2 posts tagged “gmdat”

It’s no secret that I hate the Daewoo Tosca (a.k.a. Chevrolet Epica or Holden Epica): a car that may be less safe relative to the competition and utterly outclassed even by a second-hand 2002 Japanese or European car. It has replaced the Australian-market Toyota Avalon in that part of my brain, and comes close to the Ssangyong Rodent Odious (Rodius for short; called Stavic in countries where they can work out the original two words).
  It seems the Irish press, as with the New Zealand Automobile Association, agrees with me, as I read this at RTÉ about the six-cylinder model:

Compared to the new Mondeo, Epica is years behind in the handling stakes. Chevrolet is quick to stress that Epica is targeted at a different buyer. Fans of the old V6 Nissan Maxima are in the sights of the multinational brand—I must rush and dust off the cardigan!
   Prices kick off at €26,995, which is way more than the entry level Ford Mondeo, which is a better car! …
   So is Epica, which was born out of the ashes of the incredibly dull Daewoo Leganza, worth the cash? 
   Eh... no.

   An Australian mechanic writes, saying caveat emptor:

Speaking from a mechanics point of view, nothing that came out of the Daewoo factory before 2005 looked like it would stand the test of time. I am not qualified to offer an opinion on post-2005 cars as I haven’t picked up a spanner in two years due to a back injury and shut-up shop in early 2006. Some of the common problems that we saw were timing belt failure due to a plastic tensioner pulley, twice in 30,000km on one vehicle and Holden refused a warranty claim as the car was older than three years but had travelled only 68,000km when the second belt failed. On both occasions the repairs were done at a Holden dealership yet they wouldn’t honour their repair guarantee. Admitting a design fault was out of the question I guess!
   Horribly soft brake rotors was another issue we encountered. It was not unusual for the rotors to need machining at every service due to being out of round causing pedal and steering wheel vibrations. Holden’s answer to this one—the car must have been driven through water when the discs were hot. More than likely this was the case, so what are you supposed to do? Not drive the car if there is any water on the road?! Disc rotors are not made as well as they used to be, but this is just ridiculous!

   I may be in the market for a Vectra D or a new Laguna, or even the new Mondeo. I now won’t automatically consider renting from Avis in case I get landed with a Tosca, despite being one of its Platinum customers. I just won’t jeopardize my life in a car that might not score better than three stars at NCAP (we don’t know yet, but its immediate predecessors were relatively unsafe cars). It is probably the dullest car on Earth, too, and I might be tempted to smash it to (a) get a thrill or (b) improve its looks.

Holden Epica CDXi

On my main blog, I have talked about the Holden Epica (née Daewoo Tosca). This is probably, uniformly, the worst mid-sized car on the market in New Zealand. I also happen to think it’s the ugliest.
   Last year, Holden began selling the new Barina. What it neglected to tell you was that the new model scored two stars in various safety tests. The model it replaced scored four.
   The new model is actually the Daewoo Kalos, which was withdrawn from the New Zealand market about three years ago for being, well, crap.
   Now, we have the Tosca. The Tosca is actually derived from the old Daewoo Leganza of the mid-1990s. In fact, the platform is older than the Vectra C’s, the car the Tosca replaces in New Zealand.
   The Leganza, too, was not the safest car in its day. The Australian testers, who gave it two and a half stars, noted, ‘The Leganza did not perform well in the offset crash test (0.9pts out of 16). The passenger compartment was substantially deformed. The driver's contact with the airbag was unstable. The passenger hit the dash, with a moderate risk of life threatening head injury. Protection from serious leg injury was poor for the driver.’
   To be fair, the Tosca, or Epica, is a lot safer than the old Leganza. But it doesn’t mean it isn’t junk.
   Many of the driving impressions that Australian journalists have done indicate that this car is the bottom of the heap. If you must buy a Korean-built car, go over to Hyundai or Kia. Both the Hyundai Sonata and the Kia Magentis fared better in at least one test.
   If you are buying a Holden Vectra—a superior car to the Epica—ask the dealer when the car left the factory. I have nothing to base this on other than an educated opinion, but I believe the New Zealand-market 2007 Vectras left the factory some time in 2005. There should be a way for a buyer to check the chassis and production numbers. My belief is no Vectras have left the German factory with the 2003-model grille for some time.
   I have been on Holden’s back about these cars for over a year, because I think Kiwis are getting a raw deal. Meanwhile, Ford, Toyota and Hyundai will be bracing themselves for extra buyers.