Chevy Aveo5 2009 - Anyone test drove it?

[Neanderthal]

Originally Posted by Hitman1970

Are you kidding about the Versa interior quality? It was without a doubt the worst rental penalty box I have suffered through this past year. It was a stripped model with roll up windows and no-cruise. It might have well been my 1990 Mitsubishi Mirage hatch. Not a bad car for 1990.

Haven't you heard? Roll-up winders is the next big fad. So very green.

Watch for the goonie birds at the Hollywood Lookee-Me awards festivities/debauchery to be rolling their winders down and up.
Up and down.
Down and up.





Remember, you sore it here frist. Bill frist.

[red_rider]

Originally Posted by Hitman1970

Are you kidding about the Versa interior quality? It was without a doubt the worst rental penalty box I have suffered through this past year. It was a stripped model with roll up windows and no-cruise. It might have well been my 1990 Mitsubishi Mirage hatch. Not a bad car for 1990.

Actually I've heard a lot of good things about the Versa's interior, but I must admit I've never actually been in one. But I think it looks pretty decent and the 6-spd would make it fun to drive. And to be fair, I would actually prefer roll-up windows at a price discount, they'll never go bad and they don't take much muscle to use

[Ttple]

Originally Posted by Hitman1970

Are you kidding about the Versa interior quality? It was without a doubt the worst rental penalty box I have suffered through this past year. It was a stripped model with roll up windows and no-cruise. It might have well been my 1990 Mitsubishi Mirage hatch. Not a bad car for 1990.

I sat in a Versa at the auto show and was very impressed with the interior. It was roomy and the gauges were great. I hated the exterior.

[mikmak]

Originally Posted by LAMRONH

Haven't you heard? Roll-up winders is the next big fad. So very green.

Watch for the goonie birds at the Hollywood Lookee-Me awards festivities/debauchery to be rolling their winders down and up.
Up and down.
Down and up.





Remember, you sore it here frist. Bill frist.

My Vectra has manual winders and it does make a big difference. My calculations (based on 4 up/down evolutions per day) put it at 5.2 yards/gallon and you should see my right biceps. Go on laugh now. Hah!

[Neanderthal]

Originally Posted by mikmak

My Vectra has manual winders and it does make a big difference. My calculations (based on 4 up/down evolutions per day) put it at 5.2 yards/gallon and you should see my right biceps. Go on laugh now. Hah!

I think youse've hit on a solution to Amurrica's lardass problem!

Now all we need is wind-up radios, wind-up air conditioners, wind up rearview mirrors, wind-up automatic trannies...

[Ttple]

I wouldn't buy a car without power windows. .

[Aveyello]

I just bought a 2009 Aveo 5 a few days ago (summer yellow). I bought the most base vehicle - manual transmission, windows, locks, etc. The only option it came with according to the sticker is On Star.

I absolutely love driving this car. I'm in a suburban area with moderate to busy traffic most of the time - which is why I got it in yellow for visibility sake. Driving home from the dealership, my better half was following me on the highway in our other ride - an H3. Even in the down-pouring rain and washout from passing traffic, I was easily seen. Without having cruise control and being new to the car I wasn't watching my speed too closely just to keep aware of surrounding traffic, but apparently I had it up to 80mph in a steady rain and felt completely in control.

Already, I've been asked by a construction worker and several other drivers at intersections how I like my little car and all I can think to tell them is "I LOVE IT!"

It's been so many years driving larger cars and trucks with automatics that when I drive the Aveo I feel like a college kid again. If only I had the same figure... Speaking of, I'm 6' 2" / 240 lbs and don't feel cramped which is more than I can say about a number of "larger on the outside" cars. The Aveo is very smartly designed. Being that it's no-frills, I find myself enjoying DRIVING again - not just aiming the car down the road by nature of habit.

I haven't had it long, so the honeymoon's not over, but my only complaints are:

1) The 12V outlets aren't powered unless the key is in ACC or the engine fired up. The slight inconvenience being that I can't charge my cell phone without being in the car (or leaving the keys in it!) Not a biggie, though I might become annoyed should I get an iPod or something else I want to charge up inabsentia. I'm sure this was intentional - smart on GM's part to be able to package a smaller, lighter, less expensive battery.

2) The gear ratios are a little short. I find myself shifting more frequently than I feel I should have to, though I can drive in a residential area and take corners at a responsible speed in third gear without stalling. On the highway, 65mph at 3000 rpm in 5th gear is a little more wound up than I'd like it to be.

Having driven 100 miles and seeing how slightly the gas gauge has moved, I have a feeling I'll get over these minor inconveniences when I have to put gas in it.

Next Month.

[Aveyello]

Having driven the 2009 Aveo 5 for a week in suburban stop and go traffic, I wanted to check in and report that I'm getting 33 mpg. This is in traffic averaging 25 mph based on distance vs. actual travel time - max speed 45 mph.

[Millefune]

What?! Isn't that only 1 MPG less than the highway rating?

[BeoA]

Thanks for your review Aveyello. I still haven't bought anything yet. And I still have to try this lil' car. It looks better in real than on the pictures I could find on the www. There is a "flame red" (darker red) one sitting in a dealer's parking lot on my way to the office and it looks real good.

Your average 33mpg = 7.15 Liter per 100 km... The city posting on the car sticker is around 8 L/100 km. That ain't bad.

I don't know how much you paid for yours, but here in Canada, a base model goes for 9995$+preparation (around 1000$)+taxes when paid ca$h... I'm quite tempted...

My main ??? is that it's been almost 12 years since my last manual car. I wonder if I'll remember how to drive one? I'm a bit shy going to a car dealer testing one...

[Millefune]

Just tell them your situation, and they'll put you in a beater/demo. Don't test drive the sexy red one you plan on getting, so you can beat it up during the drive and really test it out.

[Koasterking]

I say HHR.....but good luck trying to find one.

[Aveyello]

I'm totally serious. 190 miles. 5.75 gallons of gas.

I was going to wait until the tank was down low before filling it up but I couldn't wait to find out how my fuel economy was panning out.

Maybe it's because of how I drive. I don't gun it - rarely exceed 3000 rpm (in the city) and never over 4000.

I typically like to shift around 2500 rpm, but I do find that second gear finds it's way cleaner from first just over 3000. Too low going into second and it's a bit lurchy.

[Millefune]

That's 6 MPG better than the EPA city rating... I don't know. I mean, I normally get 41 MPG per tank from my SC2, which is 5 MPG up from the easier EPA 1997 rating of 36 MPG highway. But I also have 110 lbs. of weight reduction on the car, 60 lbs. of weight reduction on myself, and I use 185 width tires instead of the stock 195s... and I'm dumping acetone into the tank (not sure if it helps, but it's uber cheap).

When I tried "hyper-miling" I got 50 MPG on the tank... but that's with me skip-shifting, coasting downhill with the engine off, rolling out of my driveway to do "clutch starting," drafting behind bigger vehicles, turning off the car as I coast to a redlight where I'll have to wait, almost never using my breaks so I can coast to every stop, and carrying as much momentum through turns I could if I didn't have to stop.

[Aveyello]

I know - it's pretty amazing. That's why I posted it. If I got the EPA sticker rating, I'd not have bothered mentioning it.

It's my understanding that the EPA is doing their certifications under more "realistic" driving conditions as of recent. Maybe taking into consideration how most people drive and maybe being more aggressive. So if one takes it easy, maybe they can beat the sticker.