It’s classic tiny car time at CC, thanks to this 1990s Daewoo Fino (AKA Tico), still rolling in the streets of Latin America. As many CC readers have noted, old city cars and Kei-cars don’t show up very often, as they are the most basic of basic transports; used hard for daily tasks, and tossed in the scrapyard once worn out. Finding one on the roads, years after, is nothing if not a small miracle in persistence.
Those savvy in city cars probably know that the Tico/Fino is Daewoo’s version of the third-generation Suzuki Alto, built under license from 1991-2002 at a time when the Korean automaker was pushing affordable transport across the world. On that, the Tico/Finos worked, and in their unglamorous yet-efficient way, they offered a first taste of automotive freedom to rising middle-class families and young professionals in many upcoming markets.
These are positively tiny, although like most city cars at the time, space utilisation is excellent; with its FWD powertrain, the Tico/Fino offered seating for four in a tall upright position, and the four-door setup in such a small package felt positively “luxurious” at the time in markets like Latin America. Also, the glassy greenhouse feels open and very inviting.
The Tico/Fino stuck close to the Alto’s original Origami styling from 1988. The Alto would get some styling updates starting in the early 1990s, and also offered a curious sliding door body that, from what I can tell, was never offered in the Daewoo version.
Also, while Suzukis were sold with various powerplants (from tame to hot), the Tico came solely with a 3-cyl. 796cc engine (a version of the Suzuki F8B). Originally offered in carbureted form with 48HP, fuel injection arrived halfway through production to meet Euro 2 pollution standars improving power output a bit in the process.
While Tico was the name used in most markets, these were sold as Fino in Latin America. The model would be replaced in the early 2000s by the Matiz, another relevant city car that’s become awfully scarce, known for its friendly-looking Italdesign bodywork (think Fiat 500 meets Dodge Neon).
And in the shot above, I assume some readers are eyeing that second-generation Eclipse in its oh-so-1990s teal color.
The Tico/Fino is one of those cars that can make a recent Civic feel l-a-r-g-e, which is part of its charm and original mission; it is a survivor from the days when basic, honest economy cars quietly kept the world moving. And fear not for this one, someone loves it. I took these photos back in 2022 and last week I saw it, in the same street, looking just the same. A time capsule, in rolling form still doing daily work.
Related CC reading:
1990 Suzuki Alto (CN21) Works RS/X – Miniature Hot Hatch
I lived in South Korea from 1994-1996 and then again from 1998-2004. At that time, the Tico was everywhere. It was seen as tough, cheap transportation. Daewoo flogged them out the door at low prices and with easy financing. The later Matiz was even more popular. That said, there were plenty of jokes about the humble Tico.
Went looking for pics of that Suzuki Alto variant of this generation with the sliding door as mentioned here, called the Alto Slide Slim, and found it also had a swiveling driver’s seat for easier ingress/egress, similar to those offered in GM Colonnade 2-doors. Here’s one in “Perky S” (yes, really) trim:
That looks like a good idea.
I know Honda Japan offers a passenger seat that slides out on rails for disabled access, but that looks more space efficient.
Perhaps mount it on a big spring to eject the poor sap into the standing position?
I like the sliding door idea. We have a Fiat 500, which is small for Canada, but it has long doors. Sometimes in parking lots it is hard to open the doors wide enough to get my large feet out.
Peugeot had a similar concept in their 1007.
Neither the Tico nor the Matiz are kei cars due to physical size, engines, etc. They do however conform to Korea’s larger gyeongcha limits.
These sold very well in Colombia as Tico. A co worker owned one, and he had it adapted so that the clutch was hand operated, as he had had his left leg amputated. He treated the car very bad, and the poor Tico never failed him. Sometimes he went to lunch with 3 other guys from work, tall and fat guys, and when we saw that scene we began to call the car the popemobile.
Pretty neat to see a thirty year old (!) Kei car still doing yeoman duty and kept in very good nick .
I’d love to try sitting in one of these, I’m 6′ and most of my height is in my trunk .
-Nate
I love little city cars like this, but they have pretty much vanished from the North American market.