Chevrolet’s Aveo has the makings of comic gold. It’s the cheapest car sold in America. It’s from GM, ever the stooge to straight men Honda and Toyota. And get this: despite being the first vehicle to feature in Chevy’s ubiquitous “An American Revolution” campaign, the Aveo is built in… wait for it… Bupyong, South Korea. Ba-dum ching!
From where else would the Aveo hail? Daewoo is responsible for its design, manufacture, and export (under such varied monikers as the Suzuki Swift+ and Holden Barina). Chevy’s sole Aveo contribution: the bow-tie badge. But let’s give The General some credit. While Ford and DCX have ignored the fast-growing subcompact segment, ol’ Number Two has been building Aveos since 2004. Well, sort of.
For 2007, Daew—er, Chevy has updated its punch line on wheels. That’s the good news. The bad news: this mid-cycle love applies only to the Aveo sedan; the Aveo5 hatchback stands pat until 2008. The bad news for GM: the half-revitalized Aveo line faces no fewer than five all-new rivals from Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan and Toyota.
Yes, it’s survival of the Fittest in the increasingly cutthroat subcompact class, and the Chevrolet Aveo isn’t looking so good. Literally. Most of the ’07 refresh consists of styling tweaks, and none of them addresses the Aveo’s awkward-puppy proportions or tall-‘n’-tippy stance. The Chevywoo’s oversized, vaguely bovine new “face” is in keeping with current small-car fashion. The vintage-2002 “Altezza” taillights aren’t.
The Aveo’s redecorated interior is more impressive. Compared with the coal-bin cabins of previous Aveos (and the current hatch), the ’07 offers big-car digs. Perforated leatherette upholstery, chrome-ringed vents and switchgear, and not-horrendously-faux wood trim grace the range-topping ($13,450) LT. Plastics are of the low-gloss variety, done up in a soothing black-and-tan blend. The driver’s seat adjusts for height; an iPod jack adorns the radio.
While the veneer of quality is initially convincing, it’s only skin-deep. Carelessly-placed knees and elbows excite flexy crackles in the Aveo’s trim. The sun visors meet the headliner with a tinny “clang.” Moreover, the Aveo’s sit-up, legs-tucked driving position and fishbowl view out ensure that Aveo drivers feel as dorky as they look.
Which brings us to the act of driving the Aveo. Normally, I’m of the mindset that econocars deserve a break (not to say a free ride) in this department. Their raison d’etre is conservation, not titillation. But the Aveo’s gas mileage is, frankly, terrible for such a wee little beastie. On the ever-optimistic EPA scale, automatic Aveos score 26/34 mpg. That’s the same as the decidedly un-funny Mazda 3i and Honda Accord EX.
But hey, if the Aveo is the thirstiest of all subcompacts, at least it’s the slowest! No, there’s none of the threatening “zing” of a Honda or Toyota’s four banger here; just a labored groan as the Aveo’s 1.6-liter, 103-hp mill drudges its way up the tach. An oversensitive throttle does its best to mask this paucity of punch, and adds a certain kamikaze flair to stop-and-go freeway driving.
If you’re thinking that the Aveo’s standard five-speed manual transmission might help boost its pep and economy, you’d be kinda sorta correct. That version’s EPA estimates are 27/37 mpg, the same as a mildly funny Ford Focus’. Unfortunately, it’s also The Worst Manual Transmission Extant. The Aveo’s spindly shift lever moves with long, doughy, rubbery throws, hanging up easily in a wide H-pattern. Clutch feel is limp. Truck ‘boxes provide better feedback
There’s less to say about the Aveo’s handling, which is soft and secure in standard operating mode. Steering feel, however, remains a notable weakness. Daewoo responded to criticism of the original Aveo’s numb, vague, and darty helm by making the classic beancounter’s boo-boo of mistaking more effort for better feel. So, for ’07, we get steering that’s numb, vague, darty AND arthritically stiff in the turns.
Need another reason not to buy an Aveo? The mushy brake pedal may be an adept coffee slosher, but it’s less-skilled at the meaningful business of retardation.
Given the Aveo’s lowly station in life, this review may seem like a cheap shot at cheap wheels. It ain’t. This reviewer holds a firm respect for– and bizarre fascination with– basic, sensible, well-conceived, inexpensive transportation pods for John Q. Public. And subcompacts are no longer the domain of the desperate. Petrochemical paranoia is driving consumers who can afford big to think small. The threshold of acceptability is soaring.
It’s such a strong trend that Aveos sales are up despite the fact that the model doesn’t offer one competitive advantage over its rivals— not mileage, sportiness nor versatility. With better buzzboxes priced within a shifter’s throw of this Korean expatriate, there’s only one reason for anyone to buy a Chevrolet Aveo: to make other small car dealers and owners shake their heads in disbelief.
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I guess PT Barnum is still right.
I have a 2008 Chevy Aveo LS Sedan, and it is the worst car I have ever had.. My Air Conditioning has gone out twice now. My engine light comes on randomly, I mean don’t get me wrong I get great gas mileage. I personally hate this car.
I wouldn’t say it has no competitive advantages. There’s always price.
To see how the Aveo compares in this regard:
http://www.truedelta.com/models/Aveo.php
The Aveo remains one of the few sub-$100,000 cars I have not driven, partly because all the reviews are negative. Is it really so bad?
Yes Michael, yes a thousand times yes. It is like buying your clothes at the dollar store and having them tattoo POOR across your forehead. It never lets you forget that this is a cheap car. The Fit and the Versa at least try to appeal to an upscale buyer but the Aveo aims directly at the college student who wants a warrenty but can’t afford a Civic. This is a benchmark car, but not the good kind.
Is it really so bad?
Having spent a week driving an Aveo5 (hatchback), I can respond with a resounding and unequivocal YES! Only a certified masochist would consider the $10K basic Aveo (which doesn't even have AC). But if you move up the Aveo food chain you're in $13-15K range where there are much better cars to choose from, both new and used. Even a year-old Cobalt "program car" would be a better choice than a new Aveo.
EPA 34mpg, eh?
My GTI *AVERAGES* 33. Granted, I do mostly (95%) highway driving, but sheezsh! My last tank was 33.6mpg.
I’d buy a Mazda 3 over this any day of the week.
That really is an atrocious mileage rating. The last tank in my Mazda3s with the 2.3 liter and manual returned 29.5 MPG (242 miles/8.2 gallons) in about 75-80% city driving.
(interestingly, the on board computer only returned a calculated 26.5 mpg)
Daewoo is probably one of the worst automakers around, resale will be non-existent, repairs will be pricey. Daewoo and GM have a long and contentious relationship, I would not be comfortable buying one for the long haul
I wonder how this Chevoo compares to it’s bigger cousin offered in Canada -the Chevy Optra. I had a u’wreck’em for a week through the Rocky Mountains, and it was…er…a decent ride -I mean it kept up on the highways, stayed true in the twisties, and endured high altitutes without complaint. Not sure how they’ll stand up to the long haul though.
durailer: You can buy the Optra in the U.S., it is badged as the Suzuki Reno. It’s not mentioned a lot, but I remember it was reviewed by Car & Driver in a comparison test and they put it behind the Kia Rio, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris.
How on earth can the mileage be so bad? With a 100hp? Is the AT so poor that the engine is constantly spinning within an inch of its life to keep up with traffic?
My ancient subaru legacy (significantly larger, 150hp, heavy-as-cartman AWD system) still pulls 26mpg overall, and 31 on the highway. This is with 15-year old technology.
Something is very, very wrong with the Aveo’s drivetrain.
For the Canadians on this forum if you want a good write up on both the Aveo/Wave/Suzuki Swift vehicles have a read at a Public Library Phil Edmonston Lemon Aid 2007 New Cars! I also think that if you purchase one of these Vehicles, plan to keep it forever as no one in there right mind would want one imho
Terrible mileage and a terrible car? I thought the only thing going for the Aveo was its mileage!!!
I’d rather have a certified pre-owned Civic, Corolla, Mazda3, or Focus instead. That’s way more value and enjoyment for the price.
Very elegant and appealing prose, without too much snarkiness. I like this review as much as I dislike this car.
Over here, the Aveo sells with a standard 30% rebate. I even noticed a dealer who had a “Buy a (6-cylinder) Epica, get an Aveo free” campaign. Still they are only seldom to be seen.
To jump on the bandwagon: I get nearly 26mpg combined in my fully-loaded, gas-hogging V6 Passat (9 years old, too).
Cars this small and decontented need to offer a lot of improvement in economy for me to consider all the compromise. My only take is that this vehicle appeals to people simply by undercutting the price of better cars in the segment. People’s misunderstanding of the importance of depreciation is the current popular place to take advantage of them at the dealer level.
Seriously, does anyone know why it gets such poor mileage?
I would love to see TTAC review more of the smaller cars, like the Honda Fit or Nissan Versa … I knew the Aveo was bad, but I didn’t realize just HOW bad. Everyone seems to say the Fit is a really good value for the money, haven’t heard much on the Versa …
the Aveo5 hatchback stands pat until 2008
Um, okay.
Altezza tailights? Britney was still sexy when those were in. It would be funny if someone started to offer aftermarket ‘normal’ taillights for the Aveo. Oh well, GM can easily fix that.
That mileage is baffling though…where did they source that 4 banger? AMC?
You mentioned the braking. I know it’s not part of your reviews to measure breaking distances, but the braking performance of the base model is horrific. I’d never fob one of these off on a college bound child.
In May, Toyota sold more than twice as many Yarises than Chevy sold Aveos. The Fit and Versa also beat Chevy in sales (the Fit by a little, the Versa by a lot). In fact, the only subcompacts that sold worse than the Aveo were the Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent-but those two are more or less the same car, and if you combined thier sales they would, in fact, beat the Aveo.
Add one more to the list of people who can’t understand how a “modern” 100 hp four banger can get below 30 mpg. The subcompacts of the 80’s, the Ford Fiesta/Dodge Omni/Geo (Chevy) Metro got better mileage than that by a long shot. My mom’s Corolla S consistently gets 30+ mpg in city driving and 40+ mpg on trips with more size, comfort, and even style (hey, even a Toyota Corolla is stylish next to an Aveo).
Having tried both the Fit and the Yaris, I can't believe that the Yaris is selling better, least of all a lot better, than the Fit. Maybe I missed something, but it seemed to me that the Fit was both more versatile and more comfortable than the Yaris.
I once did some spirited driving on the backroads in an Aveo, but it got scary quick. Brake fade came way too soon, and I felt like I was going to tip over. Nevermind the fact that it was an auto, which had that goofy hold a gear thing. I think I started in 3rd or 4th a few times.
I had the 2006MY Aveo hatch for a week as a tester in late 2005, and it looks like nothing has changed. Why is fuel economy is bad? I’d say nothing less than a fundamentally bad engine design. At no point anywhere in the rev range does the engine sound like it’s having fun. Most four pots will (at some point) have a nice settled thrum where they beat away happily turning petrol into go. The Aveo went from unwilling to gasping to downright artery-popping imminent coronary. Compare and contrast the 1600 mills from the Nissan Tiida or Peugeot 206. Even the Mk1 VW Golf (Rabbit)’s 1600 engine that was designed in the seventies is a million times more willing.
Daewoo designed and built a bum engine, and no one in management sent it back for another try.
The Aveo’s 4-banger I believe is sourced from Holden in Australia, and is old, weary, raspy, and low-tech.
I rented a 2006 model Aveo 5 for a week in LA. Sure; there was lots of stop n’ go. Sure, I flogged it a bit in the streets, just for kicks (it’s kind of fun to be able to floor a vehicle everywhere you go and not really get in trouble…like a go cart). When I filled her up prior to returning the rental, I did the math…and I BARELY DID BETTER THAN 20 MPG!!! I rented the small car for mileage in the first place, trying to keep costs down in the land of $4 gas. The car had 15k miles on it, so it should have been plenty broken in. It was awful…
I rented a similar sized car (Skoda Fabia) in the Balkans last month for a week, also. There was more highway driving involved, but plenty of stop n’ go as well in cities. And I flogged the hell out of it, because this car was actually…fun. I did the math again…37mpg from a 1.2L gas engine. And the handling was great. Daewoo has a lot to learn.
Also, of note…Daewoo’s reliability is like the worst on the planet, or at least in the US. Look at all the late-model Daewoo Nubira’s, Suzuki Veronas, etc. w/problems on eBay selling for dirt. This does not bode well for GM’s reputation as they rely more on Daewoo’s work…the new Saturn Vue is a Daewoo, every Chevrolet in Europe is a Daewoo, the new subcompacts “Chevy” recently presented are all Daewoos. Daewoo will help destroy Chevy’s reputation (well, GM’s) faster than Chevy/GM could do it on their own.
Nice review. :-)
It makes the the (109 HP) Honda Fit look good.
Invoice = $13,357 and 31/38 MPG.
The only thing holding back Fit sales is a lack of (U.S.) manufacturing capacity.
They’re made in Japan, so they have to be shipped stateside, too.
Yep its a true T.W.A.T. candidate. If this is Chevy’s idea of an American Revolution then its time to call out the National Guard and put down this mediocrity incited uprising.
The Aveo’s mileage is especially mind-boggling when you consider that this car is the replacement for the Metro, which originally got 51 mpg on the highway with the 3-cylinder and 5-speed manual. And yes, the Metro was a pretty crappy car too, but at least it got one thing right.
i think that this car is bad intentionally, to get u into more upscale and more expensive cars in the GM lineup. Like a real estate agent that shows u a real stinkhole first so your expectations are lowered, then to the house he/she REALLY wants u to buy, also a pit, but less so.
This is the way that GM gas ALWAYS sold cars. If the least expensive car was nice, why move up?
The problem with this kind of myopia, as we know, is that there are far better cars almost everywhere. No one who ever drove a new fit would even consider the daewoo. Perhaps their audience for these things has on the same blinders that the manufacturer has.
HOWEVER – they are dirt cheap, and for people who want a NEW car bar nothing, this will fit the bill. You get a new car warranty, the impression that this is an american car (those blinders again), and cheap payments.
To the GTI guy – I agree – I love the new GTI – but it is at least twice as expenxive as this car. Pays for alot more and better engineering.
To the guy who wonders why the yaris sells better than the fit – some folks i know will buy nothing but a toyota, no matter what.
I like small cars too – small engines that sing. Or scream! Fiat has the best sounding and performing engines in my experience, but we cannot get them here, dammit.
I too would like to know why the milage is so bad in such a small car. Even my 20 year old 110hp 4runner on 32″ tires gets 20-25 mpg. Is is just a poorly designed engine that is horribly inefficient. Or is it a good engine designed for a completly different task? I mean, this is a pretty weak engine for today’s standards, maybe it was designed for a less “luxurious” car. In the far east, I bet cars don’t come standard with all these crazy luxuries that we Americans are accustomed to (A/C, Auto, Power windows, Power steering, Power brakes, etc). Maybe the engine in the Aveo is designed for much simpler cars and it just doens’t work well with the other stuff added. Or maybe it just is a poor design. Either way, it should never have made it to market, as there is no selling point for the car other than good milage.
Has GM ever offered a competitive subcompact in the US? It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: GM management believes that customers won’t buy small cars and then builds lousy small cars that people don’t buy. Has it dawned on Detroit that the way Toyota and Honda first entered the US market was by selling desirable small cars?
Maybe the Aveo is actually designed to keep demand up for used Cobalts coming out of rental service.
The Aveo is like a kid’s bicycle with training wheels. You feel like you’re going to tip over in brisk curves before it takes a “set”. It’s not ready to play with the big kids yet. The interior was put together fairly decently, though.
This seems to be a pervasive problem for GM on the small car side of their fleet as the Cobalt also lags its direct competition
Actually yes GM has had the Geo Metro/Chevy Metro, which may have been a cheap car (in so many senses) but it did check off the big boxes (very good mileage, and all things considered it was pretty reliable). It did own the market for low end transportation for a time.
Actually GM had been under performing in the entire smaller the mid size market for years until they released the cobalt (which may not be market leading but isn’t a freaking cavalier).
Ok, as an Aveo owner for the last 3 years, I’m gonna have to defend the car a bit. as of this morning, I have over 85k miles on the car (04 5spd hatch) with the only problem the entire time being a radiator hose clamp breaking. During this time, I’ve averaged 35mpg combined, for a car I picked up for just over 10k. Granted, this is higher than the EPA numbers, but I don’t drive like the EPA, and have run full synthetic oil since break in. (mileage was only in the high 20’s before the switch)
Yeah, it ain’t fancy. But I didn’t buy it to be fancy. I bought it because I knew due to my job I’d drive it into the ground, driving 3000 miles a month. Are there nicer cars out there? yes. Would I feel bad about what I’d be putting a more expensive car through? Definetly.
The bad mileage of the Aveo is flat out due to bad engine design. Consider Hyundai, the top automaker out of Korea, makes engines that are reasonably competitive in power, but not in mileage. Even in Korea, Daewoo was never considered a great brand. Let us not forget that GM bought up Daewoo after the company practically fell apart and went bankrupt. GM picked up the pieces so to speak.
The fuel economy of the new Vue is also being questioned. As some others have already mentioned, it looks like Daewoo definitely will destroy Chevy’s reputation worldwide faster than GM could have done alone.
The Japanese were, currently are, and likely will continue to be the best when it comes to 4 cylinder engines. Even with 3 or 2 cylinder engines, Japanese automakers have decades upon decades of experience building those, along with 4 cylinders.
Not even mentioning the mileage of the Fit or Yaris, the Aveo falls on it’s face even when compared to the Scion xD, a larger, heavier, and more powerful compact.
carguy:
June 13th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Yep its a true T.W.A.T. candidate. If this is Chevy’s idea of an American Revolution then its time to call out the National Guard and put down this mediocrity incited uprising.
Love it! LOL :-)
Snowdog,
I always appreciate hearing from a real owner. It sounds like the car has suited your purposes well…and regarding abysmal depreciation, that really doesn’t matter when you’re putting that kind of mileage on it. Resale values only really matter to people who don’t keep their cars 10+ years (as I strive to do). Barring any emergencies, the interim asset value in use doesn’t mean much.
The Aveo sort of makes sense in the Asian market but for not much more, you can get into a better equipped Cobalt. My guess is, that’s the point of having the Aveo in North America. The Aveo is GM’s basement level car. The Aveo helps lower GM’s CAFE ratings so the rest of the real car enthusiasts can look at Corvettes and Hummers.
Re: Mileage, this confirms what I said in another comment that the big 2.8 just don’t seem to be willing to try to make an efficient, reliable, powerful 4 cyl engine. Hell, my 1984 Mazda B2000 pickup regularly got mileage in the mid-30s, and that was with a carbureted engine. Of course, it was so slow I was in danger of being passed by glaciers, but it could still haul 800 – 1000 lb along with a driver and passenger.
There is a real problem with this segment of the car market, and I’m not sure how manufacturers address it. The problem is that cars (all cars, even the domestics) have gotten so good over the last 20-25 years that a late-model-used car is now the equal of a new car in terms of practical reliability (by “practical reliability” I mean the kind of reliability that is likely to matter to a user in the real world.) With most imports having 5/60k powertrain warranties, a potential Aveo buyer with $10-$12k to spend has to realize that he can get a late model used Toyonda for about the same price, and have a better car to boot (with a higher resale value when he’s done with it, too.) So unless the potential buyer just has to have a new car, why buy the Aveo over the 3 year old Camry or Civic?
The Fit just doesn’t get enough production sent to the US. If the supply were increased, it’d probably at least reach parity with the Yaris sales-wise. The Fit is still a hard car to find, and getting one for less than MSRP is pretty much impossible (also, MSRP is only $500 or so over invoice).
this little monster weighs 200lbs more than the yaris. The 5 year ownership cost is $1500 more than yaris as well… how is that a bargain?
Snowdog – you should be commended for spending 3000 miles a month in this car. Assuming you are being reimbursed for business miles, I hope you are banking that 48.5 cents per mile for a better work car in the near future.
RE: mileage. One of the auto rags reviewed the Aveo a while back and the reviewer got about 23 mpg in real workd driving. His explanation was that he would have to wind the engine out during frequent downshifts to make it up even the smallest of inclines during highway driving. There was just no power in top gear to make it up small hills.
I think this car has a very nice interior. And I don’t mind a slow car, so performance isn’t an issue for me. However, if I’m going to subject myself to the daily humiliation of being seen in an Aveo, I’d at least like awesome fuel economy as a trade-off. For the fuel economy in this car, you might as well buy a less-embarassing compact.
As for the Yaris selling better than the Fit, some people put more importance on exterior styling when purchasing a car. On paper, the Fit seems like the perfect car for my needs. I just can’t tolerate the front end styling. The new Scion xD, however, hits the nail on the head.
NN: The Vue isn’t a Daewoo. According to Car and Driver, the Daewoo studios participated in the styling of the vehicle, but the engineering was done almost entirely in Germany by Opel. The 3.6 V6 and the 6-speed of the top-end model are American designs, I believe. So far, the Aveo is the only beach head of the Chevywooism in the US. Except, of course, for most of poor Suzuki’s lineup.
Daewoo will help destroy Chevy’s reputation (well, GM’s) faster than Chevy/GM could do it on their own.
I wouldn’t have believed such a thing was possible.
The Vue isn’t a Daewoo.
Partly correct. The Vue and Opel Antara were engineered by Daewoo and are based on the GM Theta platform (as are the Equinox, Chevy Captiva, and Daewoo Winstorm). The Antara will be built in Korea to be sold in Germany. The Vue will be built in Mexico for the North American market.
Think about all this in the context of Detroit’s current whining in the face of impending higher CAFE requrements. They say it will cost too much money to produce more efficient vehicles. And yet they nickel and dimed the car that should be bringing their CAFE waaaaaaay up. (By nickel and dime I mean crappy ancient low tech power train.)
I haven’t a clue but I’m guessing the Aveo has no variable valve timing and that the Yaris and Fit do, for example.
And all Detroit can do is whine that mileage increases are simply not possible.
Back during the Clinton era during the last strong push for higher CAFE, a GM executive had a great quote regarging CAFE and Americans’ preference in vehicles: “We used to make a car that got 50 MPG (Geo Metro XFi – an absolute complete stripped car) and we only sold 5,000 last year. Americans don’t care about mileage.”
So they put out this total POS that does happen to get 50 MPG, and when it doesn’t sell 100,000 a year they claim it’s all due to American preferences.
A$$holes. They deserve all they get.
veering off topic re: the Honda Fit – I’ve seen quite a few comments about different Honda models being in short supply. is Honda having that much trouble with their production capacity globally? It seems like they are really missing out to Toyota on the NA market share grab.
Good review, but I think PJ is too kind with the star rankings. If the Aveo gets 2 stars, then what car gets one? none?
One more thing … the Geo Metro was not a GM car. It was merely a rebadged Suzuki. To all those who thought GM came up with that very fuel efficient 3 cylinder in the Metro, it was Suzuki.
Mileage was a big factor in getting my Corolla. I get just under epa estimates in hilly Little Rock and well over epa on the highway (43 mpg has been my best tank so far).
The 130 hp. four valves per cylinder engine produces as much torque as the light front end and little tires can handle, and I upgraded the front rubber after I got a flat.
The 08 Corolla is to have a 5-speed auto and a mpg or two better over the current version. That the Aveo doesn’t compete now will only get worse next year.
My Corolla has power windows & locks, a/c, alloy wheels and cruise and great mileage. The only faults are that the turning circle is lousy and the ride is bouncier than I like. I gladly paid a little more than I could have for it. Unless it is wrecked it should last three times as long as it took to pay for it.