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Officially, the new Chevrolet Aveo is a brand new car. Strictly speaking, however, it's merely a facelift for the old Kalos, which Chevrolet has inherited following parent company GM's decision to rebrand Daewoo just over three years ago.
That said, the facelift is a thorough one, with a new nose, rear-end and interior meaning that while the car is still relatively anonymous, it is not unattractive.
With entry-level prices predicted to be around £7500 this is an inexpensive car, and it feels it. The interior consists of hard plastic throughout - though it was solid enough on our first drive - and the odd spot still displayed signs of the glue used to hold it together.
The Aveo is roomy and quite comfortable, despite the hard seats, but finding the best driving position is hampered by the lack of a reach adjustment on the steering wheel. Rear legroom is fine for short-to-medium journeys, but the boot is handicapped by a high lip and seats that don't fold completely flat.
Of the two Aveo engines, we drove the 101PS 1.4-litre version that should be priced at about £9500 in the expected LX specification. Although more powerful on paper than the 84PS 1.2, it felt lacklustre when it came to the twisty mountain roads on our test route.
Long gearing also meant that the Aveo struggled to get up to speed on the motorway, often having to drop down more than one gear to gain an acceptable cruising speed. Rarely did the engine feel like it was using the full extent of its 101PS.
The Aveo might be cheap, but rivals such as Skoda's Fabia or the Vauxhall Corsa don't make so many sacrifices for the sake of cost cutting.
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