New, What to know before buying an aveo lt?

[JPD]

Hi, thanks for posting those links, I feel much better about owning an Aveo now!
It sounded like the guy was buying an older Aveo with 120k on the clock (maybe not) and I accept that the model has been tested by many different organisations with differing results. It failed the Euro NCAP crash-test in 2006 as the passenger cell collapsed, but other tests may not have produced the same results.
I was comparing the Aveo with other similarly priced sedans like the Honda City and Yaris Sedan but whether they are safer would depend on how which test was used and how the Aveo LT was equipped (which year).
I agree the 2010 Aveo got the top rating in the US NACP as they improved the crumple zone and made airbags standard, but I inferred from the original post that someone couldn't have driven 120k since last year. Sounded like an older model.

[rodo]

... I accept that the model has been tested by many different organisations with differing results. It failed the Euro NCAP crash-test in 2006 as the passenger cell collapsed, but other tests may not have produced the same results. ..... I agree the 2010 Aveo got the top rating in the US NACP as they improved the crumple zone and made airbags standard, but I inferred from the original post that someone couldn't have driven 120k since last year. Sounded like an older model.

Yes, '04 and '05 carry warnings of pelvic injury from the US side impact tests. But the substantial differences between US/Euro frontal tests for '06 are surprising. The Euro NCAP use a different (deformable) barrier and higher speeds than the US tests. Their 64 KPH (~40 MPH) would be roughly 14% faster than the US frontal impact speed. The dominant deficiency in the 2006 Aveo Euro NCAP results was that the driver dummy's chest hit and deformed the steering wheel. I suppose the speed difference could account for why this didn't show up in the US tests, but then I would question any results where a smiley face airbag deploys (see video at above link).

The 2010 Aveo also got top rating in the Euro NACP. In fact, it is the current (10/2011) leader among their most recent tests of cars in its "Supermini" class. See http://www.euroncap.com/supermini.aspx.

[rodo]

Forgot to add: if safety is your driving concern, then you probably shouldn't be looking in the Aveo/Supermini class in the first place:

No attempt is made to compare the performance of cars from different size categories. In frontal impacts between heavy and light cars, it is clear that momentum effects favour the occupants of the heavy car. Other characteristics also tend to favour larger cars. - Development of the Euro NCAP Programme