Daewoo Leganza
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| Daewoo Leganza | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Manufacturer | Daewoo Motors |
| Also called | Doninvest Kondor |
| Production | 1997–2002 |
| Predecessor | Daewoo Espero Daewoo Prince |
| Successor | Daewoo Magnus Suzuki Verona Chevrolet Epica |
| Class | Mid-size |
| Body style | 4-door sedan |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Engine | 2.0 L I4 E-TEC II 2.2 L I4 E-TEC II |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual 4-speed automatic |
| Wheelbase | 2670 mm |
| Length | 4761 mm |
| Width | 1779 mm |
| Height | 1437 mm |
| Curb weight | ~1400 kg |
| Fuel capacity | 65 L |
| Related | Daewoo Magnus |
| Similar | Hyundai Sonata Kia Clarus Mazda 626 Toyota Carina |
| Designer | Giorgetto Giugiaro |
The Daewoo Leganza is a mid-size sedan produced by the former Daewoo Motors in South Korea between 1997 and 2002. Its internal development name was V100, under which it and its platform (not directly shared with any other model) are also known.
Daewoo explained that the name Leganza originated from the combination of two Italian words - elegante (elegant) and forza (power).
[edit] Development
The Leganza was a part of Daewoo's effort to develop a lineup of proprietary vehicles to replace previous GM-licensed models. Sister projects to the V100 are the T100 Daewoo Lanos and J100 Daewoo Nubira. The development of "x100" cars involved the work of many subcontractors and suppliers. This involved, among others, ZF with regard to transmissions and Holden concerning the engines.
Leganza was styled by the famous Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign. It is believed that this design was inspired by Giugiaro's 1990 Jaguar Kensington concept car, a pedigree Leganza's body shares with the 1991 Toyota Aristo. In case of Leganza, however, Giugiaro had to deal with a slightly shorter vehicle with FWD rather than RWD, which, combined with Daewoo's styling cues like the large chrome grille, resulted in a very peculiar appearance.
[edit] Marketing
Daewoo rapidly expanded their distribution network with the inception of new models, which made the Leganza present in the markets of most countries, albeit not necessairly with sales success. Daewoo placed special emphasis on developing markets, which involved the assembly of Leganzas in countries like Poland, Russia and Uzbekistan, in plants owned by Daewoo or under license agreements. Nevertheless, this concerned CKD or SKD assembly only, as all Leganzas were effectively made at Daewoo's Bupyong plant in Korea.
It is worth noting that, contrary to many Korean cars sold worldwide, the Leganza was almost invariably sold under the Daewoo Leganza name, the only exception being the Doninvest Kondor, a short-lived version assembled by the Russian Doninvest corporation on Taganrog's TagAZ.
In the moment of launch, Leganza was a bit longer than most mid-size European or Asian cars, which is why it was initially marketed as an inexpensive executive car in some markets.
[edit] Driveline
The Leganza was a front-wheel drive car, available with a four-door sedan body only. The Leganza was powered by Holden-sourced E-TEC II DOHC 16V I4 engines (two displacements were made using the same block and bore, differing in stroke):
- 2.0L (1998 ccm) - 98 kW (131 HP), 184 Nm of torque used in models sold in Europe
- 2.2L (2198 ccm) - 100 kW (134 HP), 191 Nm of torque used mainly for the American market
Both engines came with either a 5-speed manual transmission, or a 4-speed automatic.
[edit] Replacement
Contrary to Matiz or Nubira, the Leganza was not afforded a mid-life facelift, so there was no "V150" model (the xx50 designations are used by Daewoo to indicate facelifted versions of xx00 models). Rather than that, Daewoo increased the wheelbase of the V100 platform by 30 mm to develop a new model, called Daewoo Magnus (V200), which was launched in 2000. Both models were sold side by side in Korea, but the Magnus has not been launched internationally until Leganza's demise in 2002, effectively replacing it. In North America, the car was replaced by the Suzuki Verona in the United States and Canada and the Chevrolet Epica in Canada.
[edit] External links
- Daewoo Leganza information and pictures at Global Auto Index
- Used Car Safety Ratings - Daewoo Leganza
- DaewooTech.com - Friendly forum (English speaking) for Daewoo owners.
| GM Daewoo vehicle timeline, 1990s-present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | 1990s | 2000s | ||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| City car | Tico | Matiz | ||||||||||||||||||
| Subcompact car | Lanos | Kalos | ||||||||||||||||||
| Compact car | Nexia | Nubira | Lacetti | |||||||||||||||||
| Mid-size car | Espero | Leganza | Magnus | Tosca | ||||||||||||||||
| Full-size car | Statesman | |||||||||||||||||||
| Compact MPV | Tacuma | |||||||||||||||||||
| Crossover SUV | Winstorm | |||||||||||||||||||
