General Motor’s Chevrolet has showcased the new 2015 edition of the Sail at the Guangzhou Auto Show. The third generation model of the Sail gets some significant cosmetic changes as well as a mechanical upgrade.
The eagle eyed head lamps (that’s what the company would have us believe) do look refreshing than the present version but for some reason they have a striking resemblance with the Hyundai i10 and in fact the complete car looks a lot Hyundai-inspired. The front grille gets a new shape and continues to have a similar dual port honeycomb mesh grille but is smaller, wider, less aggressive and aesthetically better looking.
The car gains 51mm in terms of length while the width has an increment of 45 mm. Even the wheelbase increases by 35 mm. all of this means that the updated car should have even better interior space, allowing it to slug it out against the competition better. The company further claims that the car has a 366L boot space, about the same as the current (Indian) version.
Interiors get the signature dual cockpit layout, flowing instrumentation panel, sculpted seats and a dual mode sunroof.
At the heart of the car are two new engines, both petrol, as China is a petrol loving nation. Both the 1.3L VVT and 1.5 L DVVT engines will be mated with manual as well as automatic transmissions and start-stop technology. The fuel efficiency figure of 18.8 kmpl, for the 1.3 L VVT is almost same as the existing one which scores 18.2 kmpl with a 1.2 L engine.
The third generation Sail will hit the showrooms in China by December. If and when India gets this update, one can expect it to trickle down to the Sail hatchback as well. But don’t expect Chevrolet to launch it very soon in our markets despite the siblings not doing very well here.
