[SIZE=2]Dear Mr. Sen
I had posted earlier but I think that has vanished in the ether. If that surfaces on this forum, fine; otherwise my clarification:
I am sorry if I have offended you. I know you own a Optra 1.8. I saw the Optra in Sep 2003 when I was buying my Corsa, and I liked it, and there is nothing in the subsequent 3.5 years that has led me to change my opinion. I am happy with Corsa and GM service, as perhaps you may be happy with your Optra. I know many people who are happy with Astra (my MD makes more than 70 lakhs pa, but comes to office in his 5 yr old Astra). Astra gives 7-8 kmpl. I do not know how much 1.8 Optra gives but it may be lower than 1.6 Optra (VGIS) (you may know better). The fact is that 1.8 Optra was launched in 2003, but slipped after its initial sales because of lower FE. GM's domestic sales in <4500 mm segment (which included Optra) were 241 units in FY2003, 259 units in FY2004, and 2765 in FY2005. So because of lower sales than expected they launched a VGIS 1.6 Optra, which was supposed to give higher FE. That led to higher sales, but when it too slipped, they launched CNG Optra. Their sales in April 05-Feb 06 were 5608, which has slipped to 3435 in Apr 06-feb 07.
When I said horrible, I did not mean a horrible car, but horrible FE for Optra 1.8AT. I am sorry for the use of this word, which is relative, eg, Corolla FE of 12-13 kmpl may look horrible to a M-800 owner. Optra 1.8AT has low FE of 6-8 kmpl under most conditions. Holden was mentioned as a matter of fact without any innuendos. Holden is an Aussie company owned by GM, and their Holden Commodore was the best selling Aussie car in 2006 (I think 2nd was Corolla).
For me, the final choice when I was buying a car in Feb-Mar 07 was:
Manual: optra 1.6
Auto: Corolla
Since I wanted an automatic, I went for Corolla, but me and my wife were extremely happy with the Optra (1.6 only). I thought of Optra 1.8 AT but low FE was a negative. Optra 1.8 Manual was out of the question because of its alleged lower FE (though the GM dealers in Delhi were offering me 1.8 manual for 10.1 lakhs, Optra 1.6 Royale for 9.6 lakhs, and Optra 1.8 AT for 10.6 lakhs). If somebody can buy a 3-year old Optra 1.8 in the 2nd hand market, they may still be a good buy because of its lower price, great comfort which may be an acceptable compromise for lower FE (that is a compromise I am happy to make. I bought Corsa knowing it had lower FE only because of its solidity, comfort, and ride). I have got my Corsa serviced at GM, and if you read my first comment, you would find that I find the GM service acceptable (if not thrilling and consistent at all dealerships).
When researching on Optra 1.8 AT in Feb 07, I could not get much web-based feedback. But fortunately there was one owner who had that car, and his overall opinion on `AT’ was not favourable. Maybe others may have a different feedback (when I bought my Corsa, there were 4 people who said good, but one had all sorts of problems with it). So one swallow does not make a summer. You should know that Optra presently sells mostly (I think more than 95%) in 1.6. Of the balance which would be Optra 1.8, AT is rarely sold
So in my opinion, Optra 1.6 is a good new and used car. Optra 1.8 MT/AT may not be a perfect new car choice, but definitely a good car choice. The buying price would be lower, ride and comfort would be very good, and servicing may be decent and cheap. Plus if you buy a 50-60 K odo car, it may last you without major problems for another 50-60K/3-4 years.
On Corsa, the service cost is no more expensive than what I used to pay on my earlier Zen. But availability of some spare parts (not routine maintenance stuff) may be based on luck. I know it personally. My Corsa was still in production in May 05, when the lifter on my power window (rear left) failed. I had to wait a while (nearly a month) for the replacement. The dealer was nice enough to repair the lifter for the interim, so that the window was shut but could not open. (the glass was falling on its own).
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