Faults:

Door reflector on door fell off, engines made strange squeaking sound at startup.

General Comments:

We rented this car for a week in Colorado, basically because I'm a cheap-skate, and this was the cheapest car the rental agency had. First of all I understand this is car is a cheap econo-car. But even so, this had to be about the poorest excuse of a car I've ever driven. I'll start with the good.

The Good:

The car got great fuel economy. I've read it's supposed to get around 35MPG. But I swear it must have been getting close to 40MPG, because we seldom filled it up. The model we had, the LT model, had a surprisingly generous compliment of features: Power windows, mirrors, remote entry and trunk, a halfway decent stereo, and a well laid-out interior. The interior materials were definitely cheap, but tastefully done. I'd say the fit and finish was above average for similar econo-cars. The seats were comfortable for me, but not for my wife, who is taller.

The Bad:

Acceleration was non-existent. I've never driven such an absolute sluggish car in all my life. That's saying a lot, given that I've only ever driven small Toyota and Nissan cars and trucks with 4 cylinder engines. Compared to the Aveo, our 2002 Prius is a hot-rod. Taking the Aveo out on the freeway meant re-thinking about exactly how far away oncoming traffic was, because punching the gas had almost no result except that the little engine absolutely wailed, almost redlining itself as it slowly sped up. The car had no power for going up hills. At one point we were climbing a moderate hill on the freeway at 60MPH. The car simply wouldn't go any faster.

When we picked up the Aveo, it had 4 miles on the odometer. One would imagine everything would be absolutely perfect, given it was practically un-driven. But on the first night - as in within the first 5 miles of driving it, one of the reflectors mounted to the door fell off on the parking lot. Not a big deal, but still... the car had less than 10 miles on it.

On the 3rd day, the car began to make a squeaking sound when the engine was started. In fact, when driven hard, there was a distinct smell of burning engine belts. I'm familiar with this smell as I repair small engines and riding mowers. The smell was the same as you get with slipping mower deck belts. I have no idea if this was what was causing the noise, but I didn't fool with it.

Overall, I was not left with a great impression. While it's not fair to pass judgment in regards to reliability for a 5 day rental car, my experience with it gave me little reason to trust its long-term reliability. Especially given that something like a Honda Civic can be bought for just a few thousand more.

Faults:

Nothing so far.

General Comments:

I really like the Chevrolet Aveo Sedan. It is a great reliable little car that offers many features for the class.

I previously owned a 2009 Toyota Yaris, and when I heard about the recall, I looked into it. My faith in Toyota had lapsed, and I decided to buy a Chevrolet. The dealer was very cooperative and offered many incentives for coming to Chevy and previously owning a Toyota. I would recommend this to any Toyota owner who is affected by the recall.

The Aveo is a great small car. I got the top of the line 2LT trim level. I added the automatic because I am not good with manuals. I also choose the steel wheels, because they are cool looking. And I added the sunroof, because I think it would be useful.

I also added the Driver Convenience Package, which included the Driver Information Center and steering wheel mounted audio controls. I believe these features should be standard, but for $190 it isn't that big a deal.

I also added metallic paint, leatherette seating surfaces and anti-lock brakes. They were worth it, and the leatherette is much more supportive than the cloth seats.

The standard and only radio is an AM/FM/XM unit with CD and MP3 playback. There is also an AUX jack for audio input. It comes with six speakers. It sounds decent, but the sources list is pretty good. The XM radio is totally worth the monthly fee and offers plenty of content.

As with all GM vehicles, OnStar is standard. The safety features are handy and the pre-paid minutes for the OnStar calling is useful. And the remote door unlock is great.

The climate control system is a manual single zone system. There is plenty of hot and cold, but constantly adjusting the fan can get annoying after a while.

Handling of the Aveo is decent. The 1.6 Liter 4 cylinder is powerful enough for a car of this size. The 4 speed automatic is OK but ancient. It tends to cling to top gear and is rudimentary, but it moves the car with little input from the driver.

Total I paid $17,785 for my Aveo Sedan after receiving $1,500 in buyers cash and incentives. I have a fairly loaded Aveo. The only options that I didn't select were the chrome mirror caps, spoiler, and side spoiler. I am not a spoiler person so I didn't choose them.

All in all I love the Aveo Sedan 2LT. It is actually a better sedan that the Yaris or Versa. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a sub-compact sedan.