SS is an abbreviation of Super Sport, a historic moniker used by Chevrolet to denote high performance upgrades that meet certain criteria.

The Cobalt SS was GM's first foray into the tuner market, launching as a 205 hp (153 kW; 208 PS) supercharged 2.0 L coupe in late 2004, paired only with the Saab F35 5-speed manual transmission.

The following year, a naturally aspirated 1SS model equipped with GM's new 2.4 L 171 hp (128 kW; 173 PS) engine was added in both coupe and sedan body styles, including automatic and manual transmission options.

[2] At first release in 2004, the supercharged version was praised for its performance but drew criticism for its interior quality and exterior styling, both described as too reminiscent of its predecessor, the Cavalier.

Compared to the base Cobalt, the SS has lower front and rear fascias for a more aggressive look with integrated fog lights, side rocker moldings, interior accents, and a chrome exhaust tip.

Exclusive to the 2.0 L Cobalt are a titanium‑faced sport analogue cluster with a 160 mph (260 km/h in Canada) speedometer, an A‑pillar mounted boost gauge, reclining front bucket seats with two‑tone leather‑appointed seating surfaces, vertical adjusting head restraints and driver‑side lumbar and height adjusters, and a sport‑tuned FE5 suspension with a 24 mm front stabilizer bar and 22 mm rear stabilizer bar.

Optional for the LSJ was a performance package coded G85 that added Recaro bucket seats and a limited slip differential (LSD).

The Stage 2 kit consists of new fuel injectors and the same reprogram with a smaller serpentine belt and pulley for the supercharger, producing a 36 hp (27 kW) improvement and 18 lb⋅ft (24 N⋅m) of torque.

[12] Wheel hop, wheelspin, and a general lack of traction were problems frequently encountered with the supercharged Cobalt due to its front drive setup and relatively high torque.

[17] The engine had been introduced in a rear wheel drive application for the 2007 GM Kappa platform, which includes the Saturn Sky, Pontiac Solstice, and Opel GT.

[18] Also new for the 2008 SS were SS-embroidered sport seats with suede-like UltraLux inserts, several new exterior colors, and wider 18-inch (460 mm) forged, split-spoke wheels with P225/40R18 Continental AG tires, styled similarly to those offered for the Chevrolet Corvette C6.

[14] The car's electronics were also new, and along with greater assist in poor traction conditions, a "no-lift-shift" feature was added which allows the driver to maintain turbocharger boost during shifts to a higher gear.

[19] GM had previously offered a turbocharged four cylinder with front wheel drive in the 1986-1990 Pontiac Sunbird GT and the Buick Skyhawk T-Type from 1986 to 1988.

Journalist Thom Blackett said, "When compared with more contemporary cars including the Dodge Neon SRT-4 and the Subaru WRX, that SS badge seems to lose some of its luster.

[7] The naturally aspirated Cobalt SS has been seen as an improvement over the base models with its slightly more potent 2.4 L engine,[8] but notably inferior to the supercharged car.

John Neff of Autoblog said, "The GM Performance Division completely reworked the Cobalt SS for 2008, swapping in a more powerful turbocharged engine, upgrading the rest of the mechanicals, and tweaking the entire package on the world's most demanding race tracks, including the famed Nürburgring in Germany.

Journalists were impressed with the performance of the car in relation to the price; Neff added that the "2009 Cobalt SS Turbo is freakishly good at going fast and the best bang for the buck value below $30,000.

Of the interior in the turbocharged sedan, Car and Driver said it "is constructed primarily of plastics cheap enough to be rejected from a Chinese toy factory; the Tata Nano probably has a fancier parking-brake lever.