No, that's not a typo. The company really is called "Daewoo." And just
who is Daewoo? Well, it turns out that this company has been making cars
in South Korea for a number of years. How many? Well, the truth is, we
couldn't find out...because the only phone number we could find for Dae Woo
had an answering machine on it--and nobody returned our call.
The Nubira is a wagon, about the same size as a Toyota Corolla. It has a four-cylinder engine, which provides more than enough power. With all the bells and whistles, including leather interior, this car still retails for only $14,160.
We drove the Nubira through a blinding rainstorm on Cape Cod, and it handled admirably.
We were very impressed with its car. Given its very low price, we were pleasantly surprised to see that it did not appear to be your typical low-end piece of junk. Given the $14,000 price tag, we'd definitely recommend this car (assuming one of the four Daewoo dealerships in the United States happens to be in your town.) For that price, even if it breaks down every now and then, you've still gotten a great deal.
There was one fact that gave us reason for concern with this car, however. The U.S. government-mandated sticker listing the percentages of the car made in various countries, was as follows:
15% Australian (the Nubira engines are made in Australia) 15% North American content 65% Asian content
Unless we're missing something, that adds up to only 95%. Fully 5 percent of this car is, what? Missing!
The reliability of the Nubira, and of all the 1999 Daewoo automobiles, remains to be seen. However, our first impression of this car was very positive. And when compared with the Kias (Kia, by the way, is the other Korean manufacturer trying to make a go of it in the United States) we've driven to date, the Daewoo seems to be the Korean car of choice.
View cars.com model report on this vehicle.
