If you disregard the ex-SsangYong 4x4s, the best Daewoos, pound for pound, are at opposite ends of the range. The Matiz is a pretty good city car/runabout, and the Leganza - well, I'm seeing quite a number around the place these days, and I can understand why.Daewoo's original and eccentric system of getting Tom, Dick and Harry to design and develop its cars in locations thousands of miles apart didn't always work, but the great thing about the Leganza is that Giorgietto Giugiaro and his staff at ItalDesign did the bodywork, and they really know their stuff.ItalDesign was instructed to incorporate the Daewoo front grille, but it had a freer hand elsewhere. When you look at the Leganza, from almost any angle, you don't see any of the styling inconsistencies which affect so many Far East cars in the same class and produced around the same time.There's nothing jarring or clumsy. The lines of one panel slide easily into the lines of the next. Very few Asian-badged cars have anything like the same elegant rear three-quarters look. And, although the Leganza has been on the market for a while now, it doesn't seem to me to look outdated.Inside, it's the same story, with one of the most individual and stylish Korean-car fascias. There's a far roomier rear cabin than in most saloons at anything like the price, and it hasn't been provided at the expense of luggage space.You get velour upholstery as standard on the CDX. Leather is an extra-cost option, although it's standard on the top ranked CDX-E, which has a CARIN navigation system fitted. The CDX specification also features Bosch ABS and traction control, as well as - both together - climate control and a sunroof.Powertrain? Hum. This is where the Daewoo finds it harder going, image-wise, anyway. The twin-cam two-litre engine is a modified GM Holden design. While it was updated for the Leganza, it's by no means out of the top drawer. And the transmission is similarly not right up-to-date. Again, although Lotus was involved with the suspension, this is not a sports saloon. Of course, who ever suggested it might be? Let's get a grip of reality here.A lot of development work on the Leganza was done at MIRA, much of it with Korean engineers on site. One rival outfit reckons rather sniffily that the Nuneaton organisation is "all right for measuring things", but it seems to me that MIRA did a good job on suppressing NVH.What you get here is a good-looking, roomy saloon, more refined on a high-speed cruise than many other cars at the price, and at its best when piling on the motorway miles. It will hold its own against most rivals for ease of long-distance travelling, it gets off its mark smartly enough, but you don't get the same pin-sharp handling on minor roads that the best European cars in the class offer.Then there's the whole-life cost. People worry about Daewoo's residual values, but there's no doubt that it offers a good deal at the start of the process.Right now, the Leganza CDX is on offer, till the end of June, with the possibility of either zero per cent finance over three years or one year's free insurance. Yes, there are conditions. To get the zero deal you have to put down a 50% deposit, there are age limits to the insurance offer, and the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are out of bounds.And, although Daewoo probably won't be taken to court about this, the free finance isn't actually free. If you add up the 50% deposit and the 36 monthly payments, you arrive at a figure 10p higher than the list price. Shock-horror, eh?Of course, you also get free regular servicing for three years or 60,000 miles (yes, sixty thousand miles) with a courtesy car provided. If you're a fair distance from a Daewoo workshop, it will bring the courtesy car to you, take your own away, and swap them round again when the service is done.Plenty to mull over. Engine 1998cc, 4 cylinders Power 132bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel 30.7mpg Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.2 seconds Top speed 128mph Price £15,325 Details correct at publication date
