Chevy Aveo 5 Door
In the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show in September Chevy is releasing the Kalos sub-compact car. But it’s not just new sheet metal, they’ve decided to import an American name to go along with the hot new looks. Something which is absolutely no thoughts of hot hatch sub-compact Aveo. But this Aveo isn’t your college freshman’s B-segment. It’s got a new look that seems to represent a melding of the ‘American strong centerline with a more Euro WTCC-like grille.
The Euro Aveo will go on sale starting in March 2008 in a 1.2-liter, 84 HP and 1.4-liter, 98 HP gas engine flavors, neither of which, thank goodness, is available in the states. Still, that front end looks to be significantly hotter than the current US Aveo. The most significant features of this completely reworked model are its striking exterior, its high-class interior and a new, even more efficient petrol engine. Like its notchback stable mate, the new hatchback model will now bear the Aveo name throughout Europe. Sales will start in March 2008.
The Aveo hatchback sports Chevrolet’s new design features, as characterized by the big horizontally split radiator grille with a body-colored crossbeam and the brand logo sitting prominently in the center. The dynamic detailing includes large, curved, clear-glass headlamps and fog lamps that project like spotlights from the lower part of the bumper. In profile, the bodies prominent shoulder lines catch the eye, while the back of the car is dominated by the solid bumper and the round tail lamps in clear-glass housing.
The Chevy Aveo has never been a car to set one’s heart racing, but the restyled 2007 edition in sedan form is a decent-looking economy car with a visually appealing interior. Here in the US, the Aveo5 hatchback retained its old looks, which were nothing special, and we all assumed that at some point it would take on the same freshened appearance of the sedan.
The Aveo even gets a trendy side extractor vent on the front fender, leading us to believe that it’s probably time to put that styling cue to bed. On the upside, Aveo now has something in common with Cadillac. Aside from the car’s gaping grille, it also gets clear lens head- and taillights, a new range of engines and gearboxes and a much-improved cabin, Chevy tells us. Underneath, it’s based on the same model architecture of the current Kalos, but it’ll be the last new Chevrolet supermini to use it. In 2009 the brand’s Matiz-replacement arrives, and that will be underpinned by GM’s all-new global supermini platform, which will also form the basis of the next Vauxhall Corsa.