Toy Review – Transformers Swerve (Chevy Aveo)

Swerve is by far the Transformer with the weirdest production history in the nearly 30 years of the brand. It’s an exclusive toy, but for a long time, nobody was 100% sure who he was exclusive to. Was he a Chevrolet exclusive in certain European markets? Was he a worldwide Chevy online exclusive? Did you have to buy a real Chevy Aveo to get him, or just test drive? Does he like gladiator movies? (Okay, strike that last one.)

For the full story, hit the TF Wiki entry. This review will concentrate on pure facts. Wait, it’s a review, it can’t do that. Eh, just hit the jump for the full review.

Swerve is an odd duck when it comes to the toy, too. The instructions have the old 2003 “Transformers Universe” logo, but it doesn’t quite feel like a Universe toy. It’s more of a Movie toy, and not just because it’s a fully licensed Aveo, but it doesn’t quite feel like a true Movie toy, either. It’s this weird amalgam of hurried production design with some clever bits in there. It’s quite unique, really, when you stop and think about it.

As mentioned, Swerve’s vehicle mode is a red, Chevrolet Aveo. With dark translucent blue windows, this looks like your average car that would be on the road. But as you can tell from the pictures, the toy (or at least my sample) has some quality control issues when trying to keep it pegged together. While not a deal-breaker, it does detract from the “disguise” mode.

Another odd thing about this is the Autobot symbol. It’s easier to see in these pictures, but in natural light, it just disappears into the hood, almost like Chevy said “Yeah, if you need to put a symbol on there, fine, but don’t make it too noticeable!”

The transformation is pretty easy for a deluxe — take apart the back half, swing down the sides, pull out the feet, twist the waist, push down the hood for the chest, etc. There’s some cleverness with the side panels of the car that elegantly fold back up along the thighs; I don’t know why, but I really like that.

In robot mode, Swerve can twist his head, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles. The reason I mention this is because that’s all he does. He comes with no weapons, so apparently he’s an extreme pacifist. I mean, even First Aid had a gun. So, there’s not much you can do with him except pose him. In a nice touch, though, his head is designed after the Autobot symbol. (So, does this mean someone should customize him as the Last Autobot? Probably not.)

I do like Swerve, although I can’t put my finger on exactly why. He has no weapon and he’s got some trouble pegging together in vehicle mode, but he looks good in robot mode. And he’s a great conversation piece among Transformers fans.

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