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I have been driving my Casablanca whote Matiz for almost 7 years now. It is special for me because it is my first car. I was lucky I could opt for the top-end SA model back in 2001. With its rear spoiler, rear wiper and defogger, it looks classier than the other versions. The interiors are also better with the glossy aluminium-spotted design on the central console on the dashboard. Minor additions like the cigarette lighter-cum-mobile charger, anti-theft locking etc add to the value of the car.
Admittedly, the beautiful shape and the curvy contours was one of the reasons why I bought the Matiz in the first place. The mono-volume design of the Matiz was so ahead of its time back in 1998 when it was launched and even 2001. So much so that even after more than 10 years after its launch and various other good compact car launches, the old Matiz still manages to give a decent competition to the new-gen cars like Hyundai i10, Maruti Zen Estilo etc.
A compact car with a 796cc 3-cylinder engine is never going to be a performance machine. My early expectations about the acceleration and flat-out speed of the Matiz was not much. Therefore when I actually got to drive one, I was not disappointed. To be honest, the acceleration figures with the A/C on and with a full load of passengers is really poor. In order to get the car to a decent 60kmph, you either have to jettison a passenger or two or turn the A/C off!!
But all said and done, the positives in terms of fuel efficiency (I get consistently 14-15kpl in city with moderate use of A/C), ease of use, low maintenance, the cuteness coefficient, far outweigh the negattives.
The new Chevy Spark launched by GM in late 07 marks a new beginning for the good old Matiz. Sales have been slow to pick up, primarily because GM does not yet have the manufacturing prowess to satiate the demand for the car. Its Halol factory can manufacure only 85000 cars a year, and the Spark has to jostle for floor space with the Optra Magnum, Tavera and Aveo, all of which roll out of the same plant. Come mid 08, GM should start
assembly of its cars from its spanking new plant at Talegaon, Pune. It is a good bet that towards late 2008, the sales of Spark would see an upward trend once the waiting times come down to days from the current 3-4 months.
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