Chevrolet Sail Review

GM world-wide have gone through a major crisis after the bankruptcy chapter. It also went down as the world’s number 1 car manufacturer. After such an appalling disaster, every one thought they had seen the end of GM. But the General been truly general, rose back for the occasion. GM has started recording its profits and the good thing is that none of the major franchise’s had to be sold during the bankruptcy. In India, GM has tripled their sales for the last year and also launched their all new global platform,the Cruze. Their automatic version of the Captiva is also a runaway success. The Cruze is selling like hot cakes so much that every second car you see on the road nowadays is the Cruze. Moreover, they also launched the small car, Beat, which is also one of the biggest success stories for Chevrolet. General Motors Indian operations President and Managing Director, Karl Slym is said to be the man who made the turn around. Things are looking good for GM at the moment and they are thinking of cashing on this success by introducing 3 more new models. One such would be the Chevrolet Sail. This is available in both the sedan and hatchback guises but the sedan is the one which would make it first in the Indian market. Check on Road Price

Looks of the Chevrolet Sail

The new Chevrolet Sail in India is set to replace the ageing Aveo sedan and probably later on the Aveo UV-A hatchback. The GM cars have all been lookers in their own right and the Sail is no exception. GM earlier had the Sail brand name for their Opel range in India and it is rumored that GM would use the same name albeit now with a Chevrolet bow tie on it. The Sail sedan looks very much like the Cruze but in a scaled down format. It was developed in partnership with GM-SAIC collaboration in China. When launched in China, it was lapped up in no time by the car buying public. GM India expect the same success here as well.

The Sail sports the now famous family face of Chevrolet. The grill is the wide honeycomb piece affair now. It has a body colored ridge running across it and the ridge has the golden Chevy bow tie on it. The head lamps are elongated and wrap around types. The air dam is an affair concentrated on the middle. Two swooping recess announce the arrival of the fog lamps. A prominent bonnet ridge ends on the grill.

The side profile shows a ridge arising from one wheel to another. The wheel arches are flared but not so much as to give bigger brother Cruze the shivers. The 16 inch alloy wheels fill the wheel arches well and give the car a chunky look. The door handles as well as the outside rear view mirrors are body colored. The ORVMS are mounted on black stalks and they arise from the door{old Honda City-like}.

The rear is creaseless and the boot reminds one of the Mahindra-Renault Logan. The tail lamps are boomerang shaped and are single piece units. The stop lamp is mounted at the lower base of the rear wind screen. The tail pipes are hidden from ones view unless you bend over to look at it.

Interiors of the Chevrolet Sail

The interiors are typical Chevy with an increase in the quality of the materials used. The doors open wide and close with a German thunk. The steering wheel feels great to hold and has the usual audio, Bluetooth controls housed in it. The instrument binnacle is a hooded twin dial one. The central fascia is a two tone affair with black and beige used. Only the audio system and climate control are bathed in aluminium. The vents for the AC are circular. One problem is that the glove box isn’t too deep and there aren’t many cubby holes to store your daily quota of things.

Besides the gear knob, you have a slot to put in an Iphone and charge it. The gear lever feels nice to hold and is chunky. The instrument binnacle takes on a funky blue color, as seen in Beat, during the night. There are two arm rests for the rear passengers and two for the front. Rear passengers get their own AC vents. The boot is also commendable at 375 liters and the rear seats have a 60:40 split arrangement.

Overall a pleasing place to be, the Chevrolet Sail sedan.

Chevrolet Sail Handling and ride quality

All the current GM cars launched in India in 2010 are been labeled as even fun to drive and the Chevrolet Sail sedan in India is no exception. Chinese markets reports suggest that the Sail is one of the best ride and handling packages in its class.

The use of a centrally mounted fuel tank, lack of transmission tunnel intrusion at the rear, arch-shaped door panels and short overhangs at the front and rear maximize the space quotient inside. Head and leg room is above the competition and there is plenty of space for three even in the rear. However it can be mentioned that passengers at the front would be more comfortable than the ones at the rear.

The front suspension is a short one whereas the rear one is long in interest of comfort of passengers. This makes it an easy handler and one similar to that of the Ford Fiesta 1.6. The fish-like design of the car helps it in giving air a slip and makes it one of the most aerodynamic cars in its class.

Engine,Performance and fuel efficiency

For the Indian market, like the Chevrolet Aveo sedan, the Sail would be launched in two engine trims. The 1.2 liter S-tec motor doing duties in the Beat and the 1.4 liter S-tec motor found in the Aveo 1.4. The 1.2 liter one punches 82 bhp{2 bhp higher than in the Beat} and the 1.4 rates in at 98 Bhp. It is also rumored that the Sail would have a 1.3 liter diesel engine to take on the likes of Maruti Swift Dzire and the Tata Indigo Manza Quadrajet.

Performance is not so brisk on the heavier Sail sedan with the 1.2 liter engine, as it is tuned more for fuel efficiency than performance. Still it manages a decent 0-100 timing of 13.3 seconds whereas the 1.4 liter engine does the 0-100 in 11.1 seconds. Both the engines as well as the body of the car are made with sturdy but weight saving material. The engines also feature Variable Geometry Intake System (VGIS) for better breathing and they also ensure optimum torque and power delivery at any given speed and gear.

Fuel efficiency would be top notch in the 1.2 liter motor with it going upto 14 kmpl in the city and 20 kmpl on the highways. The 1.4 liter motor delivers 12 kmpl in city and about 18 kmpl on the highway. The diesel is said to have 90 Bhp and will go from 0-100 in 14.2 seconds and have a fuel efficiency of 15 kmpl in the city and 23 kmpl on the highway.

Braking is handled by discs on all the 4 wheels and on all the variants. Assisting them are advanced 4 channel Anti-Lock brakes {ABS} and electronic brake-force distribution{EBD}. Cruise control is a paid option.

Safety is handled by dual front air bags, which is standard on all variants and the car comes with collapsible steering, SRS seat belts with anti whiplash on all the seats and reinforced chassis set to absorb and channelize energy in case of crash. It was given top ratings by the Chinese government and adjudged the safest car in its class. The specs from the Chinese models are unlikely to be changed for the Indian markets.

Verdict

The new Chevrolet Sail in India is set to enter one of the territories which is dominated now by the Tata Indigo E-Cs and the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire. It would have the 3 years GM zero service and maintenance assurance plus it would be priced significantly lower than what the others would be offered at. It has a decent set of engines going on for it, it is spacious, nimble in ride and handling and plus those killer looks lacking in this segment. If GM prices it correctly and makes a good image for it, then this car can be the number 1 in its segment. It should be approximately in the 6 lakhs starting range for the petrol 1.2 liter.

CHEVROLET SAIL SEDAN SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE: 1198 cc in-line 4 cylinder 1399cc, 4 Cylinder in-line, 1297 cc in-line 4 cylinder Common rail

MAX. POWER: 82 Bhp, 94Bhp, 90 Bhp

MAX. TORQUE: 100 Nm,129Nm, 125 Nm

CAR BODY TYPE: Sedan

SEGMENT: C Segment

FUEL: Petrol, Diesel

SEATING CAPACITY: 5

TIRES: 185/60 R14, 185/70 R14

STEERING: Hydraulic Power steering

BRAKES:

Front:- Disc
Rear:- Disc

TRANSMISSION: 5 – Speed, Manual