2014 Chevrolet Sail Diesel Review

The Chevrolet Sail never did manage to captivate the audiences the way the American auto giant would have wanted. And neither did it captivate the buyers. Sure, it is a great car for doing car like things, say transport people from point A to point B in relative comfort while offering adequate performance and a comfortable ride, but with competition like the Honda Amaze, Swift Dzire and the Hyundai Xcent, it just did not have much going for it. And of course, with other no-nonsense competitors like the Toyota Etios and the Mahindra Verito taking the fleet market by storm, the Chevrolet was always quite overshadowed.

Now though, Chevy has decided to tart up the Sail with what it thinks can infuse both excitement and a sense of want amongst its buyers.

Exterior styling: rating_2.5_rating

The Chevrolet Sail is never going to win a beauty contest on the exterior front but it doesn’t look bad from any stretch of imagination. In fact, buyers who prefer a low-key, no-nonsense and well balanced automobile in terms of design will be most certainly drawn in to the simplicity that the Sail offers. So what’s new then? Well you now get a new fog lamp surround festooned in chrome and you get a horizontal chrome accent piece on the bootlid. The new 2014 version also gets a new set of split-six alloy wheels that we think look rather neat.

Score: 2.5/5

Interior & space: rating_3.0_rating

The interior of the Sail that was launched last year was  quite boring and lacked any sort of appeal. While the old one had a blend of beige and grey-ish two-tone colour combination, the new one gets a set of black and beige interiors that brings appeal to the car. For starters, the top of the dashboard is now black, and so is the centre console and the door cards. The gear lever and its gaiter too have gone black to add a level of luxury that was missing earlier. Combined with the silver centre console and black audio and AC controls, the Sail does tend to impress at first. The quality of plastics though is still debatable and is best described as ‘not at par’ with the likes of a Hyundai Xcent.

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The Sail isn’t a sub-4 meter sedan and thus has quite a bit of space at the front and the rear. It also has quite a few handy stowage compartments including several cup or bottle holders. The seats are comfortable but lack the under thigh support that is found in competition like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda. The same problem also applies for the rear passengers. Although there is enough leg room in general, the seats just do not feel comfortable enough as a package.

Score: 3/5

Features & Equipment: rating_3.0_rating

The Chevrolet Sail does not get as much kit as say a Hyundai Xcent, but it is pretty much at par with almost everything else you might get in this price range. For example, you get Bluetooth telephony and a USB equipped two-DIN audio system but automatic climate control is missing even in the top of the line model we have here. The Sail however does come with two airbags for front passengers.

Score: 3/5

Ride and ease of driving: rating_3.0_rating

The Chevrolet Sail is surprisingly nimble in the city. With its light steering feel and generally easy controls, the Sail could be driven by literally anyone. To top it all, it also gives the driver great field of vision. That said, we were quite disappointed by how disconnected the steering felt when we ventured onto the highway. Straight-line stability is still not great and demands the driver to hold the steering wheel rather firmly while at higher speeds. That said, the Sail does feel quite sorted on uneven and bad roads providing a level of all round comfort to the occupants of the car. In fact, it is one of the best riding cars in this segment.

Score: 3/5

Engines & performance: rating_3.0_rating

The mechanicals on the Sail remain unchanged. The 1.3-litre, 4-cylinder, turbo diesel mill with 78PS might lack an overall sense of performance but does feel surprisingly strong in the mid-end. The low-end torque on the Sail isn’t too bad either making it easy to potter around town with it. You also get a well sorted gearbox and clutch package with excellent throws and overall feel. The updated sail, just like its predecessor also comes with a 1.2-litre, 4-cylinder motor that offers 86PS of peak power.

Score: 3/5

Price and Fuel efficiency: rating_2.5_rating

The new updated Chevrolet Sail is priced at Rs 5.19 lakh for the base petrol variant, going to Rs 7.65 lakh for our range-topping LT ABS diesel test car ex-showroom, Delhi). Not only does this put it slap bang in the middle of the compact saloon battle, it also leaves it vulnerable to premium hatchbacks like the new Hyundai i20 Elite. In terms of fuel efficiency, the diesel returns 22.1kmpl while the petrol offers 18.2kmpl according to ARAI results.

Score: 2.5/5

Verdict: rating_3.0_rating

The inventors of the automobile would be proud of the Chevrolet Sail for one big reason: it does what it is supposed to do and nothing more. The Sail isn’t a bad looking car and it has decent road dynamics when one looks at it individually. That said, comparing it to competition, there is a lot left to want from this mild update.

Score: 3/5