2005 Chevy Aveo

2005 Chevy Aveo5

Does anyone still remember Daewoo? They were a Korean car manufacturer that showed up in the states several years ago, tried to sell us cheap and cheerful cars then died off within a couple of years. There was a good reason for Daewoo not being able to stick around for long; the cheap price was simply not enough to make people overlook the fact that they were rubbish. Buying a Daewoo was like buying bed sheets from a thrift store; sure they’re cheap, but they’re clearly of inferior quality compared to what you can get elsewhere and may even give you a rash. Even though the Daewoo banner isn’t being flown anymore, they still live on in the United States lurking in the darkness, ready to pounce on consumers who don’t realize what they’re buying. The reason why they’re still around is because GM bought controlling shares in Daewoo; so if you’re a child in a GM family and your parents want to buy you your “first car” a Daewoo is waiting for you at your local Chevy dealership wearing a name tag that reads Aveo. It’s no use trying to run away to the local Suzuki dealership because a couple of rebadged Daewoos await you there as well. (As a side note) When the Suzuki adverts ask “Are our cars as much fun as our bikes?” you now know the answer is a huge NO! So if you are a GM family kid, and you can’t get away from the terror known as a Daewoo… what are you in for when you find yourself in an Aveo?

Positives (well sort of): Well to start, you get a cheap and “cute” looking hatch; however if you look past the “cute” part you instantly notice the cheap part radiates outward like heat from a campfire. Sure the car costs less than the competition, but you can tell it managed that feat by cutting corners rather than with precision engineering and innovative manufacturing techniques (The Toyota Aygo is an example of cheap costs from precision engineering). For example, the panels on the car look like they’ll dent or fall off if you breathe on them and the paint looks like it will easily fade away as the years pass (on older more abused Aveos, it already has). Not a good start and this is the positives section!

Since the Aveo is a small car, it has reasonably nippy handling, but compared to its Japanese rivals it’s nothing special and in fact it’s worse. Fortunately, the car does at least ride well. The ride quality isn’t going to win any awards but at least it’s a plus.

The interior is where the Aveo starts to claw back some points. Sure the inside looks like a coal mine, but the plastics that make up the dash are of decent quality and everything looks well put together. That’s a first for Chevy, although this is a Daewoo nailed together in Korea then rebadged… Unfortunately, you will notice over time as you start accidentally hitting things with your elbows and such that certain pieces are in fact NOT well put together since they will start to become a bit loose.

The real upside of the interior though lies with the spaciousness. This car’s interior is actually roomier than a Cobalt despite managing to be much smaller than a Cobalt on the outside. The backseats are amazingly spacious for such a small car, and can easily seat a couple of your six feet tall friends without them having to eat their knees. Don’t try to cram three people in the back though, because like most cars it’s going to be so tight that human rights people will be on your case.

As you’d expect from such a small car, the trunk isn’t all that large, but unlike the trunk of a Mini, you can actually fit stuff in there. Going on a Costco run or going to pick up a friend with a large suitcase from the airport won’t happen without folding the back seats down, but a stop over to the grocery store shouldn’t be a problem.

Negatives: Apart from the usual benefits of driving a small car, easy parking, good maneuverability, etc. the driving experience on offer from this car is all wrong.

The number one thing that makes a car good to drive is steering feel and I can easily say that the Aveo doesn’t offer any. In fact it doesn’t offer any “feel” anywhere. Even the brake pedal doesn’t let you know just how hard you’re stopping the car, and that’s a worry because the brakes on this car aren’t very good to begin with.

Now we get to the really bad stuff, the Aveo’s powertrain. The engine is only down a few horsepower from the Yaris and the Fit, but in terms of actually being able to move the car forward, it plain sucks. This car redefines the word slow and even if you don’t mind the Model T like acceleration, there are still issues. Every time I got to a hill I threw the car into low gear and floored it so I didn’t slow down traffic behind me… And when I got to a steep hill I threw the car into low gear and prayed. Naturally the car can actually make it up steep downtown Seattle hills, but it definitely struggles and makes you nervous.

The rubbish automatic gearbox is partly to blame for the car’s weak performance, but from what I’ve heard getting a manual is not going to make things better. The manual has been described by some as being the worst manual gearbox on the market today, because it offers shifting dynamics that are easily beaten by trucks. The performance of the car does improve marginally but it probably isn’t worth the extra pain and effort.

To make matters worse, one of the major reasons for buying a small car simply doesn’t exist on the Aveo. Despite GM throwing ads and commercials at us every second of the day saying that Chevrolets have great gas mileage and that the small Aveo leads the way… the gas mileage on the Aveo is appalling. If you drive a Ford Excursion, then the gas mileage on the Aveo might seem good, but if you drive something in the same class and even in a class above the Aveo, you’ll soon realize just how bad the mileage is. The official figures off the Chevy website say that the mileage is 24/34 which is more or less the same as the Cobalt, and to make it sound a bit worse, it’s the same as the relatively enormous Camry! But to really drive home just how bad the fuel consumption is we must compare it to its direct competition. The Toyota Yaris achieves 34 mpg in the city and 39 on the highway… so the Yaris can achieve the highway mileage of the Aveo in the city where these cars will be spending most of their time.

The mileage testers weren’t just smoking crack the day they tested the Aveo, the fuel consumption really is that bad… through combined city and highway driving I got 24 mpg which is actually more abysmal than the estimates. The mileage might have been better if I didn’t have to stand on the accelerator to get the car to move at a reasonable speed, but I’d rather not slow down the whole of Seattle just to see my mileage go up 1 or 2 mpg.

The last negative I have listed is more of a gripe but it’s still valid. I drove the base model Aveo with manual locks and roll down windows which is fine, but what wasn’t okay was the fact that the car didn’t have a CD player. In fact, the car only had an AM/FM radio; there wasn’t even a tape deck. Let’s stop to think of another new car that doesn’t offer a CD player as standard… Well there’s the... wait no it’s just the Aveo. I know this is supposed to be a cheap entry level car, but how much does it cost for Chevy to have a CD player fitted? I can’t imagine it being any more than fifty quid and that’s already a generous estimate in my opinion. Plus I can’t imagine any sane person saying “You know what? I can save a minute amount of money by not getting a CD player… In fact I won’t even try and haggle to get a CD player installed!” I honestly think that by muttering “There’s no CD player,” and nothing else the dealer will offer to install one for free.

Conclusion: Don’t get me wrong and think that I was insulting this car non stop because I have sophisticated tastes, I actually love small cars. Small cars generally give nippy handling, easy city driving, good gas mileage, and overall fun while not costing too much to run; but, the Aveo only offers the easy city driving characteristic which was impossible to screw up unless GM made the Aveo the size of a bus… in which case it wouldn’t be a small car anymore.

Compared to its Japanese rivals the Aveo is crap. The Fit, the Yaris, and the Versa easily outclass the Aveo on every front. The only thing that could possibly entice you to get the Aveo is the ridiculously low price; however, the Yaris is only marginally more expensive and worth every extra penny. Also, if you plan on trading your car in after a few years and factor in depreciation, the Aveo loses its price advantage immediately. So in the end, the Daewooness of the Aveo shines through and makes it quite a poor choice of car.

If you’re looking at getting a small car and don’t mind paying around 15k the Fit is easily top of the class, but if you’re on a tighter budget the Aveo might make sense… wait no it doesn’t. If you’re on a tight budget work harder and get a Yaris. It’s not quite as good as the Honda Fit, but it’s cheaper and it’s still quite a good little car. Heck if you don’t feel like working harder, go and haggle a few bucks off of a Kia Rio which isn’t as good as a Yaris but it’s still better than the Aveo.

Summary:

The Good: Spacious and cheaper than dinner at a five star restaurant

The Bad: Easily the worst car in its class

The Ugly: It’s worse than a Kia… that’s a pretty bad insult

Verdict: WHY BOTHER?

Random Stats:

Engine: 1.6 liter I4, 103 hp, 107 lb/ft torque

EPA mileage estimate: 24/34

Observed fuel mileage: 24 mpg combined cycle