Back to basics? (Chevrolet Matiz)

Member Name: icetsunami

Product:	Chevrolet Matiz
Date:	20/07/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap

Disadvantages: Poor gears and claustrophobic interior

I just spent some time getting accustomed with this car as a rental after an accident and it hasn't taken me very long to form an opinion. The saying you get what you pay for is generally mostly true. With a car at this end of the price spectrum you are getting the basics with a few sparse trimmings.

Initially, my attention was drawn to the dimensions of the car which are diminutive to say the least. Length wise its 3495mm, width 1495 and a height of 1500mm. The car appears very narrow and the wheels are shamefully small at 13". On the plus side the narrow body gives the driver a slightly higher position which is handy for parking though don't expect any thrills with cornering as there is considerable body roll.

The engine is a small 1.0L iron affair with an alluminium head. Its peppy but needs working hard to get any kind of performance from it and is all out of ideas at motorway cruising speed. Itried an overtaking manouver and was stopped by a gust of wind. 0-60 is apparently 14.1 sec but it does feel longer. I was quite surprised also at how much fuel it used despite varied driving styles and distances. Its kerb weight is 795 Kilos but it certainly feels laboured in moving anywhere where a burst of acceleration is required.

Inside was a bit of a surprise as it was jazzy upholstery, CD and air-con which is nice in a budget car. Sadly this was marred by the poor handling when driving and the atrocious gearbox. It was as responsive as waving around your hand in a large bucket with lots of play and indecisive movement. I hate the gears!

It also must be stated that inside the car you feel very insecure as there is so little width. I would imagine that in an accident the car would fair quite badly at any speed.

I so wanted to include some positive things for the car but all I could find was the nice hazard warning light button in a gloss finish. I could write lots of technical things to fluff out the review but it would not obscure the fact that this a poor car.

To some up, I would say its best avoided unless you want something basic to get from A to B thats made by Chevrolet. Sadly there are a few cars that do the job so much better.

Summary: Best Avoided

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