Chevrolet Lacetti Hatchback (2005 – ) expert review

The Chevrolet Lacetti is a little like the previous generation Vauxhall Astra, which is hardly surprising given Chevrolet’s (nee Daewoo) history of warming over old Vauxhalls. It would be cruel to call it ugly; but it could never be regarded as cutting edge, despite being penned by the Italian styling genius Giugiaro – creator of the Lotus Esprit. There are glimmers of hope, such as the fancy rear light clusters. Our test car came with a set of 15 inch multispoke alloys, which lent a sporty look.

If the exterior looks dated, then the interior is positively ancient. The Chevrolet Lacetti is better than the Daewoo version, but not by much. An acre of hard grey plastic is reminiscent of the new Nissan Micra, periodically broken up by cheap feeling switchgear. Having said that, everything is clearly labelled and easy to use. The velour seats look like they have been lifted from a 1980s Cavalier, but are comfortable. There’s plenty of rear legroom; more than enough to carry three adults in reasonable comfort.

The Chevrolet Lacetti hatchback has a 275 litre boot – which expands to 1,045 litres, and if space is your thing, there’s an estate version to consider. There’s a decent amount of cabin storage space too, especially with a cubbyhole under the radio, which would be filled by a top-of-the-range CD changer if specified.

At slow speeds, the Chevrolet Lacetti is a reasonable performer, but crank up the pace and it starts to reveal its limitations quickly. The chassis has been tuned for comfort, so there’s a fair amount of body roll and tyre squeal around bends. The ride is pretty good though.

The performance is adequate considering its handling shortcomings, with a top speed of 109mph and a 0-60mph time of 11.6 seconds. Our 1.4-litre test car provides just 95bhp and 131lb/ft of pulling power, meaning the Lacetti needs to be thrashed to get the best out of it.

The Chevrolet Lacetti isn’t as cheap as we might have expected from such an off-the-wall choice, though would-be buyers can haggle plenty off the list price. Our 1.4 SE test car returned an average of 35mpg, which was slightly down on the official figures. Regardless, the biggest problem is depreciation with the average Lacetti shedding around 70 per cent of its value in the first three years.

The Chevrolet Lacetti feels well built and the lack of features means there’s less potential for things to break. We’ve heard little evidence of common problems, so it should be a good bet, particularly with the guaranteed service history from models covered by the fixed price servicing.

All Lacettis come with ABS, electronic brake-force distribution, driver and passenger airbags, but it’s only the posh SX and CDX models which get side airbags. No Euro NCAP results, either.

Our entry-level 1.4 SE is spartan to say the least, even air-con is a cost extra. However, there is remote central locking, an engine immobiliser, electric front windows and optional rear parking sensors.

The Chevrolet Lacetti is a cheap car, if you try a bit of haggling, and the fixed priced servicing is a bonus.