Overview

The Chevrolet Aveo is cheap wheels, but it's an enjoyable car with a pleasant cabin. Starting below $10,000, the Aveo comes in a choice of four-door sedan or five-door hatchback styles. Aveo is based on the Daewoo Kalo, a Korean car that's popular in many countries around the world.

The base models are basic, but the interiors are quite nice. The front seats are comfortable and the back seats are surprisingly roomy. The Aveo looks good, particularly the sedan, and the body panels fit well.

Zippy performance and sharp steering make the Aveo fun to drive, while a decent ride and reasonably quiet cabin make for pleasant everyday transportation. The 2006 Aveo gets a host of upgrades and refinements, including side-impact air bags as standard equipment and a retuned suspension.

Model Lineup

The 2006 Chevy Aveo comes in three trim levels, each of which is available in the four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles. All are powered by a 103-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. A five-speed manual gearbox comes standard; an automatic ($850) is an option for LS and LT models.

The Special Value model ($9,455) comes standard with dual-stage frontal airbags and side-impact airbags, vented front disc brakes, halogen headlamps, a height-adjustable driver's seat, child safety seat system, manually operated side-view mirrors, tinted glass, tilt steering wheel, 60/40 split folding rear seat, AM/FM stereo, two-speed intermittent variable wipers, and a rear window defogger. Air conditioning is not available; in fact, the only option is an engine block heater ($35). The hatchback is priced the same as the sedan, and adds a wiper/washer on the liftgate window.

LS ($11,370) adds air conditioning and carpeted floormats. The manufacturer's suggested retail price of the hatchback and sedan are the same. Cruise control and remote keyless entry are available as a package ($395) on 2006 models, and a CD/MP3 stereo is optional ($300). A rear spoiler ($225) is available for the hatchback.

The LT hatchback ($12,790) and ($13,015) are upgraded with deluxe front seats, power windows, power locks with remote keyless entry, power passenger-side mirror, a CD player with MP3 capability, 14-inch aluminum wheels. The LT hatchback comes standard with the rear spoiler. A six-speaker sound system ($250) and a power sunroof ($725) are optional.

Safety features include optional anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution ($400) available for LS and LT. For 2006, all models come with advanced dual-stage airbags that use Chevy's Passenger Sensing System to shut off the passenger airbag if it detects a child seat there. In addition, 2006 models come standard with side-impact airbags.

Walkaround

The Chevrolet Aveo body was created in Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign studio in Turin, Italy. The Italian influence shows, especially in the smooth sedan.

The sedan and five-door hatchback ride on the same relatively generous 97.6-inch wheelbase, but the sedan is 14 inches longer overall. Giugiaro used that extra length to make the sedan look more like a real car, and not so much like a toy.

The Aveo sedan is better looking than the Kia Rio. It's nose is simple and clean with tidy shapes. The headlights are horizontal and nicely rounded at the corners, underlined in amber by long, thin turn signals. The grille smiles at you with its bright crossbar and Chevy bowtie set against inconspicuous black mesh. Both front and rear bumpers are body colored and integrate well with the shape of the car.

As sleek little hatchbacks go, the Aveo five-door isn't quite as good looking as the Scion xA, but it holds its own. The taillights, chunky and efficient, have a nice physical edge to them. The roofline is rounded, sloping back to meet the optional spoiler over the liftgate. Character lines run from the front wheelwell to the rear, which may or may not add character. The fit of the body panels is visibly tight, something not usually seen in such a low-priced, entry-level car.

Aveo aced the federal frontal crash test with five stars for both driver and passenger. The body structure is designed to provide as much crash protection as possible. The cabin is built like a steel cage, with steel members running vertically from the door hinge up the A-pillars to the roofline, then back to reinforced B- and C-pillars, and down to the rocker panels. Each of the four doors contains a side-impact beam which when hit directs energy up through the side rails to a large front longitudinal member, then through a flat crossmember to the front axle and wheelhouse and finally down to the fender-door support.