Chevrolet Matiz Review.
The Chevrolet Matiz is not known for its speed nor is it known for its luxury. It could never be labelled a supercar but around town it is a super car and offers a few surprises in many areas.
The old Matiz was so popular that it made it to the top of the mini-car charts and the new one is set to follow, even though there are plenty of others in this segment.
The Chevrolet Matiz is not known for its speed nor is it known for its luxury. It could never be labelled a supercar but around town it is a super car and offers a few surprises in many areas.
The old Matiz was so popular that it made it to the top of the mini-car charts and the new one is set to follow, even though there are plenty of others in this segment.
To be honest, there are plenty of friends and colleagues that would lament that I had to drive the Matiz for a week, in fact some did and I’m about to explain why they were wrong, after all, it’s a case of horses for courses and pennies in purses.
First of all, it is cute, especially in bright, Highway Yellow. It’s curvy in the right places with big eyes and almost Noddy-esque tail-lights that give the rear end a surprised expression. It looks like a three-door but is, in fact, a five-door hatch and it is tiny but around town, that is a good thing. It almost feels as if you could put it in your bag or pocket, once you’ve reached your destination, instead of parking it.
You may well have seen bigger Tonka toys but that doesn’t mean that the Matiz is cramped and uncomfortable. It has a TARDIS-like quality and once inside, there is plenty of leg-, head- and shoulder-room for four adults and the large doors open wide for easy access. The rear doors have body-coloured door-handles set well back, almost directly above the rear wheels. This disguise and the assumption that all micro-cars have three doors, made a couple of passengers attempt to climb in from the front.
The airiness of the cabin is noticeable, even without the benefit of a sunroof and the dark upholstery does nothing to mitigate the effect. The seats look insubstantial and, although the padding is thin and firm, they are nonetheless very comfortable and fairly supportive. The jacquard-knit seat-covers are available in a choice of three colours with a dark, charcoal grey base colour. I mention this because, for a sense of fun, the instrument dials come in three matching colours. The choice of upholstery colour is somewhat dependent on which of the ten body-colours is selected.
The Matiz is undoubtedly a budget car but Chevrolet has made the best possible use of materials within the cabin and the result is a clean but pleasing fascia with a symmetrical centre console. In the test car, this had a metallic-effect surround and housed a Blaupunkt RDS radio/CD player that comes with a minimum of two speakers but generally four depending on the trim level. Despite the manufacturer’s name, impressions can be deceptive and the audio unit doesn’t look capable of producing the impressive sound quality that it does. I didn’t see satellite navigation on the options list so, best to keep to local journeys or buy an A-Z.
Above the centre console is a nacelle containing the instrument cluster. The positioning is supposed to reduce clutter and be easier to read whilst driving. This placement works well in other cars but for some reason, I couldn’t get on with it. There is a display panel, where the dials would normally be, that show all the warning lights.
Unusually, in this day and age, the steering wheel has no adjustment whatsoever but the driver’s seat does have mechanical height-adjustment and it is quite easy to find a comfortable driving position. As befits a car of this ilk, it is not loaded with goodies but you get what you need for comfort and daily functionality.
The Matiz comes in two trim levels; S and SE, with prices starting at £6,145 and rising to £7,145 for the 0.8-litre, SE, which just happens to be the test car. Obviously the SE has a bit more than the S but standard features across the range include; power-assist steering, 13-inch steel wheels with a space-saver spare, body-coloured bumpers and tinted glass. The SE adds, remote, central locking, electric front windows, an electrically-adjustable passenger door mirror, so you don’t have to lean across the car, an internal boot-release to go with the one for the fuel filler-cap, a rear spoiler (?), two extra speakers, making it 4 altogether and a light in the luggage compartment. There are a few extras such as metallic paint, which adds £325 and, for the 1.0 SE only, air-conditioning with pollen filter is a further £400.
The question mark after the word ‘rear spoiler’ is because of the engine sizes available. I think that it must be there for glamour or design purposes as I’m pretty sure that neither the 3-cylinder, 0.8-litre nor 4-cylinder 1.0-litre engine warrants it in a functional capacity.
The test car housed the smaller unit, which produces 51PS (50bhp) at 6,000rpm and 71.5Nm (52.7lb ft) of torque at 4,400rpm. Through the non-optional, 4-speed, automatic transmission, it takes a leisurely 21.9 seconds to get from nought to 62mph and the top speed is 84mph, where legal. That reads as painfully slow but it doesn’t seem that way, besides in town traffic is perfectly adequate. That said, it does take a while for the Matiz to get going but by using the limited kick-down facility, it is possible to fool the drivetrain into something nearing a sporty attitude. Actually, I was surprised that, even with three people onboard, it felt quite sprightly and very similar to another of my favourites, the Daihatsu Copen.
It is a fun little car with a lot of spirit out of town and competent enough on the motorway, although overtaking does call for forward planning than usual. But it is around town where the Matiz comes into its own. Good, positive steering, a tight turning circle and diminutive proportions makes for easy manoeuvring and parking is simplicity itself.
For shopping forays, there is 170-litres of luggage space in the in the boot, which can be increased to 845-litres by folding the 60:40 split, rear seats. There is also a large selection of shelves, oddment trays, cup-holders and pockets within the cabin. It seems that every available space has been put to good use.
Both of the rear seats have ISOFIX anchors, while other safety measures include; duel, front airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners at the front, ABS with EBD and a high-tensile steel safety cage with reinforced A-pillars.
Despite the condolences I received, I thoroughly enjoyed the Matiz, to the point that I argued its case whenever possible. If I lived in a large town, the Matiz would be nearing the top of my list of city runabouts.
