The initial foray of the world's largest automobile manufacturer on Indian shores wasn't very successful. While General Motors mused over the ruins of the Opel brand in India, there emerged the Optra sporting the Chevy bowtie and reversed the initial setbacks. The Chevrolet Optra now comes equipped with a new diesel power plant and is all set to become the preferred entry-level luxury sedan. Sourya Biswas reports.

Now that General Motors has unleashed a bevy of automotive beauties on Indian roads, perhaps it is time to recognize the car that actually saved GM's bacon in this country after the disastrous experiences with the Opel brand – the Chevrolet Optra. GM now has cars in India encompassing the entire automotive spectrum, from Spark hatchbacks to Captiva SUVs, but it was on the Optra that the company started its successful journey in India. Small wonder that General Motors, a manufacturer with so many established brands in its marquee, still sticks on to the Chevrolet tag name for all its products here.

However, GM will have to share honours on the Optra's success with Daewoo, considering that the Chevrolet Optra was initially just a rebadged Daewoo Lacetti. Of course, General Motors can reasonably claim that the Optra's subsequent success had a lot to do with its contributions considering that the Lacetti was not exactly a bestseller earlier. This happened subsequent to Daewoo's bankruptcy following its management's indictment on fraud. Subsequently, Daewoo's commercial vehicles division was bought out by India's own Tata Motors, while General Motors acquired the passenger cars division.

As usual GM continues its time-honoured tradition of assigning different names to the same vehicle in different markets. So, the Chevrolet Optra in India is known as the Holden Viva in Australia, the Daewoo Lacetti in Europe and the Buick Excelle in China. Of course, the Chevrolet Optra seems to be the most popular name for this vehicle worldwide, such as India, Canada, the US, Central and South American countries like Colombia and Mexico.

Enough of the confusing nomenclature, let's get down to the story of the Optra in India. GM introduced the Chevrolet Optra in 2000 with two engine options – a 1.6L petrol delivering 77 bhp and a 1.8L petrol power plant producing 88 horses. The car was available in three trim levels for the first option – the Elite, the Elite LS and the LT Royale with sunroof. In the second option, the Optra came in the LT and the LT AT versions, the last two letters standing for Automatic Transmission. The 1.8L option has now been discontinued, although the 1.6L continues to ensure its presence in the petrol segment.

Even though the Optra was a capable entry-level premium (oxymoron?) sedan, and GM positioned it as ''the new name for luxury'', sales never really skyrocketed because of the underpowered engine that was also quite thirsty to boot (pun not intended). GM listened to the customer and came up with the diesel Optra and christened it the Optra Magnum. And the segment hasn't been the same since.

The Chevrolet Optra Magnum, launched in June 2007, is not merely a car with a new heart – it can be termed an entirely new car, considering that it wears new clothes as well. The great looks introduced with the diesel variant have now been carried over into the petrol version as well, with the result that the entire Optra range now also bears the Magnum moniker.

The petrol Optra sedan had quite a good-looking cousin in its hatchback cousin the Optra SR-V. The Optra Magnum borrowed its looks, and the resemblance ceases to be just striking if viewed from the front, when both the cars are indistinguishable from one another. The rear didn't change much but the Magnum badge did distinguish it from its staid predecessor. On first appearance, the Chevrolet Optra Magnum is a handsome car, and its sleek design only accentuates the power beneath the hood, resting on the purposeful 15-inch alloy wheels.

With a completely new face flanked by new headlamps resting on a sporty grille, the new Optra Magnum is certainly a looker. And for all those people who place a premium on shine, GM hasn't stinted on the chrome, with a lot of it throughout the vehicle. Even the pull-out handles, themselves a nice touch apart from the usual pull-up type, have it. Certain interesting touches have been added this time round, such as the indicator lights on the side mirrors. What Daimler-Chrysler started as a luxurious innovation has now percolated down to cars costing a whole lot less. Overall, the Chevrolet Optra Magnum seems to have been inspired by the front styling of its richer cousin the Chevrolet Epica. The Optra Magnum is taller and longer than its closest competitor the Skoda Octavia, but the latter beats it when it comes to overall width.

A great-looking car is of no use if it doesn't provide a comfortable ride, and so we will look over the interiors and transmission with a critical eye. Fear not, the Magnum impresses even more with its luxurious interiors than it does with its sporty exterior. Inside is a connoisseur's delight, although Maneka Gandhi may not be too happy with the leather seats, leather wrapped gearshift and steering wheel, all standard on the top-end LT variant. As already mentioned, the Magnum is longer and taller than its competition, and consequently, offers the best headroom and legroom in its class.

The integrated music system innovatively features a cassette player in conjunction with a CD system to indulge in nostalgia at will while the six speakers effortlessly blast you back into the twenty-first century. The air-conditioner is a quick chiller, though lacking the climate-control abilities of costlier units. The faux wood dashboards lend the car an expensive feeling, though the lack of steering-mounted audio and AC controls reminds you that it's still behind the Camrys of the world. The adjustable front seats make driving a pleasure while the 60:40 rear seats enable flexible utilization of space. Numerous storage areas and cup-holders complete the pretty picture.

Irrespective of all exterior embellishments and interior trappings of luxury, the defining identity of the Optra Magnum will always be its engine, if not for anything else but for the fact that it is the first diesel power plant in a GM sedan since the ill-fated Opel Astra TD. And it is no common diesel engine. The 2.0L TCDi 16-valve SOHC common-rail plant changes the entire character of the car, delivering 120 bhp of raw power and more than 300 N-m of torque. This transforms the car when running beyond 2000 rpm and makes highway cruising a real pleasure. However, as with most things good, the engine comes across as underpowered at lower revolutions, making the task of driving in start-and-stop city traffic quite difficult. However, the fact remains that the Optra Magnum is the most powerful car in its class, outdistancing the Skoda Octavia by quite a margin. 

The Optra has always been an easy rider, and the Magnum continues this tradition. All the occupants find themselves seated in comfort, and the McPherson struts with anti-roll bars and gas-filled shock absorbers both at back and front swallow up the giant potholes so characteristic of Indian roads. The car has a high ground clearance of 165 mm that enables it to ride over the innumerable speed breakers, and the low-slung stance with high centre of gravity makes for a stable ride at high speeds. As far as safety is concerned, GM leaves no stone unturned with SRS airbags and ABS in the upper LT variant. Following European safety norms, the car also features an 8 kmph impact-roof bumper. 

The car has lowered the cost of ownership by not only switching to a different fuel, but has also reduced its thirst. It now delivers a satisfactory mileage of 11.7kmpl in the city and an amazing 17.4kmpl on the highway, adding up to an average fuel efficiency of 12.3kmpl. The Chevrolet Optra Magnum is aggressively priced to take the fight to the Skoda Octavia, and is available within the range of Rs9.14 lakh to Rs10.45 lakh for the three trim levels Max TCDi, LS TCDi and LT TCDi.

With such competitive pricing, the Optra Magnum can not only gatecrash spectacularly in the entry D-segment, but also cause a few heartaches to competitors in the C-segment. With regard to its more expensive rivals, the Skoda Octavia and the Honda Civic, the Magnum seems to offer more value for money, although its looks do not match up to the futuristic profile of the Honda. Also, while the Octavia comes with both petrol and diesel engines, the Civic is yet to get a diesel-powered heart. However, the petrol-powered Civic's performance parameters are far ahead of both the Skoda and the Optra. Likewise with the petrol-drinking Toyota Corolla.

The only sore point that one can think of is the lack of power at lower revs, which can mean a difficult urban driving experience. However, since most of the potential customers prefer to be chauffeur-driven for the most, that won't prove to be much of a stumbling block to its potential success. The car does have enough power for those highway sojourns when the owner may feel like taking a turn at the wheel, powering to 100kmph from rest within 12 seconds, and can attain a maximum speed of 180kmph.

This car belongs to an aspirational segment where luxury is given importance but frugality is not sneered at. That's the reason why the petrol Optra, though providing sufficient comforts at a reasonable price, didn't sell well owing to its thirsty nature. The new Chevrolet Optra Magnum, providing a powerful engine at a lower-cost of ownership with all the bells and whistles of its predecessor, is sure to prove a bestseller in this segment. The Skoda Octavia, which till now was the default choice here, is going to face some tough competition, because the Optra Magnum is a longer and taller car delivering a similar luxurious experience. And it comes for a lot less.

Here, we put together a comparison chart of the new Chevrolet Optra Magnum vis-à-vis its two immediate competitors, the Skoda Octavia and the Toyota Corolla. Here we consider the base diesel-powered variant of the Octavia and the base petrol-powered version of the Corolla, as the latter does not come with a diesel engine.

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