My Chevrolet AVEO 1.4 LS..beginning of a new epic !

[s3va]

I went for a short drive to Masinagudi for the weekend with the AVEO. Drove 510 kms roundtrip. I shall try to post a travelogue of the trip as soon as I can.

By mistake I had mentioned in my previous postings that the car came with Apollo Accelres, but it didnt. My bad observation, the cars have Good Year NCT 5 that I ultimately found out of the drive experience I had over the weekend. The tyres are really slippery at even not-so-high speeds(like 60-70 kmph)!! I am planning for an upgrade now.

Though I topped up the fuel tank, I didnt check the exact FE during the trip for the very reason that I have decided to check the FE only after the 1st service. The car still has close to quarter tank of fuel left after the 510 kms long drive. Ball park figures of 9-10 kmpl is something I have noticed so far in the city.

Clocked 1050 kms so far, drive has been going fine except for some minor issues like rattling noises from within the dash, autocop came off its place when my car went through a very rough patch etc that I am hoping to get them sorted during my first assurance check up planned for day after.

Something that really bothers me are the following, for which I request expert opinions :

1) A slight(feeble) grumbling kind of noise as well as vibration felt on the clutch pedals(and gear stick) and the floor area beneath mostly while steering acute curves or accelerating the car from stop on slopes, on 1st gear. At times, it happens in the 2nd gear as well. Also this tends to dissapear the moment the rpm crosses 1800-2000. Some sort of a vibration, in layman terms.

2) When I leave the clutch suddenly, let the gear be in engaged or dis-engaged position, I hear a click kind of noise somewhere from the bonnet that could be heard from the drivers seat ?

Any idea why the above happens ? I am anyways going to talk to the service people to find their response. But in the meanwhile I request other AVEO users and experts here to let me know your thoughts.


Thanks

[nairrk]

@s3va

Still awaiting for more pictures, especially the interiors?

The Aveo Ls is the one car I was comparing with Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zxi and finally Fiesta won the competion (comparing the price, fiesta has got more features + 1.6engine).

+
@nandans
NO need to worry much to maitain a black car (from my experience).
Water wash regularly - once in a week is also okay, but depends on the dirt accumilation on the car. Ofcourse Hard water is bad for the shining (not only black but for any colour)

Do not wipe the dirt/dust with cloth directly. Suggest buy a car duster (jopasu car dusters available at around rs.500 - available from ebay.in) and you can get rid of dry dusts in 5 minutes time (this you can do daily once or twice). Pour water all over the car (connect a hose direct to the pipe and spray water). Just wipe the full surface with a wet /soft cloth (suggest keep two set of clothes - one for top portion and another one for down portion - bumpers, mudguard, number plate, alloys etc). Spray water all over once again. Now clean/dry out the water all over. She will look nicely.

Try to polish the full car once in a year, before onset of monsoon.

Thanks

[pusako]

Hi S3va
Im waiting for the pics too!

[s3va]

Originally Posted by nairrk

@s3va

Still awaiting for more pictures, especially the interiors?

The Aveo Ls is the one car I was comparing with Ford Fiesta 1.6 Zxi and finally Fiesta won the competion (comparing the price, fiesta has got more features + 1.6engine).


Pour water all over the car (connect a hose direct to the pipe and spray water). Just wipe the full surface with a wet /soft cloth ..Spray water all over once again. Now clean/dry out the water all over. She will look nicely.

Try to polish the full car once in a year, before onset of monsoon.

Thanks

My digi cam has conked out, hence delay in pics. Will borrow one and post one for you ! But be assured that the AVEO interiors are better than the Fiesta in case you are trying to compare, that is if you like beige.

What is the recent price of Fiesta that you have ? When I was performing my review the price difference was about 70-80k, of course you are then getting a 1.6L engine with the Ford. What I liked in AVEO was the ride quality, it was much better in AVEO, Ford was bumpy and purely a driver's car meant for enthusiasts(of course i am one too, but I had to balance it with my wife's likings as well who likes a good comfy ride while sitting at the rear, good looks and all those girly stuffs).
But once AVEO croses 2000 RPM it gets pepped up and can take on with other cars in its segment & I experienced this during my highway drive. Frankly I would really want to take the car to a good tuner to fine tune its engine so as to enhance the throttle response at lower rpms, but heck with the warranty and all those !!!

I live in an apartment in Bangalore and dont have the luxury to use so much water for washing purposes , unlike Kerala where water is everyone's basic right rather than luxury. AAh..How I miss Cochin badly !!!

[nairrk]

@s3va
The showroom price of the Fiesta 1.6 ZXi was RS.6.48L

The price offered to me by Chevy for Aveo 1.4 LT 6,79,602
(Rs.6,85,224 for Ivory gold and savanna green colour)
With Rs. 58,000 discount+freebies they offered me Rs.6,84,557 OTR.

Even 1.4 LT is without ABS , whereas Fiesta has got 1.6 engine with
ABS + EBD. (And as said, fiesta is a driver's car and I am the one going to drive all the time- so I liked her very much).

Ofcourse every car has pros and cons and further it is our own choice to select/own a car

[nairrk]

Originally Posted by s3va

My digi cam has conked out, hence delay in pics. Will borrow one and post one for you ! But be assured that the AVEO interiors are better than the Fiesta in case you are trying to compare, that is if you like beige.


I live in an apartment in Bangalore and dont have the luxury to use so much water for washing purposes , unlike Kerala where water is everyone's basic right rather than luxury. AAh..How I miss Cochin badly !!!

+
Water problem - then use half bucket first and again one bucket of water
finally (Bangalore has so much scarcity of water- I dont think?)
Thanks

[Ramsagar]

Thanks Ramsagar,
LS doesnt come with spoiler as OE, I am contemplating on whether to buy one or not. The dealer quoted Rs.11k for the OEM one with brake light, and non-company one without brake light for Rs.5000
Ya, Kropex is not bad, though a lot of follow up is required to get your requests processed. Also, the art leather seat covers offered as freebie has started giving away. Shoddy piece of job on the covers . I am going to complain tomorrow. There were no further cash discounts other than the one that GM announced for all Chevy vehicles + corporate + freebies[/quote]

If you find any problem with the vehicle, raise a complaint on-line in GM site.
That would be solved immediately. You will get a feedback calls from GM as well.
Don't waste time raising complaints in the showrooms. They say "We've ordered & Parts should come"

[s3va]

@nairkk,

How i wish I could have bought my car in Kerala, the RT is very less hence the lesser prices. Fiesta was quoted at 7.2 OTR without neck breaking negotiations, and AVEO LS was quoted at 6.8 that finally came down to 6.5 which eventually firmed up my decision on AVEO

Yes Nair, Bangalore, especially the area where I stay has major water scarcity, and to top it up my apartment bores are always dry,. So as i mentioned earlier, i really miss Cochin for this aspect !!! I have now ordered the Jopasu Car duster so that I can atleast dust off the fine particles and then probably wash once a week. Washing is also proving a concern as i can see the scratch swirls already

@ramsagar,
Yes you are right GM online is very responsive and I have already experienced the same during my purchase. I shall follow the same in case(God forbid) I have any parts issue. Kropex has offered to replace the seat covers. Lets see,

[nairrk]

@s3va
Yes indeed - The RT over here is the lowest comparing to Bangalore/chennai/mumbai etc - good for vehicle buyers. Not sure when the govt is going to increase it at par with other states !

I knew, the water scarcity in metros are in bad condition. 2 years back, when I was in chennai, the apartment where I lived allowed only one bucket of water for each apartment owner to wash their cars - ofcourse this restriction is only during peak summer when the corporation supply is restricted). No doubtl this was good, as they never said a 'NO' to use water for washing cars.

The Car duster is definitely helpful (other team members who already using this are happy and doing great job with this duster)

Thanks

[s3va]

Folks,

I have uploaded few more pics in my garage, including interiors. Pic quality not so great, but thats all I could do with my skills and the camera.


Siva !!

[nairrk]

Nice photographs - could have been some more ?
Anyway the seatcover looks very nice !
Thanks

[itwasntme]

Great pictures! Seat covers also a good match. Were these part of the freebies and are they GM authorised accessories? I need to buy the same for my 2 year old car now.

In my opinion, either buy the GM spoiler for 11k or not at all. The aftermarket ones (usually) are rubbish and will fade/rust/conk out (if with light) within some time thereby 'spoiling' the rest of the car :-).

What happend to the alloys?!!

[s3va]

@nair..thanks for the feedback. I will post some more pics as soon my alloy installation is through !

@itwasntme..frankly speaking I am not quite satisfied with the seat covers, the finish could have been better, YES it was part of my freebie bargain with the dealer..And as things come free, the attention to detail comes down, and hence, you wont believe, the seat covers have started wearing out already. I have escalated it to the showroom head and they have promised to take care of the job. I am trying for a replacement.

Nikhil is helping me out with the alloys and I am awaiting for his stocks to arrive. I am also planning for a tyre upgrade to Michelins 185/65(stock is Good Year 185/60 which is crap).

I may have to chuck spoliers, as I am planning to perform a gloss protect coat from 3M since the color I have chosen requires as much maintenance as possible + floor laminate to prevent the beige turning dirt brown !

[nairrk]

The Seatcover looks attractive in the photo but cannot believe it is already started wearing out which means the material is inferior quality. ?

[kavu75]

Originally Posted by s3va

A slight(feeble) grumbling kind of noise as well as vibration felt on the clutch pedals(and gear stick) and the floor area beneath mostly while steering acute curves or accelerating the car from stop on slopes, on 1st gear. At times, it happens in the 2nd gear as well. Also this tends to dissapear the moment the rpm crosses 1800-2000. Some sort of a vibration, in layman terms.

Did you report this issue?
Please check the objects you kept on dash like perfume, idol or any, check all these things are fixed properly and make sure corners are not touching on dash.
I have this wired sound sometime back (the sound comes on 1st or 2nd gear and it disappears when rpm crosses 2000) and it was because of perfume's corner was touching on dash.
Make sure your HU fixing also.
But still sometime i got a feeling that again some vibration is coming from dash area. Need to do some check.

BTW, are you nearby outer ring road or Koramangala.