The Chevy HHR is a handy wagon that celebrates a heritage that dates to the 1949 GMC Suburban panel delivery truck. HHR stands for Heritage High Roof, and the roof of the HHR is high. The Chevy HHR is built on a smaller scale, but there are no bones about its retro styling. Its retro look is best exemplified in the HHR Panel Van.

We found the Chevy HHR to be fun to drive. It isn't a sports car, but it's nimble and we were pleased with its acceleration. The HHR feels more responsive than its horsepower, torque, and transmission ratio numbers suggest. Plus, it gets decent fuel economy.

The interior wasn't as functional as we'd have liked, however, and the base cloth fabric left us wishing we'd ordered the optional leather.

The Chevrolet HHR was launched as a new model in 2006, and it remains relatively unchanged for 2007 with the exception of slightly more powerful engines and a few additional new color choices. New exterior color options for 2007 include Imperial Blue Metallic and Golden Teal Metallic; a new interior color option is Ebony.

The HHR is built on the platform of the Chevy Cobalt compact and incorporates its best features: engine, transmission and suspension. The HHR is meant to compete against the Chrysler PT Cruiser, as well as the Honda Element. It also serves as an alternative to a Jeep Liberty or Ford Escape.

The Panel Van LT features smooth, windowless side panels and rear cargo doors with no handles. The rear cargo doors open via an instrument panel button.