Daewoo Lacetti test drive since 2002 sedan

New image of Daewoo

Behind the sonorous name Lacetti lies a solid Korean car
 
This is, I emphasize that it is about the Korean car that rumors about the production of this model on the conveyor in Uzbekistan remained so rumors. According to AI in the General Motors concern, which owns the Daewoo brand, the decision to assemble Lacetti at the UZDEU plant has not yet been made. And they made it clear that this prospect is very ghostly. But, no matter how happened, the car itself is unlikely to undergo any serious changes in the near future.
 
How much, how much?!
 
I was forced to ask for the price on Lacetti, at first literally without believing my ears. It turned out that in fact, prices start from $ 17,600. A little expensive, frankly, for the brand, which in our country is considered to be budget. That is why more than modest sales figures. True, in his homeland, Daewoo offers very respectable models, including business class, and the representative of Chairman sedan. On the other hand, Lacetti is not even on the step, but two of the same Nexia or Nubira. And yet, in order for the model to compete, say, the same Ford Focus or Hyundai Elantra, it should cost about $ 14,000. And this is only possible if it is collected either in Russia or in the same Uzbekistan.
 
To some extent, a restrained design is capable of sweetening a bitter price pill, a very good basic equipment of the car and a frisky motor. The fact that the appearance of modern Daewoo made a qualitative leap forward, I personally have no doubt. The former intricacy, roundness of the forms, presumably, has forever gone the past. Now Asian designers are practiced, I would say in a mixture of styles. Very skillfully adding strict European motifs and Japanese ideas about how to push the internal space of the car to their own developments. As a result, Lacetti is a pleasant modern machine from the outside. Perhaps there is perhaps nothing amazing in the car, but Europeans will surely appreciate the whimsical shape of the trunk and rear lights, muscular sides with slightly swollen wheel arches, generally an expressive front. In my opinion, Lacetti looks more modern than the same Hyundai Elantra. To top it off, I’ll add that they still look back on the car on the streets of the city, that for many potential buyers also plays an important role.
 
Cozy sedan
 
I definitely liked the interior more than those that I had to evaluate a number of competitors. It seems to be without frills, but already in the basic version, the salon is finished with plastic two colors - dark gray in the lower part and warm beige in the upper. Moreover, plastic is not wooden, when tapping on which you recall the woodpecker working on the trunk of the next pine, and soft, suppressive. The combination of devices is simple, but at the same time it is pleasant to the eyes, and the visor eliminates the glare in daylight. In the center of the front, there is a convenient console, on which, depending on the configuration, a radio or double size, air conditioning control or climate control, are placed. All auxiliary levers are located exactly where you are supposed to see them. In general, there are no complaints about ergonomics.
 
The only thing I would advise the future owners of Lacetti is to see several possible configurations before buying. The one that flaunts light leather chairs, in addition, is richly decorated with inserts that simulate a tree. They, let’s say, are not too high -quality and literally shout that it is an imitation, and not a noble natural material. For example, I most of all liked the car in the middle level of performance, in which there is no pseudo -eater, and the seats are upholstered by velor, creating special coziness. You get inside, and immediately forget that it is snowing outside, the road resembles a mud bath, and around literally a crowd of cars that strive to move the sides with a new car. Therefore, so that I can see me from afar, I immediately turn on the near light of headlights and front fog lights. Actually, it's time to go. Stop, forgot to see the rubber. And he is still glad that he remembered this in time, because the summer tires of the not -known Korean manufacturer stood on Lacetti. With double attention, I transfer the machine gun selector to the Drive position and smoothly touch the light sound accompaniment of the anti -circus system.
 
An amazing and rather rare thing - the most affordable version of Lacetti is offered precisely with an automatic gearbox. A machine with mechanics will cost $ 650 more. True, there will be more additional equipment in it. In addition to the basic power steering, the built -in Hands Free system, the driver’s pillow, the disc brakes on all wheels, a full electric package, a branded alarm with the ability to remote engine start, factory tinting of glasses, and instead of air conditioning, climate control. In the maximum configuration, an ingenuously called MAX, there is a heated armchairs, an advanced audio system with eight speakers, reproducing musical discs of all formats, ABS, an anti-bowing system, as well as 15-inch tires on cast discs. True, such a car costs a lot - $ 23,000. That's certain - too much.
 
Saving ESP
 
The story of the running qualities of Lacetti will allow myself to start from the Ministry of Labor of the car to the dealer. For a few minutes I was detained by one of their managers who asked the only question: is it possible to compare the new Daewoo with Ford Focus? Probably yes, I honestly answered. Moreover, in many respects, in the decoration of the salon, for example, Lacetti in my opinion even surpasses a potential competitor.
 
But with regard to behavior on the road, everything is not so clear. No complaints arose to a 1.5-liter engine with a capacity of 106 forces, despite the fact that it works in tandem with a machine gun. Confident traction occurs from about 1700 rpm, and gradually fades away when the tachometer arrow intersects 5500. The four -speed box is a little thoughtful, but not so much that it announces with a normal urban movement. If you press the gas pedal stronger, then the automatic transmission will pass to the step below with a small pause. In general, acceptable. What disappointed was the level of external noise that burst into the salon. In motion, the blows of small pebbles on the wheeled arches are clearly heard, the engine operation at high speeds and truck motors moving along parallel lanes.
 
In the turns of Lacetti, heated slightly. If compared with the same Focus, then a little more. But I liked the force on the steering wheel on Daewoo. For all the time of the test, the car never allowed me to doubt whether the wheels are turned on the right degree.
 
I managed to find only one more or less cleared from the snowy slide and slightly twist the car on it. Unfortunately, I remind you that summer tires were installed on it, which ruined in general pleasant impressions of Lacetti. For discharge of gas in a steep turn, it begins to smoothly demolish the feed. So, this does not frighten even yesterday's graduate of a driving school, which has at least initial skills on the front -wheel drive. The only thing he should expect from the car is rather sharp stabilization, so it is important not to twist the steering wheel in the opposite direction. However, the steering wheel amplifier is in such a way that the steering wheel at the zero point is slightly bite. Of course, this is a small drawback of the mechanism, but at the same time it helps to feel the return of the wheels to its original position. Finally, another warning that, I hope, the future owner will not be needed. If Lacetti is very much swing, for example, having gone at a very high speed, a snake of four cones, that is, a chance to lose a car, since his suspension, as I said, is quite soft, the body in vihi is rolled, and the stabilization system is not offered even in as options. Daewoo begins an almost uncontrolled skid, which is very, very difficult to stop.
 
Summing up, I can say that the Daewoo Lacetti is a solid and predictable car that, with a certain pricing policy (and even better - in the production of within the country), is able to compete with the current sales hits. With the Nexia model, except that the brand is related.
 
Sergey Ilyinsky
 
Brief technical characteristics of Daewoo Lacetti
Engine volume, cubic meter. See: 1498
The number of valves for the cylinder: 4
Power, l. With. at about./min.: 106/6000
Max. Torque, Nm/at about. min.: 140/4200
Acceleration to 100 km/h, p.: 11 (12.2)
Maximum speed, km/h: 183 (181)
Average fuel consumption l./100 km.: 9.2 (10.6)
Fuel tank volume, l.: 60
Dimensions, mm.: 4500x1725x1445
 
In brackets - data for the version with automatic transmission
 

Source: "Automobile Izvestia"