Chevrolet did more than change the name of its moribund Aveo subcompact car, which ends production this year. Chevrolet, the premier global car division at General Motors, actually gave us a genuinely improved subcompact automobile, the 2012 Sonic, which is sold as a hatchback and sedan in three iterations, the base LS, mid-grade LT, and top-of-the-line LTZ.

I drove the Sonic LT hatchback, which costs $1,485 more than the comparable Aveo it replaces.

The Sonic LT has a base price of $15,735. The Aveo 5 1LT comes with a base sticker of $14,250.

The problem: The overall improved design, engineering and build quality of the new Sonic justifies every penny of its higher cost over the Aveo. But the Sonic gains little in value-for-dollar bragging rights, taking into consideration the high quality of the base-midgrade 2012 Hyundai Accent GS, priced at $14,596.

Tipping the value-for-dollar balance in favor of the Hyundai Accent is the excellently crafted, upscale Hyundai Accent SE, which has a base sticker (minus options) of $15,795, only $60 higher than the Sonic LT, but $740 less than the comparable, upscale Sonic LTZ.

Small cars, including subcompacts and compacts, constitute the most price-sensitive parts of the automobile market in the United States. Price matters. But quality matters most.

Luckily for Chevrolet, it now has an entry that truly challenges most of its rivals and soundly challenges others. Exterior styling is top-class. Ever hear of a pretty hatchback? This is one. Interior design and materials are light years from what was offered in the more-mundane-than-thou Aveo. And, hallelujah! The sonic has torque, 125 foot-pounds generated by a 1.8-liter, inline four-cylinder engine.

The new Sonics are pocket-rockets in the old tradition, fast little cars. Reasonably fast in that they can move from zero to 60 mph in 8.2 seconds, assuming you’re that keenly interested in track performance. I’m not.

What interests me more is the Sonic’s adoption of advanced automotive technology: 10 standard airbags, including front knee bolsters; a standard 1.8-liter engine that zips and an optional turbocharged inline four-cylinder model that zooms; Bluetooth, iPhone and iPad connectivity; standard OnStar emergency communications with a six-month, introductory free subscription package. Add to that a clever rework of old suspension technology (Macpherson struts up front and torsion beam in the rear) that a does a much-better-than-ordinary job in smoothing out the generally bumpy ride of small cars.

Ride experience

You can get stopped by police in the Sonic LT. It happened to me. I forgot about twisting power of torque especially in a front-wheel-drive car, such as the one I was driving. I forgot about how a quick application of torque, sending too much power to the drive wheels before the car was really ready to go, could overpower those wheels and make them squeal, loudly in my case.

A law enforcement officer was idling on my driver’s side at a too long stop light. Naturally he wanted to have a conversation about my bombastic, seemingly disrespectful behavior.

He pulled me over. I assured him that I would never intentionally disrespect police. I wasn’t challenging him. I did not tell him I was paying too little attention at the moment, an admission that is guaranteed to bring a stiff traffic violation fine. I told him, instead, that this crazy Sonic car apparently had more torque than any small car ought to have.

I was polite, obsequiously respectful, mindful of using the honorific “sir.” He had mercy on me, let me go, probably thinking that I was a little old man in a little car … who needs to pay more attention when driving.

I’m a proud man. Thinking that the officer was thinking what I thought he was thinking hurt my feelings. But I’d rather take pain in my psyche than a deep wound in my wallet.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic LT

Base price: $15,735

As tested: $17,240

Type: Front-engine, front-wheel-hatchback with four side doors and a rear hatch. It comes as a sedan with four side doors and a notchback trunk.

Engine: 1.8-liter, double overhead-cam, 16-valve, inline four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing (138 horsepower, 125 foot-pounds of torque). The engine is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

Mileage: 26 mpg city, 35 mpg highway