A willing little road warrior
Aveo leads GM's fight for low-end market share

General Motors is joining its traditional rivals Ford and DaimlerChrysler in a product-based push to win back passenger car market share from offshore-based rivals. One of the first foot soldiers to be thrown into this fight is a subcompact, Korean-built mercenary called the Aveo.

The Aveo, available in 4-door sedan (as tested) and 5-door hatchback form, is sourced from GM-DAT, a joint-venture company that emerged following the demise of Daewoo. GM and Suzuki are major partners in the GM-DAT operation and Suzuki will share output from the plant. Suzuki calls its Aveo variant the Swift+. Both companies also share a mid-size GM-DAT platform on which the new Chevy Epica and Suzuki Verona are based.

The Aveo also fills a more specific role as part of the Chevrolet division's small car plans.

It will complement the 2005 Cobalt, scheduled to arrive this fall as a replacement for the Cavalier. Between the two of them, GM reportedly expects its small car volume to increase by 20 per cent.

After a week at the wheel of this pint-sized sedan I'd say it has what it takes to hold up its share of Chevy's plans.

Living east of Toronto, my first experience with GM cars is usually a short drive through Oshawa to Highway 401, then a fast hour's flog to home base.

The Aveo made its first real impression on me during this drive. I must confess I wasn't expecting too much after a very brief drive in a similar model at the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada's (AJAC) Car of the Year test fest last fall failed to impress me.

My test car was also an automatic, generally another strike against a sub-compact tester in my books.

Adjusting the seat, steering wheel and mirrors gave me a chance to look around the Aveo's plain, but attractive and functional interior. Firing up the 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder engine and driving off brought no surprises. You are always aware of this small engine, but it isn't intrusive.

The 4-speed automatic shifts with a readiness and smoothness that makes it a good match for the powerplant, too. In the past, small engines and automatics never seemed to go well together, but this combination does.

Once up to highway speed, a process that doesn't take excessively long, the little Aveo felt secure, reasonably comfortable and quiet at typical cruising speeds - at least to a small car enthusiast like myself.

Others might find it a trifle tiny when going wheel to wheel with big transport trucks. The Aveo is perhaps better suited as a mainly urban or suburban vehicle, where its Italdesign styling makes it look right at home.

That's just about how the rest of my week with the car progressed. It fired up and drove off smoothly in winter cold and buzzed around town performing all the usual driving chores. My wife, who rapidly zeros in on the utility aspects of the vehicles we test, gave it a thumbs up.

The Aveo is pretty conventional in small car terms, with a handy overall length of 4235 mm which, combined with a reasonable turning circle, makes it a snap to park. The structure feels stiff and suspension is by MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam axle at the rear located by trailing arms.

Power rack and pinion steering is standard. There are front disc/rear drum power brakes (ours came with the optional $565 anti-lock system) and standard 14-inch wheels are shod with 185/60R all-season tires. In street combat the Aveo proved nimble, agile and quick in city traffic, while ride quality is good by small car standards.

The engine produces 103 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 107 lb-ft of torque at a just 3,600 revs. A 5-speed manual is standard, but choosing the 4-speed automatic option will cost an extra $750. This is a willing and quite civilized front-wheel drive powertrain that delivers adequate performance. My stopwatch indicated zero to 100 km/h acceleration in 10.9 seconds with 80 to 120 km/h passing requiring a leisurely 10.2 seconds.

One of the things this frugal little runner does really well is deliver fuel economy, with ratings of 9.0 litres per 100 km in city use and 6.4 litres on highway runs.

The Aveo is available in base ($13,480 for the sedan and $13,820 in 5-door form) or LS trim ($14,050 and $14,385 respectively). Along with the anti-lock braking and 4-speed automatic, our tester had air conditioning ($1,150), raising its as tested price to $16,515.

Standard equipment includes left manual, right remote mirror (clever that), power door locks and windows, power and tilt steering, engine immobilizer, remote keyless entry, AM/FM stereo, and the 60/40 split rear seat.

If you're shopping for an affordable, useful small car, the Aveo is definitely worth a look.

Immediate competition:
Hyundai Accent
, Kia Rio
, Suzuki Swift+
, Toyota Echo