Corsa Sail 1.6 29k review

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by gkrishn

Wait.

At 1500rpm... the speed comes to almost 30kmph. Will it be possible to take a hairpin bend at that speed?!?!?
May be it should have been at around 1200 or 1300.

At that RPM in 3rd gear with load & climbing uphill, your engine is surely knocking. It is almost idling speed. Ok just over that.
Why would you do that ?

[deepakhon]

Good review there.
Waynad hairpins are fine. I have taken them at 1500 rpm in 3rd gear too. But my Palio 1.2 struggled with Ooty ones, especially when climbing up. I had to be on 1 gear most of the times because revs can climb till 3k, but the car will not move very well. I did the mistake of changing to 2nd gear at 4k revs. I found out the big gap between 1 and 2 gears.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by deepakhon

Good review there.
Waynad hairpins are fine. I have taken them at 1500 rpm in 3rd gear too. But my Palio 1.2 struggled with Ooty ones, especially when climbing up. I had to be on 1 gear most of the times because revs can climb till 3k, but the car will not move very well. I did the mistake of changing to 2nd gear at 4k revs. I found out the big gap between 1 and 2 gears.

Now it is clear. I was beginning to think that the sail is a super car.

[deepakhon]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Now it is clear. I was beginning to think that the sail is a super car.

Ha ha ha...
Actually, when I was looking for a car around 4 years ago, I had test driven sail too. But I could not get how Sail 1.4 behaved because the guys at Garuda gave me a 1.6 Sail to "test drive the hatchback" and 1.4 Corsa Sedan to "test drive the engine" and it was the same with Sundaram.

[Vgargcnb]

I have an Opel Corsa 1.6 Sail. Done 80,000 Kms.
Sluggishness at low RPM is pronounced, and need to switch of AC or shift to a lower gear.
Fuel Efficiency is 9 KMPL in Delhi in summers & 10.5 KMPL in winters, however easily you drive.
Has given me its fair share of troubles, including 2 clutch replacements, radiator fan, A/C Switch, Power Windows Switch replacement(Under Warranty).
Ground clearance is extremely low and i scrape the bottom every day. However, no damage to silencer. Water enters the driver side footwell when going through even shallow puddles.
The rear windscreen shattered twice when the car was new, maybe because of faulty rear defogger.
Overall, GM service is nothing great to talk about. They have improved, but still a long way to go.
Plus points are excellent ride, build quality(no sounds even after 80K kms)

Overall, an expensive car to run & maintain. Would not buy it again, or any other GM car for that matter.

[wheelsNsqueals]

Great review. I have had a very happy time with my Corsa 1.6 sail for the last 4 years. The only issue is FE, which has decreased over the years. Guess a through tuning and de-carbonisation is required. I use normal fuel with system G. The FE is very erratic. In Mumbai traffic the FE goes between 6 to 9kmpl. Like last week I kept a watch on FE and with approximately 90% city and 10% highway driving, I got around 134kms with 15 litres. In the next fill, I got only 93km for 15 litres. This time it was pure nightmarish Mumbai traffic though. The highway efficiency is great. I get an average of 15kmpl FE.

Beyond the FE issue, its a very comfortable car to drive. I have regularly done 165+ on Pune expressway and beaten the hell out of other cars. It does take a bit of time to reach there, but once it does, she handles superbly.

Did not have any major issues with A.S.S (Fortpoint, Worli). Only since the last 3 days, after traversing the lunar landscape for some regular visits to Mahape, a screeching noise has developed in the left shocker and becomes pronounced when I go over speedbreakers.

Even though I have booked a NHC and awaiting delivery, I really love this car. I would be sad to sell it, though it has to be done since I do not have a parking slot to keep it.

[Freecat]

Good review GK. It is useful as I am going for 20K service at Sundaram, Chennai. I am missing the Garuda guys here.

I experience a 10.5 kmpl FE constantly on my 1.6 in Chennai trafic (obiviously with AC on). I never cross 2K rpm on my tacho. Highway is 15+ and it is 16+ if it is Chennai Bangalore.

Your info on Mobile and 3M detailing are very usefull too. I am planning to do 3M detailing along with this service.

[vasudeva]

For all its worth, I have a Corsa 1.4 GSI bought in Oct 2003. Although the ride quality and comfort remain good and the same, what has changed over the past 1 year has been an increase in repairs and maintenance, and that too with only around 30K on the odo. FE remains at around 10-11 kmpl in summers. Although gearbox is a problem, I feel that the trick is to move into the 3rd gear as quickly as possible (at speeds of 20-25 kmph). After 2nd/3rd gear, the gearbox ceases to be an issue, and 3rd-5th gears are smooth enough. Also of complaint is the inconsistent GM service quality and paint jobs. They simply do not bother to match the painted portion with the unpainted one (in Delhi at least, and at least for British Motors/Shiva). I have had a good experience with Corsa, but sorry no more GM for me for the time being.

[amit27]

I also have a experence with my Opel Corsa .Tough to beat service but service sucks big time . This means no more GM cars for me . I purchased my mine in 2002 car did 22,000 km's got transferred to Chandigarh took it for servicing and to fix a rattling noise in the door . Guy tells me suspension gone 30 , 000 bucks took it to a local mechanic who charged nothing and justs opened the door put a washer and screwed it back again . No rattle for next 3 years . There are most such stories will reserve it for sometime later

[sAP]

Nice to hear about several varied experiences on the Corsa. I have a 1.4 SAIL with some minor aftermarket shock/ spring upgrades (see photo gallery). Some interesting experiences have come my way as well. Not all of them are related to the Corsa though.

Some threads:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...oy-wheels.html (Solution for vibrations after installing alloy wheels)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/team-b...2th-march.html (Post Meet Review : Track day - 11th & 12th March)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor-...y-chennai.html (Pics & Report: March 24-25th Track Day - Chennai)

A few pic posts:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/174548-post143.html (Track Day @ Chennai on 4th & 5th Feb 2006- now with report out and pics)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/176605-post184.html (Track Day @ Chennai on 4th & 5th Feb 2006- now with report out and pics)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/177089-post190.html (Track Day @ Chennai on 4th & 5th Feb 2006- now with report out and pics)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/177101-post191.html (Track Day @ Chennai on 4th & 5th Feb 2006- now with report out and pics)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/398180-post3.html (Pics & Report: March 24-25th Track Day - Chennai)
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/398261-post6.html (Pics & Report: March 24-25th Track Day - Chennai)

sAP

[sAP]

Sorry that link list looks crazy. It was much shorter in the preview.

[kolimuttai]

Hey, I got a 1.6 Sail. The suspension is all Ok, but with 4+1 people, near VV Puram College, Bangalore, I had tough time in crossing the speed bump (stupid guys, they have like 4 speed bumps in 300 meters). I tried my best, but still heard that scratch sound, my heart literally broke, the plate that covers the O2 sensor is scratched.. Is there any way that I can increase the ground clearance? If possible, are there any side effects?

~Koli.