REVIEWS AND ROAD TESTS

Small but fiesty

Have you heard of Daewoo (DAY-ooh)? Maybe you own a microwave or a VCR featuring the shell-shaped logo that symbolizes the make. Did you know that the Korean firm manufactures cars as well?

Memories tend to fade - you may have crossed paths with a Daewoo in the days when the company was licensed to manufacture the Opel Kadett, which was imported by General Motors and marketed as the Pontiac Le Mans or the Passport Optima. Don’t remember? Today, Daewoo markets its products in Canada via its own distribution network that now includes 37 dealers. Ontario and Quebec (important markets, since they represent 31 of these dealers) were the first Canadian provinces with access to one of the three models that Daewoo has destined for the North American market, including the Lanos, the first 100% Korean Daewoo and the company’s market-entry model. The Korean manufacturer also offers two other models, the Nubira and the Leganza.The most economical car in its class (in terms of selling price and at the gas pump), as well as the most popular and according to some, the most attractive. And not without reason! Italian designer Giugiaro is responsible for the Lanos’s attractive styling, inciting Daewoo to introduce and refer to it as "a beautiful subcompact." It comes in two versions, a hatchback coupe or sedan.

Interior styling is appealing and modern. Not surprisingly, the quality of some plastics is a bit disappointing and assembly could show more attention to detail, at least on our test drive model. However, storage spaces are plentiful and instrumentation is detailed.

Main controls are positioned within easy reach for the driver and are easy to use. Are they all equally efficient? The question is legitimate - in cold weather we found the heating and defrosting systems to be barely adequate. Could we have been coming down with the flu?

Visibility is excellent and the ideal driving position is relatively easy to find, but the bucket and bench seats are still poorly padded. As is the case with most coupes, access to the rear calls for acrobatic skills, but at least you’ll be able to get a breath of fresh air thanks to rear windows that roll all the way down - a rare commodity.

Contrary to the sedan, the hatchback opens solely from the outside and has no remote latch; its trunk is minuscule (250 litres) but with the rear seat folded down, its volume increases to 866 litres.What to go for - the sedan or the hatchback? Beyond accessories, the main difference is under the hood. The hatch is powered by a 1.5-litre four- cylinder (86 horses, three valves per cylinder) and the sedan features a DOHC 1.6-litre (105 horses, four valves per cylinder). It is important to know that it would run with much more ease (but undoubtedly still howl strongly under strong acceleration) if it had been assembled on a vehicle lighter than the Lanos. Performance, such as acceleration and pick-up, is sacrificed as a result.

Standard equipment on the Lanos includes a five-speed manual transmission (a four-speed automatic is available as an option) and while it not may be the very best, it’s significantly less inconsistent than the Kia Sephia’s unit, for example.
On the road, the Lanos’s chassis behaves very well and has no unpleasant surprises in store for drivers. But nothing to write home about. It doesn’t take the Lanos very long to reach its limits thanks to its small and poorly performing tires. The suspensions seem to have been designed to maximize comfort to the detriment of road stability - not necessarily a defect given the often lamentable state of our road system. Assisted steering is well balanced and the surprisingly short turning radius makes this Daewoo particularly nimble in an urban environment. The disc-drum brake duo ensures that the Lanos comes to a full stop over a reasonable distance, but no more. And no one would argue that an anti-lock system is sorely lacking.

Lanos is better equipped than the subcompacts it intends to rub doors with, but it still can’t lay claim to the reputation for reliability and durability that its rivals, such as the Ford Focus or the Hyundai Accent (to name by only two), enjoy on our continent - and often at a better price.

PROS
Attractive styling
Appealing price
Neutral handling

CONS
Mediocre heating and defrosting
Poor power-to-weight ratio
Embryonic dealership network