The Giorgetto Giugiaro Italian designed Lacetti is one of the latest newcomers to the extending Daewoo brand, now a part of General Motors.

This comfortable family 5-door hatchback is quite a good looker with almond shaped headlamps and new chrome grille, short overhangs, a high waistline and prominent wheel arches. Tail lamps wrap around the sides of the car giving it a bigger look.

Engines include a 1.4 outputting 92.5bhp, 1.6-109bhp and a sporty 1.8- with 122bhp.

Prices start at €16,995 (€17,745 with A/C).

The review car is the 1.4 XS entry level which proved agile and responsive during my long test drive time. The DOHC 16 valve four-cylinder engine was more than adequate for every day driving.

The 1.4- does the 0-60mph trip in 11.2 seconds and has a top speed of 108mph (that is if you take it abroad on holiday where there are places you can do that speed legally). It returns around 39.8mpg for the combined cycle.

The 5-speed manual gearbox is most definitely user friendly as are the foot pedals. The gear ratios seem to be well chosen to provide a vigorous acceleration in the lower gears, specially noticeable in the review car when going through second. This is particularly useful when dealing with the urban traffic situations most of us have put up with these days. The car is also very easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces.

The Lacetti is a comfy drive for up to five people, and Daewoo claim that legroom in the rear is best in class. However, I didn’t get to rent-a-mob to put this claim to the test. It IS certainly a pretty roomy car, front and back. As in lots of cars these days, the middle back seat is not as comfy as the two outer ones, with a harder back and seat.

A good level of attention has been paid to interior design details. The review car was clad in nice grey, plain and patterned material, with the same colour carpets complemented by charcoal coloured mats front and rear.

I also liked the rounded design of the dashboard, with matching circular instruments and air vents and the little digital clock high up on the dash. Daewoo are now among the very best when it comes to stylish, non cluttered dials. And the big silver rimmed speedometer is right in the centre ... where it should be!

With more standard items expected in cars nowadays, the Lacetti offers a generous range of goodies, even at entry level. These include ABS with EBD, twin airbags, tinted glass, front fog lamps, remote control keyless entry, electric windows front and back, electric heatable mirrors, radio and six loudspeakers, CD player, child door protection, knee protector, engine immobiliser, 15-inch wheels and some more.

The middle central console is also available in an aluminium style on the SX and CDX. A tilt adjustable steering wheel, leather gearshift, adjustable driver’s seat, with height and tilt support are also standard.

However, air conditioning is an optional extra on both lower trims and when it’s not there, you do miss it especially on hot days like when I took the car to Emo Court in Co Laois for a long run. It is standard, however, on the top 1.8 CDX. With it comes a cooling compartment in the glove box to keep drinks nice and cool.

The top trim also has lumbar support on the driver’s seat, and a passenger centre armrest with two cup holders in the rear.

There are lots of storage spaces on board including two deep open cup holders between the front seats, a storage tray under the passenger seat, while the armrest in front can store up to eight CDs. Best for me, though, was the big open cubby on the flat of the central console which stored all the bits and pieces I needed to keep handy. Neat, too, are the little side pocket on the right edge of the passenger seat, and the sunglasses holder on the driver’s door side.

Rear seats split/fold 60-40 so you can carry long objects. While the boot is fairly decent, and bulges out at the sides for even more space, this split/fold option increases the cargo capacity from 275 to 1,045 litres. There’s also a decent sized handle on the inside of the tailgate to help you lower it down again.

There were a few smallish gripes, as with most cars. Apart from having no air con, you can’t lock the glove box, the flattish radio volume and menu knobs are not very user friendly as they come with little nasty bumps, not very pleasant to the touch. I presume they are there to give your finger a better grip but they are quite prickly.

Small things, really, in a family car that offers such good value for money.

Daewoo offers a 3 year or 60,000 miles warranty and 3 years RAC membership (24 hour assistance) and 6 years anti-corrosion warranty.

And the Gandon designed Emo Court is definitely worth a visit! It was presented to the nation in 1994.