DAEWOO KORANDO 2.3 3dr Auto (1999)

Good fun, although I might have made a bad choice

I wanted a Daewoo Korando because to be honest I had wanted a Land Rover but couldn't afford one and looked round for a cheaper alternative. The Daewoo Korando is certainly cheaper, and to an extent better value I suppose, but I've had trouble too.

The ABS played up for a bit just before the service a few years back, and we've had bits and pieces go wrong with the electrics, like warning lights coming on for no reason, that sort of thing. It's not dangerous, just annoying.

I wanted an off roader cos of where we live and the Daewoo Korando did well for that, still handles comfortably off road. I don't take it off road often though, and it's nice and comfy on the tarmac as well.

The biggest problem was when I went through what I thought was a stream but had some slightly deeper bits, and there was quite a bit of water damage to the engine, which needed replacing in the end. I sort of expected it to handle that sort of condition, but it didn't. Needless to say I heard about this from my husband for some time to come. So just keep it out of water and you'll be fine...

The other down side, which is why I think we made the wrong choice now, is how much petrol it needs. We're in a hilly area, so it's a lot of high revs and braking. I reckon we average about 15mpg, maybe 20.

There's plenty of comfort in the Daewoo Korando though, front and back. Really the back seats seem like easy chairs. The boot is a bit pokey but has always been adequate for us really. Strap things to the roof if need be.

The best thing is that it's just so cheap up front, but the fuel costs sort of taint that initial value. I'm seriously eyeing up a Skoda Yeti to replace this one, same sort of shape but fully triple the fuel economy. And Skoda are supposed to be super reliable too.