Chevrolet Lacetti

Road test

If you're in the market for a new mid-sized hatch and you've got around £10,000 to spend, there's already a surprising amount of choice. SEAT, Honda, Renault, Citroen and Vauxhall are just some of the manufacturers which might have something for you, but from April there's a new option in the form of the Daewoo Lacetti.

Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, the new arrival is a tidily designed five-door hatchback with a choice of either 95bhp 1.4 or 109bhp 1.6-litre petrol engines. There's just one trim level to go with each engine (1.4SE and 1.6SX) but from May there'll be a 1.8-litre car bolstering the range. If you want a three-door model you'll have to look elsewhere, and if you want a diesel engine you can forget it - at least until the start of 2006.

The folks at Daewoo claim that the Lacetti is a smart buy, and while I'm not convinced, it's certainly a lot more accomplished than Daewoos of old. It uses the same platform as the current Nubira, and will be the last Daewoo to use this in-house development; from now on all the company's cars will use a GM-derived platform.

If that sounds as though it's bad news, it isn't. While the handling isn't that sharp, it is much better than you'd think, as is the ride. Refinement levels aren't too bad either, although the 1.4-litre engine sounds a bit harsh when you start using the revs - as you have to if you want to make progress when the going gets hilly. Opt for the 1.6 and it won't feel much perkier than the smaller unit, but in everyday use - and especially if most of your driving isn't on really fast roads - it's perfectly adequate.

Equipment levels are pretty decent, with even the basic £9495 car having ABS, power steering, twin air bags and electric front windows. Spend an extra grand on the 1.6SX and you'll also get side air bags, air conditoning, alloy wheels and electric windows all-round. All cars get a CD player and a height-adjustable driver's seat, and the 1.6 also has the option of a four-speed automatic gearbox, but it'll cost you a hefty £1000.

Whether or not the Lacetti brings anything new to the sector is open to debate. There are other cars around that offer the same level of space, performance and build quality, but none of them also have such generous equipment levels. The Lacetti is also surprisingly competent dynamically, and it's much better looking than previous offerings.

Regardless of all this, there's one thing you're probably still wondering: is it a hard or a soft 'C' in Lacetti? Well it's neither, because it's pronounced Latchetti.

Richard Dredge