After being exhibited at the 2012 Auto Expo held in New Delhi, the Chevrolet Sail hatchback is finally all set to be launched in India on November 2, 2012. With this news the rumours of the car being launched around festive season has been confirmed. This comes as a pleasant surprise for those Indian customers who were planning to buy their first car this Diwali. It is expected that the all new Chevrolet Sail hatchback will pull some serious volumes for its parent company, General Motors in the highly competitive hatchback segment in the Indian automotive market.
Chevrolet Sail, which is ready to hit dealerships will be available in two options of petrol and diesel variants. The addition of diesel variant is a welcome change as it will boost the sales of the car maker in a diesel oriented market and offer an economical vehicle to customers, which is a classic win-win situation. In its petrol avatar, the new model will be powered by a 1.2 Litre Smartech powertrain, while, the diesel units features 1.3 Litre Smartech unit. The diesel variant has been designed to deliver 77 bhp of maximum power and 205 Nm of peak torque. On the other hand, the petrol powertrain is capable of producing maximum power of 85 bhp and a peak torque of 113 Nm. Besides churning an impressive power output, the diesel and petrol variants deliver an whopping ARAI certified mileage of 22.1 and 18.2 kmpl respectively.
Coming to the looks, this is where the American car giant is optimistic about creating a new niche for itself. The all new Chevrolet Sail hatchback never fails to grab eyeballs and scores high on the aesthetics. Moreover, the yet-to-be launched model boasts of several cutting edge features to enhance the comfort of its passengers. The main highlight of the car is the 'Smart Space Utilisation' and the 'Flex Flat' rear seat arrangement. This new model from the stable of General Motors boasts of a class-leading 1134 litres of boot space and enviable legroom.
Moreover, Chevrolet has not left any stones unturned when it comes to safety and security features. The new Chevrolet Sail hatchback comes with a rich array of features like dual SRS airbags, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Remote key-less entry along with Child protection rear door locks to ensure safety of its passengers. Besides, the car has been built on a 'Safe Cage' chassis, which distributes the crash impact equally to absorbs most of the force.
However, in a price-sensitive market like India, it all boils down to how GM will price the new model. The Sail hatchback is expected to compete head on with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Swift, Ritz, Hyundai i20, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Figo, Honda Brio and Fiat Grande Punto. Considering the rich features package and an extremely aggressive pricing in the range of Rs. 4.5-6 Lac, Chevrolet Sail hatchback is bound to pose some serious challenge to the competition. Considering, the shopping rush during the festive season, it will be interesting to watch how the new launch from the house of GM fares.
