The 2012 Chevrolet Sail hatchback will be launched in India before the Indian festive season of Dusshera-Diwaliand
this car will be positioned in the B+ hatchback space, populated by the
likes of the Maruti Swift, the Hyundai i20 and the Ford Figo. This car
will replace the Aveo U-VA hatchback, which has been a perennial dud for
GM India, ever since it was launched in the Indian market many summers
ago. The 2012 Sail hatchback, developed by GM’s Chinese partner SAIC,
will also bring a key change to the table, in the form of a diesel
engine under the hood.
This was one big factor that held back
the Aveo U-VA from becoming a decent performer at the hustings as the
car was available only with a petrol engine, while rivals offered diesel
engines. Now, the need for a diesel engine option is more acute than
ever given the huge disparity between petrol and diesel fuel prices,
favouring the latter heavily. So, GM India will launch the Sail
hatchback with the 1.3 Liter Jet Turbo Diesel (JTD) engine that the
automaker developed jointly with Italian car maker Fiat. This engine is
expected to pump out 74 Bhp-190 Nm, with an ARAI certified mileage
figure of about 20 Kmpl.
This diesel engine will also be used on
the Enjoy MPV, which is essentially the rebadged version of the Wuling
CN100 MPV. GM could launch the 7 seater Enjoy MPV in the next couple of
months. The other engine of the Sail hatchback will be a 1.2 Liter, 82
Bhp-108 Nm petrol unit, also mated to a 5 speed stick shift gearbox. The
aRAI fuel economy figure for the petrol Sail hatchback is expected to
be 17 Kmpl. While the fuel economy figures for both the petrol and
diesel variants of the Sail hatchback seem to be par for the course,
official figures are yet to be published by GM India.
2012 Chevrolet Sail Sedan India
The Sail sedan, which will be launched
after the hatchback, will be positioned to take on the likes of the
Dzire-Etios-Manza brigade and will replace the Aveo sedan. Expect
competitive pricing for both these cars as that is perhaps the only way
that GM can garner enough interest around these cars as the design and
styling of these cars lean more towards plain Jane than saucy Sally.
That said, both cars have the potential to be no-nonsense, spacious and
value-for-money products.
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