good motoring
Testing two new releases
H.Kishie Singh

General Motors (GM) has introduced the Aveo U-VA. It is aimed to compete with the Swift and Getz and it may be hat GM has a winner in its stables. At first glance, the car has good looks. A sleek grill opening with a chrome bar that supports the Chevy bow-tie give it a rakish look. The roof line slopes at the rear, giving the car a sporty appearance. A small rear quarter glass and a forward shaping C-pillar complete the picture.

The engine is 1.2 litre, 1140cc to the exact, four cylinder, 8 valve single over head cam (SOHC) and puts out 76 bhp. Compare this with the Honda City which puts out 77 bhp with a 1500-cc engine. The wheel-base is longer than the Honda City’s 2450 mm by 30 mm. This promises a lot of space inside. One of the best-selling features of the U-VA is its spacious interior, much more than that of the Swift. This "small" car offers big car comfort to the customer. This feature in turn reduces the boot space, but passenger comfort is preferable, after all this is a hatchback. The rear seats have a 60-40 split-and-fold feature and this may be of some help if only three are travelling. The rear seat accommodates three passengers.

The U-VA (I don’t know what it means) comes in three variants. The basic model has a heater, air-con, and power steering. The LS model has four power windows, tinted glass, tilt steering, central locking, and soft fabric in the door interiors with carbon fibre trim. The top model is the LT. In addition to the previous mentioned goodies, the LT has alloy wheels (only four), fog lamps, body coloured door hands and mirrors, rear-window defogger, and a rear wiper with a built-in washer facility. A very practical touch.

The basic model and LS is shod with 155-80-13 tubeless tyres, the LT has 185-16-14 tyres and also offers ABS. An air bag is an option for the driver. The LT has a roof-mounted antennae but no music system.

GM promises 11 km per litre in the city and 17 kmpl on the highway. The dashboard has rotary controls, two glove boxes and the U-VA has a 100,000 km unconditional warranty for the engine.

Road clearance is the best at 188 mm, compared with the Getz’s 160 mm and the Swifts’ 170 mm. Definitely a help on Indian roads. The car weighs 1075 kg as compared to the Honda City’s 1050 kg. Why so?" It’s a German car," says the sales engineer.

Prices in Chandigarh are Rs 4.03 lakh, Rs. 4.43 and Rs. 4.83 lakh for the base model, the LS and LT, respectively. It should be kept in mind that Maruti is India’s largest car manufacture and commands 55 per cent of the car market. India churns out about a million cars a year and six lakh are Marutis. As such it should not come as a surprise that Maruti remains in the limelight.

The Swift has been a very successful car and where they may again do a one-up on the U-VA is by the introduction of the diesel-engine Swift. The Indian customer is extremely cost-conscious and diesel is what sells. U-VA has no plans to bring out a diesel version.

Maruti recently introduced the Zen Estilo. It’s a combination of the best of the Zen and Wagon R. It’s a very good-looking car and almost redefines the tall-boy look. The most visible redesign is the front end. A short snout for a bonnet that slopes into the windscreen. This necessitates a quarter glass which is in front of the rear view mirror. If the silhouette is faintly reminiscent of the Daewoo Matiz of yore, it is because the two cars have the same designer, Guigiaro of Italy.

The Estilo (Spanish for style) has a lot in common with the Wagon R. It’s built on the same platform as the Wagon R and most important, the 1100 cc, 32x4 hypertech engine is common to both. It is a tested and tried engine and one of the best in the industry. The interior also borrows heavily from the Wagon R. The seats, steering wheel and instrument panel have also been derived from the Wagon R. The windows fitments and gear-shift lever are from the Swift. It is this borrowing of spares and fitments from one car to the other that keeps the prices down.

Prices for the base model LX is Rs. 3.25 lakh, the LX I is Rs 3.54 lakh and the top model VX I is Rs. 3.79 lakh.

Happy motoring.