OGAN AUTO

When should an automaker change a radically new cars name? For Volkswagen, a big, American-size Passat is still a Passat. For Chevrolet, the new Aveo replacement is now the Sonic. Like the Passat, it represents a significant change.

Like its next-size up sibling, Cruze, the 2012 Chevy Sonic is on the large size of its segment, the b-car category now populated by Ford Fiesta and Honda Fit.

"Dont call it an Aveo replacement," says Chevy small car marketing director Margaret Brooks, even after we have called it the Aveo replacement.

Styling is much improved, with a nice, small-car take on the classic Chevy front end-graphics. Chevy has shown the hatchback for a long time, though this is the first official look at the four-door sedan. Like Ford with its Fiesta, Chevy is expecting the hatchback to be the volume model, especially with young, first-time buyers.

Those are class-leading power numbers according to Chevy, but the company is also bragging about the Sonics suspension. Its nothing fancy in terms of hardware — struts up front, torsion beam out back — but the task of tuning them was turned over to engineers who also tuned the Corvette. Does that mean the Sonic will be a sportier subcompact than the Aveo that came before it? Maybe.

If anything, it shows that Chevrolet is more serious than ever about making its small car feel refined. To that end, the Sonic was designed with one of the stiffest chassis in the segment and the wheel sizes range up to 17 inches in diameter. The standard electronic stability control system also features rollover sensors and 10 airbags.

Mechanical bits aside, the Sonic also features a well-stocked interior, if you pay up for the options, of course. It offers heated front seats, remote start and a sunroof. The sedans trunk space is also segment-leading, and both body styles offer more rear-seat room than the Ford Fiesta. Rear seats fold almost flat to increase cargo capacity, but theres no sign of any kind of multi-adjustable rear seat like the Honda Fit