I have finally sold my Matiz after using it for a year, not because I was fed up of the car, but simply because it wasn’t very fun to drive. The puny 3 cylinder, 800cc engine just wasn’t enough to whet my appetite for a fun to drive car, especially since my other car is a 1.6 Ford Ikon.
I bought the car in Jan 2001. It was a top of the line SA model and here’s my experience.
Design and Styling
One of the main reasons which attracted me and many others to buy this car is its cute Italian looks. Matiz was arguably the best looking hatch in the Indian market, until the Palio came in, though some still prefer the Matiz’s looks. With Cute, bubbly unconventional looks, along with a solid, stable stance there is no doubting that the Matiz is a great looker. Good looks, coupled with phenomenal interior packaging make it a very well designed car. This doesn’t come as a surprise since it was penned by Italdesign, an Italian design firm run by Giorgetto Giugaro, who was named car designer of the century.
Engine, Gearbox and Performance
Unfortunately these are the areas where the Matiz loses out badly to its competition. The 3 cylinder 800cc MTec engine does its job very well around the city, but its a different story on the highway. Though it is not a bad cruiser, the engine simply doesn’t pack enough punch for overtakes and driving on our 2 lane highways. I drove the car on the Mumbai-Pune expressway when it was fairly new and managed to reach 140km/h in fifth gear, without much fuss.
Air conditioning is great, and does well to keep you cool in the scorching Indian summer. This however takes its toll on the engine, with a significant drop in power with the a/c switched on. Leave the a/c off and the tiny powerplant turns into an eager performer and ensures you’re the first one off the traffic light!
The cable shift gearbox is another let-down as it is notchy and takes a while to get used to. Finding the right slot can prove to be a pain, though I was told that it’ll ease out with regular use, I didnt notice even a slight change after a year’s usage.
Interiors
’The Big Small Car’, as Daewoo advertised it, and rightly so, as inspite of being a compact hatch, it has loads of space inside, with enough room to seat 5 in comfort. The boot, though slightly small is enough for use around the city and carry your wife’s grocery shopping. What comes as a result of slightly less space in the boot is loads of leg-room for passengers. Luggage or Comfort? You take your pick. Rears seats fold fully flat to accommodate large sized suitcases.
Quality of plastics was slightly cheap for my liking and seat fabric started wearing out before a year’s usage! The cool blue illumination on the dash is a good change from the conventional green in Japanese cars, and feels very soothing to the eye at night.
Driving position is excellent, giving the driver a commanding view of the road and its surroundings. The front of the bonnet is high, slopes at a steep angle and is not visible to the driver. This needs getting used to especially while turning in tight corners, but doesn’t take very long to get used to it.
Ride and Handling
Suspension is on the stiffer side giving a very rough and bumpy ride on our pot-holed roads. Handling is good, and the smooth power steering responds well, apart from slight oversteer at high speeds. On expressways the car felt surprisingly stable at 140km/h, and certainly inspired more confidence than my earlier Zen which would start dilly-dallying when driven at speeds around 120km/h. I would however recommend you to stay around the 100km/h mark on regular highways.
Parking the car in tight spots is very easy, as is taking u-turns, with an excellent turning radius. Braking is also very good.
Fuel Economy
The car was surprisingly fuel efficient when brand new, returning figures of 13-15 kpl with a/c in Mumbai suburbs and figures of 20 plus on highways. This however faded out in the later stage with the car hardly returning 8 kpl in city(worse than what I get in the 1.6 Ikon). A faulty fuel gauge was blamed for this problem, but the company was unable to replace it due to shortage of parts and hence that factor will always remain a mystery.
Verdict
I think the Matiz is still the best car for use within the city. A 4 cylinder, 1000cc engine would’ve been better suited for use on our highways. Daewoo motors did not need competition to ruin the Matiz, they did the honours themselves and have done very well to KILL a potential market ruler as it would’ve done wonders if it had any other’s manufacturer’s badge!