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Si_GTi wrote: Got a hire car today... a Chevrolet (formerly Daewoo) Matiz 1.0-litre!! Its... an experience but gets me from home to work and back again, so thats the main thing eh?!

That's one of them buggers with supposedly 60 horses in a lightweight frame, but so little torque you have to thrap them silly to get moving?

Funny that Chevy should now be selling that kind of stuff. Can't wait until they get bored and try to shoehorn a V8 into one..

Jeez, just not a great time for us GTI owners is it, they do say bad things happen in threes...and thats why mine's been locked away safe in a garage! (ha ha ha, I reckon it'll be a red one next though cos we've had a black and silver...).

Anyway, seriously gutted for you both, I can imagine how frustrated you guys are as I've been through the whole insurance claim process in the past. Just think once it's been sorted you'll have bits like new on your motor! I hope you both get it sorted in time for the summer...

PoloChick wrote:Least it's not major damage babes, hope your ok xx

Just got off the phone from the garage actually, the damage was as expected:

• New front bumper - I presume they will swap over the grilles and foglights, will find out when I get her back!
  New front numberplate
  There is a panel that sits behind the bumper that needs replacing?
  Bonnet requires a repair to remove some red paint and get it sitting level again

I should have her back by the end of the week with a bit of luck, the parts have been ordered and will then need priming/painting/fitting, quoted as 3-4 days work

glad too hear mate!
its just so annoying when anything happens to our pride and joys, nothing can replace that horrible feeling in your stomach when something happens
and usually the damage sounds worse than it is, which is a plus side for owning a polo i suppose
-Ben-

4-Star NCAP rating for front-end impacts, plus a solid build and ABS brakes

So glad I didn't still have my old F-reg Mini!!

for the record, how accurate would my dads claim of being in an accident in one (old mini) and the entire frame forwards of the cabin sheared off?

Well..



Doesn't bode well really

mini mini?

great scott!

well, his *was* kind of hit at more of a sideways-ish angle than being rear ended

but stil.......


edit: notice how the window glass is unscathed - all the way round

Just to be the bringer of depressing photos:



That was a head on collision with a jag. Somehow the driver survived..

GroovyCarrot wrote:That was a head on collision with a jag. Somehow the driver survived..

Must have thrown himself out of the side window! Its true that the Minis don't stand up to crash damage very well, but they're great to hoon about in, my 998c Mini was a hoot compared to the Chevy Matiz I have

Yeah, I love minis, they're such fun Just have to be careful not to overdo it I guess, but then I shouldn't think a head on in a mk2 polo would be much better Crumple zones (extremely primative ones..) and a slightly longer engine bay is about the only extra protection really.

i should hope that even a mk2 wouldn't literally implode like those sorry sheds! even if it scores zero NCAP stars in the current system, those are just chronic... the old skool of car design where they come up with a body plan that looks nice, tweak it until you can comfortably fit an engine, drivetrain, and four people inside... then build it with the bare minimum of materials.

mini should be more fun to hoon about in for exactly the same reason a mk2 / mk3 is - extreme lack of ground-to-arse clearance.
I know that the matiz itself isnt exactly a skyscraper (having had to help someone change their tyre in the rain at work, once - bit dinky..) but i bet the seating position is a good 6 inches higher than either car.

Minis are fun for the same reason, but multiplied by a factor of something very large. I think it's the fact that you're even closer to the ground, on even smaller wheels and the engine is crammed in about 2" from your knees. My dad once fitted a cone induction filter to a mini of his, he found the only way to do it was to remove the clock from the dashboard and have it pointing through the resulting hole into the cabin - seriously good noise Really shows quite how crammed everything is in the front end of a mini.