Daewoo Lacetti

The Daewoo Lacetti is a compact car made by the South Korean automaker GM Daewoo since 2002. The first-generation Lacetti was available as a four-door sedan, a five-door hatchback or a five-door station wagon. The sedan and wagon were designed by Pininfarina, and the hatchback by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The hatchback, known as Lacetti5 in South Korea, was introduced in summer 2004. In November 2008 the second-generation Lacetti was launched under the name Lacetti Premiere, being a badge-engineered version of the Chevrolet Cruze - though co-developed by GM Daewoo and Chevrolet. In South Korea, the 4-door Daewoo Lacetti was released in 2002. The 5-door hatchback showed off only after the 2004 facelift of the sedan, which mainly included a new front grill, switching from a three-part corporate Daewoo grill to a simpler, Chevrolet-style grill. The hatchback name was Lacetti5, offering a specific design for the front, rear and dashboard. The wagon version, called simply Lacetti Wagon, was introduced in late 2007 - strangely as it was already sold in many other countries. It had the same dashboard than the hatchback, with the sedan front end. At the same time, GM Daewoo introduced the VM Motori Diesel engines on the Lacetti range. When the Lacetti Premiere was introduced in November 2008, the sedan and wagon version sales were discontinued, leaving the only hatchback in the range, renamed Lacetti EX. The Lacetti EX was discontinued in October 2009. In Australia and New Zealand, the Daewoo Lacetti was briefly sold between 2003 and 2004 as a four-door sedan. During the 'Asian Economic Crisis', Daewoo became technically insolvent and the company withdrew from the Australian market. From 2005, the Lacetti (sedan and wagon) and Lacetti5 were sold together as the Holden Viva. It was introduced at around the same time as the Daewoo Gentra-based Holden Barina. Unlike the current Barina, however, the Viva was meant to be below the premium Holden Astra as a budget alternative. Despite the Viva's lower price compared to the Astra (A$17,990 compared to A$21,990), the Astra continued to outsell the Viva by a factor of about two-to-one. With the release of the all new Holden Cruze in mid 2009 the Viva ceased to be sold in Australia. The Lacetti was available in Canada as the Chevrolet Optra in two models, a four door hatchback (the Optra5), and an Optra Wagon, all in LS or LT trim levels (2005 Wagon only had Base or LS trim levels) . The sedan was available in 2004 and 2005, but was removed in 2006. All are powered by the 2.0 L inline-4 D-TEC engine, rated at 119 hp (89 kW) at 5400 rpmand 126 ft·lbs (171 N·m) of torque at 4000 rpm, driving the front wheels through either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic. Despite its compact size and the 2.0L engine, fuel economy was poor rated at 10.7L/ 100 km for city and 7.4 for highway driving which was worse than midsize cars like the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord, considering that the Optra was a compact car.

GM Daewoo Lacetti (Nubira) Commercial

In China, the cars are marketed as the Buick Excelle sedan or wagon and Excelle HRV (hatchback). The sedan, which is also assembled in China, features an updated exterior. GM confirmed the Excelle's successor at its extended product review in August 2009. The car will be based on the Chevy Cruze and will also be sold in the U.S. The second generation hatchback (Excelle XT) made its debut in 2009 while the sedan (Excelle GT) made its debut in 2010.In Europe, the car was initially sold as the Daewoo Nubira, with the production model being introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2003. However, by the end of 2004, it was rebadged Chevrolet Lacetti throughout the continent. As with its home market, in some European markets, the Lacetti name is also used for the entire range of sedan, station wagon and hatchback models on the same J-series platform. In Finland and Germany, for example, only the hatchback is sold under the Lacetti name. In 2002, The Lacetti is manufactured in India and sold as the Optra and the hatchback version is sold as the Chevrolet Optra SRV (formerly known/sold as Chevrolet SRV), which they plan to get out with a 2L diesel engine in the near future. The Optra is sold with two engine options, 1.6 L and 1.8 L. In the first option it is available in three trim levels, the Elite, the Elite LS, and LT Royale. In the second engine option it is available in two levels, the LT and the LT AT, the latter coming with automatic transmission. In 2007 GM India came out with a diesel engined Optra called the Optra Magnum. The Magnum had a different nose, and interiors as compared to the petrol version. Subsequently the petrol version got the new nose treatment(like that of the Optra SRV but with a slightly different front grill) and tail lights, and are sold as Optra Magnum petrol/diesel. In Pakistan , the car comes in three trim levels, 1.6L SE, 1.6L LS and 1.8L CDX. SE trim comes in manual transmission only, while LS and CDX trim come in 5 speed manual or 4 speed automatic transmission.In Japan, Suzuki briefly distributed the Lacetti as the Chevrolet Optra Wagon. It was available in two trim levels, the LS and the LT. Both came with either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmission with a console shift. The Optra Wagon was powered by a 1.6 L or 1.8 L engine.

In Mexico, the Lacetti came to the market in 2006 as Optra to replace the Chevrolet Cavalier, and it was sold only as a sedan. The Optra was phased out after the 2009 model year in favour of the Chevrolet Cruze, although for now, the Mexican Cruze is an imported model from South Korea. As the United States and Canada got the Lacetti for the 2004 model year, Mexico got the car 2 years later, making Mexico the last North American country to get the car.In Singapore, Chevrolet replaced the Daewoo nameplate after GM bought Daewoo. It still offers the same line-up than GM Daewoo, naming the Optra sedan, Optra station wagon and Optra5 hatchback in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. In Indonesia, the sedan is simply called Optra or Optra Magnum for the facelift model, and Estate for the station wagon. The vehicles use the 1.6 L or 1.8 L engine with an automatic transmission available for selected models. Suzuki marketed a rebadged Lacetti as the Forenza and Reno beginning in the United States in 2004 — following the end of Daewoo's North American operations in 2002 and replacing the Daewoo Nubira station wagon and sedan. The Forenza/Reno falls between the Aerio (later SX4) and the now-discontinued Verona. In the territories of Guam and Northern Mariana Islands, it was sold as a Chevrolet Optra, but it was only available as a sedan. The US model line features the 2.0 L 4-cylinder E-TEC II made by Holden, developing a maximum power of 126 horsepower (94 kW) at 5600 rpm. Automotive News says the Forenza and Reno will be discontinued within the 2008 model year, and the Reno has been replaced by the Suzuki SX4 sedan after the 2008 model year. The 2010 Suzuki Kizashi, a large compact sedan, replaced the Forenza. It is sold as the Chevrolet Lacetti and includes 5-door hatchback, sedan and station wagon models. The entire line of models are produced at the Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad with full cycle of manufacturing.The second-generation, known as the Lacetti Premiere in South Korea, built on the GM Delta II platform is sold in most markets as the Chevrolet Cruze.This model is known as the Chevrolet Lacetti in the United Kingdom and is available in Hatchback or Estate body styles. It is very similar to the older model and shares many parts, including the bonnet, headlamps and front bumper. The Chevrolet Lacetti was picked as the new "reasonably-priced car" in Top Gear's "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment for season 8 in 2006, replacing the Suzuki Liana, which had ceased production. In this segment of the show, celebrity guests set timed laps of the Top Gear test track driving the Lacetti. In the first episode of series 15 of Top Gear, broadcast on BBC2 on 27 June, the Lacetti that was used for the power laps was given a 'Viking Burial' by presenter Richard Hammond when an industrial chimney was demolished, knocking it over and burying the Lacetti in the process. Soon afterwards, the new reasonably priced car (a Kia Cee'd) was unveiled to the audience.