Reader Review of the Week: 2009 Chevrolet Aveo
“That Guy” from Chicago just bought his first car, a 2009 Chevrolet Aveo. While it may not be the flashiest car on the road, That Guy says the Aveo get the job done. Read his full review to find out if the low-priced Aveo is a good bargain. After you’re done, write your own review by clicking here.
“The '09 Aveo LT is my first car, and overall, it’s a real bang-for-your-buck car. The interior on the LT model is simple yet reminiscent of something higher up on the price scale. The seats are OK but could definitely be better. It’s not aided by the fact that you can feel almost every bump.
“The exterior is great. No major problems are found here, except for a slight design flaw: There are drains in all four doors that leak a tarlike substance onto the bottom of the door, and it’s a bit of a pain to get off.
“Driving the Aveo is a pleasure. The acceleration is good (can't outrun a Prius, though!) and the engine is surprisingly quiet. As previously mentioned, almost every bump in the road is noticeable, yet the vehicle almost never drifts from the center direction. In other words, you can keep going down a straightaway and not even have a hand on the wheel, as it will continue on the straight and narrow. The car also proves to be very maneuverable at slow and high speeds and can easily perform a tight turn at moderate speed.
“Overall, the car is great. For a new driver or someone on a budget, you simply can't get a better vehicle for the price.”
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The poor crash test ratings and inexcusable fuel economy instantly put the Aveo in also ran status the day it was released.
Hopefully the Spark is a well needed improvment.
The Aveo has changed since 2004. Its gas mileage is now among the best in its class. Also, while its crash-test results are certainly unimpressive, they're still better than the Accent/Rio.
The Aveo's biggest problems are the cargo space efficiency of the hatchback and prices that just aren't dirt cheap enough compared to the competition. The car itself is underrated.
Having very many experiences with the Aveo, Rio (both sedans, rentals for over 2 months - 1 month on each), plus both Versa H/B and sedan, the segment VALUE leader here is definitely the Nissan. Good point on Aveo is that with the refreshed grill, it does looks very well, esp compared to Rio. However, quality in terms of rattling noise, hard plastics, engine noise, and technology stuff (like how well display the sound systems are), the Aveo is the worst of the bunch - even worse than Rio. Size wise, it's between Rio & Versa, but Versa is much bigger and hell cheaper (Aveo is now over 12K, vs under 10K for Versa). Suspension is pretty bad too on the Aveo - it's soft, but you can hear things clunk and rattling - sounds like sthg's falling off - when going over speed bump. That's not the case for Rio & Versa. A note though - all cars will go straight w/o steering effort if alignment is done right. Body roll is quite bad on the Aveo, but surprising, the tires have very strong grip. Versa has the worst tires of the 3, and it will scream in a tight turn. I would say, if shopping for el cheapo here, Versa's definitely bang for the buck, followed by Kia with super long warranty, and Aveo the last...
An '04 Aveo was my very first new car and I was so proud of it. It made a good showroom impression- it looked good as a hatch, was roomy for my 6'5'' frame, had good cargo room, and was peppy and drove well enough. Sure it wasn't a sports car- it was a cheap econo car and served it's purpose.
As much as I loved that Aveo it was extrmely unreliable and had some major issues after 30k miles. It was bought back as a lemon, which was a shame because I really liked the car.
I agree with Brady- reliability aside, this car is underated.
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/safety.aspx?year=2009&make=Hyundai&model=Accent
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/safety.aspx?year=2010&make=Chevrolet&model=Aveo&trimid=-1
According to the two pages above the NHTSA says the accent is actually safer. By One star in One category. I would say that means they are pretty much equal. The millage on all sub compacts is pretty much irrelevant at the moment as they are all really close (and really good). All that I can personally say from having driven the following on more then one occasion: Aveo, Yaris (and Echo), Accent, and Versa. I bought an accent. This is because the versa, although it feels much more expensive (and is... at least in Canada) looses the "fun to drive quotient" that the peppy little Accent has. I personally found the Aveo to lack the substantial feeling although it has much softer suspension then I would like. I personally think that the Aveo sells far too much based on what you get for your dollar, I wouldn't care what people decide on, the Aveo should only be purchased by those few people who only buy things based on the fact that their company was based out of north america. I will stick with my Accent, even though people seem to think that it is less safe.
JJ,
The big difference between the Aveo and Accent difference is in the IIHS tests, not the NHTSA ones. The Accent failed the side crash test because "rib fractures and/or internal organ injuries plus a fracture of the pelvis would be likely." The Aveo didn't pass that test by a wide margin, but it didn't fail.
For the price of a brand new Aveo, there are better used cars out there. I can think of many other cars for around $14k that have more options, are larger, get just as good gas mileage, and not so basic.
"As much as I loved that Aveo it was extrmely unreliable and had some major issues after 30k miles". Why were you loving it if it had so many problems. I would not feel safe in that tin can of a car.
Good question- I loved that car because it was funky, roomy, and was able to haul all my gear (like a bike or surfboard) around. It also drove nicely for being an econo car.
The safety issue never crosses my mind on a car. If it were up to me cars wouldn't have airbags or stability control, etc. If it's my time to go- then it's my time