Chevrolet Aveo

Chevrolet Aveo

Average. Chevrolet's Aveo is no longer a reworked Daewoo, but it remains a budget offering that fails to challenge the best in the class.

When it returned to the European market in 2004, Chevrolet's line-up was largely a series of rebadged Daewoo cars, with the Kalos adopting a fresh look and an Aveo badge.

Now, seven years on, Chevrolet has finally re-jigged the entire range, with the Aveo the last to get the overhaul treatment. Despite not proving to be a wild twist on the old model, the latest car is new from the ground up, and carries enough in the way of changes to make it a recognisably different vehicle.

The biggest, most welcome and most successful change is the looks, with the Aveo sharing its best features with the RS concept that previewed the new generation at the 2010 Detroit motor show.

This is a good thing, with a squat back end that looks nicely hunkered down, and a much more subtle front grille with sharper-looking headlights than before. The downside is that some of the details are finished in cheap black plastic, with the door handles on lower-spec models among the unattractive features.

This economising continues inside, where the majority of the materials are clearly chosen for their cheapness. They feel solid in the majority, but some edges on dash-mounted pockets are a little sharper than they should be.

Another significant change over the old car concerns its size, as the Aveo has grown in practically all directions. This means it now easily accommodates two large adults in the rear, although comfort levels may wane on longer trips.

The boot is larger than before, now 290 litres up from 220, but practicality is compromised by a higher than desired entry lip and seats that don'y fold flat. Top spec cars will get a slightly fiddly raised boot floor that creates a flat base when the seats are down, but it is a shame this isn't standard throughout the range to compete with the likes of the versatile Honda Jazz.

Despite all the changes, the engine line-up remains rather familiar, with a 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre petrol the mainstays of the offering, although a 1.3-litre diesel joins for the first time, and a 1.6-litre hot hatch a possibility.

Both petrol engines lack in urgency, with there being little to choose between the two around town and darting for gaps in traffic has to be done with forward planning rather than opportunism. Both have to be worked hard, and feel laboured rather than willing.

While the Aveo has now caught up with budget rivals in the class from the likes of Hyundai on many levels, it has not advanced far enough to head to the top of the rankings. It offers a decent level of equipment for a budget car, with cruise control and air conditioning as standard, but this does not do enough to disguise the fact that the Aveo is little more than average at best.