S. Muralidhar

General Motors India has finally rolled out the much-awaited Chevrolet Aveo sedan. Will it be able to take on the Ford Fiesta and the Honda City?

ONE MORE in the race

General Motors has had two of its best brands wooing Indian car buyers for years now. The first to be launched, the Opel, a revered German marquee, failed to generate similar levels of brand recall in the Indian context probably because of unusually high customer expectation level. The second, the Chevrolet brand, has been around for a much shorter duration and has had three products under its portfolio, but all of them in relatively low-volume categories.

So, the world's biggest passenger vehicles manufacturer (by volumes, as yet) has had to contend with a much smaller share of the Indian market. But that could change with the launch of the Aveo sedan and with the possibility of a hatchback following suit.

The Aveo is the result of GM's attempts at infusing new life into the Chevy brand, to rejuvenate this marquee model and make it more relevant for the markets in China, India and the rest of Asia. Though the initial targets for the Aveo will be India, Korea and China, the compact sedan is expected to be taken to the US too later this year, just like how the Chevrolet Optra is sold in the North American market as the Suzuki Forenza.

The Aveo was co-developed by GM-Daewoo Automotive and Technology. And just like how the Optra was built from out of the Daewoo Nubira platform, the Aveo has been developed from a platform originally used for the Daewoo Kalos. The Aveo is called the Daewoo Gentra in the Korean market.

Practical exteriors

At a glance it becomes obvious that the Aveo has been designed to try and appeal to buyers who will like India-specific design features. As a result, a lot of the exterior features of the Aveo seem to have been thought of to cater to the extreme practicality that cars will have to provide for to handle Indian (for that matter Asian) drivers and driving conditions. The tall stance, the raised suspension, the oversized headlamp and tail-lamp clusters and the high seating position for the driver all point to attempts to make the Aveo a practical car in the Indian context.

Thanks to the raised, chunky looks, the car seems thinner than it actually is. In fact, the Aveo's overall width is more than that of competing cars such as the Honda City ZX and the Ford Fiesta. The Aveo's side profile gives the impression that this Chevy also borrows a bit of the cab-forward styling cues from the Honda City. With the boot also being tightened close to the thickset C-pillar, the Aveo's styling at the rear looks a bit like a notchback.

Prominent wheel flares, large front and rear bumpers, a strong shoulder line and a very useful, but uncomfortably oversized (for crowded Indian traffic conditions) outside rear view mirrors complete the exterior of the Aveo. The large triangular tail lamps, the simple, chrome-plated radiator grille adorned with the beige-coloured Chevy bowtie in the middle, and the well-designed pullout type door handles are eye-catching exterior features.

Quality interiors, but...

ONE MORE in the race

Step into the Aveo and the quality of materials used and the fit and finish are clearly above the minions in the entry-level sedan category. The dashboard plastic quality is excellent and its soft rubbery feel gives the driver an impression of superior finish. The dual-tone colour theme for the dashboard with beige plastic adorning the top and the bottom — the front of the dash is in black — gives a feeling of roominess. The seat upholstery, the door trim and the carpet also come with a matching light colour to add to the airy feel.

The dashboard and the centre console are simply, yet elegantly, laid out. Neat, circular air-conditioner vents in black, with practical, easy to use louvers stand out from the dashboard. The air-conditioner thermostat and the airflow direction controls are straightforward knobs, but the fan speed control knob has a classy finish and touch to it. Overall, the quality of switches and knobs is on a par with competing models in the premium sedan category.

The top-end variant of the Aveo 1.4 gets aluminium dashboard inserts, height adjustable driver seat and electrical boot release. The Aveo 1.6 gets wood trim culled from Winnie the Pooh's 100-acre woods, a four-spoke steering wheel, rear spoiler with stop lamp, electrically adjustable outside rear-view mirrors, alloy wheels, car alarm and keyless entry. Power steering is standard across all models, as are central locking and power windows. The steering column is tilt adjustable and there is a bit more feedback than we would have liked, the overall light feel of the steering and the raised driving position make up to give a comfortable experience. But for a nation of drivers that is manically in love with the horn, honking will be quite a task in both the engine variants of the Aveo, with the slightly odd positioning of the horn button either on two of the steering wheel's spokes or too much to the centre of the wheel (as in the 1.4)

The Aveo's seats are well padded at all the right places and offer class leading lumbar and thigh support. Rear-seat comfort is also good, though in the rear legroom department the Honda City ZX will still be the car to beat. The same point can also be made about the overall quality of the interiors, with the City still right up there.

We also missed an armrest in the Aveo's rear bench. One other sore point was the serious lack of storage options in the Aveo. The centre and floor console offers a couple of cup holders, an ashtray and a small slot for CDs. The glovebox is decently sized, but practicality could have been chosen over a symmetrical dashboard finish in the variants that do not feature airbags, where the extra space could have been used for another cubbyhole.

The Aveo has to fight it out with the likes of the Honda City, the Ford Fiesta and the Hyundai Accent. While the Accent is now looking decidedly dated in terms of design, the real contenders will be the Honda City ZX and the Ford Fiesta, both of which have different USPs that the Aveo will find it tough to match. Much of the Ford Fiesta's numbers come from its TDCi diesel engine variants, while the Honda City's now legendary reliability and fuel efficiency are the reasons for its continued success.

The Aveo's design, with the hand of none other than the legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, is straight forward, just as is the case with the Ford Fiesta. The Aveo will be liked by many, but its unlikely that they will fall head over heels in love with the car. What is more, its performance does not stand out from the rest in the segment; GM also does not offer a diesel option (at least, not yet) and its reliability is as to be proven. What the Aveo will have to contend with is fighting it out just with the Fiesta for the petrol sedan buyer's attention at it would find it difficult to woo the target buyers for the City.

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