Chevrolet Aveo (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Chevrolet Aveo

4:23pm Thursday 12th November 2009

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Overall

rating: 2 stars

It's quite an odd experience to be listening to county singers crooning about riding in their Chevys, and rather depressing when you consider that Chevrolet used to make cool cars that were actually worth singing about. Sadly, in Europe at least, it's been reduced to selling what used to be known as Daewoos in order to make some money - but then you, can't blame them for wanting to earn a buck. So Chevys are now functional rather than cool, but that does not mean they can't be good - and the company promises the Aveo is a big step forward from the Daewoo era. On first impressions, it certainly has decent enough looks to make it in the competitive small car segment, and its £7,695 starting price appears to be good value.

However, get inside and the Aveo is massively disappointing. The dash and doors are covered in hard plastic, which both looks and feels cheap. There are still parts of this car that hint at the company's Daewoo days, and it is these areas that really let this car down. The dash isn't entirely unattractive and could have been successful, but it feels rushed and unfinished. Where simple chrome details have worked on the new exterior, they haven't inside. The basic controls are where they should be and functional, but nevertheless, it does feel like a budget car. On the upside though, it has been solidly put together and there aren't too many creaks and rattles whilst driving.

It's spacious enough in the front, but six-footers will find little room in the rear and to drive, they will need to have the seat back as far as it goes, leaving no room for anyone sitting behind. The boot is a decent size and the 60/40 split rear seats add further luggage space. Although the driving position is generally good, the seat sits quite high and the gear stick is set back slightly, which can feel odd. The cars steering feels oddly heavy at slower speeds and, although as you get going it does get lighter, it then feels quite unresponsive. The brakes are a little numb too; they need a good shove to slow the car down at low speeds, but they do seem to be more responsive when braking from higher speeds.

Neither of the petrol engines gives the car much in the way of performance, often needing to be revved hard to get much out of them. The car also feels untidy through corners, suffering a lot of body roll, and considering the minimal benefit to the cars handling, it has a rather firm ride. Of the two engines, we'd pick the smaller petrol unit as the 1.4 doesn't feel that much quicker. Plus at £9,000 it puts it within reach of the entry-level prices of the Fiesta and Mazda2-end of the segment, and it simply can't compete.

Overall, there's nothing truly awful about this car, but ultimately it doesn't quite cut it with others in this segment. It might well be cheap, but it isn't especially cheerful.

What's to like

1. Decent size boot
2. Easy to use controls on the dash
3. Solidly built

What's not to like

1. Below-par performance and handling
2. Firm ride
3. Cheap, plastic interior

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