Driving Instructors Association DIA

Daewoo Kalos

Model on test: 1.4 SE

You may recall the advertising slogan for Daewoo as the Company you had never heard of. We soon got to know about the Korean Company that offered a tremendous value for money package.

The problem was that, back in Korea, Daewoo was creating a debt mountain. Over-accelerated growth meant the company was in trouble even before the Koreans' monetary downturn. As a result most other concerns were sold off, and Daewoo cars had a number of the world's manufacturers trawling through the books to see if a rescue package could be undertaken. General Motors, now the largest car manufacturer in the world, in a bold gamble, took shareholdings of around 40% with Suzuki, another GM partner, taking 25% and the remainder of the shareholdings distributed amongst Daewoo's original creditors. GM now has a major task on its hands building up a new dealer network and maintaining the confidence of the existing Daewoo owners.

The arrival of the all-new GM Daewoo Kalos could not have been better timed. The new 5-door hatchback has attractive Italian "Giugiaro" styling. It has a spacious interior with uncluttered foot wells and a reasonably flat toe board. The dashboard has been ergonomically designed and considerable thought has gone into the choice of plastics. At launch there are two derivatives: the SE and SX, powered by a 1.4-litre 83bhp engine. Later in the year, the new company will be introducing a 1.2-litre 8V engine, a 1.4-litre 16V engine and an automatic gearbox. The introduction of a 1.2-litre engine will herald a third entry level model, with a price tag of £7,495 on-the-road. The SE, as tested, costs just £7,795 and few manufacturers will be able to beat the package. In the safety stakes the car enjoys four channel ABS with EBD, driver and passenger front and side airbags, and a tinted windscreen, all as standard. For comfort and convenience there are four electric windows, remote control central door locking, an alarm system and, of course, power steering. Even build quality is reasonable, with some nice touches such as a fully carpet-lined load space area, lap and diagonal seatbelts for all five passengers and the usual compliment of cup holders. The seats are comfortable and a good driving position can be obtained without seat height adjustment, but there is a tilt adjust steering column. The car handles well on the road and the engine performance is good despite a tiny low-speed flat spot. Driving Instructors are often concerned with rear visibility which, whilst not the best in class, is entirely acceptable. A rear windscreen wiper is fitted, but the range of movement would be better suited to a left-hand drive car. The front wipers too, although adequately covering the windscreen, park very badly. Instructors will also not like the recessed instruments making the speedometer virtually impossible to see from the instructor's seat. Externally, the SE has no rubbing strips and the wheel trims could be prone to damage from kerb strikes. The SX features a height adjustable driving seat together with air-conditioning, front fog lamps, electric windows for the rear, a rear spoiler and picnic tables that fold down from the rear of the passenger seat. It costs £8,395 on the road.
The new Kalos is a refreshing new vehicle which should be of interest to many instructors requiring value for money motoring. Daewoo's piece of mind package continues with a 3-year warranty, 3-year AA recovery and 3 years' free servicing. We look forward to hearing from readers who take the plunge. As yet we have no idea about reliability and award the new Daewoo Kalos 1.4 SE a very high 4 stars. We are sure that Daewoo will cease to be the Company that you have never heard of. Training car star rating: 4

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