Part II - Rental Car Review- Chevy Aveo LT

[FanBoy]

The Chevrolet Aveo is GM's smallest, least expensive car. What's most attractive about the Chevy Aveo is its surprisingly handsome interior. Its 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine is rated at 106 horsepower. Transmission is a four-speed automatic.



Aveo is a subcompact that competes with the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, and Hyundai Accent. Aveo was designed to offer sensible, day-to-day transportation. Its ride is tuned more for comfort than sporty driving. Comfort is important when commuting through heavy, stop-and-go traffic and the Aveo won't spill your coffee on the way to work.




The Aveo gets the third generation of GM's 1.6-liter Ecotec engine for 2009. The addition of variable valve timing increases horsepower by 3 to 106 and helps improve fuel economy. Aveo is EPA-estimated to deliver 27/34 mpg City/Highway. That compares well with the Hyundai Accent (26/35 mpg) and Nissan Versa (27/33). The Honda Fit (28/35) and Toyota Yaris (29/36) are more efficient, but the Aveo costs less and it's unlikely you can make up the price difference in fuel economy.Their basic architecture and mechanical underpinnings date to 2004.




I found the Aveo not all that bad a car to spend time with. The climate and audio controls are easy to use, the driver's seat adjusts for height, and the car drives well. Some of the other cars in this class offer more power, sharper handling, and a quieter ride, but I never felt like I was missing out on something in this car.





For 2009, in addition to the changes to the engine and exterior and interior the Aveo gets a revised lineup mix, and several new and revised features. OnStar assistance and an auxiliary input jack are now standard, XM satellite radio is available, and the radio controls are changed.




Aveo 1LT comes with cloth seats; power steering; tilt steering wheel; a height-adjustable driver's seat with adjustable lumbar support; 60/40 split folding rear seat;185/60R14 tires on steel wheels with wheel covers. The Aveo 1LT also has air conditioning, an interior air filter and floormats.This car has an automatic transmission; a six-speaker AM/FM stereo with an auxiliary input jack; CD/MP3 player;




Safety features include dual-stage front air bags, seat-mounted front side air bags, front-seat seat-belt pretensioners, and a tire-pressure monitor.

The Chevy Aveo sedan is about the same length as the Toyota Yaris sedan and hatchback, though almost a foot shorter than the Honda Fit, which is only offered as a hatchback. The re-styling (introduced on 2007 Aveo) resulted in a more aerodynamic shape. This reduces wind noise at highway speeds and improves fuel economy.

Up front, a thick, bright horizontal grille bar emblazoned with a gold bowtie leaves no doubt that Aveo sedan is a Chevy. The lower fascia is nicely detailed.




Moving around to the side, a crisp bevel just below the window line and a parallel bulge down between the wheel arches combine to camouflage the Aveo's tall, stubby profile, sort of like a person wearing appropriately directed stripes. The sedan's blacked-out window frames look heavy handed, however, especially with bright colors, and the rear of the roof line appears bulbous. Around back, a bright band between fashionably complex tail lamps echoes the theme of the grille.




Like many cars, the Aveo sedan has a look that tries to find wide acceptability by not offending anybody. But in its attempt to be neither too boring nor too radical, it lacks personality.

Basic controls, such as the climate system and stereo, are easy to use and within close reach. The layout is simple, so drivers won't be distracted looking for buttons. All radios come with an auxiliary jack for iPods and other MP3 players. The dash is all hard plastic, but that's to be expected in this class. The instrument panel features black-faced gauges with white numbers and watch-like dials. A driver information center is located between the gauges. For 2009, it adds more features, including an outside temperature display and average fuel economy and miles to empty readouts. A digital clock sits on top of the dash at the base of the windshield.







The driver's seat is height adjustable, even in the base model, a nice feature for drivers short and tall. The front seat bottom cushion is a bit short for drivers with long legs, cutting some occupants a little short on thigh support. Visibility all around is unrestricted. Small items storage can be found in trays in front and behind the shifter, a pop-out bin the size of an ashtray in the dash, and in door pockets. A dual cupholder also pops out of the center stack.

The Aveo has an advantage in rear legroom over the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris. I think it's possible to carry four tall adults (six-footers) for a short distance without anybody being traumatized, as long as there's cooperation from the people in the front seats, that is.





The trunk is rated at 12.4 cubic feet for the Aveo and the back seat folds down if the priority becomes carrying stuff instead of people.




I found the 106-horsepower Aveo delivered adequate acceleration. The four-speed automatic is fairly quick to respond and the acceleration is adequate. The Aveo requires more space to complete a pass on a two-lane road. But there shouldn't be any problems merging onto a busy freeway, even with a passenger.

I was more impressed with the Chevrolet Aveo's ride than its handling. The Aveo irons out most bumps with ease. Sharper bumps rarely affect passenger comfort. Like many front-wheel-drive cars, the Aveo feels nose heavy when driven hard, and it doesn't offer the responsive handling found in other cars of this segment. Try and go fast through a moderately tight turn and the Aveo's body leans quite a bit. That's part of the price to pay for a comfortable ride, particularly on a broken surface. It is also the Aveo's way of reminding the driver that it wasn't designed to be a sporty car.

The steering has a light feel and it's a bit numb, but not annoyingly so. It's about par for the course for an economy car. I found that the brakes felt natural, but the use of rear drums is a let down. ABS is optional and this one does not have it. Surprisingly, the lever to adjust the tilt steering is hidden under the steering column. It is almost as if GM does not want us to find out that this feature exists. :?:

The noise and vibration from the 1.6-liter engine is nicely controlled for a four-cylinder engine. The exception is when you slam the accelerator pedal to the floor and holds it there. Then things get a noisy, especially at the higher engine speeds. Road noise is also rather intrusive, as sharp bumps create audible banging noises. :o

The Chevrolet Aveo works well around town and for commuting. It offers a pleasant interior, a comfortable ride, and fuel efficiency.

Bottom line, the Aveo is good, basic transportation.




But then, what else can I expect from a compact rental car anyway?

FanBoy

[bigmoose]

Great report. That looks nicely maintained for a rental car. Does it have a Hatch version as well??

[hrag]

Superbly written review, Rajan. Is the overall rear more bling compared to the Indian Aveo? The tail lamps look so.

[srijit]

Very nice review, man How about some exotic rentals next time?

[avinash]

Great report. That looks nicely maintained for a rental car. Does it have a Hatch version as well??

hey, for the most part, rental cars in US are very well maintained. they are always new. I drove a 'new' nissan altima for a while before switching to a 'new' corolla altis during my previous visit to US. The area where i stayed had only the corolla as teh cheapest car in their portfolio.

[mjothi]

Nice review sir.

I liked the horn key position. Much better than the one we have here. We have to almost sit on that to honk.

What diff is this ecotec compared to VGIS?

I see a handrest for the driver. Good. But guess it will be ok to have on a automatic vehicle than our manual transmission, since it may hinder during gear shifts. How is it?

No fog lamps, alloys in LT? And also gray interiors? Strange. May be US LT is much different to out LT definition, I guess.

[FanBoy]

Nice review sir.

Thanks mjothi.

I liked the horn key position. Much better than the one we have here. We have to almost sit on that to honk.

No chance to check that out. Haven't had a reason to use the horn, yet

What diff is this ecotec compared to VGIS?

No idea Sir. Sorry. As far as I could find, the only difference seems to be the VVTS, which boosts the HP from 103 on the VGIS to 106 on the EcoTec. Will try to find out more and post.

I see a handrest for the driver. Good. But guess it will be ok to have on a automatic vehicle than our manual transmission, since it may hinder during gear shifts. How is it?

Not used that either . But I am sure it will come in the way for a manual shift. Might come in handy on long drives on the highway where you don't have to shift much. I might try using it this weekend, if I end up driving out of town

No fog lamps, alloys in LT? And also gray interiors? Strange. May be US LT is much different to out LT definition, I guess.

There are 2 versions - 1LT and 2LT. The 2LT comes with all the bling stuff. 1LT is the more basic version, and the one I have :x . But the interiors are really not Gray, but more of Black. In flesh it looks awesome. That is one thing I really loved about this car.

Cheers,

FanBoy

[mjothi]

There are 2 versions - 1LT and 2LT. The 2LT comes with all the bling stuff. 1LT is the more basic version, and the one I have :x . But the interiors are really not Gray, but more of Black. In flesh it looks awesome. That is one thing I really loved about this car.

Cheers,

FanBoy

Ok, that makes sense. Here we have the Base, LS & LT, where the LT was high end.

I think only bling 1LT has is, those tail lamps