[Shyamtanu]

Dear All,

This is my first post in this much esteemed forum, and I say a warm 'hello' to all. Currently I am deputed to UK, but whenever I come back (next year); I am planning to buy a C segemnt car, my options being new City, SX4, Aveo.

Key parameters - AS&S, Mileage, Features and formost - long term performance since I wish to keep the car for at least 5 years.
I did not consider Ford though liked the feel of Fiesta and Ikon both, thanks to their reputation of highly priced spares and poor services.

Test driven Indigo... liked the space but read a lot in this forum about their poor quality parts and fitment, rejected.

Really liked Aveo 1.4 LS in terms of feel, finish, and ease of driving... almost made up my mind before I was sent to UK by my office.

Now, I have been keenly following this forum, Overdrive, Mouthshut and all known places (to me) where one can read about cars, reviews etc. What I found is, this car just does not sell.. despite being a good package...
Is this because of a mindset against GM? I see so many Aveos on resale just after clocking 10-15K on the odo.. is this a caution?

Also, I would like to know about the interior lighting of Aveo.. if I remember, it had no map lights, no rear passnger lights, and may be the power window button do not illuminate in the dark? Can anyone post some photos pls?

Can someone please throw some light on this? I am pretty confused, I do not like the look of Dzire, and am not sure of Hyundai AS&S, so not considering Verna right now.
New Honda City initiated lots of enthu in me, but after reading loing threads here, it looks like not worth the money??

I am also bit surprised that they are claiming to give ABS with drum brakes in the rear wheels... does it mean only front wheels will be ABS enabled... you are never sure how they cheat you.. so if someone can throw some light it will help a lot.

Thanks

[phamilyman]

Because India comes home in a Maruti Suzuki.

No seriously.

[Mpower]

In India its hard to sell anything other than Maruti, Hyundai or Honda. I was discussing cars with my 'non car' friend the other day and suddenly he burst out 'Ikon is crap'. When I asked why, he didn't even know!!! Someone said and someone else said.....

[theMAG]

There's actually nothing wrong with the Aveo and its quite an all-rounder at that. It does everything its supposed to well, without being the forerunner in any one area - which is fine. It even looks like a car compared to Dzire.

But:

1. "Maruti"
2. No diesel option yet

[balenopower]

The A.S..S of Hyundai is almost as good as Maruti.Have no second doubts about it. The Aveo is a good car but its just that the other cars do everything better than the aveo does.A.S.S of GM infact a thing to ponder about.If you have seen the Indigo, you can chk the Logan and the Fiesta as well.Id strongly suggest the Fiesta or the Verna over the Aveo.As for your ABS query all the cars in this segment come with rear drums and are ABS equipped.

[Zappo]

I believe in certain aspects GM also did no good to their cause. People are generally wary of buying GM cars. They launched the Opels but they were not very warmly recieved for multiple reasons. Then they went ahead and withdrew them. In between they brought in the Forrester which suffered the aftermath of the Opel brand value perceptions. Otherwise it was a fine car.

Now GM sells various Daewoo cars badged as Chevrolets. They have tried to address many of their weak points. So packaged maintenance, low spare prices (at least promised) etc was thrown in. However people are not et convinced. Of course they also shot themselves in the foot by progressively reducing the prices of the Spark after pricing it a tad higher than what the market was willing to pay for it. The Optra SRV also suffered something similar. However such big reductions only serve to make the potential customers wary and of course makes the existing ones extremely unhappy. Either ways that only results in bad publicity.

A cocktail of many such factors ensured that GM's cars, particularly the sedans and other bigger cars from GM stable, never really gained much in popularity here.

[sameer_dg]

I feel the only GM that sells is the Optra Magnum.

[GTO - Touring]

Consider the residual value of the Aveo, it is far poorer than that of its competition.

A new car price is the maximum that, the manufacturer thinks, the market will pay for the car. However, a used car price is what, the market thinks, the car is really worth.

Whats wrong with the Aveo?

1. Below par engines. Neither powerful nor very fuel-efficient.

2. No diesel, a fuel that is the new flavour of the C segment. Just ask the Indigo, Dzire & Logan.

3. GM's past. No one believes that GM cars are easy to maintain. Even if they actually are.

4. Limited sales network compared to the bigger boys.

5. Incompetitive pricing.

Problem is, the Aveo simply lacks a USP. And the way that Maruti, Hyundai & Tata control the 3 - 6 lakh rupee segment, it is impossible for anyone to succeed without offering supreme value & a differentiator.

[Path_Finder]

Shyamtanu,
By time you are back - a year from now the options and competitive landscape will be quite different. So no suggestions for now - keep watching.

Originally Posted by Mpower

In India its hard to sell anything other than Maruti, Hyundai or Honda. .....

Agree with Mpower!

The only differentiator that GM tried was their TMP, but that did not help overcome their general weakness. When Opel brand failed, then tried the Chevy brand. But time they got some good cars out, they also introduced some form the Daewoo stable rekindling very bad memories. Yeah! The past is not good and the future for GM as a company neither looks good. So even if they do something great at present, it is a bit hard to digest. And so the Aveo sales lingers without taking off.

[JRD]

I think the credit has to be given to Ford ikon/escort and older GM cars
It has painted a image that american cars are unrealible and not good which is absolutely foolish to say. All the above mentioned cars were good solid cars with poor service backup.

So it is hard to shake up a spoilt image but i think people are getting over it now and considering the car and the package. In the case of the Aveo, its a heck of a nice car for the price if you are not a driving enthusiast. My sister was keen on the dzire and city but after driving and looking at the price and features she is buying one. Aveo Limited edition is loaded at 7.2L -20k disc=7L OTR Ahmedabad.

[kiku007]

For a second I thought it was GM posting in T-BHP asking for help

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

Problem is, the Aveo simply lacks a USP. And the way that Maruti, Hyundai & Tata control the 3 - 6 lakh rupee segment, it is impossible for anyone to succeed without offering supreme value & a differentiator.

+1 to that. The only thing that comes to my mind when I hear Aveo is the good looks. Other than that nothing tht I can remember off.

[Technocrat]

Well its a good car as I have driven & being driven in one of my friend's car.

Given an option between an Ikon\Accent\Dzire I would pick up an Aveo as it looks like proper Sedan & has decent space inside with some nice features(battery saver etc).

It has decent power, nothing to boast about but you wont feel gasping for power either.

So as GTO said it doesn't have any USP to sell.

[samirsarkar]

I would personally prefer the Aveo 1.4 LS Limited Edition in the C segment over the Indigo or SX4. It has excellent interiors including a very attractive dashboard, looks chic externally, has decent FE, adequate power and quite a bit of space for passengers. This car is actually good value for money.

However, I would never prefer the Aveo 1.6 LT against the Fiesta 1.6 or the SX4....it is (or at least it feels) underpowered compared to the other two cars and doesn't have a decent FE as well.

[shuvd]

These re-badged Daewoos look good on paper.

But, something feels wrong in real life IMHO. Can't really put a finger on the missing point though. So, I sold off my 10 months old Magnum and got a ...... you guessed right, a Honda!

[me_sid]

Frankly, this is a very tricky question? GM and Daewoo marriage is a downturner for quite a few people. Moreover as GTO mentioned that the car is average not a downright bad boy not the 1 st boy either. I think the appeal is missing. But all said and done I have driven it and its ok, but maybe I wont buy it.