Overview & Reviews

The Chevy Aveo was one of the first representatives of a new generation of inexpensive small cars that dawned in the 2000s as car shoppers began changing their buying habits to reflect rising gas prices and tough financial times. Unlike the penalty boxes of old, these small cars would sacrifice little in terms of reliability, features or comfort.

Having said that, the Aveo paled in comparison to later competitors. Built in Korea by GM-owned Daewoo, the Aveo was uninspiring to drive and saddled with subpar interior quality. A penalty box it was not, but it wasn't an object of desire, either. Eventually, Chevrolet discontinued the Aveo and replaced it with the vastly superior Sonic.

Most Recent Chevrolet Aveo
The Chevy Aveo was available as a subcompact sedan or four-door hatchback called the Aveo5. Both debuted in 2004 and, apart from the subsequent minor face-lifts that occurred for the sedan in '07 and the hatchback in '09, didn't significantly change throughout its run.

From 2004-'08, every Aveo was powered by a 1.6-liter inline-4 that made 103 horsepower and 107 pound-feet of torque. For '09, it was bumped up to 107 hp and 106 lb-ft, while for 2010 those figures were revised to 108 hp and 104 lb-ft. Transmission choices were always a standard five-speed manual or optional four-speed automatic. Manual transmission gear ratios were altered for 2010 for improved fuel economy.

The Aveo's tall profile wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing when viewed from the outside, but it certainly paid dividends in terms of providing useful amounts of headroom and legroom. The Aveo's interior also provided a commanding view for all passengers, and a fully reclining front passenger seat and a 60/40-split-folding rear seat expanded cargo capacity. The sedan's trunk offered 12.4 cubic feet of storage space. The Aveo5 also had a fold-down rear seat, and it could carry up to 42 cubic feet of cargo.

In Chevrolet Aveo reviews, our editors found it to be the least appealing of contemporary subcompacts, particularly toward the end of its life. But as a used car purchase, the Aveo represents a pretty affordable way to get acceptable transportation. Strengths included a low price, ample headroom and logical control layout. Downsides included mediocre acceleration, an unrefined driving experience, subpar cabin quality and a sloppy gearshifter (this was the rare instance in the subcompact class where we would recommend the automatic). Shoppers will want to consider 2006 and later Aveos, as they have additional features such as side airbags, alloy wheels and cruise control.

User Reviews:

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  06 Aveo bought new in 06, current owner review - 2006 Chevrolet Aveo
  By Ben R - October 14 - 6:20 pm

  I bought my aveo with 12 miles in 2006. I opted for the hatchback special value manual. No power locks, or windows, came with an amfm radio, only option I got was A/C. Today (oct. 2015) I have 180,000. Figured Id go over EVERY repair Ive had in the last 10 years. Ive had the following repairs done (non scheduled maintenance): spark plug wires/plugs with valve cover gasket (225$ @ 80k). Wires opened up causing arching at high rpms which resulted in a flashing check engine light. Also had oil on the plugs due to the valve cover gasket being bad. Both common aveo problems, upgrade the wires/gasket. Have never had the issue repeat. Upper radiator hose leak/vacuum hose repair (80$ @ 100k). Standard collant leak. Vacuum hose leak caused a rough idle and reving idle from 1500rpm to 2500rpm. Never had this issue repeat. Splice pack repair (135$ @ 120k miles). Common issue in the fuse box. Causes only half of your lights to work. Never had this issue repeat. Removal of the day light running module (45$ 130k miles). Was a recall, opted to remove the module, could short out and cause a fire. Headlight electrical harness (60$, 160k miles). Plastic connector failed, causing a short and no right headlight. Back hatch replacement (120$ 160k). Rear hatch wouldnt open. Air intake hose replacement (210$ @ 160k). Intake hose decomposed opening up causing a check engine light and poor MPG and acceleration. Wiper arm springs failed (120$ @ 170k). Wipers no longer laid flat against the windshield. My Aveo has NEVER left me stranded or resulted in a repair over 500$. No engine or transmission failures. Word of advice. Keep up on the general maintenance. Timing belts/water pump/thermostat/serp belt should be replaced every 50k miles. Timing belt failures in Aveos are common at around 60k and destroys your engine if it fails. Use synthetic oil. Helps on the valve tick noise, and get it changed every 5k. Replace the air filter every 45k and flush all fluids (coolant/transmission) every 75k. Brakes (front) disc factories are horrible. Upgrade to ceramic pads and a quality rotor. Rear drums Im still on the factory drums. No issues. Tires/wheels. Upgrade your wheel and tire package. I went with a wider tire and 15 inch wheel. Same overall height as factory. This makes freeway driving safer, and winter driving (with snow tires) extremely safe. Factory tires are banana peels. Upgrade to a common tire. My tires cost 62$ each. Shocks/struts/springs: Im still on my original suspension. No failed parts or issues. Was advised at my last maintenance that the struts will need replaced at the next appt. My aveo has been a great car, especially for 10,400$ brand new (in 2006). Small minor issues are common. If you want your aveo to last drive it easy. I never accelerate past 4000 rpms, and never drive faster than 70mph. Also take turns easy and dont bury the gas when letting go of the clutch. Its not a sports car. Im still on my original clutch at 180k miles. If you follow the maintenance, fix the minor issues, the car should last well past 200,000 miles. If you dont take care of it, expect your timing belt to snap and your engine to blow up. Maintence is key on Aveo ownership. Cant stress that enough. I average 325 to 350 per 10.4 gals of gas. This has been consistent for the ownership of the car. I drive a combination of 75% freeway, 25% city. At 180k Ive had zero gasket issues. No leaking oil or other fluids or overheating issues. Hope this review was helpful.

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  Maybe I should have spent a little more - 2009 Chevrolet Aveo
  By Rob - September 30 - 10:34 am

  I bought my aveo new in 2009, taking advantage of cash for clunkers got it for about 8k new so I really cant complain about the price. Over the years ita has treated me alright. During the warranty period I did have to have a gear in the manual transmission replaced which would have been pretty costly if I had to pay for it. Had a spark plug boot recall also which was apparently causing some vehicles to run poorly...never noticed that but got it fixed nonetheless. This car does go through a set of tires in about 30k miles, even less for the cheap ones that came on it new....think I replaced those at about 20k. I have done all maintenance routinely, havent really had any engine trouble. Did have a phantom check engine light at one point and dealer charged me 100$ to tell me that oxygen sensor was stuck in the open position, quoted me about 500$ to fix but after I reset the light the issue never returned. Had to replace a rear axle bushing to the tune of $300 at about 60k. Front disc breaks have held up well still havent even had to change the pads at 65kk, mechanic says they have plenty of life left. Although the rear drums are currently getting replaced along with shoes for $400 because the shoe came off one locking up my wheel and not allowing me to go home from work last night. This car is 6 years old and has 65k miles. For the most part it has been reliable and I plan on getting another couple years out of it, but I do feel like I have had to fix more than should have been necessary on such a new car that has been well taken care of. Next time I will go with something a little higher end. Forgot to mention I average about 30 mpg or a little over so cant complain about that!

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  For the Price its a great car! - 2010 Chevrolet Aveo
  By Thadious - September 16 - 3:47 pm

  I have had my car for over a year now. Cant beat the price! I had to fix the a/c in it and replace the thermostat. However car runs great. Dont worry about people saying it has no power. I have no issues getting it up and going. When I went to buy it I was looking into a Mazda. This just for my budget better also as a owner of a 09 Chevy Cobalt. I am a huge Chevy fan. Best two cars I have ever owned.

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  I paid for this!! - 2009 Chevrolet Aveo
  By Rick - August 17 - 2:13 pm

  This car sucks giant piles of rehashed rubber tires. Worthless. Malfunctions all the time. The latest is the awesome engineering where they put the transmission cooler inside the radiator... YES, inside it. 6 years old, 38k miles and the cooler erodes inside the radiator sending trans fluid into radiator and radiator juice into the tranny. Brilliant!!! Jack wagons. This car was built to fall to pieces so that the consumer is forced to buy a new vehicle. This car is criminal and GM should repay everyone of us who bought the scrap heap. I will NEVER buy a Chevy again. E V E R ! ! ! ! ! ! Tempted to leave that pos at the dealership!

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  Gives Cheap a whole new meaning. - 2009 Chevrolet Aveo
  By David Albee - July 24 - 8:50 pm

  I have had my Aveo for going on 5 years now. I should have walked past it the moment that I ran my fingers over the grill and the black paint powder that came off on my finger was present. Now the entire reason for my purchase was that I needed a vehicle that I could drive into the dirt. I commute to work everyday and any vehicle was going to be getting aged prematurely. However, this does not excuse the wiper blades disintegrating in the second month of ownership. I understand that Korea may not have the winters that we Canadians do but wow! Anyhow, new blades on moving forward. Wait, what is that awe-full racket? It cant be the engine already... For crying out loud it sounds like the engine is trying to leap out from under the hood.... Notice in the mail, "Dear Aveo owner please proceed to your nearest Chev dealer to get your wiring replaced as the engineers have discovered an issue with the gaps of your spark plug and wiring harness." As my car is lurching and crying "No kidding there is an issue." . Okay so contact my dealer that I purchased my car from, "Sorry, we cant help you with that." "We dont have the parts to fix it right now.". Click... Wait, what? Yo Rick, I need you to put new plugs in and wiring. "Isnt that a recall? Shouldnt your dealer do that?", to which I replied. "Yes", "Yes they should." "So can you do this?" Driving my now behaving Aveo out of Ricks shop and noting the it will be a cold day in hell before I go back to the dealer. Not long later. "Hmmm, are my headlights dirty?" After looking I realized they were not dirty just one of the bulbs had burned out. No big deal, I have now replaced 3 bulbs. The creme de la creme had to be driving to work one morning and there was a little bit of snow on the road. I am Canadian and have been driving this road since 1989. No problem........ So why am I now staring at a terrified lady facing me and we are traveling in the same direction. I mean her eyes were like dinner plates. After I hit the drifted snow on the side of the road I have come to realize yet another issue with the Aveo. The rear brake has a tendency to lock. Terrifying right... I mean the freaking pad came off the shoe inside the drum...... Think about that for a second.. They are supposed to be molecular bonded to the shoe to prevent that sort of thing from happening. "Yo, Rick!!" "I need you to take a look at this rear brake, something is definitely [non-permissible content removed]!" "Umm, Dave the drum is really stuck on there." - "I know, I scared the H*** out of some lady in a SUV that was behind me, I was looking at her while i was going backward." A couple hours later... "Dave, I have never even heard of this happening." "Once i manage to get the drum off the pad was off the shoe.." Do not under any circumstance buy this vehicle, it redefines cheap and I would swear substandard parts. I honestly can not express how confused I am about how this actually made it to market. Oh and now the screws to the air filter have corroded and I will have to likely cut them and tap them to change the air filter.

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  Least reliable Ive ever owned - 2009 Chevrolet Aveo
  By bandit96 - April 7 - 8:18 pm

  I bought this car new in 2009, knowing full well that I was making a trade off on some of the bells and whistles offered in other models. Thats not an issue if it wasnt for it being an unreliable and expensive piece of junk to run I would still be driving it. I have a mechanical background, and know about driving and maintaining a car to make it last. Unfortunately, in the six years of ownership and only 70k kilometers (43k miles) this heap was in and out of the shop at least a dozen times. The last year of ownership, when it was out of warranty cost me more in repairs then my last GM vehicle did in 10 years and over 350k kms (210k miles). In short, never again a GM for me.

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  I wish I had a reckingball - 2011 Chevrolet Aveo
  By Pat Spinello - March 12 - 11:28 am

  Chevy really blew it on this model. No wonder they discontinued it. I have had numerous issues with this car since the warranty expired(typical). I have had the struts replaced numerous times, wheel bearings replaced, suspension issues, break-line replaced. Ive gone through enough tires that the goodyear guys see me and dance because they know its going to be a big ticket sale. Currently, I cant get my key out of the ignition unless I hold my stick shift to the left and Im also have problems with the shift sticking in park. I really hate this car but I am stuck with it because I cant afford a car payment. It really has given me a bad taste in my mouth for Chevy.

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  It has very few shortcomings for the type of car its generally classified as. - 2010 Chevrolet Aveo
  By inprogressing - March 1 - 3:05 am

  After three months of pouring $80 of gas into a 2008 Jeep Liberty, I headed up a car hunt with a top priority on fuel efficiency. I ended up with a 2010 Chevrolet Aveo, and it surprised me in so many pleasant ways. Its a very effective little car, and then some. Despite some irritating features such as on star and day running lights, the car is extremely fun to drive. It glides like an eagle, quickly and quietly. Its powerful, both mechanically and electrically, and it uses a very intelligent design. Its pretty tough and durable for its size. It looks a little less sharp than average for its size and type, but its roomy, comfortable, and reliable. I would recommend it, very highly.

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  Spacious little hatchback - 2011 Chevrolet Aveo
  By mirde98 - January 12 - 8:33 pm

  I bought my Aveo5 2LT with 52k on it. I really like the exterior design and the interior is very spacious for a little car. Power is adequate for city driving. Drives comfortable and brakes are strong. AC is weak and so its the radio. MPG is barely ok. I get from 26-28Mpg overall. I have the 2LT AUTO with leather seats, sunroof, rims, and fog lamps. Looks pretty sharp compared to the basic LS.

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  Shes a good old gal - 2007 Chevrolet Aveo
  By lovee - October 25 - 8:08 am

  I bought my basic Aveo in Feb 2007 right off the lot, brand new. My little silver bullet has been a pretty car with only a few minor problems. in 2012 i had to get the valve cover gasket replaced, 2013 both rotors had gone bad, but mechanically, she really has had any major motor issues. I feel she has a few good years left, as i dont think the basic model was intended to last beyond 10yrs. But, she may surprise me and keep on going.