Daewoo looks for Lacetti boost

DAEWOO is launching its second model in Australia since Holden bought into the South Korean company and took over local distribution last year.

Called the Lacetti, it is a 1.8-litre four-cylinder sedan that replaces the Nubira as Daewoo’s competition for the likes of the Toyota Corolla and Holden Astra in the small-medium market.

It follows the Kalos onto the market, the 1.5-litre mini-car going on sale last April.

The name "Lacetti" is derived from the Latin word "Lacertus" which means energetic, muscular, youthful and full of strength. Continuing the southern European theme, the car has been styled by Italian design house Pininfarina.

The Lacetti sedan should be joined here by a hatchback in late 2004. That car is having its international launch next week at the Frankfurt motor show in Germany. A station wagon is currently under development.

GM Daewoo Australia has priced the five-speed manual version of the Lacetti at a competitive $19,490 while the four-speed automatic is an additional $2000.

That’s $500 under the official price of the outgoing Nubira, although it was being heavily discounted toward the end of its life..

Just one specification level will be available with standard safety features including dual driver and front passenger airbags, five three-point seatbelts, three Isofix and disc brakes all-round.

Comfort features include air-conditioning with pollen filter, front and rear power windows, power mirrors, power steering, remote central locking and keyless entry with alarm and immobilizer featuring a 30-second reset function.

There’s also a remote release for the boot in the key, height-adjustable driver seat, driver’s seat lumbar support and height-adjustable seatbelts for the driver and front passenger, tilt adjustable steering wheel plus a six-speaker stereo system with radio and in-dash single CD player.

While the Lacetti is built in South Korea, its dohc Family II engine comes from Holden’s engine plant in Melbourne and produces 90kW at 5800rpm and 165Nm of torque at 4000rpm. Fuel consumption of 8 litres per 100km manual transmission and 9.3 litres per 100km automatic transmission is claimed.

GMDA had campaigned to have a 2.0-litre engine in the car from start of local sale, as per the old Nubira, but this will not happen until next year at the earliest.

Nevertheless, Lacetti will be expected to play a vital role in reviving Daewoo’s flagging local sales fortunes, which have been in decline since financial troubles hit South Korea in the late 1990s.

Since then GM has bought in through Holden and the entire business has been thoroughly revamped and rationalised. But the message is yet to get through to local buyers, with sales to the end of June down 38 per cent compared to the same period in 2002.