An Aveo 1.4 Review

Initial Impression - 100 kms driven

Exterior:
The colour of my car is Cashmere and it looks pretty handsome in this shade. Have seen quite a few Aveos in the colour lately. The build quality is
good and the doors being resaonably heavy close with a resounding thud. Overall the car looks and feel quite solid.

Interiors:
I must say that the interior of the car is indeed one of the best in the class, if not the best. The quality of the plastics used is very good when compared to the other cars in its segment (Ikon, Logan, SX4) that I considered before buying. The dual tone interiors (black and beige) give the car a classy look. The new speedometer/tachometer cluster looks fantastic at night with a combination of green backlight and glowing red dials.
Space is generous with enough room to stretch your legs in the front as well as at the back. I would say, its similar to the Honda City, maybe an inch less.

Performance (Engine, Gearbox, Brakes, AC, Suspension):

Engine - The engine feels very silet when turned on and unlike the 1.6 logan that i tested sometime back, there is no vibration felt through the gear stick. The engine feels very smooth as the car gains momentum and the smoothness is retained as you move to higher gears. It definitely feels smoother than the Zen and Baleno.
Since the car is new, I have not pushed it beyond 2500 rpm in any gear and have only reached to 80-85 kms/hr on the DND Flyway.
The torque is very good and the car has no problem going at 35-40 kms in the 4th gear. The engine pulls well and is quite eager to respond the accelerator.
But the car does feel a litle sluggish below 1800 rpm in the 2nd gear with the AC on, however, once the needle moves above 2000 rpm, the engine feels eager to move ahead. I have read that this is a VGIS characteristic but I am a tad disappointed with this behaviour. Will report this when I take it for the 1st checkup after 1000 kms.

Gearbox - The new gearbox is much better that the previous one. The shift quality is much improved with the movements being direct. The earlier shifts were vague and notchy. So, I feel GM has done a reasonably good job with the gear box which was much needed.

Brakes- I feel that there is slight vibrations when I try to decelerate from a reletively high speed. I am not sure if its a problem with all aveos or its just the case with my car. Otherwise brakes are quite effective. I guess the 185/60 Bridgestone Turanza also support the brakes pretty well.

Air conditioning - is up to the mark and one can feel the chill very soon. I would say that the effectiveness of the AC can be compared to my baleno which is saying quite a lot.

Suspension - The suspension does a very good job of soaking the uneven roads and potholes of the city. The gas filled shockers are more silent than my friends Fiesta. Overall, they perform up to my expectations.

Fuel Efficiency:
Haven’t calculated the mileage yet. Got it filled (auto cut) yesterday, so will report about her drinking habits soon.

Overall:
I am very happy with the car. Will post more updates and I dive it more.

Arup