2006 Chevrolet Matiz SE 1.0 litre petrol 4 cylinder from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Underrated little gem
Faults:
Just consumables - tyres, rear section of exhaust just replaced recently. Brake pads, 2x rear wheel bearings - the legacy of two awful winters when the Matiz was the only 2wd car round here to get traction and get around in, and front ball joints recently - speedbumps eh!!?? Grrr.
Winter also put paid to a fuel filter that got damaged and leaked due to traversing deep rutted frozen snow.
Must get the cam belt changed soon!!!
General Comments:
Sounds a lot, but this is a hard driven, abused 2nd car that takes kids to school and college - stuff to the tip - seldom washed, serviced or cleaned inside, and it never lets us down. Cost £4k with C/L, A/C (needs a re-gas we have found in recent hot weather) and electric front windows - seats 5 with 5 full seat belts. Had a couple of nudges, so she wears her battle scars, and the rear washer gave up a wee while back, but hey y'know...
All in all, it's a cracking little motor, bought to do a job which it does admirably - and more!! Never complains, and I think we could quite easily keep it up to 100k miles with cheap maintenance costs. The only 2 drags are:
1. Old engine technology has meant a stupidly high road fund tax bracket, hence lowish cost marks for a car of its type.
2. Chevy are being withdrawn from the UK, hence I put no to buying another.
I may pick up a decent 2nd hander when we replace this car - one of the last ones maybe - and would certainly get one for my lad when he passes his test - a great 1st car. All these small Korean city cars (Matiz, Atoz, i10, Spark, Agila, Wagon R and so on) are excellent robust little cars, that are often wrongly overlooked by buyers they would serve well.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 7th July, 2014
2nd Jan 2018, 17:39
Our Matiz has died... 93k miles it failed its MOT needing brake lines - the clutch started slipping the week before and the rear wash had given up the ghost - plus a problem on the fronts - possible pump going AWOL. Faced with all this, we got nearly £100 scrap and it's been replaced with a Hyundai Amica. We got 11 years - 73k miles and all for £3900 purchase less sale, plus then petrol and consumables - if the Amica is half as good, we will be happy.
9th May 2022, 20:54
Amica lasted 3 years then failed its MOT - the underneath was rotten as a ripe pear. So I did the sensible thing and bought another Matiz - 59 reg one owner and ONLY 19K miles!!! They wanted all the money but condition mileage and S/H warranted paying £1750 - cracking driver and aircon works!! Great little driver - these things are starting to cost a wee bit more as people cotton on to them - only by a couple of hundred pounds, but bargain motoring.
6th Sep 2015, 21:34
Over 80k miles on this little lovely now, and it still just goes and goes - there are a few car park scrapes on the bumper where other motorists have been careless, and the aircon needs a re-gas, but you just get in, turn the key and you're off. MOTs come and go, but the stereo entertains you and all the essentials work. £10 of fuel needed per week. As a run around, there is nothing out there that can touch it in my view.