The Tacuma CDX looks unlike anything else available here. Till some time ago, Daewoo were contemplating bringing this car here, and position it in the Astra / Lancer segment. The Tacuma is slightly bigger dimensions than a Mitsubishi Lancer, but looks completely different from any conventional three-box saloon. If this was the late-80s or early-90s, I would compare it to something like the original Mazda MPV, but Daewoo claim that this more than just a multi-purpose-vehicle. A cross, in fact, between a ‘luxury car’ and an ‘MPV’.
Well! Of late, on the world automotive scene, we’ve seen some such oddball efforts. Japanese manufacturers want to sell you vehicles that are a cross between luxury cars and SUVs, and the Krauts have cars that are a mix of refined luxury and a modicum of off-road capabilities, though not full-on SUVs. So, if the Germans and the Japs can do their own thing, why not the Koreans as well?
Regardless of what they say, the Tacuma looks more or less like an MPV to me. That doesn’t mean it’s not good-looking. The test car came with handsome 8-spoke alloys shod in chunky 195/60 Kumho, and though the styling came across as a bit ‘heavy’ at the rear, but the light cluster at the back looks nifty. Okay, overall, when it comes to exterior
appearance. Inside, it’s a ‘proper’ three-seater at the rear (as Daewoo engineers were so at pains to point out…), and the front passenger seat swivels a full 180-degrees to allow it to face the rear passenger bench. Very spacious,
and the boot/luggage space is gargantuan. There is, as you’d expect, power-everything (windows, steering…), and Daewoo have slapped on some silver alloy-effect plastics (?)
to brighten things up a bit.
This Tacuma also had a 2.0liter DOHC mill lurking under its bonnet, and I was told that this one punts out 129 horses at 5600 revs. The tacho was again marked to 8000 and the speedo to 220, so what are we waiting for? Flooring the throttle in first, the Tacuma leaped ahead with willingness we did not expect! The acceleration was about the same as a Ford Ikon 1.6, which is quite okay. Pitched hard in turns,
the Tacuma exhibited a fair amount of body roll, but still remained planted. Yes, I was not caning it as hard as the Magnus (which I had tested just hours ago...), but ‘gentle’ would still hardly describe the way I treated the Tacuma, and yet, it never once stepped out, or got out of line. Get the stick moving hard in the 5-speed ’box, and progress is rapid.
The handling is reasonably neutral, though I must mention that the Tacuma likes to take corners in throttle-on mode, and backing off mid-corner makes it unhappy. Also, though it
looks like it might turn turtle during excessively spirited cornering, no such thing actually happened. The Tacuma even handled the steeply banked section on the DMIL test track (near Delhi), at high speeds, without much complaint. Again, as with the Magnus, I did not have a chance to test the top speed, but in my estimate, it will certainly reach a speedo-indicated 200 on a long enough road.
This is, if nothing else, different from what other manufacturers have on offer. Big, capable, and comfortable yes, but compared to Octavias and Lancers, this one has a
different mission in life. This one will not only take the wife and kids, but will also lug their rollerblades, picnic hampers, big stuffed toys, a pet dog or two, and all the camping equipment they want to carry – in airconditioned
luxury. What the hell, life’s a picnic…