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I'd say no. I've driven the Matiz. I've driven the Matiz-based Spark. And I've driven the current Spark.
The old Matiz is still visible in the architecture, as carry over mounting points and height for the front seats and in the strange low beltline high dash theme, but everything else is miles better. The Matiz was a horrible penalty box compared to the competition, with tereible seats, no space and an utter lack of highway manners.
The Spark may not be as impressive as the Kia Picanto, but it's got lots of elbow room, lots of legroom, and it rides and tracks on the highway like a bigger car. And the back seat is more comfortable than the much bigger and heavier Fiesta.
To say it's "just a Matix" is like saying the Cruze is basically a junky Suzuki Forenza. Neither of which is true. Not that it's the best microcar out there, but there aren't many choices in that size class in America.
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