Chevrolet Aveo review - Engine and Transmission |
Engine and transmission
We came away very impressed from the display area, pleased to no end about the looks and feel of what we had seen. Then after being led to the test car, we slowly led our way out of the showroom. There is much spoken about the all encompassing VGIS system, how it makes the engine that much cleverer and so on. Before I comment, this is a 1399cc 16 valve 4 cylinder in-line engine, with mpfi; that pumps 94ps of power and 128Nm of torque, I knew that before I drove it and I know very well 90 horses when I see them. So, I floored it; the revs never built up, so I switched off the air conditioner and there was some respite. The engine took a while before it decided to go fast, but finally it did.
I really wished it hadn't; the engine feels too coarse when revved, it seems more than happy to keep purring in the range of 2000 and 3000rpm, not beyond. Don't mistake me, this isn't a bad engine; it actually is a very good number but it isn't meant to be revved, it likes to cruise just the way most American cars do. The VGIS system which stands for Variable Geometry Intake System makes clever variations to the intake manifold length and geometry to make sure that the engine has optimum intake and exhaust back-pressure, this makes the Aveo torquey, very torquey. It is able to garner revs very easily thanks to the oodles of torque available low down.
The gearbox is a 5 speed manual, with one reverse gear. The gearbox we found was of slightly long throw, but the gear ratios have been designed to give ease of drivability both during city runs and on the highway. Unfortunately, carsinindia.com currently doesn't hold enough prominence to borrow the cars for high speed testing but the engine seems capable to reaching up to 180kph without much fuss. The major flaw of this gearbox though is in the way it shifts, sometimes the changes are rather notchy, something GM could really work on to make this car that much more desirable.
Design and interiors
Ride, handling and verdict
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![Chevrolet aveo exterior](javascript:openwin("largephoto.asp?imagename=aveo1.jpg&imagetitle=Chevrolet aveo exterior"))
