The all new Opel Astra is about to hit the showrooms and of course Ford’s eagerly awaited new Focus will be with us before the year is out.
Prices in the sector have climbed, though. You can expect to pay about twenty grand for any one of the above and that seems very steep. But help is at hand for the budget-conscious buyer from GM Daewoo (General Motors own the Korean manufacturer). I spent a day testing the new Lacetti (Daewoo ‘Lanos’ replacement) in the hills around Biarritz recently and must say that at a fiver under 17 grand the car cannot be ignored.
The exterior is styled in Italy by Giorgetto Guigaro and while the head-on view of the Lacetti is bland and uninteresting, from the rear and three-quarter view the car is handsome. There are hints of so many rival cars in the styling that GM Daewoo could have called it the “Astra/Leon/old A3/old Civic/147’.
The main thing is the exterior works quite well and, more importantly, doesn’t look the guts of three grand cheaper than the competition. Inside, it continues to impress with a decent dash, plenty of room and good build quality.
The 1.4-litre engine (the only model destined for Ireland at the moment) is smooth and reasonably refined. In the future, GM Daewoo will build diesels but as of now there is no diesel option (the new company is less than two years old and the old firm had no diesel programme).
Other petrol engines include a 1.6. I drove it for about a hundred miles or so, but preferred the 1.4! It was rough and disappointing. A 1.8-litre (found in the Nubira) is the range topper. The four-cylinder unit could never be accused of being a pocket rocket but it does the job. Let’s remember that the 1.4-litre ‘C’ car is hugely popular in Ireland as running costs in general are relatively cheap.
The GM Daewoo Lacetti, at €16,995, is well worth a look.
- Michael Sheridan
RTÉ Guide
