Daewoo Motors Giorgio Giugiaro designed Matiz has been setting the sales charts on fire all across the globe specially in the small car capital of the world- Italy.
LOOKS - EXTERIOR
The Matiz is no doubt a cute and sexy looking car. The sloping bonnet , cute bug eyed headlamps, smiley face all give it a very friendly and cuddly face. The roof mounted antenna and contoured door mirrors all add a touch of class. In fact this car even has a cute rear end with the stylish winged tail lamps giving the rear end a classy look.The car is very European in its look..Thankfully!! A little known fact is that this design was first offered to FIAT but they rejected it on the grounds that it was too radical!.Winner of 16 international awards for design and engineering, more than 7, 70, 000 cars have been sold in almost 114 countries in 3 years.
INTERIORS
The Interiors of the car are as classy as the exteriors. The rotary knobs for the HVAC unit not only look stylish and upmarket but are also a ergonomic delight due to the ease of operation. In fact the car is fantastic as far as ergonomics go. A perfect seating position is easy to achieve.The position of the foot pedals-steering wheel-gear knob are also perfect. The gear lever falls easily into ones hands and one does’nt have to fiddle with the AC controls while driving thanks to the rotary knobs. The thick A-pillars, however, restrict vision while cornering. But then the A-pillars are designed that way for safety issues.The boot space is very limited almost identical to the Zen. The santro, uno & wagon R have better load carrying ability.I love the small sporty steering wheel which is simply a delight to hold.
ENGINE
The M-Tec engine in the Matiz is the same engine that comes in the Maruti 800. This MPFI 796c.c. 3 cylinder 6 valve engine displaces 52 bhp@6000 rpm with a torque of 73Nm@3500 rpm. Its really good to note that Daewoo extracted so much performance from a 796 c.c. power plant. ( are you listening maruti??).For the 2000 year model Daewoo made some major technical changes like EGR, Knock Sensors, higher compression ratio etc. which the company claims improves performance and fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, I have a 1999 year model.Fire the M-Tec engine and it seems to be noisy but it settles down to a quite note soon. Engage first and minor blips on the throttle get the car moving. The throttle response is crisp..This is one fun to drive car!! The speed one attains surprises you at first. The car is very eager to get moving and the sporty rasp of the engine makes you press your right foot harder on the accelerator. I sorely miss the tachometer on this very good performing car and. However, the super powerfull AC puts too much of a load on the engine and with the AC working the car is’nt as zippy as it’s without the AC.The matiz may be left behind by the santro (due to it’s better torque at lower rpm) and zen while taking off from the signals but once the Maximum Technique or MTec engine starts spinning at 3000rpm there is a surge of power and the car rockets ahead catching up with the tall boy and jelly bean. Unlike the santro this car does’nt run of breath post 90kmph and though progress is slow post 100 kmph its better then the Santro.However, the problem is that I have this car for over 1.5 yrs and by now I am pretty used to its high performance capability and the rigid structure of this car makes it clear that Daewoo had engine upgrades in mind while designing it.The steering and the front wheels give you feedback on where the car is going and though some people find the steering feedback too sensitive , I find it perfect. The gear shift quality is a big let down.This is a cable operated shift and the clunky gearshift takes away some of the fun of driving the car. Even the gear lever throws are too long and I wish the matiz had the shift quality of the santro or zen.
RIDE QUALITY
The ride quality is among the best.You dont get thrown about in the rear while driving this car on bad roads as you would if you were in a tall boy. This car will stick to a straight line and never waver ...giving u great confidence in its ability.
SPACE AND COMFORT
The space is the best in its segment. No doubt the santro and wagon R score over the Matiz in head room but whats the use of soo much head room??
SAFETY
A special note on safety in this car.
1.Side impact beams
2.child lock
3.3 way collapsable steering
4.Non-Jamming doors
5.Anti-submarine seats
6.Three stage bumpers with rubber inserts to minimise damage in the event of an collision(Santro has a two stage bumper)
7.3 bars on its roof to prevent it from crashing on its occupants (Santro has 2)
8.The only car to have passed the stringent 40% off-set crash test..
I can vouch for the safety of this car as I was involved in a accident when a mahindra jeep ploughed into my car but the matiz stood its ground amazing me with its structural rigidity. Open the bonnet and you can see 2 strut bars holding the car together. whats so great in them??? they are standard fitment among all rally cars and its these strut bars that give the matiz monocoque its fantastic structural rigidity. This car weighs 800 kgs compared to 776 kgs of the santro , 750 kgs of the alto and 665 kgs of the maruti 800.There are a total of 19 safety bars all over the car as compared to 11 of the Santro and 7 of the Zen.The car has even passed the side impact and rear crash test.
Fuel Efficiency
In the Guiness book for being the world’s most fuel efficient gasoline engine car, the Matiz gives me about 12 kmpl in Mumbai with AC.On the highway it returned me a impressive 22.45kmpl with AC. Pretty impressive.
The Matiz is a car that will appeal to people who love to drive. It’s a car that will make you take the longer route home and after you park it , you will turn around to look at it’s gorgeous looks and it will bring a smile to your face instantly. Not much to fault with the car except the incorrigible dealers and Daewoo’s financial woes. Despite all that it’s still a car worth buying.