LOOK AFTER THE PENNIES… Research has revealed that British people have managed to lose more than 6.5 billion pennies, worth £65 million. Car maker Chevrolet for some reason asked more than 1.200 people where the pennies were going in an effort to solve the mystery. Supposedly, the average UK adult loses five pennies a week. There’s no need. Without being smug, if I get a penny or 2p piece in my change I drop it in the nearest charity box and, when I’ve done that, find I want it five minutes later in another shop. Such is life. Evidently, 40 per cent of all the pennies lost can be found on our streets. That’s £26 million worth. But don’t walk round with your head down looking for them as you may be run over by an inattentive driver feeling down the backs of cars seats, where there are another £7.8 million worth, more than can be found down the backs of the nation’s sofas. That £7.8 million hidden in car seats is enough to buy 1,200 Chevrolet Matiz cars – now we’re getting to the reason for the research, a blatant plug for a Korean city car you might otherwise miss, especially if you walk around with your head down looking for enough pennies to make you a millionaire. There’s one big thing about this little car that will make it appeal to lost penny hunters, it costs peanuts (is that mixing my metaphors?). And as a used car it costs even less, although I’m not sure what the colloquialism is for that. Instead of trying to make money searching for pennies, you may as well be realistic and realise that driving a Matiz is your lot in life. I know someone who had a Matiz which he used regularly, even though he had an Aston Martin DB6 in his garage and a free Volvo XC70 estate to support his work as a conservationist, naturalist, and broadcaster. Even telly types have to watch the cash and he appreciated the low running costs of the Matiz plus its abilities around town. You might never make an appearance on the haunted fishtank but you can still enjoy the finer points of Matiz motoring. They have nothing to do with performance, handling characteristics, or anything of that ilk but if fitting into what passes for a multi-storey parking space drives your ambitions the Matiz is the car for you. Chevrolet has been giving away shedloads of cash on its new cars lately, which is good news for new car buyers but plays havoc with used car values, not so great if you bought one before the deals were announced. The Matiz 1.0 SE had £1,000 knocked off, making it £5,745 on the road. Life with the 1.0 SE is not half bad. I spent a week with one recently and lived to tell the tale. As an urban runabout it was ideal, fitting into the townscape beautifully whenever I ventured into the smoke from my country pad (three bed ex-council house now valued at, but not worth, ridiculous money). It also sipped fuel so slowly it would close the supermarket forecourts if we all had one. Let’s do it. Four adults can just about squeeze into the Matiz using origami techniques but they won’t want to stay there long, although the two in the front will find life bearable, if a little cosy, as they rub elbows. With this car costing so little to run, thanks to Group 1 insurance for the 800 cc model, Group 3 for the 1.0, and 10,000 mile service intervals combined with low purchase price, motoring at last becomes affordable again. And the £3,800 needed for an 05 plate 800 cc S five door means you can almost ignore the cheaper Daewoo Matiz models sold before the change of brand in 2005. Even a 56 plate 1.0 SE only books at £4,800. But haggle off some more money (remember those value-sapping new car deals) and it’s a steal. Maurice Hardy maurice@mauricehardy.co.uk