The speakers on the passenger side door have a buzz in it when the music is played over a certain noise level. We took it in and it was fixed under the warranty, which was good. But, the door was shut too hard one day and the buzz came back.
I learned how to drive a manual transmission with this car. The transmission is very forgiving for a beginner. Instead of stalling straight out, the engine grumbles a little bit as a warning to give it some more gas.
It has good pick up for in-city driving. You can get going a good clip in a short period of time. It is also good for highway driving and passes neatly and quickly on both 2-lane and 4-lane highways.
The car handles well around corners.
The car is quite roomy compared to what you see from the outside. Everyone is very surprised how big it actually is when the sit inside it. It can also accommodate a tall person in all seats without the person feeling cramped.
The fold-down seats and the hatch allow easy loading of large things. You can fit a lot of stuff in it.
The interior is very nice. I enjoy the look of the seats and the air vents. The seats are very comfy, even in the back. I could definitely (and have) fall asleep being a passenger on long trips.
I love the way the car looks from the outside. It is sleek and compact. The spoiler gives it a nice sporty feel.
The car is very easy to park due to its size.
Not many people seem to own an Optra 5 where I live. It is a breath of fresh air amid all the Mazda 3s, Corollas, Elantras, and Civics you see. And the price is very reasonable compared to these cars as well. It ended up being the best value and fit well into my budget.
I am very pleased with my purchase of the Optra 5. I feel like I got the best bang for my buck.
An addendum to my review: I read the running costs a bit wrong and thought that a lower rating was better. It should actually read 8 or 9 out of 10.
The car is very good on gas compared to my previous vehicle. For our driving habits (getting groceries etc) we usually fill the tank once a week or week and a half. Filling it up does not break the bank, even at gas prices around $1.15/L-$1.20/L.
The car has only been serviced once other than the speaker problem and that was for an oil change and was not expensive.
We have yet to top up any fluids.
Therefore, my general opinion is that the running costs are very low.
I bought my optra 5 at end of December 2006; since then my car has been reliable and affordable, although I do have a problem with it. Mine is a manual and sometimes it does not want to shift into 2nd or 3rd gear, and sometimes reverse. I tend to try to double clutch. I brought it into a dealer, but unfortunately they could not find anything wrong with it.
Other than the shifting, I love my car and believe that I made a good choice.
Well, I also have a Chev Optra and it is the worst car I have ever owned for gas consumption. Supposed to get 11 litres/100 km and I am lucky to get 13.5 to 14 litres/100 km. It has a 55 litre gas tank and I have never gone more than 380 km on one tank of gas - and this includes highway driving. GM says - too bad, so sad. Tried to go to arbitration, but this is considered an advertising problem. Dealer says nothing is wrong with the car!
I am some what pleased with this car I drove it to Alberta and back to PEI and it only cost 260.00 in gas one way. But on the other hand my carpet got wet and the smell was so bad, I threw out the underlay and replaced it only to throw it in the garbage again. I've talked to a few other owners and they have had the same problem.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed 
is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site