GM China already working on Sail facelift [update]

Update - GM China has launched the Sail facelift with a new grille, bumpers, updated interior and parking sensors.

India is expecting the Chevrolet Sail twins in 2012 in place of the Sonic twins and there's a major development on this regard. GM China is working on giving the Sail a facelift with new bumpers, grille, updated interiors and rear parking sensors. The Sail is the first car to be developed in China in cooperation with an overseas partner. In the refreshed form, the Sail could land in India by July 2012.

The Chevrolet Sail facelift will be listed in China later this month, according to CarNewsChina.

The Sail twins are manufactured in China by the Shanghai-GM joint venture. It uses a 1.2-litre S-TEC II and a 1.4-litre S-TEC III meeting Euro IV standards. Producing 87hp and 103hp respectively, they are married to a 5-speed manual transmission.

The 1.2-litre engine accelerates the Sail from 0-100km/h in 12.9 seconds while the 1.4-litre engine does it in 11.9 seconds. They are not pocket rockets but for city traffic, this is respectable. Chinese average fuel consumption is 5.7 litres/100km for the 1.2-liter engine and under 5.9 litres/100km for the 1.4-litre engine.

GM should position the Sail to take on the likes of the Swift Dzire, Indigo Manza and Fiesta Classic. The 1.3-liter Multi-jet engine produced at GM's newly installed Talegaon powertrain facility will come in handy as fuel prices fluctuate and make diesel fuel look like a runaway winner.

Chevrolet Sail Image Gallery

[Source - CarNewsChina.com via Autohome.com.cn]