Chevrolet Aveo - Aveo To The Fore

If the Camry's styling is a revelation, there are even more pleasant surprises waiting for you once you get inside. Everything is as you would expect on a more expensive European luxury car - elegant and fashionable in a mature, restrained way. The suits will love this. There's a six-CD, six-speaker, in-dash sound system (MP3 and WMA compatible), a multi-information display (which gives you details like the ambient temperature, average speed and cruising range etc.), dual-zone air-conditioning, and steering wheel-mounted control buttons for the stereo system and for the AC. There's a separate AC duct for rear seat passengers, and the 60/40 split rear seats can be folded ?at for additional space for luggage. Fit and ?nish is quite beautiful, and all the plastic bits look and feel properly classy. The only thing I didn't like so much was the light-coloured wood-style plastic used in some places inside the cabin. A darker shade of �wood' will look much better. Otherwise, it's all spot-on.

I got to drive this new Camry for only a very short time, and ?rst impressions are scant. But for whatever it's worth, the Camry's 2.4-litre inline-four felt as brilliantly smooth, rev-happy and powerful as ever. This DOHC unit, which also features variable valve timing, has been carried over from the last Camry, but has been suitably modi?ed for better power delivery, less noise and lower emissions. Lighter pistons and a higher compression ratio mean that power output is now up to 167PS@6000rpm (an increase of about 10PS on the old Camry), and torque output is 224Nm@4000rpm. At a gross vehicle weight of 1985kg, the Camry is no lightweight, but the engine - mated to a ?ve-speed automatic in the version I drove, pulls with authority, with the car stepping off the line with zest and leaping ahead with remarkable alacrity. Steering (the wheel is adjustable for rake and for reach) response felt slightly better than before - more direct and connected - and body control also seemed to be better, with less roll and wallow. The suspension - McPherson struts at the front, dual-link struts at the back - has, it seems, been tuned for more sure-footed handling this time. On the smooth tarmac where I drove, the Camry's ride quality was beyond reproach, but we'll see how it does on bad roads when we test the car. What we can say for sure at this time is that the new Camry, with anti-lock brakes and an electronic stability control system, will certainly be safer than the old one in tricky driving conditions. In situations when the driver runs out of talent and/or luck, this Camry should still see to it that he stays out of trouble.

How do I conclude this? As with earlier Camrys, this one also offers excellent all-around performance . And to add to that, it also looks very individualistic and stylish, which is something earlier Camrys never managed to do. However, at around Rs 20 lakh for the 5-speed manual and about Rs 21.50 lakh for the 5-speed auto version, the price is a bit of a dampener. The automatic Camry is almost Rs 3 lakh more expensive than a 3.0-litre Honda Accord V6, with the latter being signi?cantly more powerful. However, there is no denying that this new Camry looks and feels more contemporary than the Accord, especially if you want to spend most of your time in the back seat of your car. But still, wait for a road test before we can tell you if it's really worth all that money.

Source: Car India April 2006.