[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Below quote from GM website talks about 1.2L petrol engine doing duty on this car !! if i am not wrong this is not a sub 4m car, so why on earth did GM not give it a bigger heart ? disappointing !! i guess they only feel diesels will sell

I fail to understand the strategy adopted by GM here. If the Sail had to be offered with a 1.2L petrol motor, it would have made more sense (IMO) to re-work the length of the car to keep it below 4m and hence Gm would fall under the lower tax bracket. We do have several rumours of compact sedans which are going to be introduced with a 1.2l motor following the success of the Dzire. So does the Sail want to compete with those cars and boast about being the longest among them (and obviously be pricier comparatively) or does it want to compete with the Sunny, City and likes and be the one with the tiniest heart among the 1.5l and 1.6l motors??

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

I fail to understand the strategy adopted by GM here. If the Sail had to be offered with a 1.2L petrol motor, it would have made more sense (IMO) to re-work the length of the car to keep it below 4m and hence Gm would fall under the lower tax bracket. We do have several rumours of compact sedans which are going to be introduced with a 1.2l motor following the success of the Dzire. So does the Sail want to compete with those cars and boast about being the longest among them (and obviously be pricier comparatively) or does it want to compete with the Sunny, City and likes and be the one with the tiniest heart among the 1.5l and 1.6l motors??

Yup exactly. But i guess gm is still going to place it overlapping with dzire and more in the etios range.

To give a tough competition to maruti

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

I fail to understand the strategy adopted by GM here. If the Sail had to be offered with a 1.2L petrol motor, it would have made more sense (IMO) to re-work the length of the car to keep it below 4m and hence Gm would fall under the lower tax bracket.

The problem with keeping the Sail sedan under 4000 mm is that the hatch itself is around 5 cm shy of the 4-meter mark. So GM didn't have much room to play with. For reference, the Swift's length is 3850 while the Sail's is 3946.

[sarthakgupta]

MotorBeam reports Sail launch on 1st Feb 2013. There will be a LTZ version also so as to bridge the gap between Sail sedan and Cruze.

General Motors will launch the Chevrolet Sail sedan on the 1st of February.....

.....Our sources also inform us that the Sail sedan will get an LTZ variant, which will help GM bridge the gap between the Aveo replacement and the Cruze. The Optra has been phased out and the Sail sedan’s LTZ variant will fill in its shoes.....

Source:http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/chevro...february-2013/

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by sarthakgupta

MotorBeam reports Sail launch on 1st Feb 2013. There will be a LTZ version also so as to bridge the gap between Sail sedan and Cruze.



Source:http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/chevro...february-2013/

If they want to bridge the gap,does that mean that LTZ version would be priced at 9-10 lakhs?If yes,then that is colossally overpriced for 1.2L petrol,1.3L diesel sedan.
Hopefully that won't be the case,but replacing an old D segment car with a C1 segment sedan is not the greatest of strategies.
IMO,they should bring the Sonic sedan in that price range

[sarathlal]

Chevy has updated the teaser on their official Indian site:
http://www.chevrolet.co.in/cars/2012...-overview.html

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

Chevy has updated the teaser on their official Indian site:
http://www.chevrolet.co.in/cars/2012...-overview.html

Attachment 1035390

Style would be the last thing that i will associate with the SAIL sedan. And with the likes of Cruze/Vento/City around, i'm not sure what is GM trying to convey. Guess to each his own.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

Style would be the last thing that i will associate with the SAIL sedan.

GM knows it wouldn't come under the current definition of style and hence the tag line "a new definition of style". It remains to be seen how many in India are ready to accept definitions in Chinese.

BTW, Sail doesn't look too bad to me to dismiss based on the looks, considering the proportions of other options in the market. Between the siblings, the sedan seems to be more along my tastes than the hatch.

For the common man when he thinks of Chevy, he seem to associate it with the Spark instead of Cruze thanks to the Chevy ads on zero maintenance.

[paliontile]

I believe its the sail sedan i spotted today morning in Hyderabad near Chandrayanagutta. I didn't get much time to identify as it was moving in the opposite direction on the other side of the divider. I only had a good glimpse of the boot and after comparing with a few pics of the sail sedan, thought it looked similar. It was camouflaged in white and black checks. Am surprised to see this vehicle here in Hyderabad, leave alone that particular road. I've been a regular on that road since almost 3 years and never have i spotted an under-test car!!!

[fz_rider]

First review of the Sail Sedan : http://www.autocarindia.com/Review/3...est-drive.aspx

[Nilesh5417]

This car is definitely got nothing going for it except the space, the (now national) engine and the mildly positive reviews so far. Look at the numbers Sail U-VA is doing in GTO's thread on the dec numbers and the truth is laid bare. Look at the numbers of even the petrol only small hatches (Wagon-R, Brio, I10).

Even aam admi in villages is spoilt way more by the likes of Eon and goes in (rightly so) for the brand/reliability/over all ownership experience of cars like petrol-only Wagon-R!

What is the single most value proposition that the SAIL twins make today that will make me bet my money on them. Even if i list the single most important parameter that each one of us look for, how many boxes will the SAIL check as being on the top of the game? People at every price point are getting so much more value & bling from most manufacturers.

Am really surprised that GM brings in these cars after the likes of Beat & Cruze. Actually so disappointed that the Sedan is just an exact replica of the hatch with a boot. It was such an opportunity wasted by GM.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

This car is definitely got nothing going for it except the space, the (now national) engine and the mildly positive reviews so far.

I believe that there is more to the Sail than just outright space. It rides very well on broken road and is a neutral handler too. The 'national-engine' has been calibrated for drivability rather than surges of boost and wads of torque. The transmission and brakes compliment the package well.

Every car has its flaws and the Sail isn't an exception. Average build quality / fit-finish and bland looks are the biggest faults with this car, besides the fact that it isn't particularly loaded with features and equipment.

What makes the Sail a damp squib is that there is nothing 'extraordinary' about it that sets it apart from the herd. But even this would have been okay, had GM priced the U-VA correctly. At the moment, it's priced just below the Swift (variant to variant) and that isn't a great move.

Trying to target the best selling car in India with a product that is essentially a replacement for a car that had flopped ever since it had been introduced is asking for trouble. They should have ideally targeted the likes of the Figo and the Etios Liva given that it's a car that's been through fair levels of localisation and cost-cutting. But they went for the Swift and that's the biggest mistake GM has made with the Sail.

The Sail, as a package, is actually better than the Swift in nearly every way. It's slightly cheaper than the Swift (variant to variant) Both have the same engines but the Sail's is tuned for better drivability and that's a good thing. The Sail has much more space and rides much better as well. Both cars have average build-quality and fit-finish. But the Swift scores in terms of appeal and the Maruti badge.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

What makes the Sail a damp squib is that there is nothing 'extraordinary' about it that sets it apart from the herd. But even this would have been okay, had GM priced the U-VA correctly. At the moment, it's priced just below the Swift (variant to variant) and that isn't a great move.

You wrote that brilliant review of the U-VA so no wonder you summed up what i wanted to say so well. That note about trying to target swift does put things in perspective.

That is what i wanted to say when i said that SAIL does not seem to be at the top for any of the most key parameters that most people would consider. Not including the t-bhp community i guess who probably spend ages poring over this feature vs. that feature before taking the plunge!

In trying to do everything (that swift does like you said) but halfheartedly is just not going to get accepted anymore by customers urban or rural.

After reading most reviews including yours, i sensed that it had the right DNA. Unfortunately, not the right clothes for the party!

[amtak]

It seems that the TD cars have started arriving at the showrooms; I was driving along a TD sail yesterday on GB road and boy, it did leave me impressed. Sorry, didnt click any pictures as I was alone in the car and gave more important to my safety.

[anu21v]

Just came across these not one, not two but three teaser videos on www.indiancarsbikes.in...

Teaser look great to me.

http://www.indiancarsbikes.in/cars/g...l-sedan-66808/

Better proportioned and better looking car in my opinion as compared to competition. I assume the direct competition is only among Sail, Dzire, Manza, Etios and Verito/Logan and on initial impression sail indeed looks the best of the lot. Lets wait for T-BHP review to see if the Sail has retained or lost some of the spunk from its Hatch avataar!!!!