Third time Lucky?

More like third time lucky once more, since the first two generations of General Motors' light pick-up have both achieved good to excellent sales from the large numbers of South African pick-up purchasers. As a result, the new Chevrolet Utility (the Corsa name has been dropped), is expected to be one of the biggest selling vehicles in South Africa.

Locally assembled at General Motor’s Struandale plant in Port Elizabeth, this time the styling is the biggest change and many don’t think it’s exactly sexy. Others wouldn’t care too much because it is basically a workhorse. Subjectively, the front is now unmistakeably a Chevrolet, the sides show the familiar flaring of the bodywork and the rear has a Lumina Ute touch (which is good!) with its horn-like bumper extrusions. The tailgate height has been lowered for better rearwards visibility and the built-in sidestep has been retained. The 14-inch wheels (and 15-inch) are swallowed inside the large wheel arches so there's plenty of scope here for aftermarket wheel manufacturers to get in on the act. The new Ute is also longer, wider and taller than the old model.

Inside, the seating is comfy with good support and there is lots of space for heads and hats, legs, luggage behind the two seats plus there are numerous storage bins and cup and bottle holders. Instrumentation is zooty and successful and this is coming from someone who prefers traditional circular dials – and lots of them. The digital display sits in the centre and is well back-lit.

Spec wise, here is a summary of what’s available:

The 1,4 Base has 14-inch steel wheels plus a full-size spare, tie down, height adjustable driver’s seat, dual airbags and immobiliser. Air-con is an option. The next level is “Club”. This adds air conditioning, auto lights on, grab handles, radio/CD/MP3 Aux, USB and bluetooth, remote central locking, fuel consumption computer, auto door lock and an alarm system. The Sport versions further add a roof spoiler, electric windows and mirrors, front fog lamps and ABS braking.

Both engines are similar to the outgoing models with s-o-h-c, eight-valve layouts and five-speed gearboxes. The 1,4-litre with its 68 kW and 120 N.m of torque provides lively enough performance at the coast for most needs. This is slightly up on the previous model’s figures while the consumption for the combined cycle is claimed to be 7,2 l/100 km.

The 1,8-litre has 77 kW and 161 N.m. and claimed fuel consumption is 8,1 l/100 km. We were expecting the 1,8 to provide much more low-down grunt, but the engine seems to be rather tuned for performance and only starts pulling strongly with the revs above 4 000 although the torque peak is at 3 000 r/min (slightly higher than the previous model). This should nevertheless please the bling-it-up crowd that will want some go to complement their styling modifications. The gearshift is not very positive in engagement but this is quite typical of Opel/Chev and shifts shouldn’t be hurried. The gearing is quite high at over 4 000 r/min at 120 km/h, understandable for the 1,4 especially at altitude, but was not much lower on the 1,8. Interior noise levels were quite well contained, notwithstanding the short gearing.

The steering had very good feel and we discovered why when we opened the bonnet. Power assistance is by hydraulic pump and not the expected electric motor. Suspension uses McPherson struts in the front and a trailing arm, torsion bar arrangement at the rear. The ride quality was excellent on a nastily bumpy road but this was without a load. When we get a vehicle for testing, we will see how this changes with some concrete in the back. The payload is quoted as 763 kg for the 1,4 and 733 kg for the 1,8. The warranty is five years or 120 000 km and service intervals are set at 15 000 km. A service plan is optional and a 1,3-litre diesel is expected later in 2012. We do expect General Motors to maintain its sales leadership status with this new Chevy Ute.

Pricing:

1,4 Base: R115 600

1,4 Base A/C: R123 600

1,4 Club: R136 000

1,4 Sport: R161 000

1,8 Club: R148 500

1,8 Sport: R173 500

Original article from Car