Regardless of how the Cobalt isn't quite as good as the Civic and Golf, it isn't that far off.
I guess it depends on how you look at it. Having driven both cars, with slushboxes, in their most-basic trim levels, each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Having driven Volkswagens for years, I had assumed that the transition into an Astra would be simple, but it wasn't. I didn't like the interior at all, the design was an ergonomic nightmare compared to the Cobalt's setup (too many buttons in odd places, the silver plastic was just
annoying). Dynamically speaking, the Astra had a slightly better setup, but I get the feeling that updated Cobalt fixed many of those issues. Both suffered from uncommunicative steering, a little
too much sound deadening, and perhaps a ride that was a bit
too soft otherwise.
Ultimately, its going to come down to what you wanted out of your car. The Astra was a fair bit more practical, the hatch does that. But in terms of operating as a car on an everyday basis, I'd rather have the Cobalt. Particularly the LT with the 2.4L engine. The Cobalt was cheaper, and as of last year, more fuel efficient with the XFE edition as well.
As far as both being competitive against the (American) Corolla and Civic, they were a bit short of the mark, but ultimately "close enough" to make it a reasonable choice. The problem is that when the VW Rabbit showed up, its price made almost all of those choices irrelevant. But, as VW began to change that, they eventually pushed the car out of the picture. Otherwise, the Cobalt is an amazing value that has remained pretty reliable, and otherwise "current" in a constantly shifting market.
OK, maybe I'm dreaming, that RS is damn good, but I still do hope there is a VXR version.
The Astra had European origins, and had a better interior than the Cobalt, as well as a better suspension. It was limited to a 1.6 liter though, while the Cobalt gets a 2.2 standard.
