As an automotive journalist, in many ways I find road testing smaller, cheaper cars more enjoyable than larger luxury machines. And why is that? Simply because the designers, stylists and engineers at the small car end of the field arguably have a much harder job to do than their luxury-focused brethren. Making a lot from little takes real skill, and with small cars that means trying to extract a slippery body shape from stubby dimensions, developing a sweet and tractable engine that is also parsimonious with fuel, and fitting as much into the dimensions as possible. And doing all of that on a budget of nearly nothing.
From a journalist's point of view, the quality is in the details, rather than the broad paintbrush strokes.
Right now we're in a halcyon time of small car design and advancement. Cars are now appearing in spades that are wonderfully roomy, well equipped, handle competently and have performance that is more than adequate. The Toyota Echo, the Holden Barina, the Volkswagen Polo, the Honda Jazz, the Hyundai Getz. Those latter two especially - although at different ends of the pricing spectrum (even $5000 is poles apart in this price range!) - show the real advancements being made.
And into this hothouse of genetic dynamism comes the Daewoo Kalos.
Styled and with an interior design by the famous Italian house of Giugiaro (which many decades ago set the scene with one of the all-time small car greats, the Alfasud), the new shape tall-and-upright Kalos replaces the unlamented Lanos. And despite having an engine that in technical specs is showing its age, the Kalos is immediately on the pace.
Because it is a weak link in the package, let's start with the engine,. A single overhead cam engine with an iron block, it looks suspiciously like a very old GM design - which to all intents and purposes, it is. It develops 62kW (at 5600 rpm) from its 1.5-litre swept capacity, while torque peaks at 128Nm at 3000 rpm. (As a quick comparison, the Hyundai Getz uses the same engine capacity but has 74kW and 133Nm. And it's a much sweeter engine.) That's not to say that the Kalos is saddled with a dunger, but the Daewoo press release - which makes much of the Italian styling connection - is rather quieter on the engine, and perhaps that's not surprising.
On the road the engine is tractable and reasonably torquey; if you pay little attention to it and don't expect much, it delivers the goods. However, we would never say of it - as we wrote of the Getz - that it is "modern and effective". Working it fairly hard over much hilly terrain (but also with quite a few kilometres of freeway cruising), the Kalos returned 8.7 litres/100 km. That's a long way from the 7.2 and 4.8 litres/100km achieved in the government test. However, it must be said that the car was brand new and so the engine may improve with some more kilometres on it.
But apart from an occasional niggle that the engine could do with a bit more power and smoothness, the Kalos blended seamlessly into this household for the week. It did the daily local post-office box commute, it went and got lunches, it took a load of rubbish to the dump, it jumped onto the freeway and trundled the 160-odd kilometres to and from another city. It went to work and it came home; it developed no irritating habits (except for one, which I'll come to) and it went about its duties with poise and style.
One reason for this easy acceptance is that the equipment level - for a $14,990 car - is simply excellent. There are twin airbags, very effective air-conditioning, power steering, a Sanyo single CD radio with four (albeit average) speakers, electric windows front and back, and a tilt-adjustable steering column. You won't find electric mirrors or - more irritating in the real world - remote central locking. But after all, look at the price...
The interior of the car also works extremely well. The front seats are comfortable and there's plenty of room in all directions. The controls are easy to understand and feel high in quality - for example, switchgear is precise in action, rather than sloppy. The indicator lever is on the left - a bit of a downer if you drive different cars - but the interior feels and looks stylish. Step into the back seat and the good news continues - unless you're a centre passenger. (That person will miss out on a head restraint and get provided with only a lap seatbelt. Best to consider this car only a four-seater.) Rear passengers have plenty of room in all areas - from knee- to head- to foot-room. In fact, there are lots of larger cars where rear seat passengers will be much less comfortable.
Cargo room when running with four passengers is adequate (although the rear of the seat back is easily-scratched painted metal) but with the rear occupants gone, the seat folds and tumbles forward against the front seats, leaving a very large load area. But here's that niggle we discovered: restore the rear seat to its passenger-carrying position and sorting the setabelts becomes a nightmare of untangling them and feeding buckles through the right gaps. With practice you'd get good at it - but you shouldn't need to have to practice... Grocery bag hangers are integrated into the front seat head restraint supports and a fold-down picnic table is positioned on the rear of the front passenger seat. The only real downer with internal storage space is that the glovebox is tiny. The tall cabin dimensions and wide-opening doors make getting in and out easy, too.
On the road the Kalos steers with precision, tuning into corners with stability and some poise. The suspension is generic small car: MacPherson strut front-end and a torsion beam rear axle. The car sits quite flat for a car in this class and grips well. However, quite a lot of the cornering load is being borne by the rear tyres, and while that helps the turn-in, the Kalos does have a smidgin more throttle-off oversteer than we expected. With just two front passengers things were fine, but with some heavy luggage under the hatch a sudden lift on the accelerator half way around a corner being taken too fast might be interesting. This is at extremes; in normal - even spirited use - the car handles very well.
With its 3-year, 100,000km warranty and good design, the Kalos stacks up as one of the new breed of competent small cars. The engine isn't cutting edge but the equipment level in this class is very good indeed. In general the interior is practical and spacious, while both the interior and exterior are stylish and interesting.
If you're in the market for a small car, put it on your test drive list.
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Why you would:
- Practical, roomy and comfortable
- Good equipment in this class
- Stylish inside and out
Why you wouldn't:
- Engine not cutting edge although adequate
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The Daewoo Kalos was provided for this test by GM Daewoo. A GM Daewoo carry bag was given to the author.
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