Any Chevy Aveo - the suicide car

[SwampSurvivor]

I'm still intrigued by this class of car.

I would love to find a cheap Spark or Aveo in a year or two as a beater! While garage repairs are probably expensive, they can't be terrible to work on yourself.

I wouldn't feel bad about driving it in the salt

If someone door'd me in a parking lot, I wouldn't feel bad.

 

[IndyIan]

I think the main problem with the little cars these days is the tires. It looks "racy" to put some 195 or 205 15"-16" tires on them. But in the wet or snow, a thinner 14" would drive much better, also it would help NVH and probably tracking in truck ruts.
Also I guess the CoG is a bit higher in these cars than in the past too.
I don't really have any road manners complaints with the Neon, it goes where you point it and doesn't get blown around and the steering has some feed back. Its no Rolls but its cheap and pretty reliable. Probably more reliable than a Rolls...

 

[Azeem]

Originally Posted By: Andy636
Originally Posted By: Azeem
Rebadged Daewoo Lanos.

I'm pretty sure it was called a Daewoo Matiz

I find them a ton of fun to drive, but not in the US of A


Nope,Aveo is the successor of Lanos while Matiz was the predecessor of Spark.

Aveo is not the worst car,it is one of the worst though if you buy it brand new regarding Massive depreciation,if you count MPG combined with MT.

I would buy one as a beater,for no more than 2 grands with over 100 k miles , before a pre 03 Chrysler's 2.7 POS anyday.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I think the main problem with the little cars these days is the tires. It looks "racy" to put some 195 or 205 15"-16" tires on them. But in the wet or snow, a thinner 14" would drive much better...


Exactly. These low-profile, wide, super stiff tires make winter driving a nightmare. Bring back the 13's and 14's for the econo-boxes I say!

Joel

 

[javacontour]

What I liked about my '81 Rabbit Diesel is that it wore 13" tires. Close to size listed in all the newspaper bait list of tire prices. I think it had 155 or 165 section width.

Never got stuck in the snow in the 3+ years and nearly 100K miles I drove it.

Now it had other problems. It managed to leak every possible fluid, it had electrical problems. Only three out of the four glow plugs worked because I wasn't about to remove the injector pump to replace the remaining glow plug. Just started it on three cylinders and eventually the 4th caught up

But getting around in bad weather was not one of the problems I had with this car. I think in large part due to the narrow tires it had.

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I think the main problem with the little cars these days is the tires. It looks "racy" to put some 195 or 205 15"-16" tires on them. But in the wet or snow, a thinner 14" would drive much better, also it would help NVH and probably tracking in truck ruts.
Also I guess the CoG is a bit higher in these cars than in the past too.
I don't really have any road manners complaints with the Neon, it goes where you point it and doesn't get blown around and the steering has some feed back. Its no Rolls but its cheap and pretty reliable. Probably more reliable than a Rolls...

 

[javacontour]

Yep, Size: P155/80R13

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Yep, Size: P155/80R13

That's what I run on the Neon in the winter. It does transform its snow manners compared to the 185/65R14 all seasons I had. On dry pavement you can feel them roll a bit when I take a corner at a clip that the police would probably pull me over if they saw it. But for normal intelligent driving they are quite fine. I'm sure they drop dry performance maybe 10% but the 100% better snow manners is worth it.

 

[lyle]

Before I turned it in, I checked the tire size, 185/55-15 Krapho "all-season" slicks...just what you need in the winter, 55-series "all-seasons".

I told the rental guy that this was the most dangerous car I've ever driven, and he says he hears that a lot from others who've driven it! Absolutely made me speechless...I didn't have to pay for the rental, but holy [censored], I left skidmarks on both the pavement and my shorts from driving it.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
What I liked about my '81 Rabbit Diesel is that it wore 13" tires. Close to size listed in all the newspaper bait list of tire prices. I think it had 155 or 165 section width.

Never got stuck in the snow in the 3+ years and nearly 100K miles I drove it.

Now it had other problems. It managed to leak every possible fluid, it had electrical problems. Only three out of the four glow plugs worked because I wasn't about to remove the injector pump to replace the remaining glow plug. Just started it on three cylinders and eventually the 4th caught up

But getting around in bad weather was not one of the problems I had with this car. I think in large part due to the narrow tires it had.

My college ex had a diesel Rabbit from that era. Just unplug the block heater and it would start in any condition. If it was really cold I swear it would start on 2 cylinders and shake like a paint mixer until the 3rd and 4th caught.

It had so much rust that I still do not know how it would not get reduced to a pile of reddish-brown powder while it was shaking. There was a section of A-pillar that was just red rags and caulk.

65 mph required level pavement and your foot denting the firewall with the accelerator. The black cloud from the back would prevent any tailgaters at that speed

But it always started. And it was pretty darn good on all season 13"s in the snow. I used to kid that it was because the engine didn't have enough power to get the tires loose.

 

[javacontour]

I referred to the acceleration as "measured with a calendar"

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: javacontour
What I liked about my '81 Rabbit Diesel is that it wore 13" tires. Close to size listed in all the newspaper bait list of tire prices. I think it had 155 or 165 section width.

Never got stuck in the snow in the 3+ years and nearly 100K miles I drove it.

Now it had other problems. It managed to leak every possible fluid, it had electrical problems. Only three out of the four glow plugs worked because I wasn't about to remove the injector pump to replace the remaining glow plug. Just started it on three cylinders and eventually the 4th caught up

But getting around in bad weather was not one of the problems I had with this car. I think in large part due to the narrow tires it had.

My college ex had a diesel Rabbit from that era. Just unplug the block heater and it would start in any condition. If it was really cold I swear it would start on 2 cylinders and shake like a paint mixer until the 3rd and 4th caught.

It had so much rust that I still do not know how it would not get reduced to a pile of reddish-brown powder while it was shaking. There was a section of A-pillar that was just red rags and caulk.

65 mph required level pavement and your foot denting the firewall with the accelerator. The black cloud from the back would prevent any tailgaters at that speed

But it always started. And it was pretty darn good on all season 13"s in the snow. I used to kid that it was because the engine didn't have enough power to get the tires loose.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My focus does well enough with 185-65R15 (stock is 195-60R15). I was going to run 155-85R15 ...

I was behind an Aveo with what looked like Donut width snow tires yesterday. Tried to see where it was going so I could find what size they were. They were full height, just really narrow.

Just can't beat skinny in the snow!

I agree - a lot of these little cars end up with tires that are too wide on too tall of a wheel and can't get any traction.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: lyle
...It has NO traction, even with decent looking tires, and horrible directional stability...


Even brand-new factory all-seasons can be horrible in the snow.

I bet this Aveo would be a totally different vehicle in the snow with a set of snows on it.

Your description reminds of a typical day in an econo-car 25-30yrs ago! That Aveo is a like a Cadillac compared to a Chevette or a Pinto.

Joel

 

[hattaresguy]

Yeah I drove one of those Aveo's once as a rental...I never left the lot, upgraded to a real car, Focus in this case.