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Old 9th April 2006, 12:30   #61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tech
I think the best way would be to compute initial investment, take depreciation in mind, then calculate the cost of petrol used for your requirements on an average, add the payments of EMI, find out the total cost, and take the resale value and add the cost of maintenance to find the net loss for all brand of cars shortlisted.
that is one way of looking at it ... NHC does pay its initial expense off in the long-run(esp so if you're gonna do between 1-1.5 lac km...not really below that)

at the moment we can only speculate on resale values ... its safe to say honda will prob have an edge ... but whoese to say what the car-market scene will be like 6 yrs from now with all the new models likely to come in.

for me , i wouln't settle for second best to save even 50k after 6 years , knowing that the NHC does indeed lac certain essential features(ABS/Airbags) , and not to mention ,its a boring car to drive.
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Old 9th April 2006, 12:36   #62
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You hit the nail on the head Fiero. Also since the NHC will cost 50k more then the AVEO and during resale the NHC will go for 50K more then net loss will be null.
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Old 9th April 2006, 13:01   #63
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The cars of the next 5-7 years in India are going to be all world class top end models. The Auto Expo 2006 showed that. I think what we are seeing today is just the tip of the ice-berg. Soon Honda Civic is going to come this year probably, then GM will be forced to come out with something better. And with all world leading brands now starting to have a presence in India, it's going to be a tough war among all and the consumer is going to benefit from it, considering that the Indian Auto market is among the best in the World today !
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Old 15th April 2006, 07:30   #64
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spyder

Hi,

I had a similar view on the car..visited the showroom in Bangalore last week and checked it out. Found it banged my knee..see the pic to get an idea of what i mean..(circled in red)

Decided against the test drive, since I believe that this shape will irritate, especially on long drives..of course there is the school of thought that u get used to it..like drinking beer

Anyone else had this problem? Otherwise I quite liked the car.

Cheers
Spyder
I am having the same problem with Ford Mondeo TDI here in UK that I have rented.... I am just 5 ft 9 and I find the leg room unacceptable for driver, my leg bangs much as you have shown in the picture in case of Aveo. I have to adjust the steering to be more upright to avoid contact, but that effects my visibility of the road....
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Old 15th April 2006, 13:49   #65
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This was what was mentioned in the EuroNCAP review. The steering and leg hitting the left side of bottom of the Aveo was why it was given only 1.5 rating out of 5 on the crash test.

http://www.euroncap.com/images/resul...asheet%203.pdf

However if driven carefully, it's inspires freshness on Indian roads with so much to offer. Besides it is being launched in 120 countries (That's what GM has to say).

By the way, GM needs to manage its business properly else there are issues on GM gong bankrupt as it is losing 1 Billion USD per month as of now.

See
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=GM...s=&safe=images

Here is the news in Times of India 12th April 2006 Page 18 top half about General Motors

GM riding on road towards bankruptcy

Shrinking Market Share, Rising Costs & $1-B Monthly Loss Signal That It Is Heading For Chapter 11
In this case, it takes three to tango. So said Rick Wagoner, the boss of General Motors (GM), this week, his re-working of an old cliche, capturing the contortions he is having to perform as he struggles to save the ailing giant of the car industry. Given its shrinking market share, GM would be hard enough to revive its any firm in any industry. But GM is not any old firm. And designing more sellable cars is arguably the least of its problems.
These, as Wagoner says, require it to find a way not only to get back on its feet, but also to dance simultaneously with Delphi, its now bankrupt parts supplier, and with one of US’ toughest trade unions, United Auto Workers (UAW). No wonder its share price heads ever lower, and observers talk about it stumbling towards Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Looking at the mess that is GM today, it’s easy to forget its 98-year history it embodied all that was great about American capitalism. Under Alfred Sloan, it pioneered new management techniques, enabling it to overtake Ford Motor in 1920s. By the 1950s, GM had the largest workforce of any company in free world and had become the first firm to make $1 billion in a year.
Today, GM is a case study in how the rest of the American capitalism might have turned out, were it not for the burst of creative destruction, starting in the 1980s, that transformed many industries and made America home to many of the world’s best companies. In a free-market economy where the shareholder is king, GM is a depressing counter example: Bureaucratic, union-dominated, better-run competitors and paralysed by laws and contracts that stop management doing the necessary dirty worksacking workers, cutting wages to market levels and trimming portfolio of vehicle brands.
The question now is what, if anything, can be done to get GM heading in the right direction again? The priority is to sort out Delphi, which was spun off from GM in 1999. This separation, it now turns out, was never as complete as it seemed: GM remained liable for some costs if Delphi were to go bust. This it did last October, not least because of high labour costs it inherited from GM. Steve Miller, Delphi’s CEO, has been trying to win concessions from UAW. On March 31 he exercised the nuclear option, asking a bankruptcy judge to cancel the firm’s contract with UAW, so allowing Delphi to pay wages closer to the industry norm. Such cost-cutting is vital if Delphi is to survive, but, if the judge agrees to it after a hearing on May 9, Delphi workers may well go on strike.
That could have nasty consequences for GM which, even if it has been building up stocks of parts, would suffer a costly production slowdown. GM is already losing nearly $1 billion a month. Delphi’s workers know that GM is sitting on a vast though shrinking mountain of cash, estimated at around $20 billion. An even bigger challenge for Wagoner is to wrest big reductions in pay, benefits and employment at GM itself.
GM boss also apparently gets on well with UAW leader, Ron Gettelfinger, who understands the need for GM to lower its costs and respects GM’s recent shared suffering policy of cutting its dividend in half and slashing top executives’ pay. But the union boss is up for re-election in June, and his members are increasingly angry about what they see as his chumminess with GM’s leaders.
Edward Altman of New York University reckons there is a one-in-five chance of GM going bust within one year and a 50% chance of bankruptcy within five years, though the odds will change if the sale announced this week of a 51% stake in GM’s financing arm, General Motors Acceptance, is completed.
The sale seems to be a desperate money-raising move, especially as it does not guarantee the higher bond rating for GMAC that GM sought so as to minimise the financing arm’s cost of capital. In addition, the buying consortium led by Cerberus Capital can walk away if GM’s own bond rating gets even junkier. A successful sale will reduce the odds of GM going bust in the short-term, but make it even likelier in the long-term, says Altman. The Economist
CAN HE TURN IT AROUND: For Rick Wagoner, the only hope to drive GM out of trouble seems to be his negotiation with unions and sale of a 51% stake in General Motors Acceptance.
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Old 15th April 2006, 14:12   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tech
This was what was mentioned in the EuroNCAP review. The steering and leg hitting the left side of bottom of the Aveo was why it was given only 1.5 rating out of 5 on the crash test.
So, if you happen to be driving an Aveo and have a head-on collision, you might end up damaging your legs.
Whatever happened to the crumple-free zones ??

Its cases like these which make me think that heavily-built cars are not safe at all in cases of head-on collisions - they might end up transmitting the entire shock to the passengers.
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Old 15th April 2006, 16:59   #67
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Yes, here is a US review - Everybody is talking about Safety. It's the first things to look into. Aveo got only 1.5 / 5 rating.

[COLOR=#99aadd]Phafanapolis[/COLOR] said... I rode in a rental Aveo a while ago. I was literally shocked by the smallness of it. My knees were touching the glovebox in the front passenger seat. I'm not huge, but, in the event of an accident, I'm pretty sure I would be a amputee.

See more here -
http://thehollywoodextra.blogspot.co...est-drive.html
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Old 16th April 2006, 23:32   #68
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AVEO test drive

Hi - I have been looking for a car in the 6-7 lakh range and I have been following the comments from bhpians for a while. This is my first post. I have been considering the Baleno, Accent, Fiesta, Honda City & Aveo.

Today I took a drive in the AVEO 1.4 LS and I thought I would post my comments.

Exteriors: The Car to me appeared smaller than I expected. It also does not give an impression of strength. But this is not an indicator of safety. The bonnet is not as heavy as the Optra, the insulation thickness under the hood is not as thick as in the Optra.

Interiors: The interiors impressed me. They have safety feature for the reverse gear, So I did not have to worry much. As in the earlier comments, the leg space is quite cramped and my left knee was jammed against the console. i had to move my seat back so much that the wheel was not in a comfortable position. My height is 5ft 11 inches. The car was not maintained well by the showroom, so I had to convince my wife that it it is not the interior that was bad. but the beige interiors if not maintained well looks pathetic. THe boot have ventilators. I am not sure if they help at all, the salesperson claims it preserves perishable items
The glove box is also connected to the AC blower according the sales person...


Drive: I took the car out for a quick drive and threw it around. These are my impressions

1. The shock absorber is good. I threw the car into a couple of large potholes (you dont have to search for them in Bangalore) and the baby did not even squeak. It was impressive.

2. The 1.4 AC took a little longer than the 1.6 fiesta to cool the cabin. But the blower noise level increased at the maximum setting.

3. The pulling power at lower rpm is not great, though it behaved well at higher rpms.The turning radius is also good, but I would have been impressed any way as I drive a car without power steering


Overall impression was that it did not take my breath away and I did not feel as excited as I was after driving the Fiesta 1.6. I have not driven the Fiesta 1.4. It is also a little more expensive when compared to Baleno and Fiesta. My mind is not yet made up..

Last Comment: I was very happy with my interaction with the Sundaram motors sales personnel. They were very helpfu and curteous, quite unlike my experiance with Ford.
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Old 18th April 2006, 15:40   #69
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how about the fiesta safety feautures
is fiesta safer than aveo
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Old 7th May 2006, 01:38   #70
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Yes Fiesta is safer than Aveo, It's build is better, however Aveo has better road presence. So if you want build, go for Fiesta and if you want looks, go for Aveo
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Old 8th June 2006, 21:47   #71
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 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!

Hey,

I'd actually seriously considered an Aveo 1.4 before I decided to go for my Swift. I agree with u that the Aveo is a great car. Only 3 things caused me to change my decision to the Swift:

1. Gearbox - feels like a well used lever of an arcade game
2. AC - really ineffective even in the brand new demo car. The rep agreed
3. Experience with prior GM products in India/ GM's financial health


Anyway, enjoy what's an awesome overall package! My sister-in-law's sister(!) is buying an Aveo shortly too.
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Old 25th April 2007, 13:30   #72
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Though this is a thread for the Aveo 1.4, just posting my experiences on taking a short spin in the 1.6, which was brought to my office campus as part of a roadshow.

* Ingress and egress were easy for a person of my frame (5 feet 9 inches).
* Interiors look nice, although I was expecting some more considering that i had read that it had among the best interiors in the segment.
* To use the horn, one needs to press in the centre of the steering wheel, which i did not like. Its a pain when one needs to use the horn suddenly in traffic.
* To engage the reverse gear, you need to press some switch at first, only after which does it slot into reverse. Also, the position of the reverse gear is not as per the general convention. In fact, it exists to the left of the 1st gear.
* As this was the version before the gear ****s were improved, the gear shift quality was really really poor. In fact, trying to nudge the gear into 2nd from 1st resulted in a false neutral for me.
* Ground clearance seemed pretty good, and was able to glide over potholes rather easily as against my Ikon.
* A/C wasnt all that effective, although we didnt really give it all that much of time to chill.
* Glove box compartment had no lighting inside (acc to the representative) which even the Fiesta offers.

On the whole, i feel the package is not all that attractive as the Fiesta, which happens to be its main competitor. May score points with respect to the interiors over the Fiesta, but it ends there.

On being quizzed as to why they werent launching a diesel Aveo, the representative also seemed lost on that, but informed me that the Optra was on its way in a diesel avatar.
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Old 1st May 2007, 17:16   #73
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According to consumer reports, Aveo is the "least satisfying" small car in the US for 2006. Not sure why GM is testing us with that!

ConsumerReports.org - Best and worst in new car owner satisfaction, best and worst models 4/07
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Old 18th November 2009, 09:34   #74
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hello bhpians,

i would request a member of 6+ height to comment on the ownership of the aveo, as i am 6'3" tall and is thinking on going for a aveo over fiesta just because of its Looks,
but what i found was the leg space is a little cramped over fiesta, is this true,

please suggest how are all your ownership experience.
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