[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by JishD

They should have just rebadged the Aveo and plonked the 1.3 mjd. The Aveo remains one of the best looking entry level sedans even today. Being an old model they would have been able to significantly undercut the Dzire as well.

Indian market is pretty unforgiving. A flop model mostly will continue to be off the radar from a big chunk of potential customers of the segment mainly due to "society perception" fear.

I am happy that they didn't re-do Aveo, but brought in a new brand.

[jayded]

Pretty decent entry-level sedan this is. Looks good externally, decent interiors too. The right half of the side profile resembles a Cruze, which is a good thing.
Only eyesore in my opinion is the oversized steering wheel which looks more like "Jockey innerwear" inspired than a "Corvette" inspired one.

All the best GM

[1100D]

Boring, especially after the much better looking Aveo. A sonic based car would have been better.

This will do nothing to the runaway success of the new Dezire. Infact the Dezire is starting to grow looks wise on many, even from the rear. Looks inspired by cars like BMW 3 Series Compact, albeit with 4-doors.

Now even the Amaze will Amaze us. Lets see how this Manchurian Chevy performs sales wise.

[nik_kapur]

I Hope the indian market is mature and accepts a product like the Sail. The Herd mentality of buying only Honda, Toyota and Suzuki in this segment needs to change. Toyota's Etios is not a better offering than this one certainly!
I have a feeling that the Sail will fail like the Aveo did. Pity though.

[swiftnfurious]

If this product fails, then it's purely the arrogance / incapablity of GM I would say. They launched the Sail hatch and had enough time to gauge on the response and how it was stacked against the major players in the segment.

The feedback was this is a car which has NOTHING special to offer at the price. We all know, Figo is a similar product and it clicked mainly because of the price. GM should have gone the Figo way with the sedan price. They instead chose to pack a 1.3L premium on the diesel variant - purely optimistic. And that too for an engine where they do NOT need to pay any royalties to Fiat. They could have very well aggressively priced in initially and taken some credibility.

Edit:: Even Toyota could NOT command any waiting period (with those stupid interiors) with Etios twins, GM thought they could with this package?! By launching the SAIL twins, GM has struck themselves out of competition for the next 5 years atleast, till a completely new line up comes up. And yes, not such cars, bring trendy / good looking ones like Sonic!

[suhaas307]

My FIVE points:

• The Sail U-VA is a handsome hatchback. But it looked a bit wrong from some angles. It wasn't perfect in terms of proportion and it lacked purpose. The reason why it doesn't seem 'proportional' is the rather long front over-hang as opposed to short over-hangs at the back. The rear doors are quite long on the hatch too and seemed off. I believe the Sail was designed to be a sedan right from the start and that's the reason why it doesn't look like a hatch with a boot-job, thankfully. The sedan, i must say, looks just right!

• That 370 liter boot is quite small in the scheme of things. The similarly priced Toyota Etios loves airport runs. It's 590 liter boot will swallow anything you throw into it, even the kitchen sink! I don't think the Sail's boot is going to be as useful. Considering that the Brio Amaze 'might' have a larger (400 odd liter) boot and still manage to squeeze itself under 4000 mm, I find it funny that GM hasn't managed a bigger or a better designed boot. Cars like the Fusion, the Jazz and possibly the EcoSport will have more versatile boots. It isn't too different from the likes of the Dzire. I'll hold onto that thought until I get a good peak, but this is my initial impression.

• I guess the shortage in the boot-department is made up for, by the sheer leg-room the Sail boasts of. I'm assuming this, based on my experience with the Sail U-VA, which is frankly the most spacious hatch I've been in. The Liva is just as good though.

• The wood trim on the dash is very tacky and it needs to go. Some of the wood looks like it's been left on the dash by someone and is now unaccounted for. The sea of beige and brown on the inside makes me feel nauseated.

• The pricing seems good, at first. But let's not forget, it's not far from the Dzire. It did not work for the Sail U-VA, so it remains to be seen if the sedan does any better. I don't imagine the pricing to be very different from the Amaze either. The Etios is another car that's more than capable. The Verito is now long in the tooth but it will continue to find takers I guess. This leaves the Sail sedan in a ring amongst established and VFM products. It has its work cut out. Let's see if GM can shrug off the negativity around this car and make it a decent success. I'm not expecting fireworks going by the lukewarm response the U-VA received.

[HammerHead]

Looks descent IMO and priced just right.

Originally Posted by parrys

Now Chevrolet calls this as 'Corvette Inspired' interior design - seems pretty spartan to us.

Looks like only steering wheel is inspired by Corvette

[Turbokick]

Originally Posted by JishD

They should have just rebadged the Aveo and plonked the 1.3 mjd. The Aveo remains one of the best looking entry level sedans even today. Being an old model they would have been able to significantly undercut the Dzire as well.

I too share similar sentiments.
Not that Sail is a bad looking sedan but Aveo still is a upmarket and great looking car inside out. Some cosmetic job could have done the trick. With 1.3mjd and maintenance plan it could have clicked immediately.

Matiz-Spark conversion is a bright example of how an appealing design ages well.

[Mr.Beat]

No doubt people are wondering why this car was actually launched. I just had a look at the current Aveo sedan and IMO it looks far better than this bland maid. GM seems to have taken the Indian market for granted. Look at the steering wheel and the instrument cluster and you know you are sitting in a car which dates back to the 19th century. It's quite a surprise because on one hand you have 2 cars ( Beat and Cruze) which look way modern than the competition and on the other these twins which look way dated. Considering GM also enjoys a good percentage of localisation in the Indian market, the pricing seems to be position driven than volume. Even in such case, missing out on standard features like seat height adjust /ACC/ better interiors will put the customer off.


@Mod team: When can we expect a team-bhp review?

[narayan]

Thanks Parrys for bringing in this review and nice pictures. The Sail sedan is definetly a looker. Interiors are not bad for segment. Pricing is also pretty good but alas the herd mentality syndrome that afflicts most of our car buying public will ensure this car may not do very well ( I really wish it does well ). This seems to offer so much more than the Dzire but the ugly duckling will continue its march in sales and might even touch 20k pm soon ! Best of luck GM

[phamilyman]

Beautiful - nice car at a total VFM price.

By the way, TBHP coverage is right up there. Even google agrees

[RSR]

It looks like GM wants to be counted among the big boys of the Indian car market. The GM China/SAIC/Wuling derived trio of U-VA, Sail and the upcoming Enjoy can actually double the monthly sales volumes for Chevy if they get the marketing and ownership experience right.

After the lukewarm initial response to the U-VA, they seem to have got the pricing better with this one. It is positioned directly against the leader Dzire, but looks better proportioned, is more spacious and comfortable, rides better and has far better equipped lower and mid trim levels (in terms of safety & convenience). It may lack appealing interiors and handling prowess, but is a well-rounded and sensible package nevertheless.

The sales and service network may not match Maruti's, but the "Chevrolet 3-5-3 promise" is reassuring though. One must note that despite not getting the Dzire's sub-4m tax benefits, it is priced almost on par. Also good to see that there is no shocking level of cost-cutting as in the case of the Toyota Etios and that they have taken the effort to provide RHD control levers, increase the ground clearance and calibrate the suspension and the MJD engine brilliantly.

The folks at GM's technical centre in Bengaluru are doing their job rather well. They should have worked more on the petrol engine's tuning & NVH and the interior feel, especially that stupid steering wheel with its awkward horn buttons. The Beat's funky black-silver steering would have been a nice fit along with some contrasting black bits here and there on the dashboard.

I believe the Chevy Sail makes a very compelling case for itself in the segment. If I were in the market for an entry-level sedan right now, considering all aspects of the competition in the form of the Dzire, Etios, Verito/Logan, (Fiesta) Classic, Manza and not to forget the ageing Accent and Indigo CS, the Sail would be no.1 in my priority list.

I'm eagerly waiting for a comprehensive Team-BHP review as usual. When is it coming?

[jessie007]

The Sail, like the U-VA, is a fairly average car. People today are looking for bling and lots of features. On one end the Dzire will continue to sell like hot cakes due to Maruti's reputation of dishing out fairly reliable products backed with a wide reaching After Sales Service network.

Sail will come into the picture for those looking for a spacious car (Dzire is cramped and this is reflected in its wheelbase which is smaller than even hatchbacks!). More importantly it'll appeal to people who are image conscious and would like to have a bigger and different car from the average Dzire buyer - similar to the Accent buyer (Accent is on its last legs and Hyundai's service cost is rising consistently - I was shocked to see my sister's Santro's service bill coming in the range of Rs 5000 - this is for a small hatch! Here I feel, Chevrolet's main lure of 3 years / 45,000 kms maintenance package will come into play. As per Chevrolet, this offer covers all the periodic maintenance services and running repairs including wear and tear of parts like clutch, brake pads, wipers etc. Though, I am not too sure, if they charge anything for it.

With its LS (non-ABS) variant it'll tempt hatchback buyers. Following is a price comparison (I'll soon revise my features comparison thread to include the Sail):



On the other end, the LT variant will appeal to those looking for space in cars like the Manza & Etios, with the Ertiga & Quanto joining in to spoil Sail's (launch) party and the forthcoming Amaze might end it! Following is a price comparison:



The LS (ABS) variant priced at 5.70 (P) & 6.80 (D) will appeal to both segments (hatchback & entry sedan buyers). As the name suggests, it gets ABS+EBD (Driver airbag standard in both LS variants) and additionally a bluetooth & USB enable music system, that is not there in the LS (non-ABS) variant.

On the other hand, in comparison to the LT variant, the LS (ABS) variant loses out only on a passenger airbag (it gets driver airbag), alloy wheels, fog lamps, rear defogger and remote locking - which, barring the passenger airbag & defogger, and if required, can be added after-market as per one's personal taste and requirement. All three variants get the rear seat armrest with cup-holders as standard.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

M

• The wood trim on the dash is very tacky and it needs to go. Some of the wood looks like it's been left on the dash by someone and is now unaccounted for. The sea of beige and brown on the inside makes me feel nauseated.

Don't worry. The wood trim, chrome door handles are all dealer accessories. That wood trim is a sticker, not even a new panel.

[MYB]

Absolute bang on pricing IMHO. Someone should learn from Chevrolet as to how a small thing like an ugly steering can spoil the looks of entire dashboard area which is not all that bad. They could have designed that steering with a little contrast to the rest of the dash and we could have had a decent looking dash area and if that brown was a little darker than what it is, then it would have been so classy. Anyways, I feel this might go on to become a decent success if families and the cabbies lap this up. I say cabbies because with that pricing and the kind of warranty on offer, they become the direct target - intentional or otherwise.