Details of Cars

Chevrolet Lacetti: one compact car under half a dozen names

CHEVROLET

Daewoo Lacetti J200 sedan
Daewoo Lacetti J200 sedan. Photo by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Chevrolet Lacetti was one of the many names given to the Daewoo Lacetti, a compact car introduced in 2002. Depending on the market it was sold as the Optra, Nubira, Suzuki Forenza, Suzuki Reno or Holden Viva, which makes it one of the most widely rebadged cars GM Korea ever built.

Chevrolet Lacetti at a glance

Chevrolet Lacetti key facts
Production 2002–2008 for the J200
Internal code J200
Maker GM Korea, formerly GM Daewoo
Body styles Four-door sedan, five-door wagon, five-door hatchback from 2004
Sedan and wagon styling Pininfarina
Hatchback styling Giorgetto Giugiaro
Other names Daewoo Nubira, Chevrolet Optra, Suzuki Forenza and Reno, Holden Viva
Name origin Latin lacertus, meaning youthful
Second generation 2008 Lacetti Premiere, a rebadged Chevrolet Cruze

The article is based on the English Wikipedia page on the Daewoo Lacetti, which covers the Chevrolet-badged versions.

History of the Chevrolet Lacetti

The Lacetti was designed by GM Korea and went on sale in 2002. The first generation had two quite different design teams behind it: the four-door sedan and the five-door station wagon were styled by Pininfarina, while the five-door hatchback that arrived in 2004 was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro and sold in Korea as the Lacetti5. The sedan and wagon were marketed in some European countries as the Daewoo Nubira and in North America as the Suzuki Forenza, and the hatchback became the Suzuki Reno in the United States.

Daewoo Lacetti J200 sedan, rear
The same car from behind. Photo by Jeremy from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

After the 2004 model year the car was sold as the Chevrolet Nubira and Lacetti in Europe, as the Chevrolet Optra in Canada, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Japan and South-East Asia, and as the Holden Viva in Australia and New Zealand. In Korea it kept the Daewoo name until the brand was wound up. The name Lacetti comes from the Latin lacertus, meaning youthful.

In 2008 a second-generation Lacetti appeared, the Daewoo Lacetti Premiere, which was a rebadged version of the Chevrolet Cruze developed by GM Daewoo, Holden and General Motors. It was sold under the Daewoo marque until the beginning of 2011, when that brand was discontinued and the car continued as a Chevrolet and a Holden. The original J200 therefore ended its life not with a direct successor in its own family but with the global Cruze taking its place.

Design and features

  • Pininfarina and Giugiaro: the sedan and wagon and the hatchback were styled by different Italian houses.
  • Many names: sold as Chevrolet Lacetti, Optra and Nubira, Suzuki Forenza and Reno and Holden Viva.
  • Three body styles: sedan, wagon and, from 2004, a five-door hatchback.
  • Korean roots: designed and built by GM Korea, the former Daewoo.

Chevrolet Lacetti versions

  • Sedan: the Pininfarina-designed four-door, sold as the Optra in many markets.
  • Station wagon: the estate version, also by Pininfarina.
  • Lacetti5 hatchback (2004): the Giugiaro-styled five-door.
  • Lacetti Premiere (2008): the second generation, a rebadged Chevrolet Cruze.

The Lacetti was replaced by the Chevrolet Cruze and sat above the smaller Chevrolet Aveo. More cars are in the Chevrolet collection.

Video: 2008 Chevrolet Lacetti

Video by MegaRetr on YouTube.

Sources

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