|
 At
the same time the two Korean car makers launched their
European-targeted
supermini. We have already reported about Hyundai Getz, which still
trails
the European rivals in interior quality and refinement. What about
Daewoo
Kalos? we didn’t have too much expectation on it, blame to the
bankruptcy
of Daewoo during the last 2 years. But in the end it surprises us by
beating
the Hyundai arch-rival.
These days
there
are few
differences between any superminis. Predictably, Kalos is shaped like a
monospace, having long wheelbase, tall roof and short overhangs to
maximize
interior space. Both exterior and interior dimensions are close to
Hyundai
Getz thus matches the biggest European and Japanese superminis.
6-footers
will find plenty of headroom and reasonable amount of legroom at the
rear.
The
Italdesign
exterior looks
quite pretty, although I don’t find it any more attractive than Getz or
Honda Fit (Jazz). If I were picky, I could have criticized that
Giugiaro
(or maybe his boys) copied the rear styling of the baby Honda, because
they are nearly identical even down to the tailgate, bumper, rear
lights
and even rear quarter windows. By the way, it is no longer a secret
that
Italdesign has lost its magic long ago. In contrast, the front end
styling
is original, and this seems strengthening my thought because the grille
is both characterless and unattractive.
 Interior
is where Kalos beats Getz. You won’t name it as the best-built or
best-looking
interior, but the plastics is decent while every piece of them is
solidly
built in place. Quality is high enough to shame most French superminis.
This must thanks to new parent company GM which sets higher quality
standard
for the Korean maker. Roomy aside, the cabin is rich of storage spaces,
cup-holders, fold-tables etc. Seating plan is conventional rather than
MPV-style.
Driving
character
is similar
to Getz. It is easy to drive, with smooth and accurate steering, fine
body
control and plenty of grip. The downside is the ride gets bouncy on
rough
roads.
Engine
is another
weak area.
There are a 1.4-litre 8V, 1.4-litre 16V and 1.6-litre 16V on
offer,
depending on market. However, all are based on the rather outdated GME
design thus revvability and refinement suffer. They get coarse and
noisy
at high rev, while pulling power isn’t strong. Worse still, the engines
are mated with a bad manual gearbox which is heavy and obstructive to
shift.
Overall
speaking,
the Kalos
is a little better than Getz, but it lacks the completeness and
innovation
of Japanese and European competitors. |