Weekend Athlete: 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5
Someone once told me it was painful to watch me cram my bike into a subcompact car. If you’re like that person, look away now, unless you have a masochistic side. And before you scream “Get a rack!” I hate to tell you that, on this car, I think that’s a bad idea.
Why is a rack a bad idea? Simple aerodynamics, my friends: This car is a sail. I don’t know if it’s because of the car’s upright stance or because it’s so light, but the wind really moved it around on the highway. Put a bike or two on a roof rack and you won’t need to learn how to drive, you’ll need to learn how to tack.
Before you scream “rear rack,” that’s not ideal, as I always say, because it blocks the hatchback. Do that and you might as well buy a sedan.
As for the Aveo5 — yeah, it’s small. How small is it? It’s so small that when I pulled up to the race this weekend, as a joke I wanted to get out and have a bunch of clowns pile out with me — like in the circus — but our reviewers were busy that day! Hey-o!
The bike did fit with the wheel on for my race, but I wouldn’t recommend carrying one that way for longer than 30 minutes. I only did so out of desperation; the best way to carry the bike is to remove both wheels.
You’ll notice that I didn’t fold the seat all the way upright — I just flopped it over. I did that because when the seat was folded all the way up, while it did provide marginally more cargo area, it forced me to move the front seat so far forward I couldn’t engage the clutch.
Also, the whole flopping process was hard because the tiny seat was, seriously, the heaviest I’ve lifted, and it was secured by a less-than-confidence-inspiring elastic strap. When car folks talk about “perceived quality” issues, this is what they mean. I certainly didn’t perceive that the quality of that strap would keep the seat from flopping back onto anything placed in the cargo area.
Finally, there was a bulky seat belt guide that really got in the way when folding the seats over. If that could have retracted out of the way somehow, it would’ve made things about 10 times easier.
Setting aside the cargo/seat issues, it’s worth noting that I’m not the tallest guy in our office, and I had the seat back as far as it would go in order to drive it. To me, that means tall athletes want to avoid this car, or at least take it for a long, long test drive.
Actually, as much as I hate to say it, I recommend against this car if you carry anything larger than camping gear. It’s just too small, which is a shame because other cars that are similar in size seem to do a much better job of giving you usable interior space. Further, this is the first car where I really have to say that if you’re tall, you are disqualified from driving it.
Put another way, if you’re a tall bike racer and you’re absolutely set on buying this car — because you don’t want a used car or don’t want to spend more than the nearly $15,000 that our model cost — buy a rack and be aware of crosswinds. It’s your only hope.
Weekend Athlete Scores (out of 10)
Ease of loading gear - 4: It’s a hatch, so it’s better than a sedan, but you want to avoid folding the seats.
Ease
of seat operation – 2: Again, it’s intuitive, but that seat weighs a
ton and I just don’t see that little strap doing the job of holding the
seat up. You’ll have to fold the seats halfway and live with a bi-level
cargo area.
Bike hauling – 2: It’s just not made for it, and
I see putting a rack on this car as being a bigger issue than it would
be on many other cars.
Locker-room cred – 1: It looks kinda
sporty and is easy to park, but if I were to buy this I’d know I was
doing so for reasons other than to take me to the races. That kills in
this category.
All-around – 2: It’s just not the right car, and
I really think that if I were to test other small cars it would be
obvious they would do a better job. Small cars aren’t disqualified from
Weekend Athlete tests, but this one just didn’t cut it.
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Instead of whining about a roof rack or rear bike rack why not man-up and put a trailer hitch on it. For less than $200 you could have a hitch-based bike rack that would be stable and still provide access to the rear hatch when needed. You should spend less time whining and more time thinking.
^^^^
Would you actually put a trailer on this car? The whole bumper would probably be taken off...
The poster recommended a trailer hitch for the bike rack not for towing. I've done this myself as I installed a tow-hitch on my old CRX for the very same use - carrying mountain bikes.
However, I think the point the author of this review was trying to make was that if you're going to add a rack to this vehicle, even if it is trailer-based, you might as well have gotten a sedan anyways, because you're not taking advantage of the supposed convenience of a hatchback.
In short, this car is probably not good for much.
A trailer based hitch allows access to the trunk as they tilt down. Get a clue!
WA,
When are you going to review the Honda Ridgeline? I'd like to see what you have to say about it.
seriously, is there any other way besides flickr to post pictures? for ease of use and perceived quality i give flickr a 2 out of 10... after 1 or 2 pictures, i give up.
I'm wondering if this reviewer really ever drove the car. I have the '09 model, am 6'2" and there's plenty of room for taller drivers. It's the main reason I purchased this particular small car.
Though I live on the coast and don't drive far, the bike on top isn't an issue, and neither is having room in the back for my biking or guitar gear with the seats folded down.
But then again, I'm not out to impress my friends with the car I drive.