2005 Chevrolet Aveo

I recently drove this car for a week, and it is substantially better than the Toyota Echo.(For being a extremely small car) The Aveo starts at around $9,995 for a base model special value edition, and goes up a bit for the LS. The LT, which I drove, is priced at $13,800. It has 5 doors, and the others come in four door editions as well.

Chevrolet is offering this as competition to vehicles like the Hyundai Accent, Toyota Echo, and Kia Cinco. The car is powered by a 1.6 liter 4 cylinder engine, which has 16 valves. Its performance is listed at 103 horsepower at 6,000 rpms, and has 107 lbs per foot of torque. It will definetly not pull a trailer, but will get you over 35 miles per gallon on the highway! The car has a 3 year/36,000 mile comprehensive warranty, and a 5 year 60,000 powertrain warranty. (Hyundai and Kia have 100,000 mile powertrain warranties) It is safe for its size, having won the "smallest safe car crash award." It achieved a five star crash rating.

Here's the options which are included in the LT edition. (In the other editions, there will be less included.) This car comes with body panels, door handles, headlamps, heated mirrors, windshield wipers front and back, 14" aluminum wheels, and 185/60/14 tires. It can hold up to 11.9 gallons of fuel, and front wheel ABS is an option that you can pay for. It has an 85 amp alternator, 5 speed manual transmission, and if you pay an extra $800 you can get an automatic. Of course, there will be a slight drop in fuel efficiency. For safety with the optional ABS, there are standard front passenger and driver airbags. The LT comes with a standard cargo shade for the rear side, defogger, 2 cup holders, door locks(power), upgraded instruments, sunglasses holders, window tint, map pockets, and power windows. It is a good "utilitarian" vehicle.

Here are my impressions of the Aveo on the road: The visibility is excellent.(Front and back.) There is a small blindspot in the back window, but it is comparable to others. Looking out the front you can see the entire road and other vehicles ahead of you without any problems. The steering is easy, and it takes slight strength to turn the vehicle in any direction. This car is so easy to back up and park, of course its size helps in this. Acceleration is terrible, but not as bad as the Echo. I recommend the manual even with less fuel efficiency, because in highway situations it is useful. Room is okay for a small car, a bit more than the Echo. I'm over 6"2, and it is acceptable.

Its a buy if you are looking for a small car with value. The car first appeared in 2004, so it has a year under it. I would recommend it for this class of cars.