First Drive: Chevrolet Sonic Sedan, Diesel And Automatic

The Chevrolet Sonic arrived in South Africa late last year. Anticipated as the replacement for the ageing Aveo, the five-door Sonic hatchback is slightly larger and slightly pricier, which is why you’ll still find the Aveo on Chevrolet’s price list as an alternative. Let’s not forget, however, that the Sonic still offers an attractive value proposition in the B-segment and now, with the introduction of the four-door sedan bodystyle, a new turbo-diesel engine, as well as an automatic gearbox, stands to be more attractive to more people.

The biggest visual change to the Sonic range comes in the form of the sedan. While everything forward of the B-pillar is identical to the hatchback, the sedan has its own identity towards the rear end, with the taut lines of the hatchback having been blended into the rear extension for the boot. Chevrolet say the Sonic sedan is more conservative and a little more upmarket in its presence, in order to appeal to the more mature buyer.

Inside, the quirky driver’s instrument cluster takes pride of place on the dashboard and the dual-cockpit design, its layout and feel, are all shared with the hatchback. The interior remains well equipped, favourably insulated and comfortable, with practicality having been moved up a notch with the addition of a 466-litre boot – 290-litres more than the hatch and 16-litres more than the bigger Chevrolet Cruze. Rear legroom is on par with others in its class, but one wonders whether the Chev engineers could have compromised on the boot space in favour of a little more for the rear passengers.

As with the Sonic Hatch, the Sedan models are offered with a choice of either 1.4-litre or 1.6-litre petrol engines. The 1.4-litre engine produces 74 kW and 130 Nm of torque, while the 1.6-litre engine delivers 85 kW and 155 Nm of torque. Fuel consumption is 5.7 L/100km and 6.4 L/100km respectively for the manual transmission, with the 1.6 automatic requiring 6.9 L/100km.

The next addition to the Sonic range is a six-speed automatic transmission, available exclusively in the Sonic Sedan and mated to the 1.6-litre petrol engine. Equipped with adaptive shift control, the gearbox allows engine braking when slowing down or on steep downhill gradients. While it doesn’t employ a double-clutch system like its Ford Fiesta or Volkswagen Polo competitors, the transmission performs adequately, without any obvious hunting between gears.

Finally, the Sonic hatch is now available with a 1.3-litre turbo-diesel engine. 70 kW and 210 Nm might not sound like much, but in the real world the Sonic diesel has enough gusto to keep ahead of traffic. Peak torque is available between 1 750 and 2 500 r/min, a narrow window on paper, but the engine feels more free-revving than expected and is quite happy to reach to 4 000 r/min mark where peak power is developed. Equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, the number of ratios also helps to keep the little oil-burner humming along at respectable pace. The engine delivers respectable fuel economy too, with Chevrolet claiming an average figure of 4.6 L/100km, while we averaged in the low 5′s on the launch route. Thanks to the mid-range grunt, the small capacity, turbocharged engine feels the most gutsy in the Sonic line-up and will undoubtedly lead the petrol counterparts on in-gear acceleration. Combined with low fuel economy and a retail price of R178 730, the 6-speed Sonic diesel would be our current choice in the range.

Prices include a 5-year/120 000 km warranty, roadside assistance and a 3-year/60 000 km service plan.

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