1998 Daewoo Lanos SX 1.6 petrol

Summary:

Good cheap car

Faults:

Reversing light switch has packed in.

Engine sounds a bit noisy on its tappets.

Screws where the parcel shelf attaches to the back window have come undone and gone missing.

Drivers window motor is noisy at times.

General Comments:

Brought this car as a stopgap for my sister after she had an accident in her Clio.

Driving it home from her paying for it, it's very quick.

And for £1100, for a car with power windows and mirror and air con, it isn't too bad.

Also my sister managed to drive it about 5,000 miles without any oil in the engine, and it still carried on going.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th March, 2008

1998 Daewoo Lanos SX 1.6

Summary:

Daewoos are a great car

Faults:

This car has been great since I got it. No problems at all.

The last Daewoo I had I loved, but the oil pump and auto gear box both packed in on the same day. But I still love daewoos even though that happened to my last one.

I don't think it is a common fault with them, was just bad luck.

General Comments:

This car is a very smooth ride, but can be a bit heavy on petrol on short runs.

It all looks good inside the cabin, but the seats are a bit hard.

It also has some speed on the motorway and is very fast off the mark.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th April, 2007

1998 Daewoo Lanos SE 1.4

Summary:

Cheap and reliable car to own

Faults:

ABS Sensor failed at 23000 miles cost to replace £55.00.

General Comments:

Very cheap car to own and run now GM have reduced the spares by 94%

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th December, 2004

1998 Daewoo Lanos SE 1.5 Unleaded

Summary:

A great, nippy small car on a budget

Faults:

Bought second hand, so far I have had to clean wiper fluid filters. Have done 22000 miles in six months with no breakdowns or faults.

Wellll, I blew the front stereo speakers out, but they had been pushed way beyond all sensible limits.

General Comments:

First off the interior is this car's weakest point. Ugly fabric and seriously cheap looking plastic everywhere.

The controls are functional, and do their job with little or no style.

The driving position is flexible with adjustable steering column and loads of head and leg room, but the seats seem narrow and can be uncomfortable during a long (60+ minutes) drive due to poor lumbar support.

Lack of such frills as powered windows is in part balanced by the anti-lock brakes and duel airbags as standard on this model.

The outside looks good for a car this cheap and with a few customisations (14" alloy wheels, spoiler, racing mesh over radiator grill, fog lamps) it looks great.

Handling is great around town, but very bouncy and a bit wobbly on fast roads.

The engine delivers good acceleration and seems very quiet except when pushing maximum acceleration.

The car seems to be coping with the 40000 mile-a-year foot-to-the-floor pounding I'm giving it with no reliability issues yet. I commute 160 miles (city and motorway) per day and get just over 2 trips from the smallish petrol tank.

There is nothing particularly outstanding about the Lanos, but no major flaws either. It is quick, reliable and an ideal town car. With some tweaks (sports shocks and padded seat-covers) it's great for motorways too.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th June, 2002

6th Dec 2003, 16:45

Update by Author :

It has just passed its fifth MOT, the third since I bought it with 12k on the clock back in Jan 2001. It's now got 49k on the clock and is still running even better than when I got it. I upgraded from a standard paper air-filter to a K&N 'filtercharger' (an advanced reusable filter) which has upped the power by 10-15%, not bad for 25 quid and 10 seconds installation time - seriously, do your car a favour and get one it pays for itself! (www.knfilters.com).

The Lanos needed a little work to pass the MOT test this time - just a new brake pipe and a suspension spring. Prior to that all I have had to replace is clutch, tyres and exhaust, which is not bad for a five-year-old car I work pretty hard. Of course being a compulsive tinkerer, there are lots of bits I have tweaked to make it a little more interesting, but finding cheap new and used parts or upgrades in the UK is getting much easier.

I've grown to love my Lanos.

18th Nov 2004, 08:03

(original poster)

I got a reasonable improvement by swapping out the standard air filter for a K&N Filtercharger.

Most noticeable was the smoother and faster acceleration in low gears and revs.

I also started using a premium unleaded petrol (Shell Optimax) and noticed a similar improvement.

These things have not turned my car into a monster racer, but have ironed out some of the performance quibbles I had. As the K&N filters need cleaned instead of changed and a lot less frequently even without the performance enhancement they are good value for money in my opinion.

1998 Daewoo Lanos SX 1.6 petrol

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong yet.

General Comments:

Good performance, reasonable fuel economy, comfortable and a great car to drive. I would recommend the car to anyone.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 30th June, 1999

1998 Daewoo Lanos SX Auto 1.6

Faults:

Nothing up to 14,000 miles.

General Comments:

Well above average performance, well above average equipment, and I`m in the trade as a Motor Engineer so I drive a lot of different vehicles.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th February, 1999

1998 Daewoo Lanos SE 1.4

General Comments:

An excellent and extremely well equipped and safe vehicle. Performance is well above average for a car of this class and comfort is of a high standard.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st January, 1999

1998 Daewoo Lanos 1.6 petrol

Faults:

Nothing at all (rental for a month).

General Comments:

Great runabout, but absolutely terrible above 50 mph. It is very noisy.

For a 2nd car or runabout - not bad.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 29th June, 1998