With more than 33,000 units sold in 2015, the Toyota Vios remains to be the best-selling car in the Philippine market. Which naturally also means that the subcompact sedan segment it competes in is easily the biggest and most profitable in the business.
It shouldn't surprise anyone, then, that most carmakers want to be represented in this segment. Chevrolet Philippines is one of them. We just got word that the American auto company--through local distributor The Covenant Car Company Inc.--is bringing in its Sail subcompact sedan, which has been a wild success in China, where the new model is called Sail 3 (for third-generation).
First, the Sail will serve as the centerpiece of Chevrolet's display in the Manila International Auto Show on April 7-10 at World Trade Center in Pasay City. Chevrolet Philippines hopes to tease car buyers with the Sail's presence in the annual automotive gathering, before officially launching the model around the third quarter (possibly July) of the year.
Chevrolet Philippines is looking to introduce the Sail with two gasoline engines: a 1.5-liter DVVT (111hp and 141Nm) and a 1.3-liter VVT (102 hp and 127Nm). Nope, there won't be diesel engines for this model.
The Chevrolet Sail measures 4,300mm long, 1,735mm wide and 1,504mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,500mm. By comparison, the Vios is 4,410mm long, 1,700mm wide and 1,475mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,550mm.
This should be an interesting match.
