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!