Garage Storage, Organization, and Garage Cabinets

Interior
The interior can be summed up best in one word: small. I'm 6'5", and as such I have a hard time with long drives in this vehicle due to the ergonomic setup. However, having said that, my wife is 5'5" and is quite comfortable in this car, having to move the seat forward a few notches from maximum travel. The materials used look cheap but are durable and solid, with the exception of the warped edges of the passenger side airbag cover.

Our car came without a head unit installed, having only an unfurnished hole where the factory deck used to be. The factory speakers remained in place, and worked amazingly well with a Pioneer 45 watt per channel (4 channels) aftermarket head unit. For all but the bassiest of music, the factory speakers do a good job of making you forget there's no subwoofer.

Performance
The performance of this car took me by suprise. It's no muscle car, but the 2 liter 4 cylinder packs a decent enough punch. The car gets away from stop lights quick enough to get you in trouble, and cruises 80+ mph without complaint. Handling is a little spongey, but controllable. An interesting novelty is the power shift mode toggle switch on the console shifter, which firms up the shifts and changes up the shift points for quicker accelleration. The normal mode is tuned for fuel economy. The difference is minor but it registers clearly on the seat-of-the-pants meter.

Upkeep
The upkeep of the car is where it loses a good chunk of its points. Due to Daewoo pulling out of the US market as its own brand (importing as GM branded products is still occuring), parts are quite difficult to come by. Often times, a trip to the parts store is a waste of gas, as a solid majority of replacement parts are dealer-only items. When and if you can find a dealer that carries parts, expect to break out the wallet and empty it. A simple camshaft sensor cost 70+ dollars, and was obtained at a Subaru dealership. An important side note, after much research the only service and repair manual that seems to exist is the Daewoo published service manual. Expect to shell out $80-90 (new) for this book if you can track one down.

At 80,000 miles, the flex joint in the exhaust underneath the engine has developed a rather loud leak. Right after buying the car, around 75,000 miles, the crankshaft pulley seperated into 2 components and fell off the car. The car was brought to the dealer charged with honoring this particular dealership network's warranties (oddly enough not the one we bought it from). Not only was the crankshaft pulley covered by the used car lot's 90 day warranty, but the dealership noticed a ton of other major issues and in the end ate a $1400 repair bill, including new tires to replace the shoddy ones the selling dealership slapped on further damaged by a nasty misalignment hiding a failed lower control arm.

Another bone to pick is the fuel economy; the Nubira is rated by the EPA at 31 highway, 22 city. The city rating is dead accurate, but I would assume the only way to reach the highway rating is while hooked up to a tow truck. Realistically, even on long road trips, the car will get 28 mpg, give or take 1 mpg.

EPA Observed Fuel Economy (miles per gallon): 22 city 31 highway Overall Score: 7 out of a possible 10

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High points: Powerful for what it is, great sound set up, an overall well thought out and well designed vehicle. Bought it for the wife at a used car clearance sale, and it's been interesting to say the least.

Low points: Built for thin, short people only, and nearly impossible to get parts for. Some build quality and durability issues.

Vehicle Specs

Engine: 2.0 L D-tec Inline 4, 16 valve DOHC
Power: 129 hp @ 5400 rpm / 136 tq @ 4400 rpm

Seating capacity: 5
Passenger Volume: 94.00 cu. ft
Cargo Volume: 13.10 cu. ft
Fuel tank: 13.70 US gallons
Curb Weight - Automatic: 2877 lb.
Curb Weight - Manual: 2800 lb.

Driver/Passenger airbag: standard
ABS: n/a on SE model, standard on CDX

Acknowledgements

Specifications courtesy of MSN Autos: 2001 Daewoo Nubira. More detailed specifications can be found in this link.

I would also like to thank rotten used car salesmen everywhere, like the one that flat lied and told us parts could be obtained at any GM parts counter.

On the positive side, I'd like to thank Morries Subaru in Brooklyn Park, MN for taking up all the slack created by the situation and pulling through to get me the parts I've needed, dead fast. I'd also like to thank Roseville Dodge in Roseville, MN for honoring the warranty repairs incurred in the first 2 weeks after taking posession of another dealer's shady deal vehicle and making everything right.