More like entry level! - 2011 Chevrolet HHR
  By canman4 - June 13 - 9:08 pm

  Ive had this car for about a month and a half now. What can I say? This car is OK, not good, not great. Good thing GM is offering huge discounts because its not much better than some entry level cars. I was looking for something larger than compact after owning a van for a while. The size of this car is pretty good compared to small SUVs but, thats about it. A very loud Ecotech engines easily scares people at crossings but is kind of annoying (the older engine was quieter and you cant buy ethanol anywhere anyway). Bad gas mileage (not much better than the old van), creaks all around the dash and the outside air temp sensor is way off (5 -10 degrees). Go with Mazda 3 or similar.

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  Great Car for Price - Sorry its Being Discontinued - 2011 Chevrolet HHR
  By zkeith2 - June 12 - 6:31 pm

  Overall a really great car. It looks better, is more fun to drive, and has better cargo storage than comparable cars. Its rare to get a hatchback in this price with masculine design lines. Most look so feminine/cute/wimpy. With huge rebates in place now because 2011 is the last model year, this is a great deal.

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  2011 Chevy HHR Exceeded Our Expectations! - 2011 Chevrolet HHR
  By chevyhhr2011 - May 27 - 10:51 am

  We bought a new 2011 Chevy HHR LS with the My Link package because it had everything we needed for our business. From the interior room of an SUV to the gas savings of a small car the HHR has been fun to drive and it is easy to load packages for shipment. Our website business, [HTML deleted], uses the HHR for shipments, carrying and picking up new inventory and advertising. In the future we plan to add advertising decals on the exterior to make it stick out from the others. The HHR has exceeded our expectations with its comfort and convenience. We have over 1,500 miles in just about a month of owning it with no problems.

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  Not looking forward to warranty running out - 2009 Chevrolet HHR
  By b0ds - May 26 - 2:44 am

  My wife and I purchased this car new back in 09. Its good on gas and not too bad for road trips. A taller person like myself might find themselves hunched over to see out the windshield though. The ignition went bad within the first year. One day we just couldnt turn the car off, the ignition had locked up and you couldnt turn the key to shut it off. Had to pull the fuel pump fuse to kill the car. Weve had to have the brake rotors and pads replaced a couple times. Most recently we had to replace a leaking front strut. All this before the car reached 27k miles. Havnt had to pay for repairs, but the warranty ends soon. I would not purchase another one.

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  Problems after 50K miles - 2007 Chevrolet HHR
  By soclant - May 17 - 3:10 pm

  In March 2011, with 57,000 miles a small plastic tab in my shifter assembly broke and I could not remove the key. $357.87 plus disposal fee. I have the old one. April 6th front door handle broke, also plastic. Not happy

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  Stealth Value~! - 2011 Chevrolet HHR
  By smulvey - April 7 - 3:22 pm

  If you price out a car that does what this car does you will notice it is $ 4,000 cheaper than the typical offering in other lines , even including GM lines! It is a 4 cylinder motor. It is great for highway and city driving. It is not a torque monster. You do not want to buy this car to TOW a boat to Floirda from the hills of PA. I drive 25,000 miles a year. I have 80K on my HHR. I had it into the dealer once ( last month ) for a door lock / key FOB / RFID issue. The dealer could not figure it out. Everything else for this car was done in my Driveway or at Sears at the mall.

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  Unsafe - 2011 Chevrolet HHR
  By ray190 - March 9 - 8:38 pm

  You can not see out of this car. I am 5-10 and my head is in the roof and my shoulder is agaist the door. This is not a car its a coffin

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  Cool car/truck - 2010 Chevrolet HHR
  By lakelizrd - February 23 - 10:32 pm

  I just purchased a 2010 left over automatic SS/HHR. List price $27,975. Bought the truck for $20,260. The dealer had the SS left over in his inventory from 2010 and wanted to get rid of the truck. I only have 3000 miles on the SS, but so far it is a kick to drive. I added the stage 1 turbo booster kit which is a $690 dealer installed option. The booster kit kicks up the performance to 290 hp, 330 pounds of torque. This little guy screams and will keep up with my G-35 infinity. The ride is great, and handles well. You know the HHR is what it is - an inexpensive fun ride. If you are looking for big hauler buy a big truck - this is just a fun ride netting me an average of 27 MPG. So far so good

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  LT2 Automatic transmission with 2.4L engine - 2010 Chevrolet HHR
  By lbf58 - December 19 - 8:19 pm

  I dont know why this trim level wasnt included in the menu, but thats what I have. Has all the whistles and bells. Bought a few months used with 13k on the odometer. Handles and brakes great. Very comfortable interior, mostly well designed. Fun to drive! Either you like the look of the retro exterior or you dont. I do.