The Tavera’s Achilles heel has now been fixed. It gets a BSIV heart from Sonalika which means that it can be sold metros as well. However, the BSIII version, hailed as an economy champion by taxi cab operators, will also be sold along side. Here are the two engine options that you can book your Tavera Neo with:

• 2.5 liter BS3 diesel engine with 78 Bhp and 186 Nm of peak torque.
• 2 liter CRDI BSIV complaint engine with 105 Bhp 264 Nm of peak torque.

Other changes include:

• Minor changes to the front fascia – new headlamps, a new grille design and new bumpers
• New tail lamp design
• Dual Tone interiors
• New steering wheel design
• A dual cockpit design
• A refreshed instrument cluster

The price range starts at INR 6.72 lakhs for the entry level BS3 variant and heads north all the way to INR 10.26 lakhs for the fully loaded BS4 variant.

Your move XYLO!

[Images sourced from Facebook.com/ChevroletTavera]

The dashboards of these cars don’t differ, much like the Etios twins or the Swift twins. The Indigo Manza is perhaps the only vehicle in this segment to bear a different dashboard compared to its centrally-mounted dials its hatchback counterpart is endowed with.

At Pragati Maidan, the Sail hatchback’s display area was chained and hence one couldn’t get a close view of the interior. The Sails will at some point in 2011 replace the Aveos.

See hi res pictures of the Sail hatchback from the Auto Expo collection

The test mule has a driver side airbag so we conclude it is among the higher variants. It has a manual gearbox and power window switches are grouped between the front seats, a unique ergonomics strategy.

The interiors are dual tone, but there’s nothing exciting there. There are plenty of hard plastics and the features like steering-mounted controls, start-stop button and automatic climate control are missing.

After the launch of cars like the Beat and Cruze (on the newer 300 Series platform), that sport an unique design language, interiors that grab eyeballs and features that are smart, the Sonics should have followed them to present the similar experience to drivers in new segments.

As the Sails are based on an old platform and have a simple, uncontroversial design, the GM India’s lineup could be discontinuous and pulling in different directions.

Chevrolet Sail hatchback spyshot gallery

Can’t see the slideshow above? Head over to our Flickr page to see all images.

Showcased at the Auto Expo, the Tavera Neo3 is expected to launch in the next few weeks. It uses ICML’s “G-One” series engine that displaces two liters and pumps out 100PS of power. GM will continue offering the existing 2.5-liter engine on the Neo3 for customers in BS3 cities.

The Neo3 is going to be sold alongside the Wuling MPV. Either in late 2012 or early 2013, a smaller Wuling MPV (dubbed HongTu) joins the lineup as the third MPV.

See close-up images of Chevrolet Tavera Neo3 from the Auto Expo archive

The Neo3 features the Chevrolet bowtie on a larger twin-port grille. Clear lens headlamps, dual-tone body color on the highest variant, gold bumpers, beige and dark grey color combination on the interiors, soft-feel cashmere upholstery, ice blue dash illumination, perforated leather upholstery and seven captain seats are available.

General Motors says the high percentage of Neo3′s local content results in competitively priced spare parts.

We’d love to know your thoughts on the two topics we’ve discussed in this under-four minute audio clip. Put them down in the comment box below (after clicking through) as we’d love to collectively discuss on this further.

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The Chevrolet Sail was jointly developed by Shanghai GM and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) off a new architecture in accordance with GM’s Global Vehicle Development Process (GVDP) and worldwide standards for engineering and quality. The Chevrolet Beat also complies to the same standards.

We have already discussed the design and mechanicals of the Sail. Now it is time to answer the big one – Safety. The Sail has secured 4 stars in the C-NCAP testing (an organizational body similar to Euro NCAP). It has a safety cage with integrated crumple zones. A steel frame surrounds the fuel tank as a protection in case of a crash. The car also features:

• Dual air bags in front
• A retractable steering column
• ABS with EBD
• Child safety locks are standard

What are the Sail’s chances against Etios, Manza, Verito and Fiesta Classic?

[ Image Source: IndianCarsBikes.in]

Is GM going to build a Sonic-based SUV similar to the Encore or body an SUV on the Sail?

Lowell Paddock, GM India’s president and managing director to FC -

There is an opportunity for us to do a small sports utility vehicle. Indian consumers are looking for is a small nimble and efficient SUV.

In our interaction with GM’s sales head at the Auto Expo, we sensed GM were working on a small SUV. General Motors has access to the cost-effective Fiat Multijet engine which they can manufacture at the Talegaon flexible engine plant. The Smartech petrol engine series are perfect for the mini SUV application and GM’s on standby with CNG and LPG technology.

The question arises on the platform that will be utilized to execute the plan. GM showcased a mini SUV under the Buick brand named “Encore” in the US. Chevrolet (name undecided) and Opel (Mokka) will sell a similar SUV in markets where they have a strong presence using their branding.

GM India shelved the Sonic project and chose the Sails to replace the Aveo twins. This leads to an important question – Will they work closely with SAIC to body a SUV on the Sail underpinnings? Or will they introduce the Sonic-based crossover once the Chevrolet edition is ready to head out to the market?

Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

[Source - MyDigitalFC.com]

See high res interiors shots of the Sail

The Sail twins will replace the age old Aveos and the very important difference is the incoming models use Fiat’s 1.3-liter Multi-jet diesel engine manufactured at GM’s Talegaon plant.

These two models will be spaced out between the Beat and the Optra. Its main rivals incidentally turn out to be among the best selling cars in the Indian market – the Swift and the Swift Dzire.

The Sails were designed and developed by SAIC, GM’s Chinese partner which owns a significant stake in its Indian operations with the goal of providing affordable motoring. The philosophy of the Sail is very similar to the Tata Nano – it aims to broaden the customer range for car ownership. The twins were designed right from the start to meet a certain level of international standards. They were launched in China two years ago and and are being exported. Some of the features on the Chinese-spec models are dual airbags, ABS, EBD and good pedestrian safety ratings.

With this, General Motors can claim to be the numero uno manufacturer of the world. VW sold 8.16 million units in 2011 and although Toyota has yet to report its total volume for last year, but last month the Japanese company estimated its annual sales at 7.9 million vehicles.

GM enjoyed a very strong 2011 with a total growth rate of 7.6 percent when compared with 2010. The cherry of the eye for General Motors was Chevrolet with the brand moving 4.76 million units around the world in 2011. Leading the sales for Chevrolet globally was the Cruze compact sedan, which shifted 670,000 units. Other global platforms, such as the Sonic and Spark (by that we mean Beat!) also contributed to Chevrolet’s success.

The key markets that were responsible for GM’s impressive comeback were Russia, Turkey and Germany which posted year-over-year increases of 49%, 30% and 21%, respectively.

Now here is a twist – GM reported the sales of SAIC-GM-Wuling partnership as its own which amounted to 1,285,820 units. As GM does not have a controlling stake in the partnership, this practice is definitely questionable. If you remove that share, VW becomes the number manufacturer in the world. Anyways, we will let GM have the bragging rights for now!

Source: LeftLane News