Auto Review: Chevy Aveo5

This week I had to leave my car at the dealer for a little warranty work for a couple days. Ford provided a rental car. Knowing that there was no way Ford was going to spring for anything besides a basic car, I was really hoping for a Ford Fiesta based on this Top Gear review:



Unfortunately the car was not supplied by Ford, but rather provided by Ford through Hertz, so what I ended up with was the 2011 Chevy Aveo5:


It left such an impression that I thought I would write something.

The Pros
-My rental car looked exactly like the picture above. It's not especially good-looking, but it's pretty inoffensive, obviously a Chevy, and a big improvement over the previous model.

-There's lots of headroom, not that I would be the best judge. (That's a short joke.) It's easy to see out of the car at all angles.

-I really didn't like the 1.6 L 108-hp engine at first, but after driving around for two days I decided it was adequate for driving around town. As long as you stay off the open road you're not going to notice the lack of power.

-It did have AC and a CD player, but no cruise control.

The Cons
-Here's what driving an Aveo on the freeway is like: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA(breath)AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH(breath)HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! This car was not designed to go over 55-mph. It has a strained relationship with the road and never feels firmly planted at freeway speeds. Add a crosswind on a bridge over the Mississippi to that and you have a terrifying experience.

-The car vibrated at idle like a two cylinder tractor. I was afraid it was going to explode.

-Those backseats are just for show, there's no way a human could sit in them if anyone was sitting in the front.

-The interior is obviously cheap, though not outstandingly so. The clock is awkwardly positioned on the dash near the windshield rather than on the CD player display.

-The interior door handles are positioned so far forward it can be difficult to open the doors, especially if you don't want to hit the car next to you.

-The car sounds hollow and flimsy when you shut the doors.

I could go on, but I won't. If you have had even a fleeting thought about buying one of these, stop. Please. No one should have to drive this car. You would be better off buying practically anything else. Heck, buy a horse. Even if it kicks you in the face it would be better than driving this car.