1999 Daewoo Matiz SD review from India

A sound from the steering resembling the sound a plastic bag makes when it's ruffled hard just 30 days after purchase. Till now the dealer has not been able to solve it and few months back when the car was sent to him, he threw up his hands and said he can't locate the problem and I should bear the sound!!

All 4 doors keep creaking and no amount of greasing has solved the problem. Dealer says all Matiz cars have this problem and Daewoo have solved it in the 2002 year model. As for model year 1999 customers, he says you will have to bear with the creaking!!

I had a continuous sound coming from the underbody irrespective of the road surface the car was driven on. The dealer changed the Tie bar and lower arms citing a worn out suspension charging me Rs.6500 ($136 approx) and the problem still continued. Ultimately I had a big argument and after a through check up he said it's not a suspension problem at all!! He changed the brake calipers and strut package charging me another Rs. 2600 ($55 approx). That was 20 days back and till now the sound hasn't come back and hopefully it wouldn't.

The fuel indicator shows me wrong indications of fuel. Once the indicator was at the E mark and when I topped up the tank at the gas station, I could barely manage 15 liters!! Now, the fuel tank has a capacity of 35 liters which meant there was more than half tank of fuel, but the indicator was hovering at the E mark. The dealer says it's a conked out fuel pump and it will cost me Rs. 5500! (approx $115)

The exhaust pipe has corroded and the entire pipe till the middle has to be replaced along with the silencer muffler. The dealer says all cars have this problem and he is right. Water and poor fuel quality in India causes this. But I had got the car treated with Dinitrol Anti-rust agent when I bought it and it still corroded. When I asked the dealer how my dad's 6 year old Suzuki doesn't have that problem yet, he says I am just lucky. OK I agree all exhaust pipes corrode, but do they corrode in 2 1/2 years and after just 25000kms?? How come the Japanese and European cars don't have that problem so soon?

It's a piece of Korean junk and I will never again buy a Korean car.

Performance is pretty good for a car with a 796 c.c. 3 cylinder 6 valve engine. It has a peppy 52 bhp @ 6000 rpm enigne and good low torque of 7.3kgm@3500rpm. Of course at traffic lights the Hyundai Santro-Atoz and Suzuki Alto/Zen are faster, but then they have a 999cc engine and the Matiz is heavier than all these cars. 800kgs for the Matiz as compared to 765kgs of the Santro. However, switch the Air-Conditioning on and the performance just dies.

Ride and handling is much better than it's rival Santro. Coupled with a peppy engine and sharp handling it's so much more fun to drive than the Hyundai.

The Air-Conditioning is fantastic which is a boon in the hot & humid Indian summer.

Good design of the Interiors and comfortable seats. It's also surprisingly roomy for it's size. Inadequate boot space is a bit of a problem. Absence of a tachometer is surprising. Gear shift is vague and clunky with long travels for the gear lever. Daewoo claims it's a superior cable operated shift, but I don't agree.