Daewoo Gentra

Daewoo Gentra at a glance: what it is and where it was built

The Daewoo Gentra is a compact five-seat sedan made by Uz-Daewoo Avto, then trading as GM Uzbekistan, at its Asaka plant in Uzbekistan. It sits in the C segment, drives its front wheels through a petrol engine, and was sold under the Daewoo badge in former Soviet republics.

That badge is part of the story. When WardsAuto reported the car's debut on 29 May 2013, it noted that former Soviet markets were the last places where Daewoo was still used as a brand on passenger cars. In Uzbekistan the Gentra was offered next to the older Daewoo Nexia and the Daewoo Matiz, and the same company also built the Chevrolet Cobalt sedan.

The Gentra was never a European-market car, so there is no official EU type data, no Euro NCAP test and no list price in euros. The figures on this page come from trade press, spec databases and Uzbek news reports, and where they disagree we say so.

Two cars called Gentra

The name Gentra has been used on two unrelated cars, and the older one is the reason many searches mix the Gentra up with the Chevrolet Aveo. GM Daewoo in South Korea first used the name from 2005 to 2011 for a facelifted Kalos sedan; the hatchback version was called Gentra X. Outside Korea and Vietnam that car was sold as the Chevrolet Aveo (T250).

The Uzbek Gentra described here arrived in 2013 and has nothing in common with the Korean car apart from the name. It is a Lacetti underneath.

If you see a "Daewoo Gentra 2009" or "Gentra 2011" for sale, it is the Korean Aveo-based car, not the Lacetti-based sedan.

The Lacetti connection: platform and what changed in 2013

The Gentra is a reworked first-generation Lacetti, built on GM Daewoo's J200 platform. Daewoo introduced the Lacetti family in South Korea in 2003 as a sedan, estate and hatchback, and it was sold around the world under other names, including the Suzuki Forenza in the US, the Holden Viva in Australia and New Zealand, and the Buick Excelle in China.

GM Uzbekistan had been assembling the Lacetti at Asaka since 2008. For 2013 it gave the sedan a new front fascia, which WardsAuto described as the main change, and a new name. The body structure, the 2,600 mm (102.4 in) wheelbase and the basic layout stayed as they were, so the Gentra is best understood as a facelift rather than a new model.

The bigger change was under the bonnet. European Lacetti buyers had a choice of 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0-litre petrol engines and a 2.0 diesel. The Gentra was built with a single 1.5-litre petrol unit, so none of those other Lacetti engines should be listed as Gentra options.

Engine, gearboxes and performance

Every Daewoo Gentra has a 1.5-litre (1,485 cc, 90.6 cu in) four-cylinder petrol engine rated at 79 kW (107 PS) at 5,800 rpm and 141 Nm (104 lb-ft) at 3,800 rpm. It has twin overhead camshafts, 16 valves, multi-point fuel injection and a 10.2:1 compression ratio, and it meets the Euro 5 emissions standard. One spec database gives the engine code as B15D2. WardsAuto's 2013 launch report quoted 105 hp, but the other sources agree on 79 kW.

Two gearboxes were offered, both driving the front wheels:

• 5-speed manual
• 6-speed automatic

There was no all-wheel drive, diesel or hybrid version.

Performance and fuel consumption

The manual Gentra's top speed is given as 180 km/h (112 mph). Other performance figures depend on the source. One database lists 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 11.9 seconds for both gearboxes, while another gives 13.0 seconds for the manual and 13.1 seconds for the automatic. Top speed for the automatic is also listed differently, so we do not quote one.

Combined fuel consumption is quoted at roughly 7.0–8.0 L/100 km (29.4–33.6 mpg US), with the automatic using more than the manual in both sources. Neither states the test cycle, so treat these numbers as a rough guide rather than an official rating.

Dimensions, space and boot

The Gentra is 4,515 mm (177.8 in) long and 1,725 mm (67.9 in) wide, and its boot holds 405 L (14.3 cu ft) with the rear seats in place. Folding the rear seats increases the load space to 1,225 L (43.3 cu ft).

Key specifications: Daewoo Gentra 1.5 (2013–2015)

The automatic adds 55 kg (121 lb) to the kerb weight, which may partly explain its higher fuel figures.

Safety and ownership notes

We found no Euro NCAP, ANCAP or IIHS crash-test result for the Daewoo Gentra or the Lacetti sedan sold in former Soviet markets. The only published result for a close relative is ANCAP's 2005 test of the Holden Viva five-door hatchback, which is a different body style from an older production period, so its score should not be read across to the Gentra.

Nor did we find reliability surveys or owner statistics for the Gentra from European or US sources, so this page does not publish a fault list. As with any sedan of this age, a full service history and a clean, rust-free body matter more than the model year.

From Gentra to Lacetti: the name timeline

The car kept going for more than a decade after its debut, changing its badge twice along the way. In order:

1. 2013: launched as the Daewoo Gentra, a facelifted Lacetti built at Asaka; production as a Daewoo ran from mid-2013 to late 2015.
2. 2015: in October the company replaced its Daewoo brand with Ravon, and the car became the Ravon Gentra (some catalogues call it the R5).
3. 2020: UzAuto Motors, as the company had been called since 2019, phased out Ravon and the same facelifted car went back on sale as the Chevrolet Lacetti.
4. 26 July 2024: the last Lacetti left the Asaka line.

Kun.uz reported in December 2023 that production was due to stop in January 2024, a decision attributed to GM's global trade policy. A supply of parts kept the line running for several more months. According to the same outlet, 487,104 Lacetti (Gentra) cars were built in total, with annual output growing from over 11,000 to nearly 90,000 in 2023. More on the brand's background is in our history of Daewoo Motors.

Which version to look at

With one engine and one body, the choice comes down to the gearbox. The 5-speed manual is the lighter car at 1,245 kg (2,745 lb), and both spec databases list it as more economical than the automatic. It suits buyers who mostly drive outside town.

The 6-speed automatic weighs 1,300 kg (2,866 lb) and uses a little more fuel, but it is the easier car in heavy traffic. Because the Gentra, Ravon Gentra and Chevrolet Lacetti are the same basic car, a later example is not a different model; check the badge and build year against the registration documents. For other options from the same maker, see all Daewoo models or browse more sedans.