The needle was climbing over 185 kph and longing for more. But I had to put and end to the insanity -- I was well above the legal speed limit of 60 kph meant for Indian highways and at the pace I was approaching a corner, there was no way I was going to make it.
So lift off on the throttle, a quick jab at the brake followed by another firmer jab and the speedo needle came down to 120 kph. The corner was too acute for any of our C-segment cars to make it through even at 120 kph.
But by now I had passed the point of no return. I could hear the tyres protesting as the car was steered into the corner and before I knew, I was apexing it.
No drama yet, so maybe it was the right time to pin that throttle down again. Bingo, the corner was history and the orange needle was already busy snuggling up with the 150 kph mark.
Hello readers. I am your average road tester. And I was testing the Chevrolet Optra and let me tell you, no Daewoo jokes on this one please.
Actually you shouldn't be making jokes about any car that can do 185 kph and straighten a sharp left hander at 120 kph.
I for one, swore to myself after the Optra road test that I will not be using the dreaded D-word of the automotive industry in my test report. But a bit of history is necessary here.
Am I a Chevrolet?
The Daewoo Nubira was not a bad car to begin with. It was designed in Europe and built at Kunsan, one of the best automotive facilities anywhere in the world.
I remember thrashing it over a test track somewhere in Korea on a sunny day, sometime in 1997, and let me tell you it changed my database on how South Koreans approached cars.
And if things had gone well for the chaebol, the car you see on this page would have been the all-new Nubira and in all probability, it would have been launched in India wearing the Daewoo badge.
After General Motors took over the beleaguered car maker, they made sure the new car development programmes continued and also pitched in with their economical and engineering might.
The Nubira along with the Kalos hatchback are one of the first products to come out of this effort and they have already put Daewoo back on the road in some parts of the world.
For other parts, GM is offering the same car in different guises -- while it will wear a Chevrolet Optra badge in India, it is the Suzuki Verona in the US markets and so on.
All these mean two things -- it does not have the genes of a Chevrolet Corvette but it ain't no ghost of Daewoo either.
Am I the beauty in motion?
Yes, you are Optra. I, for one, like the wedgy stance of the Optra. The leftover Daewoo triple-grille could have been avoided (the Suzuki version looks better) but the rest of the car is so contemporary to look at that it wouldn't have been a surprise had GM decided to badge it an Opel, or dare I say an Asia-specific, entry level, Cadillac.
If you see a hint of aggression in the creased -out bonnet line, it is because the car was designed by the same people who designed the Ferrari Enzo, ie, Pininfarina.
The bold waistline and slabbed-out sides are straight out of American luxury cars today.
You will also see a hint of Volvo in the large and bright wraparound tail-lamp glasswork that takes over from sheet metal when it comes to completing the overall form of the Optra. The car is best seen from three-quarters, front or back, and has got more presence than any of its competitors.
Am I the lap of luxury?
I got mixed reactions here. The Optra interior is roomy alright, but is a classic case of lost opportunity as far as pure design goes.
It has got GM-standard trim all over it and that includes quality tan leather (in the top-end model), colour-coded plastics and soft-on-the-touch injection moulding for the dashboard.
I am not a big fan of plasto-metal inserts and sadly there is a lot of the stuff on the centre console and even the steering wheel.
You see, these bits do not exude quality when you touch or tap them -- you can experience a better execution of the theme in the Ford Mondeo for example.
Worse still, all that plastic does not mix that well with the matt-finish (faux) wood veneer trim along side.
Instrumentation is standard fare but some effort has gone into making it contemporary. The highlight though is the 5-CD Blaupunkt, 6-speaker audio system -- fuss-free and damn good on the ears.
If you are looking for lots of rear leg room in your D-segment car, you will certainly be impressed by the Optra. Lap of luxury? Then what are Maybachs and Rolls-Royces of this world for?
Am I the power that rules the road?
What is a test report without a few comparisons? Get this straight -- what powers the Optra is not as powerful or free revving or character-full an engine as the one in the Toyota Corolla.
But it is more than a match for, say, what you get under the hood of a Skoda Octavia. That means, the cliché be pardoned, the best of two worlds.
The 1799 CC inline four powerplant is presented tidily under the hood and develops 115 bhp at 5800 rpm and 15.6 kgm of torque at 4000 rpm.
Drop the clutch in a hurry and you will get a 60 kph run in 4.31 seconds and 100 kph in 10.46 seconds and that means it is almost as quick as the Corolla (4.10 and 8.06 seconds) and definitely quicker than the Octavia (4.47 and 11.53 respectively).
As we told you before, the Optra is capable of launching the speedo over 185 kph and that again puts it in the same league as its competition. Now, let us forget the competition and see what this engine does for you.
To begin with, it is very well geared for most situations that you encounter in daily life -- in city traffic with the air-con working hard, out on the highway and cruising at 120 kph in overdrive and of course, blasting up a mountain road.
It is not lighting quick nor does it have a thunderous roar -- those facets are meant for other Chevys such as Corvettes - but it does well to cover its back and help a good driver extract every ounce of torque and power on offer.
Also, never ever during our test did we feel the Optra is underpowered, but if GM India offers a 2000 CC engine in the future, we will not send them hate mail either.
Am I fuel efficient?
To be honest we are currently evaluating the fuel consumption figure of our road test Optra as we go to press.
That said, we have been recording figures that vary from a very good 10 kpl to slightly terrible 8 kpl -- mind you, these figures involve some very spirited acceleration runs.
So if you drive with a relaxed right foot you may very well be able to get the Optra to return 10 kpl on highway runs.
Am I the thrill of control?
The Optra monocoque is stiff and well sorted and that helps matter when it comes to offering ride quality beyond the realms of cars in its class. Struts all around with a dual-link set-up at the back make up the independent suspension of the Optra.
Normal potholes and speedbreakers do not pose much of a problem, while you may complain that the ride is hard if you have to go through a really rough patch.
Maybe a switch to 15-inch wheels and rubber will make it more compatible to some of the worst B-roads in our country.
The taut architecture of the car comes into play when it is negotiating corners -- you can really push this car without fear and there is very little that can unsettle it.
The otherwise vanilla steering (adjustable) gets more sensitive as the speeds climb and lane change manoeuvres, even at three digit speed, are not an issue.
Braking hardware is not that impressive though and is actually a weak link in an otherwise brilliant monocoque package. Discs up front and plain drums at the rear are not the kind of hardware you want in a car of its class.
The car did behave in a slightly unruly fashion in our 0-100-0 kph runs and maybe those GM engineers can take a second look at booster settings to make retardation a more progressive affair. Overall a good package that needs a bit of fine tuning to make the Optra an even better automobile.
Am I your next car?
GM India certainly thinks so, and hence the aggressive pricing. Which I am sure, has made a few Japanese car makers gasp. At Rs 8.2 lakh (base model LS), ex-showroom Mumbai, the Chevrolet Optra is certainly a lot of car for your money.
It should, and I am sure it will, attract a few buyers who would have bought a Honda City/Lancer for instance, more than the prospective Octavia/Corolla, and to some extent, even the Sonata buyer.
GM India has popped in some nice goodies for the top-end model, like powered external mirrors, a powered sunroof and that nice music system with the integrated 5-CD changer, to name a few.
It may be called a Chevrolet, but thankfully, GM India has retained the value equation that made Daewoo quite a sensation in its heyday.
And value is one English word that we Indians have always understood and patronised. I get this strange feeling that GM India should straightaway ramp up production.
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