Faults:

The cable (yes, it's a cable) from gearstick to gearbox snapped and stranded me in neutral on a busy motorway. It cost £145 to get it replaced at a small private garage. The cable cost £57 and the rest was labour. "The worst stick to box linkage I have ever changed in any car" was the garage comment. It required stripping of dashboard and panels to reach the gearbox end. This was after only 19000 miles.

General Comments:

Good car for town driving and very well appointed. My wife is only 4ft 10ins and it suits her fine! "Very comfortable & easy to see out of". (could she not see out of the Fiesta!!) The power steering is also great to have after the heavy Ford Fiesta 1.8 diesel non powered.

Faults:

Nothing much wrong with the car. It is neatly packaged car with great combination of looks (it's really cute!),comfort, space and safety features in its class. However, lacks a bit of power (52 hp), especially felt in stop and go city traffic.

Suspension makes you feel the bumps and on bad roads, but within tolerable limits.

Gear shifting is not very smooth, especially from 1st to 2nd gear.

Brake pads tend to wear in my case.

However, our major concern (as is for other Matiz owner's in India) is the sales and service network for these cars as Daewoo has closed its operations in India. Probably, GM is going to revive the car in India. If it does, it will be a great relief!

General Comments:

The car is on the whole excellent. Will win any "beauty contest" hands down.

Is a "big" small car with adequate cabin space and driving comfort. Inside cabin with well arranged instrument cluster and controls.

Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning performs well though the the engine has to work harder when the Air-conditioner is switched on.

At high speeds, is a stable car with decent handling.

Lastly, shows a decent mileage, I get around 13 kilometers per lire of gasoline in city and 18-20 Kilometer per litre on the highway.

Faults:

Nothing really major has gone wrong with the car. A new battery was fitted after 2 years, and the HT leads needed changing after the car refused to start one morning (thank god for the AA).

All 4 alloy wheels needed replacing after 1 year, as the old ones had started corroding. They were replaced under warranty with no fuss from the dealer!

The interior is nicely put together, but we have noticed some rattles and squeaks.

General Comments:

The car is extremely capable around town, keeping up happily with other traffic. We have taken the car on numerous motorway trips, and it will comfortably sit at 75-80mph all day, with the little motor buzzing away quite contently. Not quite a pocket rocket, but nevertheless, a nippy and nimble little runner.

If you are looking for a cheap little 2nd car, then the Matiz is for you!