Aaah…so you have been waiting for the Aveo review for the last 3 days? Before I start please do remember that the comparison will be between the Aveo 1.6LT and the Ford Fiesta 1.4 Exi. So in the name of fairnessI shall not compare engine performance,
however I shall give the independent engine review of the Aveo 1.6, for
the Fiesta you can check my review on the same. The rest of the
specifications(height / ride quality / space etc..), since it’s the
same for both the 1.4and 1.6 Aveo will be compared with the Fiesta.
Engine Performance: The 1.6(1598CC) engine delivers 102Ps@6000 rpmand torque of 147Nm@3500 Rpm. It is a 16V (4/4 valves per cylinder) DOHC, Sequential Fuel Injection with 32 bit ECM.I shall proceed to translate the Greek above! Now according to the figures the engine should give youdecent pulling powerfrom the start line, but it won’t burnthe tarmac.Ok…let me put it down this way, do not expect to race off the block, if you are first at the traffic signal, yet do not worry about shifting gears too much in the city driving conditions either. Also when on the highway, sit back and relax and cruise easily, without having to worry about holding the others back.
Now lets get to the real test!
Driving:I
switched off the a/c and cranked the car, which started off smoothly,
with minimal sound. The car surged forward as I quickly shifted
gears from 2nd to 3rd. I couldn’t exactly feel the power surge, as it seemed to flow almost like water in the middle portion of a river, quite calm and undisturbed. So what I got was a car that was going to drive smoothly in the city and as the speedometer climbed above 60km/hr I knew that I wasn’t going to get any excitement out of it. It just performed absolutely well, without any hint of drop in power no matter what the gear. Next on came the a/c and being quite a hot day, began to cool the cabin surprisingly well. The performance was the same but what I heard made the hair on my hand stand up, shiver actually, in delight! What I heard was the sporty sound of the engine, invading the cabin!Though many may say, engine noise in cabin, less the better. I say if you change your gears like me, on hearing the sound of the engine roar, then there is no other way
(quit kidding, if you are going to tell me to check the RPM
meter, by taking your eye off the road! Hey this is India, where even
on a one-way you’ll find traffic heading up the wrong direction! You
get my drift?) to do it. Remember the 1.6Aveo LT is for the performance oriented buyers
(unfortunately it doesn’t deliver the same, is another matter!). So how
do you make up for the lack of actual performance? Simple! let the engine sound invade the cabin with a sporty exhaust note,to make it feel like you are actually getting more power than you actually feel! Voila! Sorry to break the party, but just have to add that the Gear box, just is not upto the mark! Feels too clunkyto move the gears,like a 5 year old Esteem at the end of its life!
Cabin Space/Comfort:The cabin comes in 2 tone interior finishwith
the centre console sporting a wood finish, beige colour for the
seat and the cabin and the dashboard with a bit of dark grey.
You get the feeling you are sitting in an expensive car. The controls are well laid out. You have a 3 spoke steering wheel,
which feels good to hold. Through it you can see the Fiesta looking
indication controls. The Speedometer is to the right while the RPM
gauge is to the left. The Engine Temp and Fuel Gauge are small
and positioned to the top of the instrument cluster. You sit high and get a good command of the road, but unfortunately the driving seat position is not the best
(Fiesta is perfect). The Fiesta givesyou a total seat to cabin top space of 98.5cm,the Aveo gives you 97cms.The max length available for leg space is 83.5cms(Fiesta)and 77cms for the Aveo. For the front passengers the max space available is 137cms side to side (136.5cms Fiesta) and for the rear passengers is 132 cms (129Fiesta). The rear seats unfortunately are too upright meaning they will not be comfortable on the long drives. Knee space for rear seaters is average, better than the Fiesta. As for the front seat they are decently comfortable
but not as good as the Fiesta.
Fuel Tank: Total capacity is 45 litres for boththe Aveo and the Fiesta. The Fiesta due to its slightly higher mileage will get you about 12-25 kms extra per full tank. Mileage: The Aveo 1.6 will return you about 10.5-11.5km/lts in the city with the a/c on while the Fiesta delivers about 11.5-12.5km/ ltr. The highway performance figures for the Aveo comes in at 12.5-13km/ ltr while the Fiesta returns 13.5-14.5km/ltr. Boot Space: The Aveo comes with lesser space at 400 litres compared to the Fiesta at 430 litres.
Also note the the Aveo has a higher lift point of Luggage at
72cms vis-à-vis Fiesta’s 66.5cms. The space for loading is also quite
narrow, due to the boot design, so you have to turn your suitcase
sideways to load the same. Turning Radius: Aveo has a larger turn circle at 10.06 mtrs, the Fiesta has a 9.8 mtrs turn radius. In city driving the Fiesta will prove to be a lesser headache it tight u-turn situations. Suspension:
McPherson Struts with Gas-filled Shock Absorbers in the front, for a
good comfortable ride. At the rear we have Torsion Beam with
Gas-filled Shock Absorbers. The Aveo ride quality is verygood, one of
the best in the segment. Wheel: Alloy 14 Inch wheels sporting a 185/60 R14 tyre, whereas the Fiesta sports 14 Inch Tyres 175/65R 14 (Tubeless). Ground Clearance: Aveo has the best at 181mm while the Fiesta sportsonly 168mm. This means over speed breakers in an Aveo you are least likely to scrape the bottom with loaded passengers. Basic Comforts:
The Aveo16 LT sports power steering/power windows and HVAC System, Mp3
player with 6 speakers, Tiltable steering column, Rear Defogger,
Central Locking, Front Fog lamps etc. Not comparing with the 1.4 Fiesta
Exi as the 1.6 Aveo LT is the top of the end version.
So between the Fiesta and the Aveo which would I buyif I had the money? The Fiesta for its sheer sexy looks, fantasticon the road handling,great seating positionand driving pleasure. Only the diesel version as that would give me good mileage and allow me to drive on and on!!
