My Chevrolet Aveo5 rental

Whenever I travel, I almost always opt for the subcompact. Shocking, I know. However, usually this can be an upgrade in disguise. See, most of the times I've reserved the Aveo (or other lowest-end rental car), the rental companies don't have them, and I end up with something else. I ended up with an Audi A4 Quattro once. Another time I got a Chevrolet Equinox. One other time I got a Nissan Altima. Only one other time did I actually get the Aveo, and it was a sedan model.

Well, here in Wisconsin, I actually got the Aveo. It happens to be an Aveo5, which I was OK with. I wasn't much a fan of the Aveo sedan, so this was something new and different. I think it actually looks pretty decent, too. Since the weather here is akin to a Brazilian rainforest at the moment, I was glad to see it had air conditioning. And since people in Wisconsin judge distances in hours, I was glad to see it had cruise control.

Aside from those features, the Aveo is certainly not at the top of the subcompact list. This model is loaded: four-speed auto, several speaker stereo, power windows/locks, and fake woodgrain interior. Truth be told, the interior looks pretty good. There are, however, buzzes and rattles, especially when the stereo is on. You can factor in the regular rental car abuse, too, which likely doesn't help the matter. The automatic transmission won't help the 1.6-liter engine win any speed contests, and handling is OK, but bigger bumps/cracks produce a loud thud from the rear torsion bar axle. Fortunately for my large suitcase, the rear seat folds down. Unfortunately, it doesn't fold flat. I'm better off just throwing it in the backseat, and putting my backpack in the far rear.

My trusty (thus far) Aveo5 is fine as a rental car. In fact, it should yield pretty decent fuel economy, since I've had the cruise set at 70 MPH on the Interstates; 60 MPH on the highways. I'll refuel tomorrow and really see. Gas is about $3.75 here.

So would I buy a new Aveo5? No. Pretty soon nobody will be able to buy one, since it's being replaced by the U.S.-built Sonic (the Aveo is Korean made, and built on GM Daewoo architecture). However, for the time being, so long as the AC keeps cooling, the cruise control keeps cruising, and the stereo continues to hum, I'll be fine with it until Monday.