[VeluM]

Originally Posted by sathya_g_m

Obviously, What is the point? Compact sedan's are primarily existing to take advantage of the tax structures available. Sail Sedan is already in the price band of compact sedans.

The Sail sedan is 4249mm long, but has the engines of the sub 4m category. It is more expensive though, or perceived as such due to the lack of features. They can redress that with a lower price. I'm sure they can shave off 250mm from this, especially the front overhang even though the rear doesn't have much of a bumper.


(Image is a screenshot from the Chevy India Website http://www.chevrolet.co.in/sail-seda...-pictures.html)

Would that make more sense than introducing a completely new model though? Maybe not, especially since the Sail twins were dead on arrival

[RavenAvi]

Chevrolet's future compact sedan offering, the Essentia, has been spotted testing in Pune by Carwale spies.

Based on the Beat hatchback, the Essentia is chalked for a 2017 launch.

Though heavily cladded, the test mule seems to retain the shape of the car that was presented at the expo. The side profile and small rear window with a tall boot height are prominent, also the front grille and body creases from the concept car are recognisable under all the wrap. The front and rear of the concept car were the interesting bits. Now it remains to be seen how much is carried forward from the concept car.

[motorworks]

i must say that chevy has surprised all by doing a fantastic job in creating a decently proportioned 4m sedan from the Beat.

Beat, Swift & Brio are the 3 cars that i personally feel are extremely difficult to carry over from a hatch to sedan, while Suzuki has done the bare minimum effort and produced a pathetic design { and still walks away with sales }, honda's effort is ok as well, but I think Chevy has literally taken the rabbit out of the hat in this case!

[PraNeel]

Another lame hearted attempt from Chevrolet. I am surprised by their ignorance. Are they hoping by adding a boot to Beat will give them good hold in the highly competitive compact sedan market?
Just look at what VW did to Ameo.
In addition to these there are several issues which need to be sorted like low tyre life, suspension prone to leakage, very poor bumper locks, poor quality of seals etc. Chevrolet service is not great either and parts are not available in the market. I am saying this from my ownership experience of Chevrolet Beat Diesel. The car was good 6 years ago, now it needs a generation change.
Wake up Chevrolet.

[teemus]

Just a while ago saw Chevrolet Beat doing testing near Viman Nagar, Pune. Size wise it seemed similar to the outgoing model. The peculiar rear door grab handles stays where it were.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Chevrolet's future compact sedan offering, the Essentia, has been spotted testing in Pune by Based on the Beat hatchback, the Essentia is chalked for a 2017 launch.

As always GM is late to the party. This will be another flop as with the GST taking effect in 2017, the advantage compact sedan's held in the market will be reduced.

[VaidhiR]

GM have been very naive about the Indian market. When their Opel Astra and Opel Corsa variants didnt sell well, they just pulled out and created a whole lot vaccum for the Tatas, Hyundais and Marutis to exploit. They should have done what Hyundai did. Or for that matter, Mercedes Benz. Release a car. Find out what Indians like or dont like about it. Pull that model out (or launch an upgrage) and release one with the features that you just found out from your market research. Marketing 101 if you ask me.

Opel Astra, for example, has been voted the European Car of the Year 2016. And it really begs the question, why is this not yet in India?

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/mo...-car-year-2016

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/n...ra-762111.html

http://www.stern.de/auto/news/opel-a...6-6723636.html

Speedmeister mentioned GST bill. I am not sure what the contents of the bill is going to be. But the way I see it, it levys special taxes on bigger and/or longer cars. Please correct me if I am wrong. Also, if that happens, would the focus shift to the hatch back segment aka. sub 4m cars?

I understand that GM wants to be seen as the "premium" brand in India and thats why are hesitant to release models in India under the Opel brand, instead are releasing the cars under the Chevrolet brand. But giving us outdated cars at a time when the market has moved on seems more like a lazy move than a strategic one.

[amitahirrao]

I dont understand where GM India will position this vehicle in terms of pricing. The Beat itself is very tiny in terms of space and now a compact sedan based on Beat. This could be another taxi market car and alternative to Hyundai Xcent considering the 1 liter diesel motors in this car also returns more than 25kmpl.

[ashwin489]

Wow, Chevy seems to be on a roll here!

After their 'ignition-switch' safety innovations in the US, looks like they are working hard in India to offer design innovations. Like all great CS designs, I am almost certain that Chevy's sub-4m sedan should rival a few Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

While they are at it, they should consider tying up with Hindustan Motors to work together on other cutting-edge technologies like Hybrid, Fuel-cells and so on.

[dheepak10]

One reason which could contribute to this model being dead on arrival is the poor rear passenger legroom.
Rear seat legroom is a key feature in Compact sedans for the mass who considers a 3 box design as a status symbol.
One of the first comments for anyone checking out this car to own a 'Sedan' would be - 'Space is still like a hatchback'.

[Nav-i-gator]

Originally Posted by dheepak10

One reason which could contribute to this model being dead on arrival is the poor rear passenger legroom.
Rear seat legroom is a key feature in Compact sedans for the mass who considers a 3 box design as a status symbol.
One of the first comments for anyone checking out this car to own a 'Sedan' would be - 'Space is still like a hatchback'.

Rear passenger leg room is indeed quite good in beat (with a compromised boot space). Shoulder room, however is limited strictly for 2.

Someone also mentioned that beat is a difficult car to be converted into a sedan. Well I disagree, the way rear end sort of curve in absurdly, it creates space to weld on a third box relatively easily in beat.

It would be a good looking car (both interior and exterior), but nothing else. No other selling point to drive home volumes for GM. Plus their pathetic after sales service (in terms of service it is good, however the way they insist on changing parts every time I visit their service centre is pathetic).

This car will be another dud. Good, no particularly bad thing to be a deal breaker, but no USP as well.

[Mortis]

The Beat would have made for a better Compact SUV Crossover type vehicle. Stretch it to the 4m mark, widen a bit, increase seating height, throw in more powerful engine options and add some butch cladding and it would have looked great as a mini SUV.

Service centers would have still ruined the experience though

[volkman10]

Chevrolet Beat Essentia launch in March 2017

It is likely to share many of its components with its hatchback sibling, along with a few components from the next-gen Spark, which was revealed internationally last year. The overall shape and design of the sedan will mimic the one shown in concept form at the Auto Expo.

While the carmaker hasn’t revealed engine details yet, the production sedan is likely to get the same engine line-up as the hatchback — this means a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol motor derived from the company’s new 1.4-litre Ecotec engine and the current 1.0-litre India-specific three-cylinder diesel motor.

On the inside, the Essentia will share most of the interior bits from the new Beat. It will get Chevrolet’s latest MyLink infotainment system with a large touchscreen interface in most variants.

Source

[CRtorquefan]

Btw, no one has asked one very simple yet highly important question !
Which engine is going to power this car ?
Is it same 936cc, 57PS Smartech Diesel engine from Beat hatchback !
I guess yes, but no ! Yes because this engine is proven for:
-Good fuel efficiency,
-Low NVH.
-High torque(~150 Nm)which can be effective to pull a compact sedan if it weighs roughly 20-30kgs more than hatchback on which it's based.
-Last but not the least, Reliability(don't know the actual scene but on New Beat Diesel Chevrolet gives 1.5 lac kms warranty).
With mild modifications, this engine can be tuned to generate a bit more power too, though might be difficult but GM-Fiat might have kept some reserve capacity for engine for its peak-est performance if we consider Beat Diesel tuned to the peak. I expect this range to be atleast 8-10% i.e 57PS can be stretched to 60-62PS with max torque output of upto 160 Nm.

What are your thoughts, bhp-ians.

[vivekgk]

Until Chevrolet comes out with some all-new products, they are never going to take off in India, ever. The Beat was selling well initially, but sales dropped off as soon as people started having to pay for the services, after the 3 year maintenance package expired. Chevrolet is notorious for expensive service, and as a result, has extremely bad resale. The quality itself isn't bad, it's just that service centers keep themselves afloat by fleecing the occasional unlucky soul that wanders in.

However, as Renault has proven, it isn't impossible to break into the value segment if you have a solid product, even if it isn't perfect, as long as you get the pricing and servicing bang on.

Truthfully, I am more excited about the CUV than the Essentia CSedan. The compact sedan segment is currently Dzire's domain, and with the new Dzire on the way, any new player will have their work cut out. It's hard to beat Maruti in this price segment. Half-baked, sub-par products won't cut it, no matter how competitively priced.

I think that it would be a mistake to offer the 1L diesel mill in its current stock form. The Xcent tried a similar strategy, and wasn't able to make waves, because the engine held it back. Unless Chevrolet is aiming for the Taxi segment, they should offer a properly powerful engine. I'm talking at least 75-80PS and 180-190nm. This can be done, as tuners have extracted good performance from this VGT mill after remapping.

I think that the Niva concept looks like a cross between the Ecosport (front) and the old Merc M-Class (C-Pillar). It's an intriguing design, and looks very good from all angles. I hope they do this justice with proper engines and quality.