Chevrolet Aveo 1.4 LS Test Drive

[adya33]

Chevrolet Aveo 1.4 LS Test Drive

Today after seeing news of Aveo coming to showroom me and my friend decided to take a test drive of the car after our paper which was in the afternoon. So we went to GM showroom at around 5 in the evening. We were greeted by the test car itself at the entrance.

Exteriors

Aveo sedan is the European look Aveo we are getting. Personally I have not like it much, (I had seen it earlier going to ARAI but all its logos & badges were covered by tape and it seemed very ugly.) However after seeing it in person my opinion changed. Though I still prefer the American look Aveo (which we will get in hatchback) however this car smart. As looks are subjective I won’t make conclusive statement however I no longer dislike this car after seeing it in real life.

Interiors

Once you open the door and then this car starts to set itself apart from Fiesta. The two tone color scheme goes well. And also the plastic used on dash feels more expensive than it really is. And everything is put together superbly. There are small touches of chrome and steel. This goes well with the whole scheme of interiors. In middle of dash there sit a small digital clock. I assume in 1.6 it will be triple info display. (Clock/date/temperature). The dials are also very clear and easy to read.
The air conditioner vents double as direction control & intensity control. I personally prefer separate controls for both as found in Opel. Below middle AC vents there is music system. For some reason test car didn’t had music system however all three models come with company fitted MP3 system. AC controls sit right below it. These controls are rotary which makes them easier to use. However they are too low. And it might need some getting used to. Below which sits cigarette lighter and ashtray.
AC is very powerful and very efficient. The air circulates very well. Blower has 4 level adjustments however after 2nd level if you use the circulation mode blower becomes very noisy.
The interiors are roomy and very spacious. The driver’s seats are wide and are height adjustable. However I found lack of support for lower back. The seats as they called it “Theater Seats” meaning height of rear seats are higher than front seats. Rear seats are too very comfortable are inclined unlike Fiesta and also offer good under thigh support. Rear leg room is good. There are enough spaces for keeping your knick knacks.
Visibility is good all around but nothing great. However Aveo has same problem as that of Indigo, the hood can not be seen seating in front seats. You might be able to see it by raising driver’s seat however then seating becomes too high, which I personally dislike very much. The leg room for both driver and passenger is very good. All the pedals are well placed.

Engine and Gear shift

Start the car and you won’t even know engine is running. The noise insulation is very good. However I felt engine bit lagging up to around 2000RPM above which it is drivable. As it was new car with around 105km clocked I did not revved it hard took it once to 4000 RPM and found that after 3500RPM the noise level suddenly increases. The engine did not felt rev happy. Don’t know if it was because it hadn’t had its run in yet. I couldn’t drive more than 3 KM and since it was in traffic couldn’t take it above 60KMPH but in 3rd gear at 60KMPH car was easily cruising and felt it can cruise same way all day.
One of the biggest disappointments for me is the gear shift. The gear lever itself is not good. Feels like holding a door knob attached to a stick. Gear shift is very annoying. I wasn’t able to shift it smoothly at first go or without using extra power. The salesman claimed that it was because the car was new and as it gets run in it will get smoother. To shift into reverse you have to do it same as other GM cars i.e. pull lever under gear knob and press it to extreme left.

Ride and Handling

All the controls are perfectly balanced and are very good to use in city. The steering offers good response of road along with easy maneuverability. The clutch is not extreme light but just the perfect light. The breaks weren’t as crispy as I was hoping for a new car.
The turning radius is small and is very useful in city traffic. I couldn’t really checkout the handling at high speeds.
As the roads were concrete, could find out the ride quality on Indian roads. When I was doing 60kmph there was no tire noise.

Verdict

All in all this is a very good car from GM. Only black spot on the car is that gear shift. I do hope that it was one of case. Another weird thing which I found out was when the ignition is ON and parking break is released still there is parking light ON signal displayed which goes off after starting car. I am not sure if it’s a feature which keeps the pressure in breaks until you start the car.
This car will surely give a tough time to Fiesta. GM’s delay in launching this car has given head start to Ford however I am very much confident that pretty soon we will start to see more Aveo on road than Fiesta’s.
The on road price in Pune is as follows
Model On Road (Individual) On Road (Corporate)
1.4 base 646,497 694,229
1.4 LS 706,064 758,229
1.6 LT 757,902 813,830
1.6 with
Optional pack 812,219 872,183

Optional pack contains: ABS, Dual front airbags, Height adjustable front seatbelts, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob.

If I had to choose it would be very easy choice I would pick Aveo. It might be little more expensive than Fiesta but it is worth each extra rupee.
Well done GM!

[adya33]

Took all snaps from Nokia 6600

Engine


Dials




Some interior snaps




Roomy interiors

[Steeroid]

Nice review, Adya. We got two test drives today, the "new" Chevy Optra 1.6 and the Lancer Cedia Elegance. We were told the Aveo is available in the showrooms but cannot be brought out because people would be wanting to see it there. Pity about that, because this sounds like a good car overall from what you say.

[caroholic1]

Firstly nice review Adya. Hey guys i asked the chevrolet dealership in Noida today for a test drive of the Aveo 1.6 but the dealer said that it'll be available for a test drive by the end of next week. Now, why is that so late??? But, i saw the car at the dealership. It was good. Hey guys the on road prices in Delhi are:-
Aveo 1.4- 625,307
Aveo 1.4 LS- 669,592
Aveo 1.6 LT- 745,884
Aveo 1.6 LT(with option pack like ABS,Dual front airbags,etc) - 799,505


Hey, Adya the dealer said that there is no option like temperature gauge available on any model. Guys what's the top speed of the car?

[Fiero]

the 1.6 LT with ABS is only a tad more expensive than the sxi with ABS

well,looks like there's gonna be some serious competition.

eagarly waiting a review on the 1.6's performance.

[caroholic1]

Originally Posted by Fiero

the 1.6 LT with ABS is only a tad more expensive than the sxi with ABS

well,looks like there's gonna be some serious competition.

I totally agree.....especially for the Ford Fiesta.

[Fiero]

the st wheel seems to be straight from the optra .... i was hoping they change the position of the horn ... its a small portion bang in the center ... not the most convinient of things to say the least , considering how important the horn is in our country

[msprabhakar]

Nice review and pics, adya33! The specs, looks and price appear just right in its class. If GM had introduced this last August, I wonder if my choice of Baleno would've been so easy (sigh)! If GM does a good job of marketing, Aveo will be the one that will cast fear over the City, Baleno and Fiesta...

[goldie_malhotra]

thats a nice review adya

a small query - is the ride comfort as good as the optra or the corsa ?
i would expect so - and that could be another great plus for the aveo

fiesta is going to have a tough time now - it will really have to push on its fun-to-drive factor to sell

[zulfikar]

i like the car...
any idea what the FE given by the dealer...

[Boom Shiva]

Hey good review. The car sounds good, though it seems to have inherited the same flaw that the Optra has, namely the hard- to- change gearshift. I really wish GM would do something about that.

Btw, Adya, I think you're the only person I know who took a test car out and didn't rip it because you didn't want to mess with it. That's what they're meant for dude!!!

[BUSA]

Finally Checked out the most awaited and important car of this year: - The Chevrolet Aveo.



The Pics have been specially clicked for team-bhp by me. Hope you appreciate it.

Looks: -

Exteriors: - The Car looks fabulous to say the least. In fact the car looks more amazing and pics just done do justice to it. It has an amazing stance and a very well head turner indeed. But I won’t comment too much on the looks I would let the pics do the talking.







Interiors : - The best in class ubdoubtledly. They are the best place to be in. Seats are very comfortable and the rear seats have ample leg room. Again I will let the pics do the talking.











Boot : - Not bigger then the City



Features : The features are the best in the segment are way better then its rivals. There is ABS, Airbags, A wonderful Music System with Mp3( look at the pics and you will know what I mean), Auto Mirrors, Heated Mirrors, Sports 4 spoke steering, Fogs, Alloys, Tubeless tires, Rear Spoiler and lots of chrome on door handles and review mirror, engine service lamp, remote integrated in key, 185/60 Ealge NCT 5.

Handling – Again is extremely good and is way better then its competitors to say the least. Car is very sure footed and the steering gives good response. The Stability of the car is extremely good and it wont even vibrate a bit at high speeds. There was no vibration and in car noise was extremely good.

Ride : - A good ride and not harsh like the Citys. Takes bumps in its stride quite well, maybe because of its heavier weight.



Fuel Economy : - Chevrolet claims it to be 14kmpl in the city but still have to confirm on that. Infact if that’s true then it will be the best in the segment. The Honda Citys best FE figures are not more then 12kmpl in city.

Braking – Was a bit shady but since and on heavy braking car tended to lock up(Non ABS version) The ABS version obviously wont lock up. But the braking was better then the NHC Type II aka ZX. The New City Vtec locked up more then the AVEO and the AVEO brakes are quite good if comapared to the City but in the Aveo you can get ABS wheras in the City you cant.

Performance : - The car was test driven by my brother was a 1.4, 92 bhp. (while I was there trying to understand and have taken inputs from him for this report) He said the performance was quite good for a 1.4L engine and the car was as much fun to drive like Vtec (New). The noise it makes is very good above 4000RPM. The car had quite good performance and at the slightest hint of the pedal to the floor responded quite well. At 4000 RPM, the car surged forward with great speed and at 6500RPM, the rev counter kicks in and the RPM just stops. Time for a gear change. Infact my brother was so impressed with the car, he said he liked the performance(compared to the Honda ZX) and even did a power slide in the car bby oversteering it and make the rear skid. Here are some tyre marks which tell us how the power slide helped the tyres. LOL.



The Skid Marks.







Meant for India : - Yes, this car surely is made to rock Indian roads. It has a good ground clearance of 180mm, extremely good looks and a very thoughtful interior, the pricing of this car is very good and the car is supposed to be high on features and fuel efficiency. Every thing of the car is extremely nice and it’s a shade ahead of its segment. Its better then the Fiesta by a quarter mile and way better then the over hyped City. Infact NHCs owners will notice that Honda did what Indians wanted a big car for less money hence the NHC is down on quality then the OHC. Also NHC is not a safe car for the rear passengers. The car has been joined by adding a boot. If you would have notice open the boot and you will find a cross bar. Now with the Service costs being lowered and being on par with Maruti, and service also has vastly improved I see no reasons why people would complain about that. I can assure you service costs, spare parts and service will never be a problem since most parts have been localised and hence they are no more in Skoda zone. At the price its come its cheaper then all its rivals and has more equipment. The Dealer I went to had already 50 bookings done. My sincere advice to Baleno, City and Fiesta buyers you gotta check out this car before buying any other wise you will regret your decision for not buying the AVEO and I can assure you that. This car is exceptional value for money.



Also found out that Hummer H2 is expected next year at 35L and Cadillac BLS at 20L. They both rock and Caddy is going to shake the D segment for sure.

P.S If any one wants real high quality pics of the AVEO then PM me.

The Aveo with the model is replaces.

[Boom Shiva]

Hey good one Busa. Waiting for a testdrive report on the 1.6 now. I'm damn curious to see what the Optra engine does in a car that's so much smaller.

[kb100]

Handsome propotions!!... Interiors look very fresh too!... Cant wait to get a test drive!

[adya33]

Originally Posted by goldie_malhotra

a small query - is the ride comfort as good as the optra or the corsa ?
i would expect so - and that could be another great plus for the aveo

Originally Posted by Originally posted by me in Review under Ride and Handling

As the roads were concrete, could find out the ride quality on Indian roads. When I was doing 60kmph there was no tire noise.

Originally Posted by Boomshiva

Btw, Adya, I think you're the only person I know who took a test car out and didn't rip it because you didn't want to mess with it. That's what they're meant for dude!!!

May be it was just me, but I hate to rip new cars no matter whom it belongs too.