Nissan Micra has been a successful launch for Nissan in the B+ segment and has stepped up the competition in the already crowded segment of the Indian car market. Every manufacturer is out there to get a piece of the market share. Chevrolet isn’t far behind and has come up with a new car; Chevrolet Sail UVA. It is a very good launch into the segment and brings many new features at good value. Keep reading to find out how they fare against each other.
Looks and design:
Nissan has done a good job with the Micra and has given it contemporary looks and an elegant exterior design. The car is very curvy and will mostly appeal to the feminine crowd due to the looks of the car. The Micra hatchback has a nice front end with its bug eyed headlamps and a big Nissan logo upfront. It looks like it has been well built and the paint quality is excellent.
Chevrolet Sail UVA has clean lines and an understated styling and in India Chevy has launched the 2nd gen Chevrolet Sail UVA. The newer Sail UVA looks very good and has some resemblance to the larger Cruze sedan from Chevy. It has wide, swooping back headlamps, body colored bumpers and integrated fog lamps. The only exterior feature that could have been better on the Sail UVA is the vertically stacked tail lights which look slightly outdated.
Looks overall – Nissan Micra – 8/10
Looks overall – Chevrolet Sail UVA – 8/10
Interiors – design, space and features:
Nissan Micra brings very good interiors features and has keyless entry, power windows, excellent air con, MP3 music system, MID on its instrument panel, climate control amongst others. It has comfortable seats and good quality interiors. It is not too compact and hence there is ample leg and head room inside. It comes with airbag for safety and boot space of 226 liters to carry some small luggage.
Chevrolet Sail UVA has a very spacious interior and comes with plenty of leg room for the front and especially the rear passengers. There is ample head room as well. It will seat 5 people easily inside and the seats are quite comfortable and offer excellent support to the back and under thigh support is very good. It has plenty of features inside and comes with the latest gadgets as well. It has dual air bags for safety, a chiller air conditioner and boot space of 248 liters to carry your travel luggage.
Interiors overall – Nissan Micra – 8/10
Interiors overall – Chevrolet Sail UVA – 8/10
Engine – performance, power, torque, fuel economy, smoothness:
Nissan Micra is powered by a 1.2 liter petrol engine which develops 75 BHP at 6000 RPM and torque of 104 NM at 4000 RPM. This petrol engine variant has been rated by ARAI to deliver a maximum fuel efficiency of 18.06 kmpl. The diesel engine variant brings a powerful 1.5 liter engine which makes 64 BHP at 4000 RPM and 160 NM of torque at 2000 RPM. The diesel engine variant delivers a maximum fuel efficiency of 23.08 kmpl as certified by ARAI.
Chevrolet Sail UVA brings a 1.2 liter S-TEC II petrol engine which makes 79 BHP and 108 NM of maximum torque and delivers a maximum fuel efficiency of 18.3 kmpl and ensures very good drivability. The diesel engine variant of Sail UVA makes 77 BHP at 4000 RPM and 205 NM of torque at 1750 RPM. It has been certified by ARAI to deliver a maximum fuel efficiency of 22.1 kmpl. Both these engines are torquey and offer excellent drivability and yet remain economical to run.
Engine overall – Nissan Micra – 8/10
Engine overall – Chevrolet Sail UVA – 8/10
Suspension – Ride, comfort and handling:
Nissan Micra has a good ride quality and brings a finely tuned suspension setup. It is built to be a comfortable hatchback which offers a good blend of handling and comfort. It isn’t built for carving corners but will hold a steady line through it and remains stable on the highways. It brings a light weighted steering which is easy to use in the city and highway. Micra comes with ABS in select variants.
Chevrolet Sail UVA has a comfortable ride quality and brings a good suspension setup which ensures a composed ride at all times. It has a mature ride quality to it and remains stable when driven fast on the highways and on the corners. It comes with ABS + EBD which helps you slow down from higher speeds in complete control over your braking. Chevrolet Sail UVA has a light steering which is well weighted at higher speeds.
Suspension overall – Nissan Micra – 8/10
Suspension overall – Chevrolet Sail UVA – 8.5/10
Value for money – sticker price, standard features:
Nissan Micra is available from ex-showroom Delhi price of 4.49 lakhs for Nissan Micra XE Plus Petrol, Nissan Micra XL Petrol is priced at 4.84 lakhs. Top variant petrol is priced at 5.51 lakhs for the Nissan Micro XV Petrol. The diesel variant starts at 5.96 lakhs for Nissan Micra Diesel XV and 6.41 lakhs for Nissan Micra Diesel XV Premium. Nissan Micra comes with good features and despite the pricing it is still a very good car to own.
Chevrolet Sail UVA is priced from (ex-showroom Delhi) 4.44lakhs for Chevrolet Sail UVA Petrol Base, Chevrolet Sail UVA Petrol is priced at 4.83 lakhs, Chevrolet Sail UVA Petrol LS ABS is priced at 5.18 lakhs while top petrol variant Chevrolet Sail UVA Petrol LT ABS is priced at 5.57 lakhs. The diesel variants are priced from 5.87 lakhs for Chevrolet Sail UVA Diesel, Chevrolet Sail UVA Diesel LS ABS is priced at 6.19 lakhs and Chevrolet Sail UVA Diesel LT ABS is priced at 6.62 lakhs. The features are many and price is good but even better is the warranty that comes with it which is 3 year or upto 1,00,000 kms and 5 years or 1,50,000 kms for the drive-train.
Value for money overall – Nissan Micra – 8/10
Value for money overall – Chevrolet Sail UVA – 8.5/10
Verdict:
Nissan is relatively new to the market and has yet to catch up and expand operations on the scale its competitor Chevrolet has so far. It will take time but the products in its portfolio are excellent and by every means it is worth going in for a Nissan. Chevrolet brings good value for money products in the market and the Sail UVA is one of them. It offers good performance and fuel efficiency and the warranty is amongst the best in the industry however Chevrolet could do well to improve their after sales and service.
