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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  Car was designed to fail after warranty runs out. - 2010 Chevrolet HHR
  By So this is what chevy is all about - August 27 - 2:35 pm

  I will state the car never stranded me but once save the recalled ignition seizing up. ALL recalls effected my vehicle, the ignition one was amazing on how long it took the dealership to replace, I kept getting notices in the mail and each time I called they either were not approved to do the recall, out of parts or some other reason why they couldnt get it in. It finally took me saying its going to get dropped off tonight whether your ready or not! Because my cars ignition will not turn. Remind you this is 6 months after I initially called and each time was told they would call me when they can get it in. Now going into that you would think they would have offered a rental....no. They had it for a week while I drove a family members car, after a week I finally had enough called back and they said they still cant get the part in...I demanded a rental...they said ok with some hesitation. 2 minutes later they call back and miraculously they found the part and I could pick it up in 30 mins. Fast forward 3 months...now my power steering intermittently starts cutting out. I search online and see there is recall for that...not wanting to go through the same deal I just went through I just dealt with it. Fast forward again, I see another recall for the air bag, this was an issue I brought up during the warranty that the light would intermittently turn on that it needs service...they looked at it twice...no shipshape. There was another issue with the door that kept it from closing some plastic pc that they charged me 350.00 after the warranty was up. It broke yet again so I took it to a mom and pop garage... 18 bucks to replace....so much for good service. Car only has 94,000 miles on it I change the oil often and run mobile 1 synthetic. And I have 2 rear doors which I barely ever used that no children were getting in and out of slamming it but they wont stay shut unless I rig them to stay closed. This week my car randomly acts like its stuck in 3rd gear and will not take off from a stop occasionally, even stalling once, once up to 35mph or higher it acted fine. Check engine light also illuminated he next day so I RELUCTANLY schedule them to take a look at it and see whats wrong with the trany and fix the recalls...thank god I made the powertrain warranty of 100k only being at 94k Wrong because the previous owner bought the car in 2009 the 5 year is up, I bought in Nov 2010 btw. with 20k miles., that the powertrain would not cover it...so I say fine whats wrong with it? Well they cant tell without dropping the tranny, thats out of the question, they charged me 350.00 to replace pc of plastic I can only imagine what that would run me just to check the problem. Long story short I have a car that I owe money on still that may very well be shot, that I cant afford to fix. Not to mention they may try to charge me 98.00 to run a diagnostic...good luck with that btw. My only hope is I can role the negative equity with a trade to the Ford dealer across the street with nothing down, because I for damn sure will not deal with this Chevy dealer again. Or likey any other Chevy dealer for that matter.

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  P.O.S.!! WORST CAR EVER!!! - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By sean_1976 - January 19 - 11:57 pm

  Ive owned many cars over the years and can honestly say this is by far the worst one ive ever had. Bought it at 80K.. 92K it all started: - warped front rotors constantly - road noise is horrible - terrible desgn with blind spots - replaced the engine at 135K - wind shield wipers hitting each other - -0- power - replaced 2K worth of sensors and moduals - seats stained SOOO Easlily - if the battery goes dead, you cant open the rear gate to get to the battery.. JESUS, i absolutely HATE this damned car. Does actually get good mileage.. (when its actually on the road and not in the shop) DO NOT BUY ONE!! Id buy an ugly 1991 ford escort 4 door hatck back with 350K miles first

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  I Hate My Car. - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By divalicious1 - March 7 - 11:34 pm

  I bought my car in 2007 with 15,000 miles on it. It had one owner be fore i purchased it. I would never in my life own another Chevrolet HHR. The door handles breaks easily, and just recently I was going down the road and i was accelerating and the car started going slower and slower. I had to pull to the side of the road to see the problem, and much to my surprise there is no dip stick for the transmission. It has to be brought into a shop to be checked. But how could I bring it, it will not go into drive, only reverse.

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  car want work - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By shouseearl - February 29 - 4:47 pm

  my 2006 hhr only has 104,000 on it. always changed the oil when reguired. took very good care of car. then as i was riding down the road it just shut off. had it towed home and then found out a rod broke right in half and ended up in oil pan. any know of a recall on this.

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  HONESTLY DONT BUY - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By montrealbuyer - February 13 - 11:18 am

  My own chevy 2006 HHR Leaks on the passenger side and lately on the drivers side, my windshield whippers transmission just decided that it was going to stop working, i also have had numerous issues with it constantly not starting after leaving it parked for no more 3 minutes and have had to call GM Roadside Assistances more then 15 times in the winter as well as in the summer. My stairing wheel has been shaking constantly for so long and the car only has about 72000KM and all this started way before it even hit 55000KM! And these problems are only the big visible ones there are so many more its a joke I do not suggest purchasing this vehicule! I hope they discontinue and fast!

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  Nice car, but... - 2007 Chevrolet HHR
  By cbeck3 - February 2 - 7:40 pm

  This car is attractive, but thats about it. GM made a poor engine choice with the 2.4l I4. Any attempt at acceleration will result in a whole lot of noise, and thats it. We started to have problems with the front end at around 30,000. It made a clunking noise whenever even the slightest bump was hit. The car was taken to the dealer at least five times with this, and they were never able to fix it. The seats werent the most comfortable thing in the world, and it was impossible to use the sun visors because the windshield was so small. The wind deflector on the moonroof also broke. Also, the dash felt like it was made of cheap plastic. The car was recently traded for a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze.

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  Needed new alternator at 98,000 miles - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By WCS_in_SM - September 27 - 2:00 am

  Updates "Smooth Ride" 7/22/09 and "Needed new engine at 71,000 miles pm 8/22/09. Car would not start. Got jumped, went a mile, car died big time. Towed to dealer. $816 for new alternator. Battery is still OK. If you buy an American car new, get that 100,000 mile warranty!

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  Awful car! - 2007 Chevrolet HHR
  By Brad - August 18 - 9:39 am

  I bought my HHR used from a local dealership, which was my first mistake. The car, had front struts replaced twice, had to buy new tires for the front, strut mounts replaced, and a bunch of other parts, so Ive been told, all before 40K. Had all the work done at the Chevy Dealership and its still not right. Rides rough, front end shakes, annoying rattling noise never goes away, and now the rear end is starting to make knocking noises. Also, when I stop it has started acting like it wants to shut off, was told nothing was wrong, of course. I regret ever looking at this car. After 7 visits to the dealership in just over 2 years this car is still a piece of junk! Will never buy GM again.

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  15 Months After Purchase - 2006 Chevrolet HHR
  By UnhappyHHRowner - October 7 - 4:30 pm

  I rated this car highly when I first bought it but after 15 months of ownership, the honeymoon is over. The build quality of this vehicle is horrid. I have been a loyal buyer of domestic cars and my last two purchases from GM (both 2006 vehicles) are dogs. The HHR has been in the shop for a myriad of problems from front brake rotors, electrical issues, wiper problems, injector replacement, pulling, among others. The metal is paper thin and susceptable to dents. It is a fun car to drive when the check engine light is not on (which is about 50% of the time). My dealership has been great but I can not say the same for the engineers that built this piece of junk.

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  All frosting- no cake - 2008 Chevrolet HHR
  By Fritzo2162 - June 23 - 9:42 am

  The HHR looks sharp on the outside. Nice curves, cool retro looks, good paint. However, the inside looks like something out of a 1980s era car. Cheap foam plastic that scratches easily covers every inch of the cabin. The standard stereo puts the speakers on the floor, so it sounds muddy. Windshield is very small, so your field of view is a bit limited. The sunroof works well and the controls for it are well placed. Theres also a handy in-dash storage space that holds an IPod, GPS, sunglasses, etc. There are three poorly places cup holders (which makes a trip in a car build for 4 interesting), back seat is very cramped.