GM Introduces Redesigned Subcompact 2007 Aveo
18 August 2006
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| 2007 Aveo |
General Motors (GM) on Thursday launched a fully redesigned version of the Chevrolet Aveo sedan just 2.5 years after its debut. The new Aveo features an all-new exterior and roomy interior design, but fuel economy compared to the 2006 model is just incrementally better.
The 2007 Aveo sedan is longer, wider and taller than its predecessor. Contributing to Aveo sedan’s more aerodynamic design is the incorporation of the radio antenna into the rear glass. Extensive wind tunnel testing also helped reduce the coefficient of drag from 0.348 to 0.326, compared to the previous model.
The 2007 Aveo uses the same E-TEC II 1.6-liter four-cylinder DOHC/16-valve engine with variable-geometry intake as in the 2006 model, and offers 103 horsepower (77 kw) at 6,000 rpm and 107 lb-ft (145 Nm) of torque. The engine is enhanced by an electronic throttle control, added in the 2006 model year, and variable geometry induction system, which help maximize power across the rpm range. Electronic throttle control enhances driveability and fuel economy, while reducing emissions. The Aveo 2007 carries a ULEV II emissions rating.
The engine’s variable geometry induction system is designed with a longer runner length at slower speeds to increase low-end torque up to 10%. The system includes a bypass valve that is activated in high rpm or heavy throttle applications.
| Comparative EPA Fuel Economy (mpg US) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Car | City | Highway |
| Automatic transmission | ||
| *GM estimate. | ||
| 2007 Aveo* | 26 | 34 |
| 2007 Yaris | 34 | 39 |
| 2007 Fit | 31 | 38 |
| Manual transmission | ||
| 2007 Aveo* | 27 | 35 |
| 2007 Yaris | 34 | 40 |
| 2007 Fit | 33 | 38 |
A five-speed manual transmission is standard. The available Aisin four-speed automatic transmission features adaptive shift technology.
Estimated fuel economy rating for the new Aveo is 26 mpg city, 34 mpg highway for the four-speed automatic and 27 mpg city, 35 mpg highway for the five-speed manual. The 2006 Aveo carries an actual EPA rating of 24 mpg/34 mpg for the automatic and 26 mpg/35 mpg for the manual.
Those figures are lower than those of the Aveo’s new competition, the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit. (See chart at right.) Both the Yaris and Fit use 1.5-liter engines.
For calendar year 2006 through the end of July, Chevrolet sold 35,078 units of the older Aveo, a drop of 16.1% from the 41,795 units for the same period in 2005. By contrast, Toyota has sold 32,822 units of the new Yaris, which went on sale in March. Honda has sold 15,922 units of the Fit, which went on sale in April.
The Aveo, sourced from GM Daewoo, is a global car for GM. In 2005, 68,085 Aveos were sold in the United States, and the car will be offered in more than 120 countries under different nameplates.
And people wonder why GM is doing so poorly. There's no excuse for a vehicle the size of the Aveo with a modern 1.5 liter engine to get fuel economy in the 20s.
Posted by: Jeff | 18 August 2006 at 03:16 PM
2007 Honda Accord 4cyliner goes 26/34 for the mileage but it is a mid size and has 166 hp. What to buy? You decide!
Posted by: Al | 18 August 2006 at 03:47 PM
The three year cost to own an Aveo including depriciation would probobly be higher then a more expensive Honda Civic . The 2007 Aveo is a piece of crap compared to a Civic.
Posted by: hampden wireless | 18 August 2006 at 05:51 PM
The redesign is quite attractive, clean and smart. The mileage, however, sucks. I considered the hatch version when I bought a car last year but went with the Scion xA due to better MPG and resale value.
It is easy to say a $20K car gets the same mileage so buy that instead but I know a woman that bought the $10K version of the Aveo. She simply could not afford anymore. Resale value doesn't help with the payments.
For me the problem is still the attention on sedans and not on clever hatchbacks. The Fit is great with its design and the backseat is very clever.
Posted by: Urban Review | 18 August 2006 at 06:20 PM
In june, I also bought an xA, and I love it. I wanted a Fit, but every dealer I talked to said they couldn't get one for months, and a couple literally laughed when I asked about that model. I lucked onto an xA that had just arrived at a dealership, and two other customers spotted it from the road, came in, and tried to buy it while the salesman was writing up the paperwork.
My wife has an Accord automatic, and she literally gets 34MPG highway. And she definitely doesn't drive like a little old lady.
She and I keep looking at the fuel efficiency, build quality, styling, etc. of current Hondas and Toyotas, and wondering what the heck they know that the Big Three seemingly can't figure out.
Posted by: Lou Grinzo | 18 August 2006 at 06:54 PM
If they want to do better than Honda and Toyota they will have to make better than Honda and Toyota. If this car got 38 city 44 highway its sales would leave the Fit and Yaris in the dust.
Very unfortunate situation in my opinion. This redesign is a very handsome little car and well-priced. I wouldn't consider it though, based on the mpgs.
Posted by: gdiv | 18 August 2006 at 08:22 PM
Heh. I could cruise my Passat TDI at 75 MPH if I was satisfied with only 34 MPG, but I'm aiming for 40 MPG or thereabouts so I cruise at 65.
34 highway in an "economy" car stinks.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 18 August 2006 at 11:03 PM
This is about the expected gas mileage with Korean cars...look at the Kia Rio/ Hyundai Accent. It gets about the same type of gas mileage.
Posted by: Patrick | 18 August 2006 at 11:43 PM
I keep wondering why some people only think about fuel economy and not emissions on GREEN Car Congress.
Posted by: Joseph Willemssen | 18 August 2006 at 11:45 PM
Fuel Economy
2007 Aveo - 27 city/37 hwy/30 combined
2005 Passat TDI - 27 city/38 hwy/31 combined
Annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions
2007 Aveo - 6.1 tons
2005 Passat TDI - 6.9 tons
EPA Air Pollution Score (10 = best, 0 = worst)
2007 Aveo - 7
2005 Passat TDI - 1
Passenger Volume (cu ft)
2007 Aveo - 91
2005 Passat TDI - 95
Luggage Volume (cu ft)
2007 Aveo - 12
2005 Passat TDI - 15
0-60 (secs)
2007 Aveo - 10.8
2005 Passat TDI - 10.4
Safety Ratings
2007 Aveo - 5 stars, front D & P; 4 stars, side, F & R; 4 stars, rollover
2005 Passat TDI - 5 stars, front D & P; 4 stars, side, F & R; 4 stars, rollover
MSRP (base price, in present US dollars)
2007 Aveo - 9,430
2005 Passat TDI - 24,777
Posted by: Joseph Willemssen | 19 August 2006 at 12:09 AM
nice headshot^^ its like comparing a uran 236 powered steamengine with a gas engine. the uran has to filled up only once a year, but the trash is quite uncomfy because it makes you feel sick, if you are still able to feel it,
okay just joking, you can´t compare to engines working with different stuffs that have a differing energy per liter/kg
Posted by: Sebastian | 19 August 2006 at 01:23 AM
Actauly alot of small cars get rather lackluster milage. I mean realy in nromal driving our full sized sedans get that milage.
Posted by: wintermane | 19 August 2006 at 03:45 AM
Joseph,
I know you're the local diesel opponent, but can you post the same comparison for the '06 Jetta TDI? If you could put numbers for both the automatic and standard, that would be great.
What do you think about all the Tier II compliant models coming out in '08? Looks like we'll be able to have our cake and eat it too. Add to that the almost zero evaporative emissions with diesel and the ability to burn biodiesel which is a much better fuel than corn ethanol, and it looks like small advanced diesels are poised to take over.
Posted by: Mark Vincent | 19 August 2006 at 05:02 AM
Joseph,
Where did you get those figures for the greenhouse gas emissions and EPA Air Pollution score? Are figures available for other vehicles?
Thank you,
Travis
Posted by: Travis Rassat | 19 August 2006 at 05:59 AM
The web site fueleconomy.gov gives city and highway miles per gallon, green house gas emissions in tons per year, and an EPA pollution score for each car model.
Posted by: Original.Jeff | 19 August 2006 at 06:03 AM
GM...how about building an affordable, all electric version of this car?
Posted by: cs1992 | 19 August 2006 at 07:30 AM
I know you're the local diesel opponent
Uh, no. I'm one person of many who doesn't ignore the emissions differences between diesels and other vehicles. Make a cleaner diesel and I'm all for it.
but can you post the same comparison for the '06 Jetta TDI? If you could put numbers for both the automatic and standard, that would be great.
Why don't you just do it yourself? All the information is readily available.
What do you think about all the Tier II compliant models coming out in '08?
Great. It's not 2008 yet and the vehicle mentioned is a 2008 vehicle. It's one with Bin 10 emissions.
Add to that the almost zero evaporative emissions with diesel and the ability to burn biodiesel which is a much better fuel than corn ethanol, and it looks like small advanced diesels are poised to take over.
Wonderful. We'll talk then when the vehicles are on the road and able to be evaluated. For now, the vehicle mentioned isn't a future vehicle. As for biodiesel, it's just like ethanol in that it's only meaningful if people are using it.
Where did you get those figures for the greenhouse gas emissions and EPA Air Pollution score? Are figures available for other vehicles?
Fueleconomy.gov. You can get more detailed numbers (and rankings by emissions category) at the EPA's Green Vehicle Guide (http://www.epa.gov/emissweb/), the source of the emissions numbers.
Posted by: Joseph Willemssen | 19 August 2006 at 07:56 AM
correction:
"...and the vehicle mentioned ISN'T a 2008 vehicle."
Posted by: Joseph Willemssen | 19 August 2006 at 07:57 AM
I say 30/35! If a car can't get 30 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway and over, then it ain't worth buying.
Posted by: Gerald Shields | 19 August 2006 at 08:16 AM
Do these mileage figures reflect the new EPA measurement strategy?
Posted by: tom deplume | 19 August 2006 at 08:21 AM
Do these mileage figures reflect the new EPA measurement strategy?
I think those have a two-part phase-in, first with MY2008 then with MY2011.
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2006/February/Day-01/a451.htm
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/01/epa_mpg.html
Posted by: Joseph Willemssen | 19 August 2006 at 08:33 AM
Heh. The Aveo is a subcompact. The Passat is mid-size (roughly as big as the current Taurus, not much smaller than the early-90's Taurus). The fact that I can beat the Aveo's fuel mileage (and exceed EPA ratings with careful driving) shows what kind of potential was there... and discarded by GM.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 19 August 2006 at 09:48 AM
"Actauly alot of small cars get rather lackluster milage."
Aveo is not a really small car.
A small car, like a Yaris or even an old Geo Metro beats every other car in fuel economy.
The easiest way to burn less fuel is using a small car, mostly with manual transmission (altough the Volkswagen Lupo 3L was produced with automatic transmission).
On fueleconomy.gov you can see that a 1990 Geo Metro 1000 ccm is nearly as good (not in emissions, but in fuel economy) as a Toyota Prius.
So all the new technology in the Prius is just good enough to get somewhat better fuel economy than a totally obsolete small car.
Posted by: my name | 19 August 2006 at 12:04 PM
Sorry to offend, Joseph. I just thought that since you had access to the info already, it would not be too much trouble for you to post. My mistake.
After looking the info up myself, it seems the current model Jetta TDI soundly beats this car in every category except emissions and price.
As supplies are a more immediate issue than emissions, my opinion is to side with the vehicle that uses less fuel, period.
Actually, biodiesel is a much better fuel from almost every standpoint. Corn ethanol is too difficult to transport and barley energy positive. It also seems that a lot of fleets are using biodiesel to greater and greater degrees. Cellulosic ethanol holds promise, but the transport and storage issues are still there.
Maybe its just me, Joseph, but you still seem a bit edgy about the whole diesel thing.
Posted by: Mark Vincent | 19 August 2006 at 12:18 PM
The Aveo is a subcompact. The Passat is mid-size (roughly as big as the current Taurus, not much smaller than the early-90's Taurus).
Your car has 4 cu ft more of interior space and costs almost 3 times as much as the Aveo.
The fact that I can beat the Aveo's fuel mileage (and exceed EPA ratings with careful driving) shows what kind of potential was there...
Anyone can get better mileage with careful driving.
The numbers I posted speak for themselves. Do you not care about tailpipe emissions?
Posted by: Joseph Willemssen | 19 August 2006 at 12:47 PM