How bad is a Matiz?
Discussion
The Daewoo Matiz, subject of much mirth making I'm sure, but just how good/bad are they to actually own?
Reason I ask is that my snotter Hyundai was scrapped today (needed a new gearbox on a 300 quid car!) and as I live in South Korea, it is much cheaper and easier to buy a Korean car.
I'm looking for a used car for 95% city use that'll be cheap to run and reliable. Ideally looking at a compact car, budget about 1500 quid.
On the plus side it'll be cheap on fuel, they are everywhere here, cheap enough to buy/insure, cheaper road tolls, most parts will be quite cheap I'd guess. The negatives? Slow on the motorway, not the best thing to be in if you have a crash... and the image. Well, let's just say I don't care if I look daft
I probably wouldn't have one back in the UK, but here in Korea where a locally made car makes a lot of sense, I'm almost considering one! The alternatives would be a Picanto, maybe an Atoz or most likely a bus pass... car choices here aren't exactly vast.
Anyone owned one/knows someone who owns one/driven one without collapsing in laughter?
Answers gratefully received.
Reason I ask is that my snotter Hyundai was scrapped today (needed a new gearbox on a 300 quid car!) and as I live in South Korea, it is much cheaper and easier to buy a Korean car.
I'm looking for a used car for 95% city use that'll be cheap to run and reliable. Ideally looking at a compact car, budget about 1500 quid.
On the plus side it'll be cheap on fuel, they are everywhere here, cheap enough to buy/insure, cheaper road tolls, most parts will be quite cheap I'd guess. The negatives? Slow on the motorway, not the best thing to be in if you have a crash... and the image. Well, let's just say I don't care if I look daft
I probably wouldn't have one back in the UK, but here in Korea where a locally made car makes a lot of sense, I'm almost considering one! The alternatives would be a Picanto, maybe an Atoz or most likely a bus pass... car choices here aren't exactly vast.
Anyone owned one/knows someone who owns one/driven one without collapsing in laughter?
Answers gratefully received.
My mates wife had one, he had to use it sometimes when his car was out of service. Probably OK for city work but the ride quality was horrendously crashy over crap roads - at one point we hit a rut in the road and the car lurched so violently his head smashed into the window frame. It got up to 70 ish OK, it was noisy and bouncy at those speeds so you wouldn't want to drive for hours but an hour on the motorway would be tolerable. Biggest problem he mentioned was that in sidewinds or when passing lorries it was absolutely terrifying.
I don't think it ever let them down, it felt like a bag of crap but never actually fell to bits of broke. He said it was reasonable on fuel when she drove it and appaling when he did.
I don't think it ever let them down, it felt like a bag of crap but never actually fell to bits of broke. He said it was reasonable on fuel when she drove it and appaling when he did.
I had a Chevrolet badged Matiz as a courtesy car for a week recently. It was an automatic even.
It really wasn't all that bad around town, apart from being too cramped in terms of driving position. I'm 5'10 and 13st 7lb and I just felt too squished in it, particularly the footwell. I can't imagine any alternative micromobiles are much different though.
It really wasn't all that bad around town, apart from being too cramped in terms of driving position. I'm 5'10 and 13st 7lb and I just felt too squished in it, particularly the footwell. I can't imagine any alternative micromobiles are much different though.
My daughter had one for 2 years. Found it great in built up areas, with some expressway thrown in.
She regularly visited us, on the other side of the coastal range. She said it became automatic to turn the air conditioning off at the bottom of the longer steeper hills, as it improved the hill climbing ability quite a bit.
Not much power to spare I believe.
She regularly visited us, on the other side of the coastal range. She said it became automatic to turn the air conditioning off at the bottom of the longer steeper hills, as it improved the hill climbing ability quite a bit.
Not much power to spare I believe.
Hate them with a passion. I went to the South of France a couple of years ago and the rental company gave me one (the 800cc version). It was underpowered, unstable, unsafe (basically all the un's). Relatively cheap on fuel to say you have to thrash the knackers off it to even keep up with traffic, but I would find something else, anything!
I have heard the clutch cables snap on them quite often, it happened to my Auntie in the middle of a busy junction and also on my first day in Korea I saw one stranded in the middle of a busy road. What about a bargetastic Kia Opirus or Hyundai Equus? Although having just looked, cars are bloody expensive in Korea. I guess it is the High import/captive market situation that makes electronics so damn expensive.
Must dig deep in my memory, but I think my overriding impression of the one we had as a road tester was the comedy 'engine'... maintaining some sort of speed up a motorway bridge on a windy November day was a bit of a challenge.
Otherwise as expected - cheap, sit up and beg driving position, bargain basement interior and controls, not that much in the way of motorway stability... but if you gave me the choice of going home from the office this evening on one of these or a Yank pick up truck, I'd take the Matiz. It's cheap and feels it, but it's not awkward or plain horrible.
Otherwise as expected - cheap, sit up and beg driving position, bargain basement interior and controls, not that much in the way of motorway stability... but if you gave me the choice of going home from the office this evening on one of these or a Yank pick up truck, I'd take the Matiz. It's cheap and feels it, but it's not awkward or plain horrible.
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