Chevy Optra

[Thaiboxer]

Hi Folks, does anybody on here own or have any experience with Chevy Optras? They look like a fairly solid vehicle and there is now a station wagon version on the market. We had a shot at buying a used one but it turned out that the price was a lot more than we were initially told. I believe they offer Optras in manual which is exactly what I would want.

Fire away

[terdsak_12]

Optras are rebadge Daewoo's not bad cars, but suffer huge depreciation. However the estate is good value compared to what other estates are going for.

[tom yum goong]

manual trannies are available with 1.6l engine.

as terdsak_12 mentions, depreciation is high so u should have no problem finding one 2nd hand which is reasonably priced.

for brand new, lots of discounts and special offers at the Chevy showroom down here in Phuket, so i imagine BKK should be even better.

[Thaiboxer]

Thanks for the pricing info. Performance and reliability wise, how do they rate compared to Hondas and Toyotas?

[pal78]

Thanks for the pricing info. Performance and reliability wise, how do they rate compared to Hondas and Toyotas?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Performance is poor. Reliability is okay I guess.

I've been driving the 1.6 manual Optra for about 9 months. Was two years old when I got it. Here's how I'd rate it:

Suspension is firm. This makes it good in corners but on bumpy Bangkok roads you feel every one. And road noise is pervasive. The Altis has better overall ride, but I think the Optra has better handling.

Steering is good. I've driven Altis and Civic, and the Optra takes much less effort to keep on track. The steering is a bit light perhaps, but there seems to be just the right amount of feedback to make control virtually effortless.

Clutch is also light, but the gearbox is a bit clunky and is not fun.

Engine feels underpowered for the cars weight. You are correct that it is well built, and feels solid, but the engine makes it feel very heavy! The car struggles in 1st gear. Once you build up a bit of momentum things get better and the car seems to be able to pull well in 5th gear from 1800 RPM. The 1.6 is not smooth either. Rough at low revs and when pulling away. Gets noisy when pushed, and frankly I've learned that there is very little point in pushing it at all. This car is at it's best when driven casually. Take your time over gearshifts and ... well just take your time and it's actually quite pleasant.

Cruising at 90 is fine, reasonably quiet. If you take it to the speed limit on the expressway (120 I believe) it gets noisy. I keep feeling like I would like a 6th gear for this engine. At 120 it's at over 3000 RPM! I would like it to be around 2500, and a 6th gear would do that.

As already said the Optra is a Daewoo, so forget it if you thing you're buying an American car. Only the badge is American. The design is Italian (apparently), the suspension was tuned by Lotus (apparently) and most everything else is Korean. A Thai told me that he got an Optra rather than a Toyota or Honda because they trusted American engineering more than Japanese. I didn't tell him that it was actually Korean, because I didn't want to spoil his fun.

Fuel economy isn't fantastic either. I'm averaging around 10-11 km/l in the town and if I take it on the open road this goes to about 13-14 km/l. I think this down to the underpowered engine. I am a slow and steady driver with a careful right foot.

Brakes are a bit inconsistent. Sometimes the bite well, other times they seem to take their time about it and require more pressure. This is another reason I like to drive this car in a very causal manner, just taking it easy and allowing lots of time over everything.

Niggles, and there are many, include:

Squeaky noise from the clutch peddle if the car is left parked in the sun for a little while. This eventually works it's way out, but it's a very annoying noise while it's there.

Knocking noise from the central pillar of the car that I eventually tracked down to the seat belt system. Every bump seems to make it rock back and forward and make that little noise.

Gearbox sometimes refuses to go into reverse easily. This is only sometimes 1 in 30 maybe, but it shouldn't happen.

Boot lid will not close properly if you close it from the side. ie. applying pressure to the right or left of the boot (trunk for the yanks). You have to apply pressure directly above the lock system in order for it to latch. This makes me think that it's not that well put together, but it's another thing you can learn to live with, and it might only be my car.

Digital Trip meter sometimes looks funny, with the digits becoming corrupt. So I end up having to reset it to get it to work again.

The car lacks cup holders and other stowage when compared to modern rivals.

Overall I would not recommend anyone to buy a new Optra. It might seem like a bargain but if you look at it next to a Honda Civic! Second hand, might be worth considering! You can get a 2004, or even 2005 for under 500k. Some 2004 models are going for under 400k! You'd have to go back to 2001 to get a Civic for that sort of money.

Also, the Toyota Vios (smaller car I know) has a 1.5 liter engine that produces 109 hp. The Optra has similar output but is a 1.6 and a heavier car.

I've heard that the 1.8 is a better engine, smoother and better matched to the Optra. But again the Civic with it's 140hp 1.8 easily trumps it.

I would not get another Optra!

[terdsak_12]

Good report. I usually can't be bothered to type more than 20 words here.

[tom yum goong]

As already said the Optra is a Daewoo, so forget it if you thing you're buying an American car. Only the badge is American. The design is Italian (apparently), the suspension was tuned by Lotus (apparently) and most everything else is Korean. A Thai told me that he got an Optra rather than a Toyota or Honda because they trusted American engineering more than Japanese. I didn't tell him that it was actually Korean, because I didn't want to spoil his fun.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think its a bit of a con that they rebadge a Daewoo and try to pass it off as a Chevy.

A friend put a deposit on one. I asked if she knew it was actually a Korean car and not a Chevy. She didn't and even said that the sales assistant at Chevrolet told her its an American car. Next day she went and got her deposit back.

I have nothing against Korean cars but all this rebadging stuff is a bit dishonest for me. I think its different if cars share the same platform, like the Focus, Mazda 3 and Volvo S40, but GM have just taken a Daewoo and are trying to pass it off as something else.

[Thaiboxer]

Pal78, thanks a lot for that car report! I will definitely keep it in mind. It's always good to hear from folks who have a lot of experience with different cars. I can see why the Optra would suffer in terms of performance due to its weight combined with a small engine. I think a 2.0 would do a good job as that's what I have in my heavy, old Toyota and it runs pretty well. Now if they only had diesel cars here like in some European countries it would be great.

[chanchao]

> I think its a bit of a con that they rebadge a Daewoo and

> try to pass it off as a Chevy.

Sign of things to come.. Chances are, 10-15 years from now there will be very few American-built Chevy's even in America.. (Well, GM would reserve one of their brands to remain up-market 'made in America', but the rest will be made in Korea/China.

Cheers,

Chanchao

[pal78]

Now if they only had diesel cars here like in some European countries it would be great.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, I am a big fan of diesel engines, my first car had a lovely little 1 liter 3 cylinder diesel engine. There are a few diesels on the market here, but none in the Optra price range. VW Passat 1.9 diesel is around 1.8 million baht. I think Volvo have a few now too.

Oh, I just checked and the Skoda Fabia is under 800k and has a diesel engine.

Skoda Octavia also a diesel is 1.4 million. So there are at least a few.

Toyota have a 1.3 or 1.4 liter (not sure which) diesel engine in the Yaris. The Yaris is coming to Thailand next year and Toyota were taking bookings at Central a few weeks back, but when I asked the Toyota sales lady if it would have a diesel option she looked at me blankly for a few seconds before telling me... 'em... No, it's a passenger car, not a truck. Haha. That's the way diesel engines are viewed here but it might change.

Back to the Optra, I have no problem with them putting any badge they want on it, but it is dishonest when they start telling people lies. Apparently Chevy sales people are telling folks that their pickup is stronger than the D-Max, even though they are essentially the same truck. And they are purposely trying to give the impression that the Optra is an American car, when it's even less American than the Californian Governor.

[Plus]

10-15 years for GM? They'll file for bankrupcy and get sold for spare parts to Japs a lot sooner. Deadwood.

[Thaiboxer]

I've heard about the Colorado being virtually the same as the D-Max minus the grill and a few other parts. With the cost of labor being so high in the US, I can see why so many American cars are being built in other countries. I've always liked American cars for their comfort and strength, but they're generally not as reliable as the Japanese and European cars. A lot of Americans would agree: The Camry was the number one selling car over there for about ten years. It's even available with a manual transmission and a V-6 engine. Now that would be a fun drive!

[Plus]

It's not American cars being built in other countries - it's other countries' cars being SOLD with American badges. It's actually failed other countries' cars, like Daweoo, which GM collects around the world. GM is in no position to takeover any successful car maker.

[tom yum goong]

GM has been selling the same cars under different badges around the world for years. Opel/Vauxhall/Holden etc. Nothing wrong with that.

However, i think the case with the Optra is different. It is not a GM model sold under different badges. They've taken a failed Daewoo and are trying to con people that its a Chevy.

The Chevy sales staff here in Thailand tell everyone that the Optra is a Chevy and therefore an American car. i find that totally dishonest.

I know for a fact this is also going on in Malaysia, but don't know if GM are selling the Optra in other markets and what badge they are selling it under.

Anyway, we will probably start seeing this more and more.

Here's a list of who owns who in the car industry. (note: 2004).

http://carscarscars.blogs.com/index/2004/0...o_owns_who.html

[Plus]

It would be ok for GM to market Zafira as Opel here, cos that what it actually is, yet they put Chevy badge on it because Opel brand wasn't very popular and went belly up. Same with Daweoo - they couldn't sell a Korean car, so they chose the most reliable badge from their collection.

Same with Colorado - they bought into Isuzu, which is nearly dead in the US, and decided to sell it here, so instead of selling under Isuzu brand they put Chevy on it again.

How long can they go like this without actually making cars?

[Thaiboxer]

I read through the manufacturers list that tom yam goong posted; it's amazing just who owns who these days in the car world. As for American cars being sold/driven in Thailand, some of them are simply too big for the tiny side streets in the cities plus they burn up a lot of fuel. I'm anxious to see the Ford Focus; my brother has one and it seems to run very well and he drives many miles each day.