ShareThisA funny thing happened to the Chevrolet Aveo on its way to prominence.
At a time when gasoline prices were rocketing through the roof, the subcompact Aveo should have been flying out of stores as frightened buyers sought fuel-efficient vehicles.
That happened with the Aveo's competitors: the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio. All of them saw their sales soar.
Not so with the Aveo. Its sales declined. Chevrolet spokesman Terry Rhadigan attributed the downturn to circumstances that left Chevrolet with an inferior hatchback at a time when most potential customers wanted that layout.
The Aveo was introduced in 2003 as both a conventional four-door sedan and a four-door hatchback. In 2006, the sedan was re-done, but the hatchback remained as it had been. By 2008 it was a five-year-old design without.
That changes with the introduction of the all-new 2009 Aveo5 hatchback, which has enough bones to render it competitive in the subcompact economy class.
The Aveo is built by Daewoo automobiles of South Korea, in which General Motors is the majority owner. It is sold worldwide, but comes to the United States with a signature grille and other modifications that identify it as a Chevrolet.
At an inch shy of 13 feet long, the Aveo has tidy dimensions for parking. Inside, there's 91 cubic feet of passenger volume, the same as in the Honda Fit. It affords space for four adults with limited knee room but plenty of head room. A fifth very skinny person could squeeze into the middle in back.
The seats, front and back, offer moderate support and comfort, even for several hours' travel, though they lack lateral support. Out back, there's a little over seven cubic feet of cargo space hidden under a shade. That's small compared to the Fit's 21 cubic feet.
But you still get the utility of a hatchback. When you flip the rear seatbacks forward -- they're divided two-thirds and one-third -- it expands the cargo area to more than 42 cubic feet, though the seatbacks do not line up with the cargo floor. The hatch lifts high for ease of loading.
American motorists, who once treated hatchbacks as if they contained anthrax spores, seem to be warming up to a design that is popular worldwide because of its practicality. Rhadigan said 70 percent of Aveo buyers preferred hatchbacks.
The Aveo's interior is not what you would describe as plush. Hard plastic is the order of the day for the dash and door trim, although the more upscale models feature good-looking faux wood grain trim.
You get an ashtray and cigarette lighter, but no console for storage. There's only one cup holder for the back-seat passengers to share. The steering wheel tilts but does not telescope, and the sun visors do not slide on their support rods for side protection from the sun.
But the driver gets a seat with manual lumbar and height adjusters along with a right-side armrest. An overhead sunglass holder replaces the assist handle on the driver's side. Air vents in the dash are the desirable 360-degree infinitely-adjustable type. The Aveo also comes standard with GM's OnStar communications system and one year of service.
The base LS model starts at $12,780. That includes side air bags, tire-pressure monitoring, power steering, rear window defogger/wiper/washer and an AM-FM radio, but no air conditioning, antilock brakes or traction control.
Move up to the LT at $14,915 and you get air conditioning and an upgraded audio system with a CD player, MP3 capability and an auxiliary jack for portable music players.
The standard transmission is a five-speed manual, which shifts easily with a minimal amount of balkiness. Clutch action is light and smooth. The combination imparts a perky attitude that elevates the fun quotient.
A new 106-horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine powers the Aveo. With the stick, it delivers 27/34 miles per gallon on the government's city/highway cycle. It's slightly lower, at 25/34, with the four-speed automatic transmission.
On curving roads, as long as you don't push it too hard, the Aveo handles competently, and the suspension system soaks up bumps without undue harshness. It's also quiet, a car you can drive long distances without fatigue.
At the top of the line is the tested 2LT version, which starts at $16,180 and adds antilock brakes, power windows, remote locking, heated outside power mirrors, fog lights, XM satellite radio and a driver information display that shows outside temperature, driving range and fuel economy.
The test car also had the four-speed automatic transmission, perforated vinyl upholstery with a leather look and 15-inch alloy wheels, which brought the sticker up to $17,610.
That's about the same price as a similarly-equipped 2009 Honda Fit Sport, which is seven inches longer, has more cargo space, a five-speed automatic transmission with a manual-shift mode and a fuel-economy rating of 27/33. However, XM satellite radio is not available as a factory-installed option on the Fit.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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