Chevrolet Matiz 1.0SE

[Captain Sisko]

I have had to hire one of these for 4 days until I can get a new clutch for my Felicia.
I shall tell you about its equipment it has
Air Con, A 1.0 64BHP engine, 5 doors, Blaupunkt Radio Cd player,ABS, Power steering, rear wash wipe, high 3rd brake light and 1 electric mirror.

What I like about the car - The engine doesn't sound too bad and the Blaupunkt Radio CD Player at least provides decent sound.

What I don't like - The design of the interior they have placed the speedo in the middle of the dashboard and even more stupidly its not even directed at the driver.
The gear change lacks sharpness, whilst it handles well in town at least anywhere else this car falls down - lack of steering feel, body lean definately not good.
It lacks a temp gauge

In summary I wouldn't recommend that anyone buy one of these. If you want a cheap talented car then buy a 93 shape onwards Nissan Micra or a Skoda Felicia. Sure they are older and dont have the luxuries of the new Matiz - but they are more reliable, better to drive and have a logically laid out dashboard.

[Reece_1]

Know someone who has an original Matiz, and when they had a new one for a loan car they hated it. That sounds a good design having a speedo that you can hardly see !

[mannyo]

The lack of temperature gauge is now common in new small cars. Another new car that doesnt have one is the current Vauxhall Astra.

I wonder how slow the Matiz would be with the Aircon turned on.

[Captain Sisko]

The current Astra doesnt have a temp gauge
I havent tried te Matiz with the AC on. Will try that tomorrow and report back.
Do you guys want pictures of this car

[L-Y-K]

stick with the felly there fun cars to chuck about

[Captain Sisko]

Thanks.
My Fellys not going anywhere.
A new clutch next week will mean it will be back where it belongs - on the road

And you're right about the Astra not having a temp gauge. Why is the temp gauge being taken off some cars?

[robmawer]

Originally Posted by Captain Sisko

And you're right about the Astra not having a temp gauge. Why is the temp gauge being taken off some cars?

There's a warning light if the water temperature exceeds a certain limit - which is pretty much the only useful thing the water temperature gauge would show anyway.


Rob.

[woodenspatulas]

they sell matiz's next door and my god are they orrid!

i know they are cheap, but i would rather buy a citroen c1 any day of the week, even if it costs a few hundred quid more

[Captain Sisko]

you want to read my What Car review on the Matiz

Won't be driving it for much longer. My mechanic needs those parts sooner rather than later as they opened the gearbox so my Felly's stuck on the ramps.
Parts were a reasonable price too. My mechanic said he could get a clutch and cable for £109
My local dealer Parkside? in total under £77

[Reece_1]

Originally Posted by Captain Sisko

you want to read my What Car review on the Matiz

Nice thoughtful review.
No disrespect to Rob, but always found a temp gauge essential, it does show when the engine is starting to get hot when it starts to move from its usual position, so you have some indication before the temp reaches the red zone- very useful when had head gasket problems on the Punto

[Captain Sisko]

I have found the temp gauge useful espec last year when my Skoda overheated.
Also useful in winter as it shows when the engine is warmed up so you can turn the heater on full to make the cabin nice and toasty.

[robmawer]

Originally Posted by Captain Sisko

I have found the temp gauge useful espec last year when my Skoda overheated.

Is this the overheating Skoda Felicia with the failed clutch that'll be more reliable than a new Matiz?
I suspect that the temperature gauge didn't show you anything that a temperature warning light wouldn't have (ie. the coolant is above normal operating temperature).

The water temperature gauge won't show you when the engine's warmed up, it'll show you when your engine coolant has warmed up - it takes quite a bit longer for the engine to warm up!


Rob.

[ag.morley]

It only has one Eletric Mirror

[ScoobyChris]

Originally Posted by robmawer

I suspect that the temperature gauge didn't show you anything that a temperature warning light wouldn't have (ie. the coolant is above normal operating temperature).

Yes IIRC temperature gauges haven't showed actual temperature for quite a while and just sit at the half way mark when all is well (irrespective of fluctuations in temperature). Presumably this could easily be replaced by a light which illuminates when the temperature went above this mark.

This sort of thing has been happening for ages now and there are plenty of gauges which have been replaced by lights over the years that no-one worries about any more.

Chris

[Captain Sisko]

Originally Posted by ag.morley

It only has one Eletric Mirror

Yep on the car I'm surrently driving it has the drivers mirror manual and the passenger one has electric adjustment.

Hmm Well if you know your stuff under the bonnet and keep an eye on the water and oil levels then I suppose you won't really miss the temp gauge.
I'd rather just see one there anyway

[gilesk]

Why do you need a speedo? surely the ear splitting whine of the engine will tell you when you are going to fast or bits falling ff

[Reece_1]

Originally Posted by ScoobyChris

Yes IIRC temperature gauges haven't showed actual temperature for quite a while and just sit at the half way mark when all is well (irrespective of fluctuations in temperature). Presumably this could easily be replaced by a light which illuminates when the temperature went above this mark.

This sort of thing has been happening for ages now and there are plenty of gauges which have been replaced by lights over the years that no-one worries about any more.

Chris

Some sort of digital display panel would be nice showing coolant, oil temps, oil pressure and voltages. Funny you should mention gauges because in my previous cars you could see the needle move up when the car was static, in the Fabia it never moves, also you have a set of figures 50 - 90 - 130 which IMHO are just there for display, on the Punto it was just letters C and H.

[ScoobyChris]

Not sure about the Fabia, but there's a "throw a 6 to begin" routine you can do on the Mondeo which allows you to view various sensor outputs on the car's lcd panel which I think includes oil pressure, temp, battery voltage, charging voltage, etc.

I suppose the problem is people like black boxes and only being told when there's a problem. Lights do this well but to fit them all in requires space which is at a premium, especially when you've accounted for the warning lights to show you when it's cold outside, you don't have your seatbelt on, traction control is off, a bulb is out, you've run out of screen wash, etc.

Maybe cars should have a "safe" mode and an advanced mode so those wanting to see details can?

Chris

[Captain Sisko]

Piccies of the offending car.
A whole album on Facebook too

[swedishskoda]

I contemplated a Matiz for a few seconds before buying my Felly last year: Low mileage, low price although only two years old.
But it makes me think of Noddy's car - too much of a toy. Just as the old Twingo that I once rented. When it comes to road safety it's not better than my ten year old Felicia.

Temp gauge: I agree with Rob that a warning light is just as good for overheating, but with a failed stat the gauge tells you something is not right (which happened twice with my old Nissan and once - so far - with my Felly).

Electric mirrors - bah, posh! I still marvel at having an indoor adjusting kn0b