Daewoo Matiz

Europe's Best Small Car, last year, the Matiz is one of the best looking cars on Indian roads, or rather around the world, today. Not surprising considering that Daewoo had given the job of styling to Giugiaro of Italdesign. Incidentally, the Matiz's shape is based on the Lucciola concept car, which was offered to Fiat as a replacement for the Cinquecento. Fiat's loss is certainly Daewoo's gain. The Matiz has turned out to be a design that transcends class and forces a smile and appreciation from even the stuffiest sorts. The short bonnet, which holds the cute Bettle-like lamps and the absence of a grille, characterises the front. The classy winged taillights are distinctive as well but intrude into the loading area of the rear hatch. Still the car is unquestionably the best-packaged car in India today. The tight packaging of the engine and the stretch of the A-pillar give it a semi-monospace design that maximises passenger space. The long front door is an indication of this. A disappointment is luggage space, which is nowhere near as generous as passenger room. The Matiz uses conventional MacPherson struts in front with the rear springs that hark back to the Daewoo Tico, originally a Suzuki Alto (Maruti 800). In terms of build quality, the Matiz impresses with the well-aligned body panels, a fabulous paint job and a rigid and rattle-free bodyshell. The 796cc three-cylinder block is similar to the Maruti 800, with an identical bore and stroke of 68.5x72mm. This is one of the few carryover parts from the Tico. However, the top half of the M-Tech engine is virtually all-new design developed by Tickford of UK and Daewoo's technical centre in Germany. Though it maintains a conventional two-valve per head layout in the interests of costs and simplicity, this M-Tect motor comes with other high-tech hardware like a thermoplastic manifold, torque rail shift engine mounts and clip-type retainers for valve springs. A high performance camshaft and a sophisticated multi-point fuel injection (MPFI) system pushes power up to a claimed 52bhp @ 6200rpm and if these figures are true, it's pretty impressive for an 800cc, three pot engine. On a drag strip the Matiz takes a little over 20sec to touch three-figure speeds. The three-cylinder engine, though pretty refined at idle, feels decidedly coarse when intended through its rev range. However, the perky throttle response and very short gearing of the Matiz makes it easy to punt around in town. The interiors are a revelation the minute you step in through the large front doors. Ergonomically, the Matiz is spot on, with the controls falling nicely to hand and a driving position and seat comfort that are well suited to most bodyframes. The view through the MPV-like distant windscreen is good but the forward-sitting A-pillars tend to obstruct vision while cornering. At the rear, legroom is terrific for a car of this size. The brilliant packaging of the Matiz and semi-monospace design allows the front seats to be positioned acutely forward. This liberates tremendous legroom, more than even the Cielo. Rear seat comfort is good thanks to an optimally reclined backrest and soft ride. Again, the luggage area is disappointing, which is similar in size to the Zen. The stylish rear taillights, which intrude into the loading area, do not help. The Matiz has been designed primarily for urban use. It makes light work of traffic thanks to its compact dimensions and good driveability. In term soft low-speed ride, the Matiz is on the softer side and is very compliant. At high speeds, however, the Matiz pitches excessively and is easily ruffled by rough and bumpy roads. Fuel efficiency is one of its strong points. Figures of 12.4kpl and 17.8kpl in the city and on the highway can be returned without much ado.

There are numbers of options available by which one can modify their Matiz, depending on their requirements, preferences and budget. One can change tod-like headlights with daul clear headlights which are easily available in the local market. The front can be modified in order to give Matiz a Macho looks.