by Robert Lewis (22 Sep 04)

Two of the new small cars promised by Chevrolet UK, which takes over the GM Daewoo business from the start of next year, are about to be unveiled at the Paris Show. The current five-door Kalos (rebadged, of course, as a Chevrolet) will be joined by a very smart-looking three-door model, having its world première in Paris before going on sale in the UK in March.

In the restyling which, as the company claims, does seem to make the three-door "more dynamic" than the five-door, attention has been paid to improving the aerodynamics. The three-door has remodelled front and rear bumpers, as well as new side sills and rear wheel arches which have been extended much farther forward. There's a revised interior, with a two-colour fascia and more in the way of stowage spaces.

The new model will come with the same choice of petrol engines as the 2004 five-door, starting with an entry-level 71bhp 1.2-litre. Above that are an 81bhp eight-valve 1.4-litre and a 92bhp 16-valve version, which gives the Kalos a 0-62mph time of 11.1 seconds and a top speed of 110mph.

We've had the Daewoo-badged Kalos in the UK for two years now, and it accounts for something like 27% of the company's sales here, but it has also been marketed as a Chevrolet in Central and Eastern Europe. It has been the manufacturer's best-selling car in Europe as a whole, attracting something like 40,000 buyers in the first half of 2004.

In the US, as the Chevrolet Aveo, it's far and away the number one in its sector, having notched up 32,000 sales so far this year, and more than 6500 in August. That was nearly 47% of all the month's sales in that area of the market.

At Paris, Chevrolet will also be introducing a "production concept" of the next Matiz, in advance of the actual showroom car due to go on sale next spring. Badged as the M3X, the display car will show off revised styling ideas, with its round LED headlamp design and slide-back panoramic glass roof.

The show car has 16" double-spoke alloy wheels, twin central tailpipes, roof rails, a high-set rear spoiler, blue fabric upholstery and various items of metallic interior trim. There's no saying, of course, just how much of that will transfer to the customer version. The engine, though, is the familiar 63bhp one-litre.

We've already made brief mention of the Chevrolet S3X seven-seater concept off-roader which will also be in the Paris display. Despite the from-the-start American badging, the S3X has been designed and engineered in Korea, and when the production version arrives in Europe in 2006, it will be imported from Korea too.

The show machine has a hybrid powertrain, but the production car will be the first Chevrolet of any kind to be marketed here with a turbo diesel engine.

As well as all this, Chevrolet has announced that it will be entering the 2005 FIA World Touring Car Championship, a process made considerably easier than it might otherwise have been, thanks to the fact that sister companies Opel and Vauxhall have extensive saloon car racing interests, and there's no need for Chevrolet to start from scratch. Of course, it already has long-standing GT racing experience with the Corvette.

Racing is a historically very appropriate activity for Chevrolet. Louis Chevrolet himself, born in 1878 at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland - a town rather better known for being the country's major watch, clock and postage stamp producer - emigrated to the States and raced works cars for Buick before starting to build cars bearing his own name in 1911. He moved on to other projects before the company became part of General Motors seven years later.

Back to Industry Features index
Back to main Features index