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Daewoo Kalos SX auto

If you want to make town driving a cinch, an automatic supermini is hard to beat. The Kalos has already taken on mainstream rivals with a manual box, so is the auto up to the job, too?

By Toby Richards-Carpenter

July 2003

If you want to make town driving a cinch, an automatic supermini is hard to beat. The Kalos has already taken on mainstream rivals with a manual box, so is the auto up to the job, too?

The Daewoo's 1.4-litre 16v engine and self-shifter are sourced from the Suzuki Wagon R. With four ratios, the gearbox is a surprisingly accomplished performer. Upchanges are swift and precise, while the unit kicks down quickly and cleanly. Given the vague, rubbery manual shift of the standard Kalos, the auto option makes a lot of sense.

The 93bhp engine, which returns 37.2mpg - 3.2mpg less than with the manual - is nippy enough, but is coarse and noisy at high revs. Performance isn't as quick as its stablemate's, but there's not much in it. Off the line the Kalos auto sprints from 0-60mph in 11.9 seconds - only 0.8 seconds behind the manual. SX models have air-con, alloys and a CD player as standard.

But even so, Daewoo's value ethic seems to have been forgotten here. At ΂£9,870, this car is costly next to the Nissan Micra 1.2 S five-door auto at ΂£9,395, and the ΂£9,200 Skoda Fabia 1.4 auto - even if neither of these can match the Daewoo's comprehensive standard spec list. However, both rivals are better built, dynamically superior and perceived as more desirable.

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FIRST OPINION

    The Daewoo Kalos automatic is a practical and good-looking alternative to the more mainstream superminis on the market, and takes the strain out of city driving. It's a well equipped and practical package - but with automatic competitors available at lower prices, the Kalos may struggle.
 
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