General Motors' reborn budget marque has made a massive transformation from dull Daewoo to chirpy Chevrolet and is showing great promise with its Lacetti hatch. Little more than yesterday's warmed-over Vauxhall technology in thinly-disguised modern bodywork it may be, but I’ve just struck gold with the Chevrolet badge and discovered a little gem called the Lacetti Sport.Never heard of it? You will! It has the styling charisma of a 1950s pram, the three-quarter rearward visibility of a Challenger tank and the dashboard plastics of a Lucky Bag - but the Lacetti Sport is a fine car despite itself. For under £12,000 it's an entertaining drive, great value, grips well and is a hoot to drive briskly through twisty roads where its uncanny ability to steer on the throttle makes it a joy.I can hardly believe a cheap Korean import impressed me so much. It comes from lowly stock - not too far back in its ancestry lurks the unsettling memory of a Daewoo Nubira. Now there was a car which suffered from terminal downmarket badge disease and paid the penalty of oblivion. But just because your car is emblazoned with the same badge as a washing machine or some hideous American wheeled monster does not mean you have drawn the short straw.The 120bhp 1.8 litre engine in the five-door Sport is a familiar GM Family 2 design. It has been seen before in the UK, slotted into the Astra and other Vauxhall derivatives. It's not new, but it performs well. Acceleration is not in the Golf GTI league, but it's brisk enough for safe overtaking. The chassis is well sorted and though the ride is firm and the excellent Continental tyres create a lot of road noise, the Lacetti's grip and poise are excellent.There were times when I thought the car must have four-wheel steer. That was how good the rear axle was at helping this unpromising five-door hatch find its way round corners. The power steering was unexpectedly precise with good feedback.There's a lot to impress with this car. It may be from the poor end of town but there's nothing lightweight about its construction. The doors have a satisfyingly heavy feel, the leather seating is low-rent but comfortable in the front and roomy back, the cheap-looking plastic trim is well applied, there's a handy clutch foot rest and the general fit and finish of the body panels is no worse than any mainstream volume producer. The cargo area is narrow and high-silled but split and fold rear seats boosts carrying capacity.During my test I was rammed by a careless deer. I was cruising at a steady 60mph when the dozy doe ran from the cover of trees and collided with the left rear door. There was a huge bang and I feared the worst - for the doe and the Sport. But while the deer will sadly no more roam the hills, the Chevrolet escaped without as much as a dent. The only evidence of a substantial impact was a clean patch on the dirty bodywork. I know of many thinner-panelled volume cars which would have fared less well than the tough Lacetti.Standard equipment levels are generous. The Sport gets ABS, four airbags, height adjustment for the driver's seat, rake and reach on the steering column, air-conditioning, alloy wheels, remote central locking, four powered windows, electric door mirrors, leather seating, exterior colour coding and a good quality Blaupunkt radio with single CD player.You don't pay this kind of money for a car and expect to be totally impressed. There's an unmistakable cheap-and-cheerful air about the car. The trampoline-like black plastic grille is one of the tackiest I've ever seen, not helped by Chevrolet's rather ostentatious gold badge. There was a disappointing amount of corrosion on the brake discs, the air-conditioning system made alarming asthmatic noises and the Oriental design on the indicator lenses smacked of early Datsun Cherry.Will naming the Daewoo range after an iconic American bruiser deliver the sales spark the marque needs? One of the biggest disadvantages for Chevrolet is Daewoo's dismal track record in the UK. From its skewed launch with an odd name, virtual showrooms and a network of Halford car accessory outlets it slipped into oblivion, despite offering superb budget products like the five-door Matiz city car.GM's relaunch of Daewoo as Chevrolet will fool no one. There's as much Chevy in the Lacetti Sport as there is nutritional goodness in a lump of concrete. But the Chevrolet hook will do this improving brand no harm. The Lacetti Sport is an excellent example of what can be done with yesterday's technology to produce a pleasant "warm hatch" for very little money.Great car? No. Good car? Very definitely. Its depreciation will be steep, but with such a modest price and a three-year warranty and free servicing deal this Chevrolet looks like a sporting budget car which makes sense. Engine 1799 cc, 4 cylinders Power 121 bhp @5800 rpm Torque 122 ib/ft @4000 rpm Transmission 5 speed manual Fuel/CO2 37.7 mpg / 183 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.5sec Top speed 121 mph Price From £12508.00 approx Release date 27/01/2005
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