re: Living with a (abandoned by maker) Chevrolet Sail in India | EDIT: Sold at 182,500Km & 7 Yrs A quick summary on buying experience, decision making and miscellaneous tit-bits... - All the alternatives that were considered, and why you zeroed in on this particular car
1) Eon-LPG and Beat-D were in contention, I was hoping to spend 50K upfront and stay at 6-8K emi for X number of years depending on the car. (5 yrs was a minimum) But this car made me spend 1L upfront and with a 8K EMI for 7Yrs I think it checked all the boxes on the financial aspect of buying a new car.
2) Compared features Viz-a-Viz to Swift Ldi and Ford Figo Base model - this car wins on space, price and features. Brand value and Resale value definetly a low-point scorer but the upfront 1Lac difference was the deal-Maker for me. - Complete booking & delivery experience from the dealership
1) Hyundai guys pushed me test drive after test drive - they came home with a booking form which i felt was over-optimism, made that known to him. Chevy sales guy offered a TD but since I was in office, I asked him to take my family around and they promptly shot down the Beat. I couldnt show the Eon to them yet, shot it down even before I could show the car to family. I did feel the Eon was a very well put together car, but for the diesel heart.
2) Chevy showroom needed a offroader to get to, because of the GQ road widening work! They were courteous enough to send the sales guy, a transit-car for the whole family to go to the yard to see the beat (later again for the Sail). Once again sent a car for the delivery process. Since I had seen the Sail which was sold to me a good 2-3 days before delivery I preferred a monday-late evening delivery (contrary to a day light deliv advice). I was ok with it because I had scanned the car multiple times the week ahead.
3) Since I approached the Financing bank directly, I hooked up the sales man to the bank manager directly, they metup multiple times bypassing me for all small paper work. Saved me a lot of headache and very courteous on part of bank (showroom had to do it, its their sale!) - On-road price, discounts etc.
1) The limited edition Sail UVA Tdci comes to 6.33Lacs OTR, I got it down to 5.58Lacs because this car was sitting in their showroom/stock for some months and its is not exactly a hot cake to fly off the shelf like the Swift. Deal was to add some accessories to sweeten the cash discount from their part and I added the reverse parking sensor and remote lock, 0% depreciation insurance and all together I paid a net of 5.71L to the showroom. - Be sure to list the engine type & variant you opted for
1) Opted for the GM/Fiat co-developed 1.3 Tdci (DDIS in Maruti Language, MJD in Fiat parlance), Limited version - which is nothing but the base model with 15K'ish worth of accessories - notably the PU Seat cover being the only value add for me. The roof rail and ORVM LED parking lights are nice to have. - The good and bad about its equipment levels
1) AC, PwrStr are must nowadays - no big deal there
2) Front power window (std) and ORVM electric were WOW!! Swift Ldi cant hold a stick to these 2.
3) Tilt steering not exactly a must for me, but good to have it.
4) BADLY miss a MID display from Company, had to resort to OBD2 bluetooth port + Andriod App (more on that later)
5) Speedo color choice and design is silly! Looks like a MS paint job - totally contrary to the kind of funky Digital RPM gauge and fuel gauge. Doesnt compliment each other a bit!
6) One Trip meter?! What were they thinking?
7) Rear parcel tray missing in Base and my Limited edition too! Silly to have electric ORVM and Tilt steering and not a parcel tray!
8) Beige Carpet mats and beige Ltd-Edition PU Seat covers are a real nice touch. Add the cheesy Blue LED Scuff plates too on front 2 doors.
9) For all the bottle holders on doors and center gear console, me and wife managed to find a 1-liter Maaza Bottle (a mango drink) from the D-Mart store that would NOT fit in any of the bottle holders. LOL!
10) Glove box too small for my liking, but there is a tiny glove box that closes, right below the drivers right hand. Superb for coins, toll tickets, any thing!
11) Too many places to keep knick-knacks, would be a pain to vacuum in case dust settles inside it, but still good to have.
12) A boot light that turns on when boot is relased/opened with Key - WOW!
13) 60:40 split (Rear seat) is STANDARD on base variant - again a big WOW, though I personally am yet to find a use for it.
14) Boot is smaller than competition, but makes up with the 60:40 rear seats. - How many kms you have completed at the time of writing your review
1) 300Kms done till now, too early for any comprehensive write up. - Your usage pattern (e.g. 12 kms daily in dense traffic)
1) 200-300Kms a week at max, mostly on GQ between Bangalore to Hosur (add 10Kms on broken rural roads to reach GQ) - Comments on the exterior styling & design
1) Front & Front 3/4 looks real sweet to me, masculine! Rear any angle looks worse than nano, totally out of place compared to the manly front. This is where punto wins hands down. - Overall build quality and fit & finish
1) Superbly put together car, panel gaps are even and none too sore to stick your little finger in. Not a inch of visible wire under the dash.
2) Doors close with a reassuring thud. Hood closes like a chunk of metal, no compromise like a maruti hood. Boot door can have a better handling feeling (miss a place to stick your fingers to pull down the boot door) - Interior design & quality
1) Seats provide adequate support, miss the height adjuster in base variant. Too much plastic claddings but still no uneven finish or panel gaps.
2) Looking at the work needed for a minor FM antenna work, decided its not wise to postpone any ICE work and got all done in same moment. I dont think all those plastics will hold up good upon repeat remove-refit cycle.
3) Too much Beige mixed with coffee brown - would have likeda a better theme.
4) Stupid horn button! Good sounding pair of OE horns. Just cant use them liberally and have to work the THUMB hard to make them work.
5) The indicator and light switch/stalks sorely miss a rubber grommet - looks cheap to see the interior of the steering column.
6) Leather steering cover and gear boot looks good - gear knob has a shiny finish to the top - dangerous if your hand slips during a overtake move.
7) Reverse position beyond 1st Gear could have been avoided at all costs!! - Interior space and comfort
1) LARGE - leg room is massive compared to Swift, Figo, you have to experience to understand.
2) Car IS MADE for Indian ROADS - doesnt matter if you are on bad roads all day along. Superb rear seat comfort per family.
3) Windscreen rake is too acute and it means a large Dash and all this means a sense of largeness inside for the drivers eyes. - Air conditioner, seat support, ergonomics and other noteworthy interior points
1) AC is a chiller - cant keep above 1-spd on normal days.
2) Seat comfort good all around, sorely miss a height adjuster for driver.
3) TBhp review spoke about hit or miss of the gear lever - I found it perfect for one-hand-on-lever style.
4) Power window switch though on gear console, doesnt feel misplaced like the old Tatas', its perfect. Miss the one-touch up-down for driver side window.
5) Clear demarcation of boot release Vs Fuel cap door - still LOVE the FIGOs boot release botton on dash - Classy! - Engine performance & driveability in the city
1) Not a oomph! performer like the Swift DDiS, this is more sedate, does a ton quickly, but made for the office-goer who has the extra 10 minutes to reach office and doesnt mind reaching home in 1-piece back to his loving family. (Not a monstor I mean)
2) You got to love the short-throw gear box, absolutely a hoot!
3) Turbo spools lot quicker than swift, so it can do 2nd gear 5Kmph crawls all day, and 3rd gear 40s in traffic easily. - Engine performance & driveability on the highway
1) I have not used it that extensively on highways yet to write a honest review. Will happen over time. - Additional comments on the engine (outright power, refinement, turbo-lag etc.)
1) Doesnt feel like the DDiS, lot more quieter and refined than the swift - must be the good NVH work by GM.
2) Sweet turbo whistle even at 1500Rpms, but the time you are at 1800 its very evident over the audio sound. - Overall opinion on the engine
1) A more sedate and detuned version of the 1.3 National Diesel mated to a good Chassis. - Gearshift / transmission quality, smoothness, response time etc.
1) Clutch is very light, short throw GB is fun, cant comment more since I need to put in more Kms. - Fuel efficiency : City and Highway
1) 1st 1000Rs of Fuel is approximating out at 15-16Kmpl, yet to see a comprehensive test. Sorely miss the MID! - Suspension & ride quality
1) As aforesaid, its absolutely sweet over bad roads, keeps the roads out of the car! I think this is a better setup car than the swift with respect to passenger comfort (racing dynamics may be better in swift, but your body will thank you for the Sail UVA) - Handling, on-road behaviour and grip levels
1) Not much to write for a short ownership - but one point clear - hydraulic power steering is way too OVER-SERVOED!! Needs eyes on road all times!
2) Initial impressions on 175/R14 tyres feel adequate, still to encounter a sudden stop situaiton. - Comments on the steering, braking, high speed stability etc.
1) Very light steering - a -Ve! Can be a bit taut!
2) Yet to hit a proper ton, just touched it briefly! - Any particular likes (damped ashtrays, powerful headlights, music system etc.)
1) Small glove box (closeable) below driver right hand is sweet!
2) 55/60W headlights are surprisingly good for my -2 short sight+glasses! I dont think I will go 90/100 on this car.
3) Too many tiny and useful storage areas
4) Large ORVMs are good - Any particular dislikes (small mirrors, weak wipers, weak foglamps etc.)
1) Electric ORVMs, I am afraid when they are going to get knocked off by the biker in hurry!
2) Central lock and parcel tray much preferred over Electric ORVM on base model - Review on overall practicality (luggage room, ease of ingress/egress, cubby holes etc.)
1) Ingress for all 4 doors is great, no bending of ankles at absurd angles by rear seat travellors to get in/out.
2) Boot could have been larger by sacrificing the un-necessarily large leg room
3) Master Stroke by moving the fuel tank to center and making a shallow floor for middle bench pax - superb! - Any niggles, problems or part replacements faced
1) less than 1 day, the left power window winder went kaput - Thanks to shoddy fitting of Remote lock by service center. - Quality of after-sales service (if experienced)
1) YES - with 100Km on ODO already got to experience the A.Sale.Exp - it was fast and very professional. - Cost of upkeep & maintenance
1) Important point of oil change every 15,000Kms is a big YES in my box. Every 7,500 Is a preventive checkup. Compare this with the Swift service cycle of every 5000Km oil change (IIRC?) - Anything else you wish to add about your car
1) A very under rated car thanks to a lesser known brand. A sedan class hatch with oodles of space inside, and at the right price level.
Last edited by svsantosh : 2nd July 2014 at 15:29.
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