Chevrolet Sail U-VA vs Maruti Suzuki Swift:

Chevrolet Sail U-VA vs Maruti Suzuki Swift: ComparisoN

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Since the advent in 2005, the Maruti Suzuki Swift has been the king of the ring among premium hatchbacks. Chevrolet has tried with the Aveo U-VA but hasn't been able to dethrone the long standing champion. Will it succeed with the all-new Sail U-VA? Ravi Ved finds out

The competition in the premium hatchback segment in India is as intense as it could ever get. With a bunch of cars out there, each one with its USP, it is getting even more difficult for potential buyers to narrow down on a car from the never ending list. But there has been one car that has ruled the segment over the past seven years and it continues to do so with ease – the Maruti Suzuki Swift. Many cars have entered the market with the intention of dethroning the long standing leader of the class. Some came close, others didn’t, but none was able to even  make a dent let alone steal the crown. Will General Motors’ newest offering, the Chevrolet Sail U-VA succeed in this mission impossible is the logical question that came to our minds when this predominantly Chinese-designed and developed machine hit the roads.

General Motors’ journey in India has been quite a rollercoaster ride, right from the early 90s when the American auto maker had a joint venture with Hindustan Motors to produce and sell Opels. Although the Chevrolet Optra sedan, Tavera MUV, and the small city car Beat were able to bring GM on the map in India, the Aveo U-VA was not really successful in attaining substantial results in the fast growing premium hatchback segment. While the Aveo U-VA was quite level headed, it lacked that certain oomph that cars like the Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Getz had in abundance.

Six years later with the world and its granny having evolved mightily, GM has played it smart but safe. First it ensured its survival with a tie-up and also an equity holding in GMIL with none other than SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) whereby many products developed for the massive low end segment of the Chinese market were re-engineered to accept diesel and readied for India. The first of these is the Sail U-VA and while being easy on the eye, it is awhat is underneath its skin and make-up which will enable it to be taken seriously, before it comes to do battle with the segment leader.