2009 Chevrolet Aveo Review

Up front, a thick, bright horizontal grille bar emblazoned with a gold bowtie leaves no doubt that Aveo sedan is a Chevy. The lower fascia is nicely detailed, and the fog lights well integrated. Moving around to the side, a crisp bevel just below the window line and a parallel bulge down between the wheel arches combine to camouflage the Aveo's tall, stubby profile, sort of like a person wearing appropriately directed stripes. The sedan's blacked-out window frames look heavy handed, however, especially with bright colors, and the rear of the roof line appears bulbous. Around back, a bright band between fashionably complex tail lamps echoes the theme of the grille.

Like many cars, the Aveo sedan has a look that tries to find wide acceptability by not offending anybody. But in its attempt to be neither too boring nor too radical, it lacks personality.

The Aveo5, on the other hand, has personality all right, and the 2009 changes make it look better. The Aveo5 shares surprisingly little sheet metal with the sedan. At just 154.3 inches in overall length, the Aveo5 is a significant 15 inches shorter than the sedan. The Aveo5 grille is much bolder than the sedan's grille and it dips down all the way to the bottom of the lower fascia. It is flanked by a pair of air intakes that also house the fog lights.

While the Aveo sedan has a smaller grille with a lower air intake below it, the Aveo5 hatchback's larger grille eliminates the need for an additional air intake. The hatchback's front fender bulges around the wheels are less crisply defined, and the character line that runs from wheel to wheel on the sedan, bisects the front doors and dips down on the hatchback's rear doors. The hatchback has another character line and wheel bulge that picks up midway along the rear doors and extends to the taillights. The Aveo5 seems to end rather abruptly, just behind the rear wheels. This impression is heightened by a rear-end profile that's more station-wagon vertical than hatchback sleek, and by the almost comically abbreviated quarter windows just behind the rear doors. While the rear end may look a bit odd, the front end is much more attractive than the old hatchback and the current sedan.

Interestingly, while the Aveo5 looks as tall as a bus, it is only 0.1 taller than the sedan. It is also 1.2 inches narrower, with 0.8 inches less rear track (the distance between the rear tires.)