Remember we were one of the very firsts to have come up with a comprehensive review of the Chevrolet Enjoy 1.3 diesel? Back then, we wondered if the latest from General Motors would be sufficiently potent to make its presence felt in the ultra competitive MPV segment of Indian car market. Some three months down the line, the Chevrolet Enjoy comes across as a fairly successful model which definitely enjoys a better fate than some of its rivals out there (read: Nissan Evalia). True, the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga continues to amaze us with its tour de force but the Enjoy is surely far from being a dud seller.
If reports are to be believed, Chevrolet India has already sold almost 5000 units of its Enjoy MPV and some production issues notwithstanding, the Enjoy looks all set to become one of the more successful products from GM India in recent times.
It is pretty obvious that GM India owes the success of the Enjoy to the diesel variant finding favor with fleet operators and taxi owners. However, we have been seeing many privately registered Enjoy petrol variants on our roads of late and we wonder if the Enjoy 1.4 petrol has stuck a right chord with private MPV buyers. Intrigued by this thought, we decided to find out if there is more to the Enjoy petrol than meets the eye.
Looks
There really is very little to differentiate the two engine variants of the Enjoy from each other. Funnily enough, there was not even as much as a badge to tell the petrol variant from the diesel back when we tested this car. This means that the only way to ascertain the fuel type that powers an Enjoy could be to start the vehicle and listen to the engine.
Talking about the Enjoy’s exterior styling, we admit that we were really very close to writing off the Enjoy as ‘yet another bread-box’ when we first saw it at the New Delhi Auto Expo 2012. However, worth mentioning is the fact that surroundings make a huge difference to the aesthetic appeal of a car. What looked like a close relative of a certain Tata Winger amidst the Corvette and the likes at the New Delhi Auto Expo, looks much more amiable on the public roads. True, the Enjoy won’t win any beauty contest but to its credit, it surely manages to look well proportioned.
The front fascia of the Enjoy is characterized by a sleek grille that flaunts the golden bow-tie at the centre. The distinctively styled headlamps too help Enjoy with scoring a few more points in this department. Further sportiness is imparted by the front bumper, which plays host to a set of edgy fog lamps and a gaping air dam. In typical MPV fashion, the Enjoy has a short front over-hang. The small bonnet has two creases, which together form a V-like shape, tapering towards the grille.
What doesn’t help with the matters is that the Enjoy looks overtly bland when viewed in its profile. Much of the blame for this lies on the acres of sheet-metal and a ‘not so swooping’ roof-line, which make the Enjoy look plain-jane and utilitarian. The little saving grace here comes from the belt line which runs just below the door handles to connect the head-lamps to the tail-lamps.
Simplicity abounds at the rear, which gets a pair of large taillamps and a pronounced horizontal crease running across the width of the the gigantic tail-gate. Clean surface coupled with a curved base of the rear windscreen help the posterior look at least uncluttered if not attractive.
Once inside, you are quick to notice the real estate that Enjoy offers but more on that later.
What is also quick to catch your attention is the dashboard styling. The dashboard seems to mirror the simplicity and functionality of the exteriors. To put it bluntly, the dashboard looks like it belongs to a Pontiac family car from an era gone by and the styling here leaves a lot to be desired, especially because car manufacturers are coming up with space age layouts and displays in this day and age.
Overall, GM has played it a tad too safe with the styling of the Enjoy MPV. The Enjoy definitely won’t make you a favorite in your neighborhood but when was the last time someone bought an MPV to make a statement and/or to impress the fairer sex?
Motoroids Rating– 6.5/10
Space, Equipment and Convenience
It doesn’t require you to deal with some great algebraic expressions to deduce that the Enjoy is aimed primarily at the people mover segment. So where does a petrol variant exactly fit in?
Enjoy definitely delivers a lot in terms of interior space. There is enough space to carry all the kids from your neighborhood to school, along with their over-stuffed bags and other paraphernalia. The top of the line LTZ variant comes with three rows of seating, with the middle row getting two captain seats and the third row getting a bench.
The passengers of Enjoy benefit from decent legroom in front two rows of seating. Occupants of the third row too won’t hurl abuses at you, for Enjoy has on offer enough room for even the rear most passengers.
Fold the last row of seats and you will have sufficient space to park your Maruti Alto inside the Enjoy! Even with the last row in place, the Enjoy has decent luggage space.
Ingress and egress is a breeze and the two captain seats in the middle row offer enough gap between them to let you easily reach out for the last row of seats. Of course, the middle row seats can be adjusted to free up more space for the passengers of last row.
Talking about the equipment on offer, the top end LTZ variant comes with an integrated audio system that is USB/AUX input/MP3-CD compatible but has no steering mounted controls to boast of. The second row passengers of the Enjoy get a separate blower that is roof mounted. The rear most occupants get a 12V socket to charge their PSPs and other gizmos. Pretty strange is the fact that the front passenger and driver of Enjoy don’t get arm rests. The same have been reserved for occupants of the middle row. The car offers two bottle holders at front but trying to slot in anything bigger than a 500ml bottle would be being a bit too optimistic. The Enjoy also comes with a coin holder that has been built into the driver’s side of the dashboard. Door pockets can be found on all four doors but only the smallest of the pocket magazines on sale in India would fit into these. The Enjoy does offer seat pockets on the backside of front seats.
While the Enjoy misses out on stuff like an Auto air-con, dead pedal, steering mounted music controls and front arm rest, it does get electric adjust for ORVMs, rear wash wipe, central locking with remote, fog lamps and hold your breath, a digital clock.
The quality of plastics of the panels leaves a mixed impression. Most of the panels are made up of good-to-average quality plastics but there certainly are some areas that have low grade plastics.
Safety features on offer include a driver’s side and front passenger airbag, ABS and EBD (on the top end LTZ variant).
Motoroids Rating- 7.5/10
Engine Performance, Gearbox and NVH
Powering the petrol variants of the Enjoy MPV is a retuned version of the same 1.4 litres motor that can be found under the hood of the now defunct Aveo sedan. For the Enjoy, this 1.4 litre petrol engine has a max power of 103bhp@6,000 rpm and a peak torque of 131Nm@4,400 rpm.
On paper, the Enjoy petrol feels like it is sufficiently potent but unfortunately, things aren’t as good in the real world. The car feels sluggish in lower RPMs and you really need to keep the engine on the boil to feel like you are piloting a 100bhp-plus car. Downshifts are a pre requisite for most of the overtaking manoeuvres. (We even resorted to switching off the aircon on a couple of occasions).
Also, NVH levels are pretty high for a petrol vehicle and this could be due to some of the cost cutting measures that GM India has taken for the Enjoy. Finally, the gearlever too could do without the long throws and with lesser play.
Overall, we really feel that GM India could have done a better job with the fine-tuning of this engine.
Motoroids Rating – 5/10
Ride and Handling
What the Enjoy petrol lacks in the Engine department, it more than makes up for in the Ride and Handling. We are really impressed with the ride quality of the Enjoy. The MPV almost glides over speed-humps and undulations on the road. The soft suspension hardly ever lets you know of the work it is putting up to.
The steering is on the lighter side but is direct and the Enjoy can be thrown into corners without much of a worry. The car does have some body roll but nothing that you won’t expect from a car that is as high as the Enjoy. While, the Enjoy won’t ever put a worried look on the face of a driver of the Ford Fiesta 1.6 S, it will surely surprise the driver of an average B segment hatchback in the twisties (after taking into account its girth that is). The Enjoy will also help the passengers remain comfortable during some fast driving around the corners. To be frank, we are quite stunned with the good job that the folks at Chevrolet India have done with striking a balance between ride and handling.
Call it the result of monocoque + rear wheel drive arrangement or call it the hard work of the engineers at Chevrolet India, whatever it might be, we applaud the way Enjoy, which is a large MPV, rides and handles. Chevrolet India has definitely done a great job here.
Motoroids Rating – 9/10
Overall
The Chevrolet Enjoy petrol breaks no new ground in terms of technology or equipment levels and especially not in engine performance. However, what impresses us is the combination of acres of space, which would appeal to the really large families, and loads of passenger comfort. The car might leave us auto hacks wanting for more power, more gizmos and more feedback from the steering but we are sure that Enjoy petrol would appeal to all those large families which have always found the Toyota Innova to be a tad too expensive and the Maruti Ertiga to be a bit too cramped.
For a starting price of just INR 5.49 lakhs, the Enjoy petrol is a lot of car for your money and is easily the winner of all “rupee per square inch” wars!
Motoroids Rating – 7/10
Chevrolet Enjoy 1.4 Petrol prices
- LS (8 seat)– 5.49L
- LS (7Seat)– 5.64L
- LT– 6.31L
- LTZ– 6.99L.
(All prices are Ex-shoowroom, Delhi)
Go to next page for Chevrolet Enjoy pics