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The salesman asked me if I had seen the Daewoo Matiz, I didn't know if you drove it or ate it. Never heard of such a car. Well he said we have four or five to choose from.
I settled on test driving an S reg blue one. It was already five years old and was one of the ... Read review
Advantages: Cheap to run Disadvantages: might not be roomy for some people
...if I had seen the Daewoo Matiz, I didn't know if you drove it or ate it. Never heard of such a car. Well he said we have four or five to choose from.
I settled on test driving an S reg blue one. It was already five years old and was one of the first made. The price was £2475 (and was the most expensive car I had ever bought)
When I took it onto the road for a test drive I was surprised. It was easy to drive, the clutch ... ...a car so reliable, and cheap to run as this and I will sing the praises of Daewoo forever. I would like to point out that the Matiz is still being made today albeit under the Chevrolet name and it is now a part of GM. ... more
In July 2003 after my old car gave up the ghost I wanted to get a car that would look and perform better than the last few cars I had. I could not afford a new car so I thought I would look around and not make a hasty decision. I visited a garage in Great Yarmouth,they were a Vauxhall dealer and I looked around. Eventually a salesman came over and without being to pushy asked if he could be of assistance. After telling him the sort of car I would like we walked around the rows of parked cars. I had told him that for me my car would have to have the following features
1) Good fuel consumption. 2) Personal comfort and driving position. 3) Reasonably speedy and quiet engine 4) Reliability.
The salesman asked me if I had seen the Daewoo Matiz, I didn't know if you drove it or ate it. Never heard of such a car. Well he said we have four or five to choose from.
I settled on test driving an S reg blue one. It was already five years old and was one of the first made. The price was £2475 (and was the most expensive car I had ever bought)
When I took it onto the road for a test drive I was surprised. It was easy to drive, the clutch pedal was very light, the gears were very smooth changing and it accelerated well. A nippy little gem. It had power steering, but not air conditioning. It had twin air bags in the front which pleased me.
The lighting switches and other controls were easily in reach and there was plenty of room inside. Surprisingly ,I thought, it was a four door hatchback, unusual in small cars, the bootspace at the back was rather small but enough for a couple of suitcases of medium size. It is fitted with a security device and the ignition keys have a transponder which means only genuine keys will operate the ignition.
The engine was only 800cc. That's not even a litre. So the fuel economy should be pretty good. That means it is cheap to tax (at the time of writing is £60.50 for six months).
Now, after nearly three years, I have done nearly 30,000 miles. The engine has performed marvellously, it is a fairly quiet unit. Not an Aston Martin but will cruise along at 60 - 70 happily. (I did do 88 sometime ago- very naughty).
It cost £28 to fill up in the early months I had it but now that the petrol price has increased it is about £30 and I can do near 400 miles on a full tank. Not bad. the tank holds around 36 litres thats approx. 8 gallons so that's about 50 to the gallon.
As for wear and tear , in the three years I have had this vehicle I have bought 4 tyres (£100) had three oil changes, Renewed the front and rear brakes once and the odd service. I think that's very reasonable. The bodywork is still in very good condition, I wax it occasionally and it still has a good shine. There is still no sign of rust.
UPDATE:-
I wrote this review originally in April 2004, that is nearly a year ago so I thought an update might be in order.
I have now done over 33,000 miles in the car, and purchased it well over three years ago. The bodywork is still in excellent condition, although I don't wash it as often as I should.
The engine is still as economical as when I bought it and I still get around 50 to the gallon. The interior has not faded or the cushioning split or the plastic surfaces cracked. All in all it is very near the same as the day I bought it.
In the original review I stated what little I had spent on it so I am now going to detail a little more - the first two MOT tests that I had the vehicle passed easily. In July 06 exactly three years after purchase I had to pay £461. I was a bit taken aback but this was for a cracked front spring and all brake pipes to be replaced and a new battery. That seemed a lot but I keep a log of expenditure on the car and since purchase I have spent £1053 totally on the car (excluding everyday things like oil, petrol, and car tax, ) so that means £351 per year for repairs, extras, and servicing.
I am so pleased with the car that I have decided to keep it and not part exchange it as I will only be driving for another few years. but the truth is in 50 years of driving I have never owned a car so reliable, and cheap to run as this and I will sing the praises of Daewoo forever. I would like to point out that the Matiz is still being made today albeit under the Chevrolet name and it is now a part of GM.
Advantages: Small, economic, cheap, roomy(believe it or not) Disadvantages: Acceleration issues, clunky gears
...virtually no front or back sticking out.
Conclusion:
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A good starter car, and if Daewoo (actually it's owned by Chevrolet now) gave the Matiz a slightly more powerful engine, some pulling power, and improved it's minor faults, this would be a car I'd stick with longer term. ...
Magdalena 28.09.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Daewoo Matiz
Advantages: Good Perks, Good Mileage Rate, Environmentally Friendly Disadvantages: Only Holds 4 Passengers
...wife and I took our Daewoo Matiz SE for its first year servicing and had the opportunity to discuss the financial state of the company.
Daewoo in Korea is one of those companies with fingers in many pies eg television, video, microwave, shipbuilding, banking as well as car manufacturing. It transpires that the shipbuilding subsidiary borrowed large amounts of capital without paying the loans off. This led to a financial shortfall leading to the ... ...things.
A buyer of Daewoo Cars is now being sought with General Motors being the likely bidder.
There were press articles saying that Daewoo staff in Worthing did not receive pay for a couple of months. This was exaggerated with payment of wages being delayed only by a few days.
Our Daewoo Matiz SE was designed in Italy and cost £6440 in 1999. Now the price is £6595. The engine carrying capacity is 796 cc. The fuel capacity is 35 litres. It runs ...
mrpaella 29.11.2000 (12.10.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Daewoo Matiz
Advantages: Small, cheap, low insurance, economical and stylish, spacious, Daewoo service, the list goes on and on. Disadvantages: Not a Porche and the trim is cheap, but you get what you pay for
...sent the car back to Daewoo half a dozen times and they've changed one part after another but still the problem stays. I think the later models on sale now have had this problem fixed. But it is a shame that, despite their usually good customer service, Daewoo have dragged their heels so much in getting our car fixed once and for all. Overall I think this is still a great little car and well worth the money we paid for it. It's the cheapest car around ...
mc_bubba 16.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Daewoo Matiz
Advantages: Excellent value for money, cheap to run, goes like the wind, reliable have i missed anything? Disadvantages: Some parts break easily, and some garages are less than helpful
The good old Daewoo Matiz. My very kind mother and me have the fortune of part owning this magnificent specimen of a car. It truly is the modernised version of the classic mini, economical, compact and not too bad to look at. I have only got a T registered model, so I am not quite up to date. However from my experience this car is as sound as a pound.
It comes with a 0.8 litre engine, really tiny, but because of its size and minimal weight it is ... ...a part owner of a Daewoo is the company’s current problems. If I am not mistaken they are currently or at least very close to liquidation. Whether or not problems will arise in the future, when attempting to get new parts etc. is a mystery. Hopefully the company can stay afloat and survive, but if they do go under you have got to wonder what may happen about depreciation of price.
Anyway less of the doom and gloom and lets look at the features you ...
stephen_logan 18.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Daewoo Matiz
Advantages: Cheap, small, good visibility, spacious, full package Disadvantages: cheap, not the most economical, slowish
After getting a new job that wasn't on the way for my girlfriend to be able to drop me off at, I decided I had to finally buy myself a car all of my own.
Dreams of Ferrari's and Porsche's were lost as I realised I needed something cheap, reliable, and economical to run. Of course if it was practical and flexible and also looked pretty good that would be a benefit too!
I toyed with the idea of a Smart car, but they only had 2 seats and no boot space, ... ...models.
I went through Yaris, Micra's, Fiesta's, none of them seemed to endear themselves to me. I thought maybe I was just spoilt with our "main" car - a Honda Jazz (a really excellent car btw - I will be writing a review on this later!)
Eventually I took a humble Matiz for a test drive. First things I noticed - it's tiny on the outside, but big on the inside, in fact it is so small it's a pleasure to park in busy cities, but can still hold 5 ...
shandyboy 01.08.2005
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Daewoo Matiz
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Advantages: Cheap, cheap to run, equipment, easy to park Disadvantages: Too small, lacks power outside the city
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THE CHEVROLET MATIZ
Based on the old DaewooMatiz which has been on sale since the late 1990s, the new Matiz has more modern features including a new interior. The original Matiz was actually designed in Italy & sold to the Korean company saving them a lot of time & money on major development work.
The latest Matiz is priced between £6625.00 & £7465.00 (without the scrappage scheme) & features a three cylinder engine of 796cc; it is available as an automatic or manual. Road tax, thanks to its low Co2 figures is only £35.00 a year & fuel consumption is over 50mpg. The problem with the Matiz is mainly the direct competition from Kia, Hyundai & Citroen. They all produce cars in the same price bracket which are slightly bigger in size with slightly larger engines making the Matiz looking less of a bargain ...
Advantages: nippy little runaround, cheap, cute Disadvantages: size can be problem for some, 1.0 litre engine can make hills exciting!!
I took ownership of my chevvy matiz after my daewoomatiz was passed to my eldest daughter, and i have to say i was most impressed with the new version of 'betsy' the matiz! The old model had a chunky but comfortable feel, the new chevvy is sleek and quite beautiful!
Driving the chevvy is very much the same as the old model but does seem that little bit more resposive, gearbox easy and smooth, steers well and still feels secure, the profile on the chevvy does make it a little less prone to high wind wobbles.
Inside it is quite a different story, anyone who has stepped into a matiz of any description will tell you it is the biggest small car in the world! The new chevvy has the same roomyness but feels like you've walked into a sleek and sophisticated office surrounded by metal accents, with the new lighter interior it does make it ...
Advantages: Economy, performance, unexpected spaciousness, equipment levels Disadvantages: High price for size of car, plastic trim scratches easily, no intermittent setting on rear windscreen wiper
I have owned my Toyota Yaris 1.3 Vvti cdx auto for nearly a year now and I am very pleased with it.
The choices for a small car with automatic gearbox are pretty limited. The toyota wins for me because of the innovative design features (such as the movable rear seat which allows more boot space if required), the 4 door bodystyle (many autos in this sector are only available with 2 doors), the excellent toyota build quality (no rattles in the cabin whatsoever), interior space (I am 6 ft 2 and there's at least another 3 inches to spare above my head) and good performance and economy.
It is pricey though, at almost twice the price of a DaewooMatiz. This is slightly made up for by the very long service interval. Maybe I didn't negotiate well, but the dealer would not move from the list price. He did throw in the floor mats (which are ...
timboreeves 19.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Toyota Yaris 1.3
