The Chevrolet Matiz starts at a very reasonable €10,995 and is available as a .8 litre (51bhp/three-cylinder) or a 1 litre (65bhp/four-cylinder) that is expected to be the volume seller.
Before the name change from Daewoo to Chevrolet the old Matiz was a favourite town car of mine. The new model will benefit from the cooler badge but don’t be fooled in to thinking your getting a piece of Americana; the Matiz is still built by and for compact people using very efficient engineering.
There is a chunkier look to the exterior while underneath the main talking point is the revised suspension set up. At just 1,495mm wide (excluding mirrors) it’s incredibly narrow; in fact I can touch the passenger’s window without stretching from the driver’s seat. The minuscule Korean five-door hatchback still runs on the mere promise of petrol, sipping just 5.2 litres per 100 kilometres travelled (54.3mpg).
On the go the Matiz benefits from a new torsion beam rear suspension set up (instead of the old trailing arm), which has freed up a bit more boot space. The smaller engine of the two (.8 litre) sounds like a manic sowing machine but is capable of 144 km/h (90mph). It goes like stink despite a very slow (on paper at least) 0-100km/h sprint of just 18.2 seconds. Okay, so it is more of a stroll but the keen-to-rev three-cylinder unit will take off from a standing start like a scalded cat.
The driving controls are light and the clutch has a real solid bite to it. The gearbox is a little sloppy but still I never missed a cog. The Matiz can hold its own at motorway speeds too, but the car’s high profile has a definite downside when hit by crosswinds at speed. The power steering is light but devoid of feel.
The interior is a new take on the old with the only obvious change being the fresh looking centrally mounted cluster of dials. Previously they were conventionally mounted in front of the driver. The seating can accommodate five at a squeeze and the rear seats can split and fold 60/40 allowing the five-door hatchback to be truly versatile. The Matiz easily swallowed (with the tailgate open mind!) a very large (dismantled) wooden cot.
The boot on its own offers a modest 170 litres of cargo space, but with the seats down this rises to 845 litres. To help you scale this figure the average family saloon boot holds 500 litres. My 5’ 10” frame required the seat to be placed as far back as possible and, despite the steering wheel being non adjustable, the overall position was fine. The baby Chevrolet is super maneuverable, with a teeny turning circle allowing car parks to be tackled with ease.
So it is a funky little car and worth a look but higher up the pecking order you’ll find the ‘Aygo’ triplets (Toyota Aygo/Citroen C1 & Peugeot107), not to mention the brilliant Fiat Panda. Competition among city cars has never been hotter and the Matiz will have to fight hard in this company. But it is the best Chevrolet you can buy.
Michael Sheridan
