2005 Chevrolet Aveo

The Chevrolet Aveo will obviously not please everybody. But one look at the car and you will realise that it is trying to do just that–please as many people as possible. The Aveo has been designed to provide the option of a fairly inexpensive small car for the masses, with a touch of comfort, style and decent drive. It has hit the market in two distinctive flavours, namely a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback, each one appealing to slightly different demographics.

The Aveo, which was brand new for 2004, is actually a product of Korean Daewoo, built in its Asian factories which are now owned by American General Motors. So technically, this car is no more American than the Australian Lumina model. The exterior was created in Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign studios in Turin, Italy and does add a distinctive quality appearance with aerodynamic halogen headlamps with facetted lenses, amber side turn signal lamps and precious looking taillamps. The Aveo comes in three trim levels–standard, LS and LT. The 5-door hatchback is available in LS trim only.

Standard features for all models include 5-speed manual transmission, air conditioning with cabin-air filtration, power steering, AM/FM stereo, six-way adjustable driver seat, rear-window demister, engine immobilizer, remote fuel door and a practical 60/40 split-bench rear seat that folds for more cargo room. On top of all the standard features the LS four and five door versions offer more features such as a 4-speed automatic transmission, drivers side airbag, power door locks, dimmer instrument cluster , a tilt steering column, power windows front and rear while options include in dash CD player, fog lamps and dual airbags. The LT, available only in sedan form, is upgraded with 14-inch alloy wheels, ABS, tachometer, passenger-side power mirror, a six-speaker CD audio system and better interior trim.

The Chevrolet Aveo aims high on the comfort and storage front, providing sufficient room and flexibility when one requires it. The tall roof is designed to compete with 4WDs in headroom, and succeeds. The seats are very upright in nature to account for the limited length of the car. The space inside is, amazingly enough, adequate for most medium-sized people. However, people nearing a height of six feet will have trouble adjusting to the rear bench seat.

The rear seat of the four-door sedan folds flat to provide more cargo room, while the rear seat of the five-door hatchback folds flat and flips forward, providing you with a good 42 cubic feet of cargo area. Its furniture provides simplicity but without any compromise on comfort with a careful implant of material to provide the occupants a worry-free ride. The hatch and the sedan both have the same amount of passenger room. High density foam and decent fabric produces quite eye-catching interior decorum, especially when one notes the surprisingly low price tag. There is more thrown in as well, with lightly tinted glass, a highly functional floor console with storage compartment, a rear window defogger, carpeting, lighted glove box and more. A unique feature are these accessory hooks at the top of each front headrest for suspending shopping bags. The simple CD stereo, which is standard in the LT but optional in the LS, has small buttons that make it difficult to fiddle with during driving. The stereo should be enough for most at this price range. Chances are, you are not buying this car for the stereo system.

On the performance front, the Chevrolet Aveo provides a controlled ride at average speeds and responsive handling thanks to its small size. On a short note, its mechanical specifications aren’t a match for fast and furious sports cars, but provide for a decent spell on the road with a standard five-speed manual transmission and a simple four-cylinder engine built by GM. There are no false pretences and no illusions of getting to play on a race track. So if you really are looking to step on the gas and have an innate urge to push the accelerator just that extra bit, you aren’t likely to get your meal out of this car. It’s a simple machine in its own craft, with a 1.5L, inline 4-cylinder engine with 83 horsepower at 5600 rpm and 128 Nm of torque at a low 3000 rpm. Merging with traffic requires flooring the throttle regularly. It cannot offer the absolute glory of speed and thrill, and those 14-inch tyres sums up its not-so-great handling at the limit. There is good power though at low rpms, so these cars are more easier to drive with a manual in traffic than those annoying VTEC Hondas.

The Chevrolet Aveo is also a symbol of what a noise free compact car should be like, with relatively no sound to effect those fragile ear drums, with low engine noise thanks to the deep-skirt construction of the block itself, along with a large intake resonator and dual-muffler exhaust system. The rack-and-pinion steering adds to the manoeuvrability of the vehicle and, except for slightly vague steering, you get a smooth enough ride.

Safety is a priority for a lot of people, and for such a low cost, you still are provided with good protection. It scored full marks in crash tests conducted by the US government. It comes with an impact-absorbing frame, optional front airbags and an available anti-lock braking system. Pity the rear brakes are just drums, but they are enough in most cases for a car this light. Moving up to the Aveo LT just for the ABS would be money well spent.

Well then, we got ourselves a car which goes light on our pockets and offers a relatively inexpensive product of fairly decent technology. It even allows you to save some money on fuel bills. It’s a good bargain when you come to think of it. A real life-saver in its true sense. However, it isn’t a car-crazy individual’s slice of pie. Not all cars are cut out for the entire population, but this one tries its best and does well in its category.