Chevrolet Lacetti Sport

While Chevrolet has replaced Daewoo in the General Motors family, the only major common factor is that the same dealerships - like Denkale in Southampton which provided the test car - are caring for the cars and customers.

These Chevrolets are cutting-edge head-turners, make no mistake, a far cry from the original Daewoos. Yet they also offer excellent value. The Lacetti was designed by the acclaimed Italian stylist Giugiaro and the new Sport adds further style cues that enhance the design without compromising its already good looks.

For less than £12,000 on the road you are looking at a family car with cool 16in alloy wheels, full body kit, lowered suspension, sports exhaust and sports-style two-tone leather trim with matching leather wheel and gear knob.

Lacetti Sport offers a high level of style, comfort and safety with front and side airbags and anti-lock brakes as standard.

Additional items unique to this Sport variant are a sports-style grille with mesh intake, sporty pedals, door sill finishers, a tailgate spoiler and floor mats featuring a Sport logo.

The car is aimed at young single people and families looking for an appealing contemporary car with lots of interior space that stands out from the crowd. Its price of £11,995 on the road includes the Chevrolet complete care package.

Sport is an interesting tag, but one that fits this car well - it does not carry the heavy premium burden of an outright street racer, but powered by a 1.8-litre 16-valve engine developing 122bhp at 5,800rpm and a maximum torque of 165Nm at 4,000rpm, it has a top speed of 120mph, a 0-62 time of 9.5 seconds and returns 37.6mpg on the combined cycle.

As a result it drives well with sporty handling without jarring, with straightforward controls falling readily to hand.

The Lacetti five-door line up comprises just three derivatives. It is an uncomplicated range and is fully equipped as standard, leaving little to be desired. The other two derivatives are 1.4SE and 1.6SX.

As the flagship Lacetti, the Sport has few options since it is totally equipped with a wide range of stylish and practical features.

These include air conditioning, front and side airbags, power steering, anti-lock brakes, height-adjustable driver's seat, rake and reach adjustment for the steering column and keyless entry central door locking.

Exterior door handles and body side mouldings are colour-keyed.

Lacetti Sport features a Blaupunkt single CD player as standard and, new to this market sector, a DAB digital radio, single CD player as an option. Six speakers for exceptional sound quality, along with steering wheel audio controls, are standard on the Lacetti Sport.

Like the rest of the Chevrolet range, the Lacetti Sport benefits from Chevrolet's complete care package, with three years' free servicing, comprehensive warranty and AA Total recovery service.

FACTFILE:

Model: Chevrolet Lacetti Sport

Price: £11,995

Insurance: Group 9

Style: 5-door sports hatch

Engine: 1.8-litre 16-valve petrol producing 165Nm at 4,000rpm, 122bhp at 5,800rpm

Transmission: Front-wheel-drive with 5-speed manual change

Performance: 0-62mph - 9.5sec; top speed - 120mph

Economy: 37.6mpg (combined)

Service intervals: 10,000 miles

CO2: 183g/km

Warranty: 3 years/60,000 miles