My Experience

I test-drove a Chevrolet Aveo 5-speed hatchback at a local dealership. My test drive lasted about half an hour and covered city streets, the freeway, and a winding secondary road.


Performance

The Aveo's performance fits somewhere in between the unexpected eagerness of the Hyundai Accent and the flat-footed sluggishness of the Kia Rio. Its 1.6-liter engine puts out a respectable 103hp, and although its acceleration times are on the low side of average (10.2 seconds from 0 to 60, according to Car and Driver), my subjective impression was that the Aveo has plenty of power for everyday driving situations.

Around town, the Aveo stepped confidently away from stoplights and kept pace easily with the cars around it. When traffic thinned out and I put my foot down a bit, the Aveo pulled away cleanly and with adequate pep. Even on freeway on-ramps, the Aveo had enough power to gradually pull itself up to speed and keep me from worrying too much about merging. Still, it should be noted that the Aveo never had the same sprightly, energetic feel that the Hyundai Accent did. It got itself up to speed, but it never felt particularly enthusiastic about doing so.

The problem, I think, is gearing. The Aveo is geared very tall, and this dulls engine response considerably. When I shifted the transmission into fourth gear on a 40mph surface street, the Aveo's engine felt bogged down by the resulting low revs The same effect blunted throttle response in fifth on the freeway. This is good for fuel economy, but in a car this small, you'd think there would be a better way to increase miles per gallon--with a more sophisticated, efficient engine, perhaps? In any case, the Aveo provides all the performance a gentle driver is going to need, but it can't deliver that ever-so-slight push in the back that makes driving the Accent so fun.

In terms of refinement, the Aveo's engine is about average. It was commendably smooth and vibration-free on my test drive, but its noise levels were a bit higher than I'd prefer. The engine doesn't sound as happy in its work as the Accent's, and while its grumbling was reasonably well-muted in normal driving, it became loud and boomy when I gave it full throttle. Still, there's less engine noise and a more-relaxed demeanor here than in the Kia Rio.


Transmission/Clutch

The Aveo's manual transmission wasn't its strongest point. While the shifter was reasonably well-insulated from engine vibrations, its linkage lacked the precision and cooperative nature of the Accent's. Instead, it felt rubbery and required practice with the pattern to avoid getting hung up between gears. The tall, spindly gearlever had long throws, and a somewhat flexy feel that detracted form precision. The 2-3 shift was particularly unsatisfying, requiring me to move the shifter into the neutral position first, then up into third--better manuals just glide from one gear to the next. The gear engagements themselves were positive enough, but generally the shifting experience was not as fun as I had hoped.

The clutch didn't help matters, being so light that it didn't really feel connected to anything--the first time I stepped on the pedal, my foot went straight to the floor with a "clunk." Its take-up was very soft and forgiving--great for new stick-shift drivers--but its engagements were slow and very vague-feeling. Finally (and I promise, this is the last gripe), when I lifted off the gas pedal to change gears, the engine didn't drop revs as quickly as it should. Instead, the revs fell slowly and gradually, requiring a conscious pause before I let the clutch back out.


Steering/Handling

The Aveo's handling lacked the agility and precision of the Hyundai Accent's, but it felt solid and self-assured in a way that the Kia Rio could only dream of. Around town, the Aveo felt maneuverable and had an easy, lightweight agility to its moves. Its suspension felt soft, leaning even in the gentle turns of city traffic, but it wasn't bothersome under these circumstances.

The Aveo's steering felt well-weighted and accurate once I turned the wheel off-center, but there was an unfortunate (and significant) dead spot on-center where the wheel could be moved loosely from side to side with no effect on the car's direction. This didn't bother me too much around town, but it became annoying on the freeway, where the wheel needed to be twitched from one end of the dead spot to the other to correct the Aveo's tendency to wander. Gusts of wind made the wandering significantly worse.

On winding roads, the Aveo felt secure and adequately responsive, with lots of floppy body lean but better-than-expected grip from the narrow tires. I think the Aveo's biggest advantage compared to its rivals is its solid composure. When I drove the Aveo over rough, winding pavement, its steering remained accurate, and it didn't really seem bothered by the state of the pavement underneath. The body structure felt tight and solid, and never quivered during my enthusiastic driving.

And despite the steering's on-center imprecision, the Aveo's chassis felt settled and comfortable on the freeway. Its behavior was smooth and consistent regardless of road surface, and this self-assured composure made it feel more mature and substantial than the Kia Rio, and a match for the Accent as far as solidity goes.


Ride

The Aveo's ride quality is likely to be one of its strongest selling points, as it's really quite good for such a small car. On my test drive, I was impressed with its consistenly smooth, composed demeanor over every road surface I encountered. Around town, the Aveo rode softly and comfortably--quietly too, except for the aforementioned groaning from the engine room. When I drove over patchy pavement that would have set most small cars bobbing on their suspensions, the Aveo simply soaked it up as if it wasn't there at all. Bumps and potholes registered only muted "thumps" from the tires, and didn't knock the Aveo off-course. Very impressive.

Much of the credit here goes to the Aveo's stiff, tight-feeling body structure, which didn't reverberate at all, even over potholes. When I got the Aveo up to speed on the freeway, it retained its low-speed smoothness and composure--slightly more so than the still-decent-riding Hyundai Accent, and far more so than the rattly Kia Rio. Wind and road noise levels were quite low, with only the engine's grumbling to disturb the calm. The Aveo is probably the best-riding car in this price range, which should appeal greatly to buyers with more conservative driving habits and tastes.


Interior

The Aveo's interior pleases with its spaciousness and funky, modern design, but it still feels a bit sparse, and falls short in materials quality and refinement. Its plastics weren't up to the level of quality that you'll find in the Hyundai Accent and, in some cases, even the Kia Rio.

The plastics on the dash and door panels were hard and flat, and were molded in a drab-looking gray. The center console and the hood over the gauge pod were made of the same material, giving the interior a plain, utilitarian ambiance--I half-expected to find an "Official Use Only" label affixed somewhere inside. Chevy tried to dress it up a bit with cloth inserts on the doors, but these were hard, rough, and thin-feeling. A little padding underneath couldn't be that expensive, could it? The other attempt at stylistic flair fell equally flat--there were fake carbon-fiber inserts on the door pulls that were totally incongruous and just looked silly. Also, for some reason, they had rough-edged pinholes etched along their sides. Whose idea was that?

But enough negativity--there were also plenty of good qualities in the Aveo's interior. While the plastics didn't impress in quality, their construction felt solid, substantial, and rattle-free. I also quite liked the toy-like, circular theme of the dashboard and door-panel design--it had a playful look that works well on inexpensive cars. More importantly, the Aveo felt surprisingly big and roomy inside. The driving position was fairly high, with close-set pedals that encouraged an upright driving position. This gave me an unexpectedly commanding view of the road ahead. The large windows also created an open, airy feel in the Aveo's cabin--it always felt like there was plenty of extra space inside.

The seats were a bit soft and flat, but they provided decent support and good comfort on my test drive. The thick steering-wheel rim provided a good grip, and while the gauge pod seemed a bit sparsely populated with only two gauges, they were clear and highly legible. Secondary controls operated with reasonable smoothness, and although the climate controls were mounted a bit too low for easy use, everything else was laid out simply and logically. So the Aveo doesn't feel like a penalty box--it just makes it very clear that this car was built to a price, with drab plastics, some rough edges, and a somewhat Spartan feel to drive the point home.


Practicality

The Aveo stacked up pretty well in terms of practicality, but not as well as its tall-wagon body style suggested. The cargo area behind the rear seats was really tiny--there was enough space for a few grocery bags and little else--and it wasn't as deep as I thought it would be. Of course, the reason the cargo area was disappointing was because the rear seats were pushed way back to the edge of the body, and this paid off in rear seat room. I've already mentioned the surprisingly spacious and open-feeling front half of the cabin, but the Aveo also treats its rear passengers quite well. The seat wasn't the most comfortable thing I've ever sat on, but it wasn't bad either. There was lots of headroom in back, and a pretty good amount of legroom as well--certainly more than in the Hyundai Accent or Kia Rio.

Although the Aveo's cargo area wasn't cavernous, a split folding rear seat comes as standard equipment--and as an especially thoughtful touch, the seatbacks fold flat with the headrests still in place, so you don't have to deal with removing and storing them. There's also a standard shelf to cover the cargo area, to keep valuables out of view. A height-adjustable driver's seat was another nice touch. Although the Aveo didn't offer the spaciousness or flexibility of the slightly more-expensive Scion xB, it's certainly the best in the very-cheap class--way ahead of the Accent and Rio.


Reliability

The Aveo is too new for Consumer Reports to have any reliability data on it yet. But in the UK, where the Aveo is sold as the Daewoo Kalos, the automotive press has expressed confidence in the Aveo's reliability. WhatCar (a major English consumer publication) says on their website, "Our experience with other small Daewoos suggests there should be no worries about the Kalos going wrong." Hardly conclusive data, I know, but at least some indication of what to expect. One significant disadvantage that the Aveo faces is its very ordinary warranty. With rivals from Hyundai and Kia offering 5-year, 60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper coverage (and a mind-boggling 10-years, 100,000 miles on the powertrain), the Aveo's standard 3-year, 36,000-mile warranty looks very meager indeed. Chevrolet has recently extended the powertrain warranty to 5 years or 60,000 miles, but this is still about half the coverage offered by Hyundai or Kia. If Chevy had enough confidence in this Korean-built product to sell it on American shores, then why skimp on the warranty coverage?


Overall

I was surprised by how neatly the character traits of the three cheapest new cars in America fell into easily-classified categories. The Hyundai Accent was the zippiest and most fun-to-drive car of the three, the Chevrolet Aveo was the most substantial and "grown-up" feeling, and the Rio... well, the Rio was kind of the dog of the class.

So choosing between the Accent and the Aveo mostly comes down to personal taste. If you're an enthusiastic driver who places more weight on the driving experience, look at the Accent first. Its agile and willing demeanor is a lot more fun than its modest specifications suggest, and you'll probably far prefer its eager moves to the Aveo's low pulse rate. But if you have more conservative tastes in cars, and are more concerned with comfort and practicality, you'll probably prefer the Aveo.

The Aveo is far and away the best-riding car in this class, with a smooth and unruffled demeanor that puts it on par with several cars from the next price class up. Although its moves aren't as nimble or accurate as the Accent's, it has a more relaxed, "big-car" feel that many buyers will find a greater asset. It's also more practical, with its available 5-door body style and pleasantly roomy interior. The Scion xB is more useful still, but it's a step up in price and a step down in comfort.

One selling point for the Aveo that you can forget right now is the "buy-American" pitch. The Aveo is a Daewoo, it's built in South Korea, and when you look at the vast improvement in percieved quality over the domestically-built Cavalier, you'll see that its trans-oceanic origins are a blessing, not a curse. It's still a good idea to check out the used-car market before settling on any of the bottom-feeders, but the Aveo impressed me with its solid and substantial demeanor, and struck me as a worthy player in the small-car arena.




Feel free to check out my reviews of some of the Aveo's competitors:
Hyundai Accent
Kia Rio
Scion xA
Scion xB
Suzuki Reno
Amount Paid (US$): 11,150