GM India drives the Enjoy from the Earth to the Moon

14/11/2012 - 19:42 | ,  ,   | Shrawan Raja

GM India is not sending its testers on a space mission, that's not what we meant.

Chevrolet Enjoy side viewChevrolet Enjoy rear three quartersChevrolet Enjoy front three quarters spyshot

The testing team has been driving the tires to the rim since trials of the Wuling Honguang began last year in Gujarat.

The distance clocked by one of the early Enjoy mules would match Buzz Aldrin's odometer reading on his Apollo 11.

GM India's Managing Director Mr Lowell Paddock told us during a recent chat that the Chevrolet Enjoy would not come with a VGT (Variable Geometry Turbo) and the Sail's 1.3L Smartech diesel engine, holding on to the same mechanical parts, would be bolted on to the Enjoy. He said the 3-year free maintenance and service plan would be an option to customers, who can choose a 2+3+3 or a more comfortable 2+2+3 cabin seating layout. Paddock said the third row of the Enjoy is more spacious than the Innova's.

More recently we got to learn that the Enjoy has dropped plans to launch in late 2012, and is preparing to lead GM India's charge in 2013. The focus for GM will be selling petrol and diesel variants, be it the Enjoy or the Sail, for the moment.

The Chevrolet Enjoy is a 'Wuling' van developed for the Chinese middle class for both personal and business use. Seats in the second and third row can be flat folded or removed completely.

It has to be mentioned that the Enjoy's chassis was fine-tuned by Lotus Engineering UK. This same company helped Tata and Mahindra to come out with flying results on the Aria and Scorpio refresh. The Enjoy comes with petrol engines displacing 1.2- and 1.4-liters in China.

The Enjoy, with its simpleton interior, cargo van design and a hatchback's diesel engine will have a very short life if it picks up a fight with the Innova. Its ecosystem is the one that has the Mahindra Xylo and Maruti Ertiga, which in the future will gather cars from Honda and Ford.

These spyshots were mailed to us by our reader Harsh Chapadia from Baroda, Gujarat.

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