Ride quality and quietness always begin with structural rigidity, and Sonic is vastly superior to Aveo here, with extensive use of high-strength steels for more strength without excess weight. The interior generally follows the cautious theme too, although the motorcycle pod-style instrument cluster directly in front of the driver, with a round analogue tachometer and digital displays for almost everything else, should appeal to the younger buyer. The round headlights and taillights do add a bit of flavour, as do the rear door handles on the hatchback that are hidden within the rear roof pillar. Maybe they didn’t have to go as far as the Kia Soul or Nissan Juke, but for a car aimed at young single adults, they might have stretched a bit more. As Vince Boillot, Chevrolet marketing manager for General Motors Canada put it, “Sonic is a ‘no compromise’ car.”īoth bodystyles follow the handsome-if-conservative approach we’ve seen in Cruze and Orlando but are not as dramatic to my eye as Accent or Fiesta. Sonic’s objective – rather like the Ford Fiesta, with which it directly competes – is to offer ride comfort, quietness and high-tech amenities comparable to larger, more expensive vehicles. Or where, it would appear, it doesn’t carry the same baggage it does here, judging from GM Canada’s determined effort to convince us that Sonic does not “replace” Aveo, but “eclipses” it.
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The name “Aveo” is still used in some countries where GM ran into name registration issues for Sonic. The VLE (Vehicle Line Executive) was German and the Chief Engineer Brazilian, in keeping with Sonic’s expected 60-country market reach. Like last year’s successful Cruze compact and the Orlando crossover that also debuts next month, Sonic’s development team was located in Korea.īut the team was international. 3 priced from $14,495, starts from scratch. So Sonic, which goes on sale in four-door sedan and four-door hatchback models in Canada on Oct. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. There’s only so much you can do with that approach. “Cheap and cheerful” is the appropriate British term, and Chevy sold a lot of them.īut Aveo was a Korean home-market car engineered by the now-demised Daewoo organization that was adapted, back-fitted, poked and prodded to meet North American and world-class standards. MONTREAL – That the new Sonic sub-compact is a better car than the Aveo it replaces in Chevrolet’s lineup doesn’t necessarily make it the class-beater General Motors thinks it is.Īveo wasn’t a complete disaster. 2012 Chevy Sonic Review | Toronto Star NEWROADS CHEVROLET CADILLAC BUICK GMC Jun 24th, 2012