2007 Chevrolet Aveo

navigator89

Discuss the new Chevrolet Aveo here, which just debuted at the LA Auto Show. This segment will be highly competitive in the next few years with the introduction of the New Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa and Honda Fit/Jazz. Rumor has that even Ford plans to bring the Fiesta soon.

I like the look of the new car, it looks similar to the Optra/Forenza. The new car is bigger in every dimension, and the interior looks pretty good too. A lot of good features will also be offered.

The Aveo sells very well overseas and also in the US, as Chevy sold 68,085 units in 2005 compared with 56,642 in 2004, a 20.2% increase.

So, discuss this new car here, its looks, pricing, competition, buying experience.......

Pictures and Inside Line coverage

savetheland

Looks like another boring sedan from GM. The previous one at least was good looking.

bigdaddycoats

Looks a lot better than the previous one. more aggressive.

jchan2

looks ok. I think I still prefer a Yaris or Fit.

csandste

Certainly hope that's not dropped. The sedan looks more Chevy and may be some improvement from the original--although a bit boring. The car looks best as a 5-door.

navigator89

Don't worry it's not being dropped. Only the sedan is being redesigned.

Here are more pictures and if you read to the right it confirms the hatch wont be dropped.

The Aveo looks good in orange don't you think.

jchan2

Why just the sedan? Is this a total redesign or just a refresh?

iluvmysephia1

4-door sedan Chevy Aveo, not just a refresh. Looks pretty good, although I don't really like the tail treatment. I don't loathe it, either. Reminds me of several other cars back there, from Chevy to Ford to Honda.

I think that if they price this one competitively it will sell well for them. To a degree, at least. Will it be enough to save GM's bacon, though?

navigator89

It is a total redesign, but only the sedan is being redesigned. I would expect the hatchback redesign to come the next year later probably, in 2008.

wave54

Depends how you define "total redesign", I guess. The sheetmetal and the interior are new, but it is still the same car with the same drivetrain.

Have over 50K miles on my 2004, and this 2007 better not have one extra pound to pull with the skimpy 103 HP engine. Mine treats every highway upgrade and on-ramp curve as a battle to be overcome.

Wish they had skipped the redesign and put the millions into a better suspension and 10 extra horsepower. Extra fuel economy would have been nice too!

yl04aveo

i feel that the best redesign for the aveo would be to add a hybrid component. it seems like the perfect candidate with the small engine displacment and decent side engine compartment. anyone else think so?

wave54

Absolutely -- it's a perfect candidate for a hybrid drivetrain. It would boost city mileage running just the electric motor and add some zip on hills. Gas mileage would certainly move up into the 40's.

Even if it added $3,000 to the price, it would still be $13 - 16K depending on trim and options. Nice alternative for those who can't fork over $21K for a Prius.

bmara

Chevy needs a new engine and maybe c vt transmission in the Aveo and the Cobalt. So that they get better mpg. They have two good cars going for them. But there half baked. Chevy needs variable valve timing in their base engines and a c vt transmission is needed. To get better mpg to compete with the foreign cars. With the Fit, Yaris, Civic,and all the other economy cars out there. They need to get away from the mentality of trying to bring up the rear. They to get ahead of the pack.

wave54

Yes, a better and more efficient drivetrain would help. Also, they should upgrade the suspension -- one of the biggest complaints is the creaking and groaning from the components while turning, braking and over bumps.

Mine sounds like it was taken directly out of a 1972 Gremlin that's been sitting in a field for 15 years. Truly embarassing!!

sbspence

My 04 ONLY has around 10 k and it's been in three times for a suspension creak/squeek that they can't seem to repair.

Now the door has a nice little creak to it when the body flexes...

Noises are a pet peeve of mine! :P :lemon:

wave54

They can't repair it and there are no replacement components other than standard GM. Have been looking for struts and shocks and there are none!

mazda6iguy

When will the new Aveo's be available at the dealerships?

randydriver

why are they redesigning the sedan, :confuse: but not the hatchback....?

harrychezt

all i can comment on is from what i saw at the columbus autoshow in march.
They had a blue 07 aveo, doors open, and roped off.
what made it stand out?
well, all leather(or leather seating surfaces, and the rest leatherette, or whatever they call it these days), 4(or 5?) headrests, that are adjustable, and decent looking (fake) wood trim.
:surprise:

I think it was two-tone dash, also, and beige leather.

I do not know why GM shows only the grey plastic/cloth set ups(especially on the internet clips. they should show both interiors). The leather/wood(2 tone dash, if i recall correctly) looks like a different car all together.

Smoked anything in this class, with this set up, Look Wise(quality-wise? Will have to wait and see, since it is not out yet).

Wish we could have sat in the thing, and looked closer at the seat material, panel alignment/gaps,etc.

It did look good, loaded up(and sunroof, too).

No prices, etc, were mentioned at the show.

randydriver

I saw the same car here at the Dallas Auto Shown. It was not roped off and I did get to inspect every inch of it. Dang I wish my 04 was like that one.

harrychezt

sounds good. A test drive(if I can find one loaded) will be in order, as soon as they hit the lots this Summer(heard June-August?).

vw79type2

I had a dealer tell me they have actually quit making the hatchback already. Don't know if he was telling the truth. No word on a replacement. :confuse:

randydriver

Oh drat, I hope that isn't true. I like the hatch. They just need to do the same updates as on the sedan.

harrychezt

I wish GM would make a 3 door hatch. Could be interesting.
Anyhow.....
the sedan is really nice with all of the features!

If this thing is priced right, and no rough spots.... they will sell a lot of these.

Wish they would have dropped a slightly larger engine in it.
Anyhow.....before ya know it, ya'll see them on lots everywhere.

Have a good one.

subcompact

We have a small business that needs to deliver goods, namely fish tanks...
We have a 2004 Aveo 5 door. Its an OK car, but for the size, the mileage isn't great. It has some noise issues...
Today we looked at some new cars for personal use. First the Honda Fit. Wonderful car, but not worth $16,000. We drove the 2006 Accent, because we don't need a station wagon. With auto & air we could get one for about $13,300 including rebate. The Accent is a very basic car. With automatic, it downshifts and revs to 6000 rpm accelerating to 60 mph on the highway ramp. I'd call it slightly faster than the Aveo. Looks like we can expect slightly higher mpg too. For the same price, the Accent is the deal to beat.
For the sake of comparison, we looked for a Kia Rio. The local dealer has very few Kias. They also sell Nissan, but my guess is 50% of their sales are used. Back in 2004, we were very interested in the Kia Rio Cinco. Because the salesman was such a liar, we bought the Chevy. Today he refused to show us the Rio sedan or wagon, instead he was trying to push two overpriced 2005 Kia Spectra leftovers. He did have one Rio sedan and one Rio wagon on hand. We are going to try another dealer.
At this point, the Kia has no $1,000 rebate, so it costs too much. That could change in June... I don't like that you have to spend $600 on power windows and locks on the Rio to get the optional ABS. The Kia could be a nice car...
Last week we looked at a Toyota Yaris. This thing is tiny. It gets great fuel economy, but has even less pep getting on the highway. While the Accent revs and struggles to get to 60 mph, the Yaris can't be bothered... it will get to 60 when its good and ready.
Is the Yaris worth the extra $1,000 and slightly smaller size? Maybe. Fuel is expensive. Next year I'd bet $3 will seem cheap.
All these cars have some compromises. I'm hoping the Aveo will at least became competitive with Hyundai and Kia.

wave54

If you take everything into consideration, the Yaris may be the better buy. I learned myself not to only look at the initial price to get into a car -- I own a 2004 Aveo that has no resale value to speak of, dubious reliability and virtually no aftermarket parts available. Repairs are expensive and the dealerships are poorly trained and stocked.

I believe the Yaris has a timing chain rather than a rubber belt that needs replacing every 50-60K miles at $500 a pop -- that could save thousands over the life of a vehicle. The resale value will always be higher, regardless of mileage or condition, than an Aveo or Accent, and the greater gas mileage will also be worth many dollars over the long haul.

When I factor in all the costs, the Aveo may cost as much or more than a Honda or Toyota I thought were too expensive.

canuck785

orange is MY color for this car!!! it is not too flashy it just has the right amount of "look at me" (the car, not the driver) without being right in your face.
i also like the medium gray, pretty classy. under no consideration would I get the yellow one...no way...once was enough back in the 90's... :confuse:

canuck785

my chevy dealer told me today that the new 2007 aveo will be starting to arrive at dealers in august.

harrychezt

http://carreviewsonline.auto123.com/en/info/roadtest/view.spy?make=Chevrolet&art- id=65177&pg=1

79customd

Where did the SVM Aveo Sedan go? Dropping that line raised the price up to starting around 12k as opposed to the sub 10k Hatchback. That is the main differense I saw with Chevy revamping the Sedan, the price jump? Anybody heard of why they dropped it or if its coming back later this year?

Also, The Aveo appeals to a mainly youthful market, myself included. Am I alone when I say that some sort of Aveo SS would hit the market by storm? Maybe put the Cobalt Supercharged SS 2.0L in the Aveo. That would more than solve the acceleration problem and would sale like hotcakes to the younger buyers. Chevy could do that and still probably keep the price under 15k.

alpha01

Acceleration tests by magazines ranging from Car and Driver to Motor Trend and Popular Mechanics actually show that the Yaris is faster than the Accent.

~alpha

herotakesafall

I don't follow your Fit/Accent price comparison. I did pricing on their websites last month, and the '06 Accent is $14,645 with Auto, Air, ABS, etc., but without power windows/locks. The '07 Fit is $15,200 with everything, including power windows/locks, plus whatever kooky stuff they made standard. Both of those prices include destination.

orbit9090

The 2007 Chevy Aveo uses the same 8-year-old chassis (according to GM).
One can clearly see this doesn't fare well for it's offset crash test results.
Looks like GM\Daewoo still has a long way to go compared to market leaders Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit.

herotakesafall

While not one of the worst crash tests I've ever seen, that's... pretty bad. Which model is that? It doesn't look like the old Aveo. But if that's not the new one, the new one might do better. I mean, isn't the new Chevy Uplander technically based on the same chassis as the old Chevy Venture? The Venture had some of the scariest crash results I've ever seen, yet the Uplander received a good score.

I'm still curious to see how the Fit will crash test. It wasn't originally designed for tougher U.S. standards, plus the hood of the car is really, really short.

wave54

While not one of the worst crash tests I've ever seen, that's... pretty bad. Which model is that? It doesn't look like the old Aveo. But if that's not the new one, the new one might do better.

That is the new Aveo sedan destined for the US. It's been available in many countries already (as Chevrolet, Daewoo, Holden brands) and performed poorly in the European and Australian frontal impact crash tests.

Where the 04-06 model was 5 stars, the redesign has fared worse (1 1/2 stars in the Euro NCAP tests), with a high likelihood of life-threatening injury to the driver.

Euro NCAP test -- Aveo

It wouldn't surprise me to see GM come up with improvements to the crashworthiness before the car is sold in America.

muffin_man

Is the new Aveo out yet? I could have sworn I saw one at a dealership, I need to stop by and look at it.

wave54

I don't think so. There may be one or two out there for demos, but try finding one online at Chevy.com and it shows as not available.

79customd

That GM and Nissan are teaming up to produce the next generation Aveo as a merger project. Any details on that from anyone?

poncho167

Who knows, it may still be a 5 star car by use standards?

orbit9090

>> Which model is that?
I clearly stated that is the 2007 model.

>> I'm still curious to see how the Fit will crash test. It wasn't originally designed for tougher U.S. standards.
European crash standards are MORE severe than the U.S., especially for roof crush and rear-end collision. The Honda Fit will perform very well in the offset crash test.

Honda FIT


The Fit's frame incorporates high tensile strength steel along the front side arched frame, rocker panel, A-pillar and B-pillar to provide a highly rigid foundation.

navigator89

Here are photos of a 2007 Aveo LT located at a dealership beside my hotel.

http://www.carspace.com/navigator89

Go to my carspace, and click on Chevy. I got like 5 pictures, including one of the interior, although the pic's not that great. The price for the car shown in the picture was around $19,000 Canadian dollars. The dealer is located just west of Toronto.

Also check out my pics of wrecked cars and feel free to comment.

herotakesafall

>>I clearly stated that is the 2007 model.
Well, no, you showed a picture and then said the '07 model is based on the old chassis, so I figured maybe it was an older picture of an Aveo from a different market.

Anyway, it was my understanding that European crash tests are not as strict for side impact, which is what I was referring to. I have no doubt the Fit will get a good score in the frontal crash test. I want to see how it stacks up against the other subcompacts. It should hopefully come out on top.

muffin_man

Looked at a new Aveo sedan (2007), it's nice inside. But I wouldn't buy one after the Euroncap test.

They also posted a test of the Aveo harchback recently - 3 stars, to the new sedan's 1.5 stars. Weird, isn't it? (note, my g/f just totalled our 2004 Aveo, and all 3 stars worked quite well, although without side airbags, I'm sure it would have done much worse in the test.)

orbit9090

The previous style Aveo sedan (2006 and prior) has never been offset crash tested...
It was "full-frontal" tested by the NHTSA and got a good rating, but that test is so weak, my bicycle could pass it.
The offset test is a much better reflection of real world collisions. IIHS will be doing their own offset crash test of the 2007 Aveo soon. Unless GM has suddenly grown a conscience and has been able to quickly reinforce the old gen unibody, the IIHS test will likely result in the same poor results.

muffin_man

Actually, Euroncap crash tested a same as previous style but new for 2007 Aveo hatch (which I would assume would get the same score as a Sedan), and it got 3 stars.

csandste

quick look inside shows great improvement. I never did like the look of the sedan and the new one looks like a lame attempt to make the car look more "Chevy". Front end clip is way too heavy for that size car.

Interior improvements on the existing hatch would go a long way to bettering that car but I don't think that's happening this year--- right?

Haven't driven the car but understand that most "improvements" are cosmetic.

wave54

Haven't seen one "in the flesh", but from photos, I really HATE the rear end. Trying too hard to be a baby Malibu/Impala as though that were the look to go for!

The designers should have gone for an edgier design like an Acura TL, Civic or the new Mercury Milan rear treatment.

I hear that it's got a wider track for better steering and handling, but other than that, it is the same powertrain and chassis plus 100 or so extra pounds.

jaxs1

Bad crash test results and not great gas mileage for being so small. Same highway mileage with automatic as the much larger 4 cylinder Malibu and much worse mileage than the Civic and Corolla that are both a size class larger.

Only thing going for it is that is seems to be the only subcompact other than the Honda Fit that's available with cruise control.
No cruise available on Accent, Rio, Yaris etc..

wave54

I think it'll actually sell pretty well due to the pricing and an interior that looks to be a cut above the others. I doubt buyers will be forced to pay MSRP like the Yaris, Fit, Rabbit and Versa.

I watched the webcast video the other day, and it sounds like they retuned the suspension quite a bit, which for me is the biggest disappointment with the earlier models.

jaxs1

Once production on the Versa ramps up and there is good supply, I'm sure discounting will start since the styling is pretty ugly. Fit has more going for it other than it is already an old design than can't match the mileage of the new Civic.
Fuel economy on the VW Rabbit is obnoxiously poor for an econocar. People who get the new Rabbit will get it because they prefer the way it drives to cars like the Yaris or Aveo and don't care about fuel economy or will not think about the fuel economy until after they have already driven the car off the dealers lot.
So the Aveo's competitors have their own problems, but dangerous crash test results and so-so mpg in a tiny car put the Aveo in the lower half of even it's mediocre competition.

79customd

How do the Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio compare to the Aveo? Any input on how they hold up as compared to the Aveo. Just wondering due to the fact that the Accent/Rio and the Aveo hail from the same nation( South Korea ) I'm just curious if the reliability is pretty clos, or if the Aveo has a commmanding lead. Any information will be appreciated. Thanks!