Interior
reviewed by
The big surprise in the interior of our Chevrolet Aveo 2LT sedan test car was the handsomeness of the Charcoal Deluxe seat fabric, which shames the manufacturers of some more expensive vehicles. The Aveo5 2LT we drove also had an attractive interior with faux wood trim on the dashboard and leatherette trim on the seats. The attractive looks combine with a tidy and sensible layout to minimize Aveo's economy-car status.
The Aveo's basic controls, such as the climate system and stereo, are easy to use and within close reach. The layout is quite simple, so drivers won't be distracted looking for buttons. All radios come with an auxiliary jack for iPods and other MP3 players. The dash is all hard plastic, but that's to be expected in this class. The instrument panel features black-faced gauges with white numbers and watch-like dials. A driver information center is located between the gauges. A digital clock sits on top of the dash at the base of the windshield.
The driver's seat is height adjustable, even in the base model, a nice feature for drivers short and tall. The front seat bottom cushion is a bit short for drivers with long legs, cutting some occupants a little short on thigh support. Visibility all around is unrestricted. Small items storage can be found in trays in front and behind the shifter, a pop-out bin the size of an ashtray in the dash, and in door pockets. A dual cup holder pops out of the center stack.
Rear legroom in the Aveo is better than that in the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris. We found it's possible to carry four tall adults (6-footers) for a short distance without anybody being traumatized, as long as there's cooperation from the people in the front seats, that is. Despite its slimmer dimensions, the Aveo5 hatchback has about the same rear seat space as the sedan. In fact, it has 0.2 inch more headroom.
The trunk is rated at 12.4 cubic feet for the Aveo sedan. That's competitive in a segment like this, and the back seat folds down if the priority becomes carrying stuff instead of people.
The Aveo5 hatchback has 15.0 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats. It comes standard with a rear cargo cover to hide packages from prying eyes. The rear seat folds flat to open up 37.4 cubic feet of cargo room, less than the 42.0 cubic feet the Aveo5 had before it was reworked for 2009. The rear cargo floor is not flat, though, as there is a step from the rear floor to the folded seats. If you'll be using the cargo compartment more than the back seat, the Aveo5 makes a lot of sense.
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