Though I am still not an owner of a Matiz, but I have decided to buy it after a lot of deliberation. What I am waiting is for the new year model to be out. I would like to share what all I have learnt from quite a few sources available - net, magz, newspapers and foreign media.
Pros (as compared to Santro - its closest Korean rival)
Matiz is much more safe - 19 steel bars as compared to 11 in Santro.
Much more endearing looks
Heavier and more stable
Rear suspension untampered - Santro has tampered the original settings of its suspension to compensate for tall boy design.
Floor sheet is a single thick sheet. Santro has two sheets welded thus less safe.
More legroom - rather best in the category.
higher average more kms / litre of petrol. With fuel being expensive even a 2 km extra/ litre makes a huge saving at the end of the year. And for me, who travels almost 70 kms a day, it does make a difference.
Low spare costs.
Engine is very refined.
Monocue design. One person I know in my locality suffered just minor scratches when he was involved in a serious highway accident. Though the car(Matiz)suffered badly, the driver and his passenger was safe - obviously seat belts were being used. It has been built to world’s toughest European standards.
Best AC in its category
Jam proof doors.
Damn good color choice- at no extra cost.
Cons
Less engine capacity. It misses one more cylinder and thus has much less pick up, acceleration. But considering delhi traffic or for that matter all over major cities in India, the need for speed is not much required.
less headroom - do u need that space...unless u are a Surd !!
Pathetic boot space. U can only keep one big bag and nothing else.
4.Gear shift very rustic. Why don’t they change the wire enabled gear system in matiz??
Anyway, overall, if u don’t have the need for speed and don’t have the mental block of engine capacity and looks do matter to you, go for a Matiz.