Chevrolet Aveo facelift launched in China

The facelifted Chevrolet Aveo has been launched in China both in its hatchback and sedan versions. Prices start from CNY 73,900 (Rs 7.03 lakh) going all the way to CNY 1,09,900 (Rs 10.4 lakh). Surprisingly, Chevrolet has priced both the hatchback and sedan variants exactly the same, across all the trim levels. The 2015 Aveo made its maiden appearance at the 2014 Auto Chongqing in China, last month.

The new Aveo, both the hatchback and sedan, are the American manufacturer’s first subcompact cars to adopt the ‘Design with a Heartbeat’ design philosophy. The front seems to be inspired by the 2016 Cruze and gets the trademark chrome-bordered dual-port grille and elongated blacked-out headlamps. The rear of the Aveo gets redesigned tail lamps and the sedan also gets a well-sculpted boot with a spoiler.

The cabin of the new Aveo is more refined and lends a more premium feel to it. While the sedan gets more sedated grey interiors, the hatchback get a funkier two-tone interior. Both the cars get a revised instrument panel and a seven-inch touch screen which helps reduce the clutter on the centre console. The car is equipped with ABS with EBD, electronic power steering and the latest version of Chevrolet’s MyLink infotainment system with navigation.

Diesel isn’t very popular in the Chinese market,  hence the Aveo comes with two four-cylinder petrol engines - a 1.4-litre unit producing 103bhp and 131Nm and a 1.6-litre unit producing 121bhp and 155Nm. Both the engines send power to the front wheels through either a five-speed manual or a six-speed automatic gearbox.

Chevrolet has managed to greatly improve the looks and the refinement of the new Aveo. The Aveo is sold as the Sail in India, in both the hatchback and sedan versions. Though the car is very spacious and competitively priced, it has failed to make a mark in the Indian market, because of the lack of excitement and abundance of good cars in the price range. The Sail sedan competes with the Ford Classic, Toyota Etios, Tata Manza and other sub-four metre sedans, while the hatchback Sail U-VA competes with the Hyundai i10, Nissan Micra, Maruti Suzuki Celerio and Renault Pulse among others.