2010 Pontiac G3 SE

Faults:

Foggy windows.

Bad gas mileage.

General Comments:

The cars windows fog up and I can be driving for a half hour cooking to death, and still they will not unfog.

Also poor on gas. Maybe I'm just used to my previous Toyota Corolla, which was excellent on gas. I get about 400km per tank. I used to get much more than this.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th February, 2010

2009 Pontiac G3 1.6 petrol

Summary:

Best value for the money if you are looking for a 5 door hatchback

Faults:

Nothing yet. There are a few things that I am not too happy with, but have accepted them as being something that all mechanical machines will do. The drivers side view mirror seems to vibrate a little more than the passengers side. Also you can hear the seats click into place when you step on the brake hard. But that is normal for manually adjusted seats. The car has heated side view mirrors. I haven't had the chance to try them out since they are not needed in Los Angeles County.

The ride can get jittery over the bumps and at high speeds. But keep in mind that this car hardly weighs anything and it has a very short wheel base and the car has a narrow track. It's what you would expect from a subcompact car. Apples to apples here, it's no Mercedes-Benz S-class.

General Comments:

This car is metallic red. It is very good on gas at 34 mpg highway. The car is in reality just a re-badged Daewoo Kalos from South Korea. What happened was Daewoo went bankrupt and GM bought them out. In the States you can buy this car as a Pontiac G3 or a Chevrolet Aveo in both sedan and hatch back versions.

Overall so far I am very impressed with this cars initial quality and fit and finish. They really took the time to make a quality vehicle with all the sound deadening material in places where Toyota and Honda omit for the sake of expense. The Honda Fit is a noisier ride than this car.

The fact that it is a South Korean built car does not take away from the car itself. S. Korea are our allies and buying their products helps them monetarily so they can buy stuff from us and have the money to defend themselves from their neighbors from the north. It's like giving aid and helping oneself at the same time.

Sure we could of bought an American car, but the Ford Focus is an archaic model and this Daewoo Kalos is all new for 2009. It is in it's second generation with a totally different engine/motor. The North American Ford Focus is still the first generation only with a cheap facelift! While the UK and other parts of the globe got the new version of the Focus that shares its platform with the Mazda 3.

These cars used to get really terrible gas mileage before they had them fitted with engines that offered "Variable Valve timing", which made all the difference. The fuel economy got boosted up from a measly 28 to 34 highway.

I don't know how this car will be in the reliability department, but it's no matter since we bought the GM extended warranty so the car is covered bumper to bumper for the next 75,000 miles or 7 years.

There are already plenty of Chevy Aveos out there. It's really a good choice for those who want an alternative to the Japanese marque, and it spreads the wealth to other parts of Asia who desperately need a steady flow of money as well.

Note: We bought this car under the "Cash for Clunkers"; "CARS-Car allowance rebate system" federal government program of 3 million united states dollars.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 15th August, 2009

16th Aug 2009, 13:14

For the money this is a very good car. You get what you pay for. Plus I don't have to be like some type of lemming, with a Honda, Toyota, or Nissan in the driveway. I happen to like the new appearances of Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo. The new Hyundai Genesis is right up there with Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. But they should have given the Genesis a special brand name than Hyundai. Since I can't justify spending $50,000 on a Hyundai.

If I lived in the UK I would have a Smart Car, Daewoo Kalos, and a Vauxhall Astra in my driveway all in Diesel if I could.

It's hard to find the kind of car I want in the United States. I prefer turbo-diesel, rear wheel drive, manual transmission/gear box, and the European type styling and packaging. It would be nice if BMW and Mercedes-Benz offered their cars with cloth seats like they do in their home markets.