For those who couldn't wait any longer, it's finally here. The 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5 made its North American debut at the LA Auto Show today.
Estimated highway fuel economy for the Aveo5 is 34 mpg, thanks to its 1.6-liter Ecotec I4 engine with variable valve timing. A five-star safety rating and OnStar are standard equipment.
A spacious and refined interior continue to be selling points of the Aveo model. Chevrolet claims the subcompact accomodates five, six-foot tall passengers in a "comfortable, ergonomic upright seating position." Interior dimension are similar to last year's model. If the ergonomics didn't bother you then, they won't bother you now.
-- Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Coordinator
estreka says:
03:18 PM, 11/14/07
Wow, if a few people disagreed that the Aveo looks like the Fit from the firewall back...
Those mileage figures still won't pass the considered CAFE standards everyone has been raving about. It's close, though.
hondacura4 says:
04:03 PM, 11/14/07
Current or next generation Fit has nothing to worry about.
ezmerelda says:
06:23 PM, 11/14/07
Is it still a Daewoo?
americandriver says:
08:31 PM, 11/14/07
No, Its a korean built Chevrolet. Didn't you see the new grill?
bmccorm25 says:
09:55 PM, 11/14/07
Is the sarcasm at the beginning of this story really necessary? (For those who couldn't wait any longer...) Yeah, the aveo might not be very important to people who lust after BMW's, BMW's and BMW's, but this is a car that is within many more a consumer's reach. Perhaps there are some people out there that are excited about a new aveo, perhaps because they can afford it and perhaps because it's not another boring corolla. Congratulations- you just alienated them.
bmccorm25 says:
09:55 PM, 11/14/07
AUTHOR: bmccorm25
DATE: 11/14/2007 09:55:12 PM
EMAIL: brandon@cmeg.com
festiboi1 says:
11:08 PM, 11/14/07
As a prior owner of a 2004 Aveo; I have a soft spot for these cars. However, I'm not very fond of this new design. The mid-section is the same, the new taillights aren't as chunky or smooth looking as the old ones, and the front looks like it came from a larger car. The side profile picture really bugs me as the front isn't in proportion to the rest of the car. The interior looks like it has nicer quality, but I loved the cutesy-semi cicular theme in the old Aveo; it suited the car's non-threatening demeanor. Overall, not impressed by the looks like I was with the original, and I'm not sure if I'd want to buy it based on that.
vvk says:
08:17 AM, 11/15/07
> A five-star safety rating and OnStar are standard equipment.
What? I'd like to see THAT safety rating in more detail. 2006 Aveo sedan performed exceptionally poorly in EuroNCAP tests:
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/chevrolet_aveo_2006/250.aspx
1.5 stars is EXTREMELY low these days. This car is a death trap.
actualsize says:
08:36 AM, 11/15/07
What's with the Kabuki theater headlight treatment these days? I like my headlights sans-serif, than you very much.
On another note: My last read of the 2008 EPA fuel economy regulations and calculation method led me to believe that the numbers used to calculate CAFE compliance come from the uncorrected raw data. If so, that makes CAFE economy higher than the EPA figures displayed on window stickers and confuses the whole debate.
greenpony says:
11:41 AM, 11/15/07
You're right Dan. CAFE uses the average of the uncorrected EPA numbers (see this link). I think this adds a lot of confusion.
As an example, I'll use my car, a 2007 Focus. For 2008, the EPA numbers are 24/33. For 2007 they were 27/37. Raw values (prior to the EPA's adjustment of -10% city and -22% highway) those numbers would be about 30/47. As I understand it, CAFE takes a simple average of the raw city and highway numbers (about 39 in this case) to calculate fuel economy for a manufacturer's fleet. So Ford would pass the 35 mpg CAFE requirement today if all they sold were Foci, never mind the fact that the average driver would never see even close to 39 mpg.
lexuslvr says:
04:48 PM, 11/15/07
ugly
lexuslvr says:
04:49 PM, 11/15/07
what the heck is "s-tec" on the engine cover?
4classabconly says:
05:03 PM, 11/15/07
It appears to be the same interior as the current aveo sedan; and unless its cheap and/or loaded, it seems like its lower-quality interior, lesser fuel economy ratings, and korean-chevrolet involvement may make it a hard sell
wave54 says:
05:48 PM, 11/15/07
Would rather have seen a much-revised suspension to improve everyday handling/stability and a timing chain to get rid of the breakage-prone belt on this engine. That nose seems too big and too long for the rest of the car -- it looks ridiculous from the side in other shots I've seen.
ateixeira says:
10:21 AM, 11/16/07
Looks a lot like the old one to me.
No matter, that was the best selling car in its class, and I bet this one will be, too.
georgecavalier says:
05:55 PM, 12/ 3/07
The front and rear does look better than the outgoing model as does the interior but as far as Aveos go, the sedan still looks nicer. The front end looks a little like a Suzuki SX4 which is ugly in my opinion and the Aveo5 still looks like a larger car with the rear end hacked off. Too bad they didn't add a more powerful engine which is the only thing missing from (styling issues aside) a competitive subcompact entry.