Daewoo Matiz

The Daewoo Matiz is a city car made by GM Daewoo (in Poland by FSO). It replaced the Daewoo Tico, a variant of the 1981 Suzuki Fronte or Alto. It is badge-engineered as the Chevrolet Matiz and Chevrolet Spark in some foreign markets.

The car started production in 1998 with the model M100. The exterior design is based on the Lucciola concept by Giorgetto Giugiaro, rejected by Fiat S.p.A. The 0.8L engine and the transmission were carryovers from the Daewoo Tico. The car became the best selling Daewoo model in Europe for the next four years.

Since 2000, CKD kits have been supplied to UzDaewooAuto and FSO.

A facelifted model M150 was introduced in South Korea in late 2000, and exported from 2001. Following Daewoo's takeover by General Motors in 2002, the engine range was updated with a 1.0L S-TEC unit.

In 2005, a restyled model M200, based on the Chevrolet M3X concept car shown at 2004 Paris Motor Show, was launched. The S-Tec engines are updated and the car's drag coefficient is lowered, resulting in better fuel economy. One notable feature of this car is its centre-mounted instrument cluster. The car will be sold with the Chevrolet brand in most parts of the world; the Matiz name is retained in Western Europe and Asia but Spark is used elsewhere.

This new 2005 Chevrolet Matiz did not score well in the Euro NCAP crash test, being awarded three stars with one being struck out: "The final adult occupant protection star is struck through because there was an unacceptably high risk of life-threatening injury to the chest in side impact."

By contrast the old Daewoo Matiz (pre 2005) was awarded 72% in the side impact Euro NCAP test: "Overall this is a creditable performance from a car without a side airbag."

By 2007, the aged Alto platform will be replaced with a new micro-car platform developed by GM Daewoo engineers.

The car has had some reliability problems, particularly the cooling system, and is not suited to life in a rural area or roads with potholes, but the 0.8 litre engine has plenty of character, if short of power. Handling is good, but crosswinds are a problem on highways. In Europe, Daewoo has now become Chevrolet.