Yesterday at the store I was putting $6 worth of gas in my ride and the guy at the other pump approached me to ask a few questions about the Aveo. He had just finnished filling his RV, and seemed interested in my mileage. I guess the price shock was getting to him. He also asked about the Deawoo-Chevy connection and who is currently producing the car.


Anyway, it was flippin weird. Who's that interested in a Chevy Aveo? Usually people who notice it try not to laugh.


First compliment I've gotten on the car from a stranger. He said, "not bad."


Everyone started asking about the 4runner when I took the top of. Nice to finally get some attention again.

Damn; people in America compliment Aveos?! That's odder than the time I got thumbs-ups in my Intrepid when it was clean and detailed.

If my car's washed I tend to get compliments from black guys   I guess it's the pimp factor

But what's wrong with complimenting an Aveo?  Getting a new car that is "not bad" for under 10k is quite a value. 

People I know that hop in with me usually tell me "nice car" but the one time that stands out was this..

I driving around downtown at like 10 or 11, I think this was on a weekday, and Chicago is empty at that time on weekdays. So I'm driving a little slow and some beggar or homeless guy on the side yells out "hey get back here with my car!"

I drove back around the block and gave him a thumbs up.

I think the Aveo looks nice. Plenty of hatchbacks its size look weird and lanky.

Maybe he was thinking of buying a runabout to trailer behind the RV?

I have the sedan. It did seem like he was interested in getting a small car. He probably had to drop a cool 2 to fill that thing up.

How good is the mileage on the Aveo, btw?

I usually get 24-26/34. I've noticed that recently it's been bad around town. I'm due for a new air-filter and an oil change, so I hope that helps.

It works great for what I need. When I'm at school I don't drive to campus, so its important assignment is the drive to Denver or ski areas around Denver. Sometimes it doesn't move for a week, which is rare for me. Usually when I have a car a drive the f*ck out of it. It's been nice this past year not dropping 20+ bucks every week for gas. It saved me a lot of money over time.

I think the reason why its city mileage is so poor is because it eats a lot of gas on startup. I can keep the revs low and it doesn't seem to matter. and even when I'm averaging 34 or better on the interstate I'm still cruising at 3500, so...

Quote from: Tave on May 24, 2007, 11:19:04 AM
I usually get 24-26/34. I've noticed that recently it's been bad around town. I'm due for a new air-filter and an oil change, so I hope that helps.

It works great for what I need. When I'm at school I don't drive to campus, so its important assignment is the drive to Denver or ski areas around Denver. Sometimes it doesn't move for a week, which is rare for me. Usually when I have a car a drive the f*ck out of it. It's been nice this past year not dropping 20+ bucks every week for gas. It saved me a lot of money over time.

I think the reason why its city mileage is so poor is because it eats a lot of gas on startup. I can keep the revs low and it doesn't seem to matter. and even when I'm averaging 34 or better on the interstate I'm still cruising at 3500, so...

Damn! I get 32-33 on ol' Treppy, but it's rarely driven to school now. Friend's Neon ftw.

Canadians use imperial gallons, right?

Quote from: TheIntrepid on May 24, 2007, 11:20:51 AM
Damn! I get 32-33 on ol' Treppy, but it's rarely driven to school now. Friend's Neon ftw.

If I had a sixth gear or cruised at 60 mph I'd be getting 40-45. Neither of those are ever going to happen.

34+ ain't bad when you consider I'm driving 80 mph on a lot of interstate and turning the engine at 3500-4000. Redline's only 6250, so I'm easily in the top half of the range for the entire trip. I think it's cool the engine can work that hard and still return 34.

Quote from: Tave on May 24, 2007, 11:19:04 AM
I usually get 24-26/34. I've noticed that recently it's been bad around town. I'm due for a new air-filter and an oil change, so I hope that helps.

It works great for what I need. When I'm at school I don't drive to campus, so its important assignment is the drive to Denver or ski areas around Denver. Sometimes it doesn't move for a week, which is rare for me. Usually when I have a car a drive the f*ck out of it. It's been nice this past year not dropping 20+ bucks every week for gas. It saved me a lot of money over time.

I think the reason why its city mileage is so poor is because it eats a lot of gas on startup. I can keep the revs low and it doesn't seem to matter. and even when I'm averaging 34 or better on the interstate I'm still cruising at 3500, so...

What kind pf engine and transmission? How many HP? 

I thought the Aveo was an econimy car.

Quote from: etypeJohn on May 24, 2007, 11:28:16 AM
What kind pf engine and transmission? How many HP??

I thought the Aveo was an econimy car.

1.6 L I-4 with a 5 speed stick. It makes 103 hp @ 6000 rpm and 107 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm.

Part of the "economy" is the sticker price. It doesn't get phenominal mileage, but it's cheaper than pretty much anything else out there.

If you don't mind my asking; why did you choose an Aveo over a slightly better used car?

Quote from: Tave on May 24, 2007, 11:39:35 AM
1.6 L I-4 with a 5 speed stick. It makes 103 hp @ 6000 rpm and 107 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm.

Part of the "economy" is the sticker price. It doesn't get phenominal mileage, but it's cheaper than pretty much anything else out there.

Yikes.  We get an honest 30 city and 35 highway with a 2.0 and 5 speed Mazda 3iTouring with about 150 HP.  You must drive it hard.

Quote from: TheIntrepid on May 24, 2007, 11:41:13 AM
If you don't mind my asking; why did you choose an Aveo over a slightly better used car?

We got it for 11K. My situation wasn't good. My Toyota completely broke down shortly before I got it and I had no way of getting around PHX (other than a bike or bus). I had no money and I was going to school full-time. Luckily, my mom happened to be visiting me when the Yota broke, or I would have been seriously fucked. We needed a car immediately, and spent some time looking at used civics, but for that price they were all high mileage. With the Aveo, we got a brand new car still under warranty. A lot of the competition in the segment didn't exist when we got the car: neither the fit, versa, or yaris had been released yet. Looking back, I would have been able to find a better deal on a better car, but we simply didn't have the time to spend looking for one.

After we nixed the Civic, the dealer thought we were playing hardball. They kept bringing the price down, but they were also a-holes about the situation. It was funny to watch them squirm after we'd already made up our mind.

It's hard to make that kind of purchase on vacation a thousand miles away from home. We went with the safe bet and got something the dealer would have to fix if it had problems. I couldn't afford to pay for a used car's issues, and it would have been difficult orcheastrating help from the 'rents if anything went wrong.

Quote from: etypeJohn on May 24, 2007, 11:44:34 AM
Yikes.  We get an honest 30 city and 35 highway with a 2.0 and 5 speed Mazda 3iTouring with about 150 HP.  You must drive it hard.

EPA ratings:

Aveo: 27/37
Mazda3: 28/35

And the Aveo's lack of power is what really kills highway-speed gas mileage.

EDIT: Is it an automatic?

Quote from: etypeJohn on May 24, 2007, 11:44:34 AM
Yikes.? We get an honest 30 city and 35 highway with a 2.0 and 5 speed Mazda 3iTouring with about 150 HP.? You must drive it hard.

It's rated at 26/34. I meet EPA estimates.

What is your 3 turning at on the highway? Gearing is an issue with my car. They could gear it differently but then all the power would drop out. It needs to be kept at 3000 to do any sort of passing.

Quote from: ifcar on May 24, 2007, 11:54:53 AM
EPA ratings:

Aveo: 27/37
Mazda3: 28/35

And the Aveo's lack of power is what really kills highway-speed gas mileage.

EDIT: Is it an automatic?

Yup.  I quoted what is actually in my log book.  I record every fillup and maintenance item. 

Tave said he had a 5 speed.  I suspect he drives with a heavy foot.  Like you alluded to, agressive driving can kill mileage in a low HP car.

Quote from: Tave on May 24, 2007, 11:56:00 AM
It's rated at 26/34. I meet EPA estimates.

What is your 3 turning at on the highway? Gearing is an issue with my car. They could gear it differently but then all the power would drop out. It needs to be kept at 3000 to do any sort of passing.

From Memory:  Just north of 3000 RPM at 70

Not around town. I think those are newer numbers. When I bought the car it was 26 or 27 to 34 or 35. MSN autos says 27/35. That's basically what I'm getting. I said 24-26/34. It's actually somewhere between 34 and 35, but I rounded off.

Like I said, I don't think those numbers were reached doing 75-80 on the interstate.