Chevrolet Matiz 1.0

...and don't like about the Chevrolet Matiz 1.0 SE, as a newly qualified driver (I passed the practical driving test in October 2006) and will put in as much detail as I can.

Now to start with, it was under sad circumstances that I got this car, for my first car which I got second hand last November (2006) was the original Matiz, the Daewoo model. However, back in March I unfortunately had an accident driving home from work along a narrow ...
...I decided on a newer Chevrolet model as I had come into a bit of money before the crash and as they offered a very good deal with money off servicing etc. plus it had the spec. I'd told myself I wanted my next car to have, which is basically electric front windows (no more straining my elbow to open the drivers side window!) and central locking - no, even better than that, REMOTE central locking! Okay so your probably thinking that these are hardly ... more

In this review I will explain what I do and don't like about the Chevrolet Matiz 1.0 SE, as a newly qualified driver (I passed the practical driving test in October 2006) and will put in as much detail as I can.

Now to start with, it was under sad circumstances that I got this car, for my first car which I got second hand last November (2006) was the original Matiz, the Daewoo model. However, back in March I unfortunately had an accident driving home from work along a narrow country road, it was pretty scary but I walked away from it fine at least, its a shame I couldn't say the same for the car though! It got sent to a garage and as I feared, it was going to cost more than it was worth to fix it, so I had to get a new car. I remember one of the guys that came to my help commenting on how well the car had managed to take the impact and that it definately helped me walk away without any injury and I'd always thought it had been a practical and safe car, so that definately made me think that I wanted another. When I went to the car showroom, I decided on a newer Chevrolet model as I had come into a bit of money before the crash and as they offered a very good deal with money off servicing etc. plus it had the spec. I'd told myself I wanted my next car to have, which is basically electric front windows (no more straining my elbow to open the drivers side window!) and central locking - no, even better than that, REMOTE central locking! Okay so your probably thinking that these are hardly luxuries but the Daewoo model had neither of this, so trust me I appreciated them after getting it! I think its worth having a very bog standard/low spec. model car as your first car, to make you appreciate it all the more when you get your next one with hopefully the better spec...

Anyway, my Matiz is the same colour as the photo shown on Ciao, although the photo there looks suspiciously more like the old Daewoo model, the shape and design on the Chevrolet being slightly different, they remodelled it for the re-badging when Chevrolet (well General Motors really I think) took over Daewoo around 2004. I believe Chevrolet launched in Europe soon after with the re-badged Chevrolet Matiz having been available for about 2 years now.

This is the 1.0 (1 litre) engine size model, which, although some might sneer a bit, is perfectly fine for me. Infact, its definately more powered than the Daewoo model, as that was a 796cc, both Daewoo and now Chevrolet offer the Matiz in 0.8 (796cc) and 1.0 (1.0 being 1 litre though I read on Chevrolets site that its actually 995cc) engine sizes (with the 0.8 being an automatic model I believe), so this is the more powerful of the two. This 1 litre model is quite nippy and is complimented by having 4 cylinders and is capable of a top speed of 96.9 mph, according to Chevrolets site (though trust me I haven't tested that myself! *ahem*). Trust me though, as long as you don't live up mount Everest, this is perfectly well powered enough, as long as you carry a maximum of 3 people I'd say, its pretty much fine. I've driven it on the motorway and it can easily sit at 70mph without having to push it too much, I can definately feel the difference from the lower 0.8 model, so I'd say that it is worth going for the larger model. I wouldn't say that its brilliant for driving up steep slopes if there are lots of you in the car or/and alot of luggage or bags etc. in the boot and so on, it can struggle but generally its not bad at all and I've driven a variety of cars as a learner driver, from a Renault Clio to my dads 1.6 Fiat Stilo. I wouldn't say that the Matiz is as powerful as the Stilo of course but I find that it suits me just fine, as I mainly use it myself or at the most only have 1 (and on the odd ocassion 2) passengers but when thats the case and especially if your driving along a straight stretch, you have to watch your speedometer, it can build up speed pretty quickly! infact Chevrolet claims that the 1.0 model can go from 0 - 62 mph in 14.1 seconds, which isn't too bad all things considered.

Now back to more practical things and what I like about this car, what I'd specifically looked for really, is that its nice and small and easy to park. Okay I know woman driver, right? yes I'll be honest and say that parking isn't my one favourite thing in life and I wanted to have a car that would be small enough to fit into slots that those large 4x4s don't have a hope of fitting into, in busy areas *hehe* and also one that has a decent turning circle, for manoeuvring, also partly because where I live (in a clu de sac) parking space is a rare thing and it can be a real nightmare to find somewhere to park, so I had to bare that in mind. As it happens, my car is the only one in the cul de sac small enough to fit into the slot I use, so that makes me somewhat smug *heh again*. The turning circle is handy, when in a rush I am able to pull out of most slots and do three point turns etc. without too much messing about, it definately saves time, though obviously you have to be very careful to keep checking everywhere - keep those observations going, it'll take alot longer if you hit something lol but yeah I like the fact that its very responsive and has a decent turning circle. My dad has commented on that too, I think sometimes he wishes he had a smaller car for parking, his wider Fiat is alot more awkward for fitting in and reversing out of slots. I find that the handbrake is easy for me to apply and although the gears very ocassionally stick, its not really a problem - I've driven other cars that have much more fussy and sticky gear boxes.

Another thing I like about this car is that its been designed particularly well so that when you sit inside it, you don't feel all cramped and like your stuck in a small, narrow car at all. It feels very spacious inside and the seats are pretty comfy, their not too soft but their not too hard either. Also the side mirrors are pretty large which is a good thing, I like to know I have good visibility, as I still feel somewhat vulnerable when I go out and about as a fairly newly qualified driver (especially after the crash earlier this year). Its been designed pretty well and I don't think the dashboard looks overly plastic, like some can. It makes me feel like im in a nice, middle priced (not quite bottom of the line) car. The controls are pretty easy to get used to, there's the usual stuff, fan and ventilation slots and a rear window heater, a radio and CD player installed as standard I believe, particularly in the SE model. Below the radio/CD is a handy storage compartment, where you could fit a slim sunglasses case (not the Vision Express ones though mind you, I've had the misfortune of trying that and not being able to pull it out, it got stuck in there! maybe slimmer slip cases or something though) or keys or/and coins, that kind of thing. It has a non-slip lining too I believe.

The 'Information Centre' (the dials that sit infront of you just to the left of the steering wheel) consists of a rev counter, speedometer and fuel gauge and there's a digital display below the speedometer which can display a clock or it can also display your mileage. Just behind the steering wheel lies what I believe they call the 'Nacelle' (a word I'd never heard before but from the manual I believe thats what they call it), which is where you find the various icons that warn you if the oil needs changing or if you've left the parking brake/handbrake on and so on.

Now next on to the passengers side and there you'll find the glove compartment and underneath that, a storage compartment. Thats one thing I really like about this car, there are plenty of storage places. It may be a small car but its roomy enough inside and offers plenty of places to store things. Infact there are storage compartments behind the seats at the back too, if you need an extra place to store things or if you have passengers in the back.

The boot isn't very big but thats where the storage compartments are useful, most things I buy I find it easier to put on the back seat but you could use the boot, its just not particularly spacious, which is why I think this car is probably best as a second car, it works best as a town/city runaround I believe. You'd be struggling to get 3 or more suitcases in there, thats for sure, then again if there were two or three of you and so many suitcases, the engine would definately start to struggle, remember I use this car 95% of the time on my own or with just one passenger, I probably wouldn't recommend it for use if there's 3 or more of you going to use it.

What else can I mention? well when I got the car, the head rests at the back were partially obstructing my view in the rear view mirror but I was glad to find that their very easily adjusted and once pushed right down, they don't obstruct your view at all really, which is good, I believe on some cars its not possible to adjust the back head rests(?) so this is a good thing that you can on this car. Also back to the boot and if you do need some extra room for something perhaps something particularly long that you buy at the next sales or whatever, then it does come with a split rear seat, so if there's only two of you, you can re-arrange things in the back to fit things through the boot and into the back of the car (I haven't used this feature yet, so I can't comment how easy or difficult it is, I've seen my parents use this on other cars but it always seems awkward to me...we'll see! if its a purchase your trying to fit in, try asking for help in the shop sometimes someone will offer to help).

The car also comes with power steering (of course, thankfully!), ABS, driver and passenger airbag, body coloured bumpers, immobiliser, adjustable driver seat height, height adjustable seatbelts and so on. The radio/CD player is a decent Blaupunkt make and the car has 4 speakers onboard which produce a good audio quality, two of the speakers are slightly(!) conspiculously (sp?) placed on the far front of the dashboard. Its easy to find the volume control while keeping your eyes on the road, as its done by swivelling a big enough knob (no jokes please *ahem*) and just a quick push of another easy to find button by the volume control quickly mutes it, or if held longer, switches it off.

If your interested in how economical it is, petrol wise, well it takes unleaded petrol and the last time I filled it up, the garage was charging 96.9 and it cost me about £25 to fill up from from just under a quarter of a tank to full and a full tank lasts me about a month, where I use it Monday to Friday to drive in and out of work (5 miles away from where I live) and I use it to go into town for appointments and to the shops sometimes. So its up to you to figure out if thats particularly economical but those figures are definately truthful because I know thats what I use it for and I checked my last petrol bill!

All in all, I really like my car, I particularly like the colour and I like the design of it too as, like the Daewoo model was, its quite fun, I like the front lights as their quite cartoon-y, quite jolly I think. The Chevrolet model somehow looks a bit less 'tinny' as the Daewoo one slightly looked I thought (only slightly) and it seems a bit more substantial, without being too big or bulky. Its fun and roomy and spacious inside and responds well, if its only going to be used by one or two people (with a maximum of 3 people on board) this is a great car with lots of useful features. It comes with 5 doors as standard and there's plenty of room in the front and back. The only place where there isn't much space I'd say is the boot but if the back seat isn't really needed then you can use the split rear seat. They seem to have thought of everything, infact the only thing I would possibly have liked to have had in this car would be air conditioning, but I just wasn't that bothered to pay extra for that and the special offer I was offered was on a specific car which just didn't have it, so I guess I didn't really have the choice. I believe you need the next model up from the SE model to get air conditioning as standard, though if buying a new car you can request air conditioning on the SE model just it costs more as an extra, if that makes sense(?) and im not sure of the extra cost, maybe around 3-500? but thats a guess, I don't think its more than £500 max, I'm not sure air conditioning is a wonderful idea though as it uses extra engine power to power that though so again if there's more than a couple of you in the car, that might add to it slightly struggling, especially up steep slopes etc.

Another unfortunate downside I find, which I found with the Daewoo model too (though this happens to some extent in all cars I believe), is that the windows can steam up fairly quickly, when the weather detoriorates (oh the depression of having to use the wipers on full wipe and having to stick the heater on full blast at the windscreen last Friday afternoon - in August, I tell you the worlds gone mad!), though it clears it does take a while and its a bit worrying when the side windows steam up, making the side mirrors more difficult to see out of. In this case you have to put the heater on full blast and run the engine a while for it to work through.

If the car showroom/dealer I went to is in any way representative of what their like across the UK, I'd say go down to your local Chevrolet dealer and have a word about the Matiz 1.0 SE model and ask if they can do you a deal on one, you might be surprised! I got mine with only delivery mileage and with metallic paint at no extra for under 6k, even though on Chevrolets site it states that the Matiz is from £6,245. Maybe my local dealer (in Broxburn West Lothian) is particularly good I don't know but you can always ask, I found that they were offering good deals as the new '07' registration plates were coming in, so the 06 ones were being sold with money off, even though it had only been made a few months ago! The dealer also offered a good servicing deal, if you pay an extra few hundred you get a good discount on the first 3 I believe... ask them for details.

I hope this review helps anyone interested in the car, I speak as a newly qualified driver and as such, I recommend this as a good first car, for I think it offers good visibility, with good size side mirrors and is small enough to fit into nearly all parking spaces and offers a very decent turning circle. Certainly worth looking at if your wanting a town or city runaround and is more than capable of motorway driving too, its surprisingly responsive and more than good enough as a commuter and occasional recreational use (into town) car.

I think I've exhausted everything, I said more than I thought I'd be able to think of lol all I've left to say is that I don't know about you but personally I really like my car, which I have lovingly nicknamed Izzy's Matizzy! (what do you think, its got a good ring to it, right? lol) I hope you enjoyed my review and I hope this helps you decide if this is for you or not. If your left wondering what the interior of the car is like (see the photos of my car below to see what the exterior is like) or want to find more technical info., then I advise you to check chevrolet.co.uk, there's plenty of photos there, or check your local dealers site for more info. on the car spec. One last thing - I read online that every 12th car in the world is a Chevy, that must mean something, right? 

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