Faults:

The cable (yes, it's a cable) from gearstick to gearbox snapped and stranded me in neutral on a busy motorway. It cost £145 to get it replaced at a small private garage. The cable cost £57 and the rest was labour. "The worst stick to box linkage I have ever changed in any car" was the garage comment. It required stripping of dashboard and panels to reach the gearbox end. This was after only 19000 miles.

General Comments:

Good car for town driving and very well appointed. My wife is only 4ft 10ins and it suits her fine! "Very comfortable & easy to see out of". (could she not see out of the Fiesta!!) The power steering is also great to have after the heavy Ford Fiesta 1.8 diesel non powered.

Faults:

Nothing really major has gone wrong with the car. A new battery was fitted after 2 years, and the HT leads needed changing after the car refused to start one morning (thank god for the AA).

All 4 alloy wheels needed replacing after 1 year, as the old ones had started corroding. They were replaced under warranty with no fuss from the dealer!

The interior is nicely put together, but we have noticed some rattles and squeaks.

General Comments:

The car is extremely capable around town, keeping up happily with other traffic. We have taken the car on numerous motorway trips, and it will comfortably sit at 75-80mph all day, with the little motor buzzing away quite contently. Not quite a pocket rocket, but nevertheless, a nippy and nimble little runner.

If you are looking for a cheap little 2nd car, then the Matiz is for you!

Faults:

Headlights fill with water.

Brakes squeal.

Won't start if parked on hill for a few hours.

Rattles/squeaks.

Performance especially hill climbing far worse than when car was new.

General Comments:

Good car ruined by the worst dealer service I have ever known.

The car always came back dirty or scratched or both.

Would turn up early and find the female staff would be out doing their shopping in it.

Have waited as long as 14 months for one small body part.

Faults:

I've only recently (reluctantly) bought this car at an auction. I was a bit unconvinced of the performance as it was only a 0.8 engine, but it turned out to be quite nippy. It does 80-90mph quite easily on the motorway. My only concern is the petrol consumption, I haven't pushed it overly hard, but its only done around 250 miles on a full tank. I read all the reviews and everyone mentioned how well it did for fuel consumption. My model is a T reg (1999) does anyone else have the same problem? Also, the paint (or whatever it is) on the alloy wheels is beginning to balloon up, I'm the second owner of the car and it is just out of warranty. Would I be able to have the wheels replaced by Daewoo as the car hasn't done more than 30,000 miles yet? I would appreciate a response asap.

General Comments:

Apart from the fuel concerns, this car is a beauty to drive, surprisingly nippy and it does get a lot of attention. It comes with a lot of mod-cons, much more than any other car in the same price and size range.