SLOVENIA. WHERE ON earth is that? And who would think to launch a new car there?

In answer to the first silly question, Slovenia is one of the bits fractured off from the former Yugoslavia, and apart from boasting extremely good food, it's also one of the most charmingly picturesque places you'll find on the Adriatic.

Partly for these reasons, and partly because Eastern Europe represents a vast market for the brand, General Motors, Chevrolet's parent company, recently launched the new Aveo compact sedan there in January.

Now GM has regularly been in the news, and for all the wrong reasons, it lost US$8.6 billion last year for example, but Chevrolet and the brand's positioning in terms of emerging market appeal constitutes a precious lifeline for the ailing company. The Aveo in no small part helped Chevrolet shift over 2,000 cars here last year, and this heavily facelifted model looks set to continue this success when it officially hits local showrooms in March.

While based on the current Aveo platform, Chevrolet has made comprehensive modifications to the body structure to improve strength.

The exterior changes have also been quite substantial, with the car notably gaining a bold, stylish new nose.

The grille and centre segment of the lower air intake are both mounted on a raised section of the nose described by the tapering swage lines on the bonnet. The grille itself is larger, incorporating plenty of chrome as well as mesh inserts.

To add extra visual interest, Chevrolet's designers have incorporated a pronounced shoulder line that runs the length of the car, connecting both the head and tail lamps, as well as aggressively flared wheel arches.

The facelifted model also gets chunky new door handles and neater rear end styling, and the overall effect is to impart a much more upmarket feel. The car also has the distinction of being the first Chevrolet to have been completely designed in-house at GM's new design facility in Bupyong, Korea.

DRIVING IT

Slovenian country roads can twist and turn like those in an arcade driving simulator, and there are all manner of camber changes and gradients to deal with, but to its credit, the Aveo remained for the most part, distinctly unruffled.

The car delivers a ride that is remarkably composed, especially considering the fact that the roads on our test route weren't exactly in the best condition.

While you do get the impression that the car has a fairly high centre of gravity, turn-in is positive and enthusiastic steering inputs don't result in too much body roll.

And despite the fact that our test cars came shod with winter tyres, there was quite a lot of grip available, encouraging for enthusiastic drivers.

You can string together a series of bends pretty convincingly, surprisingly so in fact, and the only point where the Aveo falters is when the roads get seriously twisty.

Changing direction before giving the car a chance to properly settle into a turn evokes the mechanical equivalent of a "What the....?!" from the dampers. In any event, this is just a small niggle, and one that even some so-called sporty cars have trouble with. The engine variant that will most likely make it to our market is the 1.4-litre four-cylinder tested here, although a 1.2-litre version is also available.

Transmission options include five-speed manual and five-speed automatic gearboxes.

The former has a fairly long throw and a vague action but the clutch is light and easy to modulate, which means that traffic snarls shouldn't pose much of a problem.

The automatic is probably your best bet, though, it's smooth and quite responsive if you need it to be.

INSIDE IT

One of our test cars came with all the bells and whistles, by affordable car standards at least.

These included an integrated stereo with steering wheel mounted satellite controls, a sunroof as well as electronic climate control.

It's easy to assume that affordable cars must feel commensurately affordable inside and out but thanks to cars from Hyundai and Kia, and now Chevrolet, this is becoming the exception rather than the rule.

The materials used in the new Aveo's cabin are of substantially better quality than those employed in the pre-facelift cars.

While this might not be saying very much given how plasticky the old cars were, everything does seem to have been put together pretty well.

Brittle plastics haven't all been banished from the interior but Chevrolet has even gone to the trouble of adding soft touch surfaces and textured trim where you can easily see them.

You actually have to have a poke around to find the brittle stuff, which does help lift the cabin ambience considerably.

The dashboard is neat and can be attractively accented with aluminium-effect trim, depending on spec levels. Space is decent up front but taller rear passengers might have some trouble with the amount of headroom. The Aveo recently received some flack in the press thanks to its less than stellar performance in Euro NCAP crash tests. Still, it's nevertheless heartening to see that Chevrolet has included a three-point safety belt for the centre rear passenger.

DOLLARS AND SENSE

Manual and automatic variants of the 1.4-litre Aveo available, and prices start at $45,988 with COE.

VERDICT

Chevrolet's appearance in 2005's top 10 list in terms of local sales was no real surprise.

The marque has made a name for itself in terms of offering affordable products that benefit from the halo effect of one of America's most evocative brands.

The facelifted Aveo is a big step up from the old car, particularly where looks and build quality are concerned, the fact that it also proves dynamically very capable is icing on the cake.

NEED TO KNOW

Engine Type 1,399cc, 16v in-line 4
Max Power 94bhp at 6,200rpm
Max Torque 130Nm at 3,400rpm
Gearbox 5-speed automatic
Top speed 170km/h
0-100km/h 11.9 seconds
Price TBA
Warranty TBA
Contact Starsauto
Telephone 6581-1111

SIMILAR CARS WE HAVE DRIVEN

Hyundai Verna 1.4 (A) $49,500 with COE
The new Verna gets upmarket styling both inside and out, and a big dose of extra refinement thrown into the mix.

Kia Rio 1.4 (A) $49,999 with COE
Mechanically similar to the Verna, the Rio is arguably more funkily styled, but it shares the former's competent dynamic characteristics.