INTERESTING article on the history of Chevrolet/ Daewoo MATIZ!

Myths and facts about Daewoo Matiz (Chevrolet) 0.8 L and 1.0 L (M100-M150).

Daewoo Matiz is one of the most popular and affordable “foreign cars” of the beginning of the 2000s. The physical novelty, attractive design, accessibility and the presence of pleasant “comfort options” like an air conditioner and - for some time now - an automatic transmission contributed to the popularity of this car. However, in the long and rather complicated story of Matiz there are many interesting facts mixed with a number of fictions and fables. Today we will understand interesting details related to the history of the development and production of this machine.

MYTH 1: THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF MATIZ WAS OFFERED BY FIAT
True

Back in 1993, the ItalDesign Italian tailor shop prepared for Fiat a small car concept called Lucciola, which was supposed to replace the Cinquecento. Its outward resemblance to Matiz is obvious and not accidental, since after Fiat refused the proposed option, Giugiaro's studio decided to sell the concept to the Koreans.

In the photo: one of the early prototypes of Matiz

The Fiat concept created by Italzidine was distinguished by a three-door body.
In Korea, by that time Daewoo Tico had been manufactured for a long time - a car created on the basis of the 1982 Japanese Suzuki Alto minicar, the license for the production of which Daewoo acquired from the Japanese in the mid-eighties. The Tico-Alto aggregate base “by inheritance” became the basis for the future of Matiz - in particular, a 0.8-liter three-cylinder engine and suspension elements.

Having retained technical similarities with the previous model, the outwardly new car changed beyond recognition, having received a more streamlined body with a cute “big-eyed” face, which was intended for the new Fiat model.

Daewoo d'Arts Sport Concept - no longer Fiat, but not Matiz yet

The Italian body shop has repeatedly sold “refuseniks” to Korean companies - for example, the design of Daewoo Leganza was originally offered by Jaguar as a concept called Kensington.

The original design of the Lucciola concept fully fit into the global trends of those years - soft lines, rounded shapes, a minimum of transitions between surfaces. True, on the way to the Korean conveyor the prototype received a second pair of doors and lost its fabric roof, which at that time was popular on many European and Japanese A-class cars that did not have air conditioning.

So the Italian concept car turned into a Korean production car under the factory index M100, the production of which began in 1997 in Korea.

The first-generation Matiz, which went on sale in 1998 (first photo), differed from the later M150 model in body design.

MYTH 2: MATIZ is only released in Korea and UZBEKISTAN

In 2001, a restyled modification of Matiz under the M150 index was launched at the UzDaewoo plant in Uzbekistan. In its historical homeland, this model was designated as the Matiz II, but in our country it was precisely Uzbek cars, not Korean cars, that almost completely repeated their brothers released in the Republic of Korea.

However, Uzbekistan was far from the first (and not the only) country to produce this Daewoo model. Indeed, back in September 1999, the Polish FSO plant began under license to produce a new machine, which until 2004 was produced under the Daewoo brand, and later as the FSO Matiz. After the license agreement between the Polish and Korean car factories ended in 2008, the car was discontinued in Poland. But Matiz’s “geography” was not limited to this: back in 1998, the machine began to be produced in Romania and India. In addition, Matiz was collected in Vietnam and China.

Interestingly, after the GM bought out a controlling stake in the bankrupt Daewoo company, in Europe the car was already sold under the Chevrolet brand, retaining the name of the Matiz model. The UzDaewoo factory still produced Matiz with the Daewoo logo, but such cars were supplied exclusively to the CIS countries, and in 2015 Matiz received a new brand name - Ravon. And in China, where this car was also produced, it is known as the Chevrolet Lechi and Baojun Lechi.

Chinese, but not fake: Baojun Lechi is never a cuckoo!

In general, contrary to the fair stereotype about the Uzbek roots of most cars traveling in our country, Matiz was produced in almost a dozen countries in different parts of the world.

MYTH 3: A FOUR-CYLINDER ENGINE WAS ONLY MECHANICAL KP
true

Initially, Matiz was equipped with only a 0.8-liter three-cylinder engine, the power of which increased from 42 to 52 hp due to the transition to a distributed injection system. Such a motor 3.5-meter machine with a curb weight of just over 900 kg was enough to gain a hundred from a place in 17 seconds and accelerate to 144 km / h. However, for the status of a "ladies'" car, Matiz lacked a machine gun - and he got it!

The four-speed automatic transmission company Jatco fit a compact machine, as Matiz lost the third pedal, and its owner - all the problems associated with constant gear shifting.

Three dials: regardless of engine size and type of transmission, the Matiz instrument cluster remained concise at the level of the first Lada models.
Almost simultaneously with the Matiz automatic machine, in 2003, a more powerful 1.0-liter four-cylinder engine was found. One-liter cars, which received the designation Best, were distinguished by a colored body kit and richer equipment, regardless of the main body shade in silver. However, under the hood of the machine it was impossible to meet at the same time four “pots” and an automatic transmission for a banal reason - they simply did not fit there. Therefore, the buyer could choose the type of transmission only if, willingly or not, he agreed with the 800 cc engine, while without exception, all cars with a liter engine were equipped with mechanics.

From such a Chevrolet Aveo, Matiz in the Best configuration received a four-cylinder engine, which “shrunk” to one liter of displacement
. The Matiz four-cylinder engine appeared out of the blue - it was created by physically deforming the 1.2-liter Chevrolet Aveo engine by reducing the piston stroke. The remaining power (64 hp) was quite enough for the lightweight machine, but some Russian enthusiasts returned the “original” volume to the eight-valve engine by replacing the piston group, due to which the maximum power increased to 72 hp True, the tandem with the automatic did not work: either the automatic transmission and three cylinders, or the mechanic with any of the two available engines, got along at the same time in a small engine compartment.

MYTH 4: MATIZ IS ONE OF THE MOST ECONOMIC CARS
Myth

Due to its modest size and small engine displacement, Matiz was considered one of the most economical cars - they say, he "doesn’t drink gas, but only sniffs". However, even according to the factory data, the three-cylinder version in the city cycle consumed 7.8 liters, and in the countryside - more than five. In reality, the owners got similar numbers: from six to eight liters per hundred, which was true for cars with a manual gearbox. Moreover, for active other drivers, the 800-cc Matiz consumed more than a liter and a half Samara, and the version with an automatic transmission, if the circumstances weren’t very good (operating conditions, driving style), could ask for about a dozen!

The most massive Matiz in terms of production looked exactly like that. The vast majority of cars in our country come from Uzbekistan

At the same time, in many similar modes, the four-cylinder liter engine was even more economical than its three-cylinder counterpart, which had a direct relationship between the pressed gas pedal and the flow. Well, the combination of far from the most modern automatic transmission, turned on at full power by the air conditioner and energetic traffic lights (as well as “trampling” in traffic jams) led to the fact that Matiz consumed almost twice as much fuel as the owners expected from it.

Small, but daring: at a speed of "over a hundred" Matiz was not very fuel efficient. This was especially true 800-cc versions with automatic
MYTH 5: It is one of the most popular and "LP" CARS DAEWOO
truth

Matiz in its original form began to be released in 1997. Six years later, the car under the M200 index was already sold in Europe as the Chevrolet Matiz, and the car that was restyled in 2006 under the M250 index in Europe and America is known as the Chevrolet Spark, and in our country it is Ravon R2. And, taking into account the four official generations and many names, almost 5 million Matizas of all generations were produced in two decades from 1997 to 2018. Thus, this car can claim the title of one of the most massive in the history of the automotive industry - even 6.7 million copies were produced from the entire Zhiguli family from 1970 to 2014.

The airbag (pictured) on "our" Matiz practically did not occur.
True, we are talking about actually different cars, known as Matiz / Spark, which, in fact, were only cars under the M100 / M150 indexes. After all, Matiz presented at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show has a completely different platform from Suzuki Splash / Opel Agila, which is why the body of the new car has become 100 mm longer, 25 mm wider and 95 higher, and the wheelbase has increased by 30 mm. In principle, retaining its former name in a number of markets, Matiz has become a completely new car both externally and in essence.

The version under the M150 index was both the most massive and the most “long-playing”

Steering wheel in the glove compartment: Matiz was produced and with the right-hand arrangement of controls.

Uzbekistan is the last country where Matiz was produced, and it also became its most “long-playing” historical homeland, where the production of cars of this model continued until the summer of 2018. After all, release in native Korea was stopped back in 2003, and in China Matiz of the first generation was released until 2016. Thus, Matiz has every reason to be considered not only the most “long-living”, but also the most massive Daewoo car in the world along with Nexia

MYTH 6: CHERY QQ - OFFICIAL CHINESE LOCALIZATION DAEWOO MATIZ   myth

At the beginning of the 2000s, Chinese manufacturers released several obvious “clones” - unlicensed copies of the car, the design of which was clearly copied from other cars. So, Chery released the Amulet liftback, which looks outwardly similar to the Seat Toledo, as well as the compact five-door QQ, in which the blind would not have seen Matiz. Both of these cars were simultaneously delivered to our market, and many considered the Chinese copy not only licensed (that is, legal), but also full. However, with a careful comparison of the “Chinese” and the original Matiz, it was obvious that the shape of the bumpers, interior design and many other details were different.

Similar, but the Chery’s technical filling was different - in particular, the volume of the power unit was 1,052 cubes, although the cuckoo was comparable in power (53 hp) to the 800cc version of Matiz. The car’s behavior on the go was not different either: it turned out to be deprived of that small bit of feedback from the driver that was present in the original Daewoo Matiz.

Another obvious problem of the “Chinese” is the unstable workmanship, which can be easily explained not only by the most legal origin of the car, but also by the peculiar OTC of those years by Chinese manufacturers. But for comparable money, the Chery buyer received richer equipment than the owner of the Uzbek Matiz. But it’s not a fact that it pleased the owners of “cuckoos” - motorists, who not only rotted as fast as the original Matiz of Uzbek manufacture, but also overgrown with their specific “sores”. For example, Chinese cars are characterized by much more fragile bumpers, the paint from which peeled off without any special mechanical influences. The suspension did not differ in durability, but in price the Chinese unlicensed copy lost much faster and more than the Korean (or Uzbek) original.