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Road Test Review Of The All-New 2022 Chevrolet Groove
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Road Test Review Of The All-New 2022 Chevrolet Groove

·
May 30,2022
·
6 min read

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Originally based on the Chinese Baojun 510, the Chevrolet Groove is its relatively-posh cousin from America. Of course, it’s not actually American, though it’s a product of the American-Chinese (GM-SAIC) cooperation. Having said that, the subcompact crossover SUV space has kept burgeoning to the point where it might as well blow up on your face – something that has happened several times in the past. In the Chinese market since 2017, this crossover has spent enough time converting its Chinese roots to an American, at least it tries. Of course, over all these years, we have known that new Chinese cars are nowhere near as bad as their predecessors. These new ones are decently-made and well-priced alternatives to their equivalent Korean or Japanese rivals.  Today, the all-new 2022 Chevrolet Groove has reached the UAE with much hopes of attracting a piece of the subcompact crossover pie.

2022 Chevrolet Groove price and rivals in the UAE

Priced from AED 59,700 in the UAE, the all-new 2022 Chevrolet Groove range begins with the base LT variant, ending with the range-topping Premier trim that costs AED 66,600. Given its place in the segment and its price tag, the 2022 Chevrolet Groove competes with cars like the Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport, Nissan Kicks and Mitsubishi ASX in the United Arab Emirates. Vehicles in this segment have always had to fight to the bone to entice buyers to the showroom, though once there, buyers have little apprehension when it comes to actually purchasing one of these cars.

2022 Chevrolet Groove exterior design

Let me be honest here. This car is never going to set your trousers on fire for the way it looks or makes you feel when you look at it – it’s but a practical and affordable subcompact SUV, and that’s about it. However, the front-end of the 2022 Chevrolet Groove does sport a rather pleasing look with its sloping hood, sleek LED DRL setup up top, matched with a wide grille, bumper-mounted headlights, and a satin-finished lower air dam with black bumper extensions. As you go around the side, the Groove tries to draw you in with its squared-off wheel arches, protruding fenders, a supposedly ‘floating’ C-pillar, chrome-garnished door handles and window lines, satin roof rails, and 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels.

The side silhouette of the Groove is not all that groovy as one would expect, though it’s neither an eyesore. At the back, the 2022 Chevrolet Groove gathers up some pace with its styling. This is because Chevy has fitted unique-looking taillights with LEDs to the 2022 Groove, along with a sporty-looking rear spoiler & rear window, plus a silver-trim rear bumper that also (as it turns out) gets a fake diffuser that also integrates an LED fog lamp. In the UAE, this little Chevy SUV can be had in colors such as Metal Red, Aurora Silver Metallic, European Blue, and Candy White. Understandably, the Groove is a small car, therefore its 320-liter boot capacity doesn’t come across as a shock.

2022 Chevrolet Groove interior design and feel

Surprisingly, for a car that costs less than 70,000 dirhams, the interior of the 2022 Chevrolet Groove is actually quite good. It looks pretty groovy (I know that sounds cheesy), thanks to the sporty red accents and stitching all over plus metallic-looking trim bits on the door, dashboard and center console. To add to the excitement, Chevrolet has also equipped this cabin with some other interesting bits such as toggle-style buttons for the climate control and for some of the other functions. The 2022 Groove gets a meaty, leather-wrapped steering wheel which not only looks nice but also feels good to hold.

Meanwhile, the interestingly-designed gauge cluster is quite fun to look at, even though the counterclockwise tachometer seems to be ‘inspired’ by the ones found in some Aston Martins. Having said that, the central digital screen is pretty small and isn’t very legible at times. As for the seats, they’re decent if your frame is on the average side of things. The rear seats aren’t the most spacious, with legroom and shoulder space being tight, especially if you’re tall and/or broad. On another note, while headroom isn’t terrible, the view out the back from the driver’s seat might as well be. As for the 2022 Groove’s build quality and fit-and-finish, it’s average for the most part. Still, for the money, this interior is decent, overall.

2022 Chevrolet Groove features and safety equipment

The 2022 Chevrolet Groove has a fair bit of equipment and features on offer, much to the tune of those who would want to buy one. In this case, we are looking at items such as a panoramic sunroof, LED headlamps, keyless entry & go, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, cruise control, a 6-speaker audio system, electrically-adjustable door mirrors, automatic climate control, and an 8-inch touch-infotainment head unit with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay. While there might not be a whole lot of fancy gadgets in here, the overall package is alright.

Similarly, the safety gadgetry of the 2022 Chevrolet Groove is just as ordinary (read “unflattering”). There are rear parking sensors, a rearview camera, 4 airbags, ABS with EBD, Electronic Stability Control and Hill Start Assist. Overall, this subcompact crossover SUV gets its basic safety stuff right, at least on paper.

2022 Chevrolet Groove powertrain and performance

In our market, the all-new 2022 Chevrolet Groove comes with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that’s naturally aspirated. And while it’s not huge, the car it powers isn’t either. Therefore, the 110hp and 147 Nm of torque that this 1.5-liter engine produces aren’t shoddy figures, and it’s mated to a CVT gearbox (for better fuel economy apparently). However, this is not exactly reflected in the Groove’s combined fuel consumption, which comes in at a claimed 6.2 L/100 km or 15.9 kpl. As you and I can agree, that’s not very impressive for a small SUV such as this. On a similar note, the Groove can only do a maximum of 160 kph – then again, you don’t want to be doing lightspeed in a small SUV anyway, so all’s well.

Should you buy the all-new 2022 Chevrolet Groove?

There’s no doubt that the all-new 2022 Chevrolet Groove has several things working in its favor – a decent exterior design, a slightly funky interior, and an overall easy-to-drive demeanor when driving within city limits. However, the Groove’s rivals are equally good (maybe even more). Either way, go take a proper test drive before signing on the dotted line.

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