A more mature Matiz to take home

Nice now and again to see a very neat, compact and quite distinctive 5-door city car that’s well kitted out, runs virtually on petrol fumes, doesn’t cost the earth and comes with a three-year/100,000km warranty.

The car in mind is micromini Matiz from the Daewoo stable. Irish buyers who cunningly sense out good value seem to like it a lot. Enough, indeed, to have made it second best seller in class last year.

Now that it’s been transmogrified, genteelised and allowed to mature, many more eager owners will be taking the made-over Matiz home in the coming months.

Mid-life car surgery often leaves ugly scars with stylists hell-bent on gilding the lily. Thankfully, Matiz emerges from some tender scalpelling with face enhanced agreeably and innards deftly tidied up.

The previously plain and bulbous bonnet is now bedecked with recessed areas to house the much-admired oval headlamps. Beneath them Daewoo have moved a pair of tear-shaped indicators that they’ve set slightly off-centre. The new bumper is more aggressive; and a mesh grille replaces the slightly-dated slatted one. Doors are thickened, repositioned higher and fitted with body coloured door handles and folding side mirrors.

The rear quarters also come in for a bit of cosmetic work. Most obvious changes are the new rear light assemblies - with brake, reversing and indicator lights arranged neatly within a pair of larger tail-lamp units.

The bumper now features a larger scratch resistant black moulding strip, and the license plate which would have been at odds with such a bumper arrangement moves upwards to the tailgate.

A well-thought-out interior, that’s been widened, holds no terrors for six-footers. There’s plenty of headroom and leg room up front - and the Matiz gets class-leading marks for its excellent driving position and nicely-forged form hugging seats. There’s room on board for four adults - large ones are better accommodated up front - and passenger and driver airbags come as standard fittings. The 3.8 cubic feet of cargo space in the boot (now fitted with a light) extends to 18.1 cubic feet when the rear seats are folded forward.

Recent enhancements, though slight, include a second cupholder, larger map pockets in the redesigned door and longer, wider armrests to accommodate the electric window controls. Seat belt pretensioners, power steering, engine immobiliser, central locking, split rear seats, and tinted glass are standard equipment.

The engine remains untouched. Powering both the SE and the SE Plus, it’s a frugal, three-cylinder, 793 cc unit that won’t generate many ‘green punts’ under Noel Dempsey’s new ‘clean-up’. Generating 50bhp, the Matiz plant beats out 69Nm (51lb ft) of torque at 4600rpm. Acceleration isn’t overly brisk. O to 62 mph takes 17.0 seconds. Thirty to 50mph is timed at an acceptable 8.2 seconds, and top speed is 89mph. Most drivers should expect to average over 40mpg. The euro-combined is 46.3mpg. Our test figure for a 649 mile test run came in at 47.1mpg. The tank holds 7.7 gallons.

Out of town Matiz is the most impressive of all the microminis. Smooth clutch action, and fairly fluid gearchanging (with much needed for the 800cc engine) actually puts Fiat’s Seicento in the shade. That said, the Matiz is at its very best in urban conditions. Size, beautifully weighted steering (light around town), a good turning circle (9.1m) and easy overall manoeuvrability make parking in tight spaces an effortless chore. And though pace is on the short side there’s from the busy 3-cylinders to keep her buzzing.

Impressed? Rather! Methinks it’s the best of the microminis, and good value too. Prices, ex works are Matiz SE, £8,820; Matiz SE Plus, £9,420.