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Chevrolet Aveo5 1.4 (A) Review
19 Jan 2010|36,669 views
A brand new Proton Savvy 1.2 manual (only transmission available) bought from the local agent will cost you a fraction below $47,000.
Then you’ve got the similarly trimmed automatic Perodua Myvi EZ fitted with a 1.3-litre engine fetching $49,999. A $3,000 premium over its fellow Malaysian native but understandably so since it comes hooked up to an auto box, with the engine pushing 11 more horses.
Chevrolet’s Aveo5 fills in the gap between the Malaysian cars and the mighty Japanese Suzuki Swift.
At $51,999, the new Aveo5 returns to the market sporting a much better designed exterior and interior than some of its counterparts, larger proportions and a 94 bhp, 1.4-litre engine. That's 4 bhp more than the $54,388 1.3 automatic Swift.
But if it’s priced this competitively, why aren’t there more of these guys running around on our roads?
That, we’ll leave till the end to be answered.
Exterior
Let’s get down to talking about its exterior appeal then.
Not only is the Aveo5 a steep climb in design progression from the last car, but it clearly puts most of the cars in its segment to shame with its ‘fierce’ outlook.
Then you’ve got the similarly trimmed automatic Perodua Myvi EZ fitted with a 1.3-litre engine fetching $49,999. A $3,000 premium over its fellow Malaysian native but understandably so since it comes hooked up to an auto box, with the engine pushing 11 more horses.
Chevrolet’s Aveo5 fills in the gap between the Malaysian cars and the mighty Japanese Suzuki Swift.
At $51,999, the new Aveo5 returns to the market sporting a much better designed exterior and interior than some of its counterparts, larger proportions and a 94 bhp, 1.4-litre engine. That's 4 bhp more than the $54,388 1.3 automatic Swift.
But if it’s priced this competitively, why aren’t there more of these guys running around on our roads?
That, we’ll leave till the end to be answered.
Exterior
Let’s get down to talking about its exterior appeal then.
Not only is the Aveo5 a steep climb in design progression from the last car, but it clearly puts most of the cars in its segment to shame with its ‘fierce’ outlook.
 |
And that starts from the front where the gaping yaw of the chrome-lined honeycombed grill gets flanked by the almost Suzuki SX4 looking headlamps (slightly sharper though) that sweep backwards, tied in neatly with a exaggerated chrome covered fog lamp on either side and the traditional corporate yellow bow-tie.
New on the Aveo5 are the numerous creases and the pronounced belt-line that passes through the bonnet, just above the headlamps and from the side of the headlamps running past the top of the door handles on the side respectively.
It does give the car a more decided character and a rather aggressive stance but in my opinion, threading on over-baking the whole idea and a step short of becoming something of an Edward Scissorhand art piece.
 |
Reinforcing its sporty demeanor are the grey plastic-ky grill inserts just behind the side-view mirrors that, in all honesty doesn’t do much in sporting up the cars image but rather being a dreadful reminder to how you really weren’t able to afford a sportier car, settling for one that looked like such instead.
At the rear the business is pretty much the same with rear lamps inspired from the Kia Picanto and the blistered bumper having a honeycomb insert at the bottom, hiding the timid exhaust pipe.
Overall, the car does look pretty decent even with the generic (read: boring) hubcaps that do a poor job of masking the naked wheel behind, and emerges as the better looking one amongst the crowd of small cars.
Interior
the interior. As with the rest of its alternatives, the Aveo5’s internals don’t surprise much with the extensive use of hallow plastics, in black and matt silver shades.
But thankfully though, it is a significant step-up from the last Aveo5 I’ve grown used to driving (the previous generation is my company’s current car). First, the centre console has been treated to a very neat inbuilt HUD unit with the buttons not being as wobbly as it was in the Myvi we tried a few months back. In fact the large circular power dial has the same tact feel as that from Volkswagen.
Air-con controls below it don’t wobble much either with the customary prodding.
Looking straight ahead though, you’ve got the steering wheel that feels a little too big for the Aveo especially when making those sharp turns that require the quick successions of rotating the wheel.
“Sick green” hue in the gauges aren’t at all flattering, I still can’t agree with it after my fair share of Chevy test drives.
At the rear the business is pretty much the same with rear lamps inspired from the Kia Picanto and the blistered bumper having a honeycomb insert at the bottom, hiding the timid exhaust pipe.
Overall, the car does look pretty decent even with the generic (read: boring) hubcaps that do a poor job of masking the naked wheel behind, and emerges as the better looking one amongst the crowd of small cars.
Interior
the interior. As with the rest of its alternatives, the Aveo5’s internals don’t surprise much with the extensive use of hallow plastics, in black and matt silver shades.
But thankfully though, it is a significant step-up from the last Aveo5 I’ve grown used to driving (the previous generation is my company’s current car). First, the centre console has been treated to a very neat inbuilt HUD unit with the buttons not being as wobbly as it was in the Myvi we tried a few months back. In fact the large circular power dial has the same tact feel as that from Volkswagen.
Air-con controls below it don’t wobble much either with the customary prodding.
Looking straight ahead though, you’ve got the steering wheel that feels a little too big for the Aveo especially when making those sharp turns that require the quick successions of rotating the wheel.
“Sick green” hue in the gauges aren’t at all flattering, I still can’t agree with it after my fair share of Chevy test drives.
The fabric seats that come basic with the Aveo5 provides some good comfort for both passengers and drivers but I’d reckon it’ll be getting uncomfortable especially if you’re the kind who intends on doing long trips up north over the weekends. But to help make things more tolerable, they’ve fitted it with a powerful air-conditioning system that does its job pretty darn well.
The boot space really isn’t much to scream about though. Even with seats folded flat, the recessed boot makes it a problem accommodating medium sized objects.
Driving impressions
When getting on to driving the car, the commandingly high seating position fail to instill a sense of true comfort with the seats not having enough side bolster padding to help keep you in place while driving, and with the steering wheel only adjustable for rake, you’ll need to be coming closer to dash to get your preferred grip on the wheel.
Then you get going and you start questioning the 95 bhp and the 130 Nm of twist action coming from the 1,399 cc 4-cylinder engine. From pedal action, it takes a good second before the power comes in and as soon as it gets the tyres turning, the torque fizzles out and you’re left with flooring the clutch when getting up to highway speeds and especially when overtaking.
Problem with most of these is the engine racket at rpm’s beyond 3,000 and with the Aveo5, you get much better sound insulation than the Myvi and the last Aveo5 which sounded like it got shot in the leg when pushed.
The steering feels more assisted now than it did in the previous version, but the chassis and suspension setup seems to have been kept mostly the same.
The boot space really isn’t much to scream about though. Even with seats folded flat, the recessed boot makes it a problem accommodating medium sized objects.
Driving impressions
When getting on to driving the car, the commandingly high seating position fail to instill a sense of true comfort with the seats not having enough side bolster padding to help keep you in place while driving, and with the steering wheel only adjustable for rake, you’ll need to be coming closer to dash to get your preferred grip on the wheel.
Then you get going and you start questioning the 95 bhp and the 130 Nm of twist action coming from the 1,399 cc 4-cylinder engine. From pedal action, it takes a good second before the power comes in and as soon as it gets the tyres turning, the torque fizzles out and you’re left with flooring the clutch when getting up to highway speeds and especially when overtaking.
Problem with most of these is the engine racket at rpm’s beyond 3,000 and with the Aveo5, you get much better sound insulation than the Myvi and the last Aveo5 which sounded like it got shot in the leg when pushed.
The steering feels more assisted now than it did in the previous version, but the chassis and suspension setup seems to have been kept mostly the same.
 |
Should you even consider this?
If you’re looking to get yourself your very first ride, I’d strongly recommend looking at the second hand market.
With the Chevy at $51,999, and if you’re inclined towards the sportier side of life, you’ll be able to pocket yourself a Suzuki Swift Sport at $46,000 with 8 years left on its COE. If you’re looking for something more, well, normal, we’ve got some Fit’s from the latest generation listed under $50,000 with 8 years left as well.
If you’re looking to get yourself your very first ride, I’d strongly recommend looking at the second hand market.
With the Chevy at $51,999, and if you’re inclined towards the sportier side of life, you’ll be able to pocket yourself a Suzuki Swift Sport at $46,000 with 8 years left on its COE. If you’re looking for something more, well, normal, we’ve got some Fit’s from the latest generation listed under $50,000 with 8 years left as well.
With my review, it’s apparent that I’ve tried hard not to overly criticize the lack of power at the middle revs, the dead handling and the soft suspension since this car really wasn’t build to be a fun run around. Instead it was always meant to be an affordable mode of transport that will get you from A to B in relative comfort and ease.
And it does that perfectly well. With good looks to boot.
And it does that perfectly well. With good looks to boot.
A brand new Proton Savvy 1.2 manual (only transmission available) bought from the local agent will cost you a fraction below $47,000.
Then you’ve got the similarly trimmed automatic Perodua Myvi EZ fitted with a 1.3-litre engine fetching $49,999. A $3,000 premium over its fellow Malaysian native but understandably so since it comes hooked up to an auto box, with the engine pushing 11 more horses.
Chevrolet’s Aveo5 fills in the gap between the Malaysian cars and the mighty Japanese Suzuki Swift.
At $51,999, the new Aveo5 returns to the market sporting a much better designed exterior and interior than some of its counterparts, larger proportions and a 94 bhp, 1.4-litre engine. That's 4 bhp more than the $54,388 1.3 automatic Swift.
But if it’s priced this competitively, why aren’t there more of these guys running around on our roads?
That, we’ll leave till the end to be answered.
Exterior
Let’s get down to talking about its exterior appeal then.
Not only is the Aveo5 a steep climb in design progression from the last car, but it clearly puts most of the cars in its segment to shame with its ‘fierce’ outlook.
Then you’ve got the similarly trimmed automatic Perodua Myvi EZ fitted with a 1.3-litre engine fetching $49,999. A $3,000 premium over its fellow Malaysian native but understandably so since it comes hooked up to an auto box, with the engine pushing 11 more horses.
Chevrolet’s Aveo5 fills in the gap between the Malaysian cars and the mighty Japanese Suzuki Swift.
At $51,999, the new Aveo5 returns to the market sporting a much better designed exterior and interior than some of its counterparts, larger proportions and a 94 bhp, 1.4-litre engine. That's 4 bhp more than the $54,388 1.3 automatic Swift.
But if it’s priced this competitively, why aren’t there more of these guys running around on our roads?
That, we’ll leave till the end to be answered.
Exterior
Let’s get down to talking about its exterior appeal then.
Not only is the Aveo5 a steep climb in design progression from the last car, but it clearly puts most of the cars in its segment to shame with its ‘fierce’ outlook.
|
And that starts from the front where the gaping yaw of the chrome-lined honeycombed grill gets flanked by the almost Suzuki SX4 looking headlamps (slightly sharper though) that sweep backwards, tied in neatly with a exaggerated chrome covered fog lamp on either side and the traditional corporate yellow bow-tie.
New on the Aveo5 are the numerous creases and the pronounced belt-line that passes through the bonnet, just above the headlamps and from the side of the headlamps running past the top of the door handles on the side respectively.
It does give the car a more decided character and a rather aggressive stance but in my opinion, threading on over-baking the whole idea and a step short of becoming something of an Edward Scissorhand art piece.
|
Reinforcing its sporty demeanor are the grey plastic-ky grill inserts just behind the side-view mirrors that, in all honesty doesn’t do much in sporting up the cars image but rather being a dreadful reminder to how you really weren’t able to afford a sportier car, settling for one that looked like such instead.
At the rear the business is pretty much the same with rear lamps inspired from the Kia Picanto and the blistered bumper having a honeycomb insert at the bottom, hiding the timid exhaust pipe.
Overall, the car does look pretty decent even with the generic (read: boring) hubcaps that do a poor job of masking the naked wheel behind, and emerges as the better looking one amongst the crowd of small cars.
Interior
the interior. As with the rest of its alternatives, the Aveo5’s internals don’t surprise much with the extensive use of hallow plastics, in black and matt silver shades.
But thankfully though, it is a significant step-up from the last Aveo5 I’ve grown used to driving (the previous generation is my company’s current car). First, the centre console has been treated to a very neat inbuilt HUD unit with the buttons not being as wobbly as it was in the Myvi we tried a few months back. In fact the large circular power dial has the same tact feel as that from Volkswagen.
Air-con controls below it don’t wobble much either with the customary prodding.
Looking straight ahead though, you’ve got the steering wheel that feels a little too big for the Aveo especially when making those sharp turns that require the quick successions of rotating the wheel.
“Sick green” hue in the gauges aren’t at all flattering, I still can’t agree with it after my fair share of Chevy test drives.
At the rear the business is pretty much the same with rear lamps inspired from the Kia Picanto and the blistered bumper having a honeycomb insert at the bottom, hiding the timid exhaust pipe.
Overall, the car does look pretty decent even with the generic (read: boring) hubcaps that do a poor job of masking the naked wheel behind, and emerges as the better looking one amongst the crowd of small cars.
Interior
the interior. As with the rest of its alternatives, the Aveo5’s internals don’t surprise much with the extensive use of hallow plastics, in black and matt silver shades.
But thankfully though, it is a significant step-up from the last Aveo5 I’ve grown used to driving (the previous generation is my company’s current car). First, the centre console has been treated to a very neat inbuilt HUD unit with the buttons not being as wobbly as it was in the Myvi we tried a few months back. In fact the large circular power dial has the same tact feel as that from Volkswagen.
Air-con controls below it don’t wobble much either with the customary prodding.
Looking straight ahead though, you’ve got the steering wheel that feels a little too big for the Aveo especially when making those sharp turns that require the quick successions of rotating the wheel.
“Sick green” hue in the gauges aren’t at all flattering, I still can’t agree with it after my fair share of Chevy test drives.
The fabric seats that come basic with the Aveo5 provides some good comfort for both passengers and drivers but I’d reckon it’ll be getting uncomfortable especially if you’re the kind who intends on doing long trips up north over the weekends. But to help make things more tolerable, they’ve fitted it with a powerful air-conditioning system that does its job pretty darn well.
The boot space really isn’t much to scream about though. Even with seats folded flat, the recessed boot makes it a problem accommodating medium sized objects.
Driving impressions
When getting on to driving the car, the commandingly high seating position fail to instill a sense of true comfort with the seats not having enough side bolster padding to help keep you in place while driving, and with the steering wheel only adjustable for rake, you’ll need to be coming closer to dash to get your preferred grip on the wheel.
Then you get going and you start questioning the 95 bhp and the 130 Nm of twist action coming from the 1,399 cc 4-cylinder engine. From pedal action, it takes a good second before the power comes in and as soon as it gets the tyres turning, the torque fizzles out and you’re left with flooring the clutch when getting up to highway speeds and especially when overtaking.
Problem with most of these is the engine racket at rpm’s beyond 3,000 and with the Aveo5, you get much better sound insulation than the Myvi and the last Aveo5 which sounded like it got shot in the leg when pushed.
The steering feels more assisted now than it did in the previous version, but the chassis and suspension setup seems to have been kept mostly the same.
The boot space really isn’t much to scream about though. Even with seats folded flat, the recessed boot makes it a problem accommodating medium sized objects.
Driving impressions
When getting on to driving the car, the commandingly high seating position fail to instill a sense of true comfort with the seats not having enough side bolster padding to help keep you in place while driving, and with the steering wheel only adjustable for rake, you’ll need to be coming closer to dash to get your preferred grip on the wheel.
Then you get going and you start questioning the 95 bhp and the 130 Nm of twist action coming from the 1,399 cc 4-cylinder engine. From pedal action, it takes a good second before the power comes in and as soon as it gets the tyres turning, the torque fizzles out and you’re left with flooring the clutch when getting up to highway speeds and especially when overtaking.
Problem with most of these is the engine racket at rpm’s beyond 3,000 and with the Aveo5, you get much better sound insulation than the Myvi and the last Aveo5 which sounded like it got shot in the leg when pushed.
The steering feels more assisted now than it did in the previous version, but the chassis and suspension setup seems to have been kept mostly the same.
|
Should you even consider this?
If you’re looking to get yourself your very first ride, I’d strongly recommend looking at the second hand market.
With the Chevy at $51,999, and if you’re inclined towards the sportier side of life, you’ll be able to pocket yourself a Suzuki Swift Sport at $46,000 with 8 years left on its COE. If you’re looking for something more, well, normal, we’ve got some Fit’s from the latest generation listed under $50,000 with 8 years left as well.
If you’re looking to get yourself your very first ride, I’d strongly recommend looking at the second hand market.
With the Chevy at $51,999, and if you’re inclined towards the sportier side of life, you’ll be able to pocket yourself a Suzuki Swift Sport at $46,000 with 8 years left on its COE. If you’re looking for something more, well, normal, we’ve got some Fit’s from the latest generation listed under $50,000 with 8 years left as well.
With my review, it’s apparent that I’ve tried hard not to overly criticize the lack of power at the middle revs, the dead handling and the soft suspension since this car really wasn’t build to be a fun run around. Instead it was always meant to be an affordable mode of transport that will get you from A to B in relative comfort and ease.
And it does that perfectly well. With good looks to boot.
And it does that perfectly well. With good looks to boot.
Car Information
Chevrolet Aveo5 1.4 5dr (A)
CAT A|Petrol|14km/L
Horsepower
70kW (94 bhp)
Torque
130 Nm
Acceleration
13.7sec (0-100km /hr)
This model is no longer being sold by local distributor
All Used Chevrolet Aveo5
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