If you want a half decent car that gets you from A to B with reasonable consistency and reliability, then the Daewoo Kalos might just be the car from you. Unfortunately, I had had lots of cars like this, and I wanted something a little more exciting, so I was a bit disappointed when I got to know my Kalos.
Yes the Kalos was cheap to buy and is fairly roomy, it's reliable and quite cheap to run, but that's about where it ends. Whilst I think that the car looks good and is something a bit different, it's not terribly well built and the ride quality is pretty bad.
The handling is sub-par; sloppy and unrewarding, and it doesn't fare very well if you want to speed up and slow down a lot (i.e. in built-up areas). So take my advice and go for something with a bit more class. If you're just looking for a boring but reliable vehicle go buy a milk float.
This car is fine really for family driving and things, just getting the kids to school and stuff like that, taking my parents places and doing shopping.
Firstly it doesn't use too much petrol, so that's good. I think if I got the smaller version it would have been even cheaper, and I reckon the next car I get I'll be looking for a smaller one for that reason.
The car I had before this didn't have power steering, so I was really impressed by that in the Kalos, loved it, and love it still. It makes parking and things so much easier. There as an option to get some beepers fitted to help with parking, tell you how far you are from things, but I didn't bother with those. It's such a small car anyway parking is easy enough without.
I also like the way that the wing mirrors, if they've got ice on them, can just melt it off. They have heating inside the mirrors from the looks of things, works a treat.
The kiddy locks in the back are useful really for keeping the kids in! I suppose that's pretty standard these days but it's not something I had before. They also have little flip down tables like on a plane, which is good for their games and things, although obviously they can get a bit sick if they're looking down at things for too long while we're driving.
One really good thing about the Kalos is the driver seat. It adjusts in all sorts of directions really easily, which is handy because me and my husband are quite different sizes. My parents sometimes say the seats are a bit stiff when we visit family further away, but it's fine for me.
A slightly silly thing is the drinks holder that pops out in the front. It's good for keeping drinks on, but it's quite flimsy and I think we'll break it quite easily one day with a careless knee knock or something. Plus it almost gets in the way of the gear stick which is annoying.
I haven't really had any big problems with it yet, but there have been quite a few minor problems with electrics and things that have meant taking it back to the garage a few times. But no major faults. There was something wrong with the steering last time it went for a service, that's about it. It needs tyres sometimes but that's pretty normal. I think the exhaust will need replacing soon, and there's a bit of rust around the wheels, but that also seems quite normal.