On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, August 26, 2000

Daewoo comes bursting into U.S. market

What's Korean for "chutzpah?" The Daewoo people know. In fact, they wrote the book - and they're re-writing it as they go along.
   Consider: Back in the mid-'80s, when Hyundai became the first Korean auto manufacturer to enter the U.S. market, it eased in ever so cautiously with the low-buck Excel. Only later came such offerings as the Sonata, the Scoupe (Every Journalist Must Have One!), the Tiburon, and so on.
   Ditto for Kia (which Hyundai owns these days, incidentally): The little Sephia sort of slipped into the marketplace under the radar, to be followed later by the Sportage mini-SUV, the Spectra and so on.
   Makes sense, right? You tiptoe in, get your bearings, build yourself a constituency, and then you turn up the heat. Anything more aggressive could blow up in your face. Wouldn't be prudent.
   To all of this, Daewoo replies: Prudent, shmudent. Not for them the promptings of caution. Daewoo didn't slide stealthily into the U.S. market; rather, it mounted a three-pronged assault.
   At the top of the Daewoo line, you've got your Leganza, this week's tester, which seeks with considerable success to blend affordability with an almost startling array of luxo touches (for under 20 grand, yet). Then comes the middle sibling, the Nubira, which slots into the territory somewhere between the Toyota Echo and Corolla (give or take). Oh, and baby makes three: The Lanos takes aim on the likes of the Chevy Metro in the lo-buck, high-mileage sweepstakes.
   Retaining as we do rather grim memories of Hyundai's poor little Excel (which, conspicuously, didn't), some may be wary of the Daewoo line. Understandable - but get over it. The Leganza deserves a look, and so, too, I suspect, do the others.
   Attractive design
   The first thing that strikes you about the Leganza (the top-o'-line CDX version, in our case) is that, for a modestly priced import, it's a right handsome little machine. And you know what, Sparky? There's a reason for that: Daewoo was smart enough to go to Italy to enlist the services of the ItalDesign house, famed for turning out handsomely styled, even lust-inducing body designs.
   The Leganza doesn't stop you in your tracks, but the more time you spend with it, the more you appreciate the little touches that separate the car from the herd: The distinctive three-segment grille up front; the nice flow of lines from front to rear; the ever so slightly hiked derriere - this is not the stuff you expect from reasonably priced transportation.
   The good times continue inside: The dash is handsome, continuing the swoopy feel of the exterior, and does an admirable job of keeping the driver informed. And entertained.
   On that point, an aside: The stereo/cassette (with optional CD changer in the trunk) might not strike you as too remarkable in themselves - but when you ante up for the optional graphic equalizer, you get some truly riveting effects: Arena, church, concert hall, you name it. Be advised, however: You'll want to study this a bit, lest (like me) you find the rig somewhat bewildering in its complexity and sophistication.
   Now, there is one sense in which you might expect the Leganza to be a bit of a letdown: The only engine on the menu is a four - a dual-overhead-cam 2.2 liter-four (drinking regular gas), to be sure, but . . . not a V-6.
   Four-cylinder does well
   Don't rush to judgment. Even mated to a four-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission, and even generating only 131 horsepower, this engine gins out surprisingly brisk performance. Not volcanic, mind you, but definitely brisk.
   Why? In part, I suspect, it's due to that transmission, which does an excellent job of picking out the shift points. Perhaps more to the point, the four's maximum torque, 148 ft.lb., arrives very early in the performance: at 2,800 rpm, to be exact. The little engine is thus ready to give its all without your having to wait for the tach needle to creep up the range.
   Handling is tidy and reassuringly free of nasty surprises. Don't expect outright sportiness: Rather, what we have here is a generally successful effort to deliver a compliant ride while at the same time ensuring that the car won't embarrass you in the turns. You still get the occasional whomp on really atrocious surfaces, and you won't be deceived into believing you're at the helm of one of ItalDesign's sportier creations. But in the passenger-car scheme of things, the Leganza doesn't disappoint.
   More nice touches
   Did we mention value? At one point or another, I've mentioned some of the nice touches: that stereo, for instance, and the trans - but there's plenty more: standard air-conditioning; disc brakes all round, with standard antilock on the upscale SX and CDX (and, on the CDX, traction control as well).
   Hanging over Daewoo, of course, is the same Great Unanswered Question that looms over every new vehicle that dares to toddle into the big leagues: How'll it hold up?
   I'm in no position whatsoever to give you guidance on that point. At this point, all I can tell you is that the Leganza (along with, I suspect, its stablemates) appears to offer solid value for the buck.
   Oh, and one last thing: The tall and the borderline-tall should know that the Leganza offers genuinely impressive legroom - far more than in some much grander, pricier competitors.
   With surprising selling points like that, and with Daewoo's refreshing willingness to run a few risks in the marketplace, you have to suspect these guys are going to win some friends over here. Chutzpah, when properly applied, can be powerful stuff. Shake loose a V-6 option, and there might be no stopping it.
  

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