After a lot of debate and consideration between the new City and the Optra, I opted for the 1.6 Base model of the Optra. The decision swingers :
1. Looks
2. Space
3. Ride quality
4. More bang for the buck

All this albeit with a hint of trepedition. What was I getting myself into ?
6 months + and 6 K Kms down the line, I am a man truly satisfied
The car runs well, ride quality is fabulous and inspite of its size is easy to manouvre. The fuel consumption -- was a major cause of concern. The car has regualrly been turning up 10.5 - 11 Kpl with the A/C running in Delhi’s hot weather. Can say Im complaining about the car. OPEC tho is another story.
Build quality is good, tho after the rains, the odd squeek and rattle has appeared. one hopes that a visit to the SVC centre shud put that in order.

Overall : one is fully satisfied with the pruchase. Just waiting to take it on a loooong drive to get the max out of the vehicle



The Chevrolet brand advertising to build up the brands corporate image was so lousy [cant understand how a car company is ’’I am...everything’’], that one felt that the product would also be as shoddy. So when the Optra [who thinks up these names?] was launched, I took it up to test drive the vehicle.

The Optra comes in 3 variations [price points]. Cheap / Medium and Expensive. I guess basics of the machinery are the same -- only the look and feel of upholstery and the likes changes. The design is attractive and the car looks good with some nice aggressive lines. The build is solid and the ’thunk’ of closing doors is reassuring. The inside of the car has the ’faux wood finish’ -- a first for any Indian car and does manage a more premium and less ’sea of plastic feel’ that is the Honda City experience. The high end version comes with jazzy leather upholstery, a ’on dash’ 5 CD changer, audio controls on the steering and a sun roof -- quite a neat packet.

The car is spacious both in the rear and the front. The cabin insulation is great and noise levels are very low. The car is neat to drive -- does’nt feel that u are driving a car with a wheel base larger than the average mumbai kholi. Steering control is confident and pin point - car goes where u point it -- and turns with ease. Guess the turning radius is small. The steering wheel itself is a let down in the cheap & medium model. Even a Maruti has a better steering wheel! Braking is adequate and the overall drive experience is one of comfort. The engine response is a little stagnant and the car feels unresposive at low RPMs. But cross 2500 RPM odd, and the the Optra reveals her true driving colours and the handling and responsiveness of the car shows a marked improvement.

At its price, think the Optra is a good buy. Its probably not the best ’drivers’ car around but offers great value and comfort.

Purchase Price (INR):	8 L +
Dealer Name and City:	No Comment
Model Year:	No Comment