Gadgetory

we've long had this little mustard yellow Chevy Aveo in the scenic car tech garage it's our test mule for electronics I've never driven it I never will I'm afraid to be seen in it but that's changing when it comes to the bottom of Chevy's line because bottom ain't bottom anymore this is what replaces the avail the 2012 Sonic LTZ turbo let's check it out don't mind if I do and check the deck now in a car in this price point you're never going to get super luxo materials but they're definitely a step up from the avail instrument cluster real different motorcycle inspired big analog tach on the left everything else is digital on that blue screen to the right including your only speedometer which is relatively unusual in a car in this price class to have at digital-only here's the head unit and it always looks like this there's never an LCD here this car doesn't offer integrated nav or vehicle control on a big screen but you got a bright screen bright blue easy to read with basic options now if you get a totally basic sonic not even a turbo you're going to get am/fm and that aux jack and that's it not even a CD CD is an upgrade satellite radio is an upgrade also USB for your thumb driver iPod and on the higher trim cars you get Bluetooth hands-free calling and Bluetooth audio streaming so you end up with a pretty nice array of stuff here about the only thing that's missing is no ability to go to premium sound the best you can do is go from 4 speakers to 6 and no HD radio oh it's a small thing but these two kind of nasty-looking binnacle is up on the side of the center stack a real handy now on most Sonics non turbos you get a base 5-speed manual or for about a grand more a 6-speed automatic kind of an advanced gearbox on this car being a turbo one choice only and that is a 6-speed manual if you don't like using a clutch you don't want to buy a sonic turbo okay now our sonic is a turbo the base sonic would not be this it would be a naturally aspirated fuel-injected 1.8 liter for kind of garden-variety stuff giving you 138 horsepower same horsepower on the turbo so what's the point well it's a 1.4 liter turbo they get more torque out of it 23 foot-pounds more bringing that up from 125 to 148 moves the car from zero to 60 and eight seconds instead of like eight point eight and gives you better mpg 29:40 instead of 26:35 with the standard car so they're using the turbo here as much for efficiency as they are for performance and drivability okay now on the road the first thing I notice in the sonic turbo is that it's a 1.4 liter not that it's a turbo it prints small engine before it prints turbo engine once you learn to modulate the throttle the way it wants you can get decent and reliable power on it but all too often when I jump on it and need something it's just not there or it's a full second away suspension and handling are just fine in fact I'd say it's more of a ride quality story than it is a handling story it doesn't have the sharpness that I remember from the Honda Fit Sport for example nor the power availability from the Ford Fiesta but it doesn't do a bad job middling either and the overall quality of the cabin is quite good nothing rattles or feels cheap I'm not getting any bad road noise or vibration that's a that's a key win in a car in this class is for it to feel inside more like it's a cruise than a sonic and I think they've largely nailed that okay the bottom line on the sonic this is a big car for Chevy it's a clean sheet design made in the US unlike the avail it's also important I think right now this car comes in around 20 or so as a turbo loaded up all CNET style which isn't too lavish but it's got the basics as we saw drivability real nice you won't feel like you're in as cheap a car as it is main competition Ford Fiesta unto fit and definitely Hyundai Accent it doesn't dominate any of those cars but it competes on mpg power and value nicely across the board you