A Quick Shot At Goal
by Malcolm Baylis (17 Aug 00)

What's it worth to keep the kids quiet in the back of the car? You could try friendly persuasion, bribery or even something that could lead to a call to Child Line. Or you could spend more than £1,000 on a roof-mounted television screen linked to a Sony PlayStation.

That's the solution offered by Daewoo in its new compact people carrier, the Tacuma. This is a pretty good car within its field, one of the fastest growing sectors within the industry. Manufacturers are bumping into one other in their efforts to produce a compact MPV that gives them an edge over their rivals, and Daewoo has called in the services of Porsche, Italdesign and Pininfarina to produce a model that catches the eye.

The Tacuma's advantage is that it has been built on its own chassis, and its design is centred on room for all the passengers and their luggage.

When it goes on sale here next month it will come in two versions, a 1.8-litre at £12,495 and a two-litre with a price tag of £13,495.

There's the familiar curvy shape that goes with the smaller people carrier, but the Tacuma's dramatic upsweep of the rear side windows, as designed by Pininfarina, gives it a certain edge. The front is less impressive, dominated by the large ugly grinning grille, although toned down slightly by the teardrop shaped headlights.

However, take your seat in the Tacuma and it's a different world. Overall the car is slightly shorter than Daewoo's Nubira estate, but the height and width made possible by the dedicated chassis with its slightly longer wheelbase give it the edge. The main advantage is found in its height, 160mm more than the estate, which doesn't really register until you get in. There's top-hat room in the back, even though the seats have been specially designed to offer a more upright posture if wanted.

Five-Seat Variety Show

The interior layout is down to Italdesign, and a pretty good job it is too. There are five individual seats, with those up front having armrests and being adjustable for height, reach and support. Those in the back offer a wide range of permutations that either help the passengers' overall comfort, or can be adapted to improve the car's load carrying possibilities. The centre back seat can also be moved backwards and forwards to provide extra shoulder room, or folded down to act as a work surface.

There are masses of storage spaces, including under-seat drawers both front and back, large door bins, seat pockets and a roomy glovebox.

I can vouch for the back seat comfort and for the merits of coughing up another £1,000 to have the PlayStation and video unit installed.

During the launch exercise, in a CDX, I was able to move into the back and, while the car zigzagged its way through the French Alps, played soccer. The PlayStation gear is all stashed away into covered floor wells, easily accessible to those in the back, young or old, while the television monitor fits snugly into the roof, centred behind the front seats. A push button lowers the screen, but not enough to block any rear view required by the driver.

I can vouch that the picture reproduction is excellent, and it kept me quiet for many long minutes. Incidentally, the system will also allow Internet access and e-mails to be sent or received.

Only the two-litre model was available at the launch. The engine is tried and tested in the Nubira and Leganza models, but revised slightly to provide less power and more torque, to take into account the Tacuma's extra load-carrying ability. The engine develops 119bhp and 130lb/ft of torque, which should prove enough when the car is fully loaded. Four-speed automatic transmission is an option on the CDX.

A diesel engine will be available next year, and that should prove popular, especially for long-distance carrying.

It's always difficult to judge the ride quality of load-carrying vehicles, especially on press launches. Generally there are two people on board, and each may have at most an overnight bag. Not much weight there. But the Tacuma, nonetheless, sat nicely on the road and went into the curves with little noticeable rock and roll, helped no doubt by the chassis input provided by Porsche.

Specification levels are high in both models: power steering, air conditioning, anti-lock brakes, powered and heated door mirrors, and extra power sockets are all standard.

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