When industry giant General Motors (GM) announced that it had bought the Korean minnow Daewoo a couple of years ago, and would in future brand the Asian products as Chevrolets, I questioned whether South African motorists would buy either the story or the cars.
I’ve been proven wrong — the Korean products wearing the Chevy bowtie have sold like parliamentary travel vouchers, and earned a reputation for reliability, excellent service and healthy back-up to boot. The Aveo in particular has proved very popular with South Africans, with GM selling an average of 365 per month in the first four months of this year. Now, with the all-new 2006 model sedan having been launched, GM’s hoping to do even better.
The Aveo appeals more to older “youngsters” than the youthful go-getters mentioned as the target market ad nauseam at car launches. While hatchbacks are hugely popular among youngsters who play their sound systems full blast and treat each parking manoeuvre outside my local pub like the attack on Pearl Harbour, older people with children out of nappies prefer a traditional three-box sedan with a proper boot.
The original Aveo, launched here in 2003, was, according to GM, designed as a five-door hatchback, with the four-door sedan following on as a sort of afterthought. GM says it has since realised that the sedan customer wants a more conventional car, rather than a bolt-on alternative to the hatch. The earlier hatchback will thus continue as it is, until the next logical model cycle change.
GM claims that its new car is a class leader in terms of interior space, with shoulder room of 1Â 362mm up front and 1Â 340mm in the back. Front legroom of 1Â 048mm (898mm rear) and headroom of 998mm (966mm rear) sound impressive, but I haven’t yet experienced the car in the flesh so I’ll reserve judgement on how much of that is corporate bumf. Boot size is 350 litres.
The steering-wheel tilt angle is adjustable, and standard equipment includes air con, power front windows, electric external driver’s mirror and central locking. Also included in both LS and LT versions are four-channel ABS brakes and dual front airbags. Extra features in the LT version include alloy wheels, heated exterior mirrors, electric rear windows, remote central locking, a fold-down table for back-seat occupants, front fog lamps, leather upholstery and a superior sound system with six speakers, radio, tape, CD and MP3 players.
The long-legged nature of the Aveo sedan should also appeal to older yuppies. The Aveo’s engine is an eight-valve single overhead camshaft unit, more suited to generating low and midrange grunt than frenetic high RPM power. Displacing just 1,5 litres, the 62 kW engine produces 128Nm of torque at 3Â 000rpm, and is claimed to get the car up to a top speed of 170kph.
GM claims to have paid lots of attention to reducing sound levels in its new car. The power train is suspended at four points with rubber bearings, and a low-noise toothed cam belt keeps things quiet internally. The high-volume air filter housing is claimed to filter out induction noise specifically, and a structured aluminium sump is intended to reduce drone. There has also been some additional sound insulation fitted to the front firewall and inside the bonnet.
Chevy’s new Aveo competes head-on with some formidable favourites in the hearts of South African buyers. These include the VW Polo 1.4 Trendline, the Opel Corsa 1.4 Classic Essentia, the Kia Rio 1.4 Standard, the Toyota Corolla 1.4 and the Toyota Yaris T3 sedan. Most European manufacturers don’t offer sedan versions of their products because small cars with boots just don’t sell well in Europe. At R110Â 690 for the LS, or R129Â 000 for the higher-specced LT versions, the little Chev certainly compares favourably on price.