Chevrolet Tavera

A RECENT piece of news that the City Council of Paris is proposing a ban on the use of sports utility vehicles on its streets made interesting reading.

An official of the French capital's Left-wing government is supposed to have described these vehicles as a `caricature of a car' and that they are made for a family on vacation, but usually have only one person in them. 

The objective of the proposed ban, of course, is to de-congest the stylish, but often narrow Paris streets and also to reduce vehicular emissions.

India's policy-makers are not labouring with such issues, despite the ever-increasing load of vehicles on the woefully inadequate road infrastructure even in the metros. Of course, it is also another point altogether that the vehicle population in India is no where near that in Europe and the US or that we still need better quality people carriers for inter-city transport.

Exterior

The Chevrolet Tavera is clearly not an SUV and it is not a family van either. Its design is somewhere in-between and is probably an attempt to pander to the tastes of both, the individual, family car buyer and the fleet owner looking for a large, but comfortable people's carrier.
Aluminium side steps are standard fitment only in the top-end, SS variant.
The exterior styling of the Tavera has an element of contemporariness compared to the more `boxy' and dated (but very functional) design of the Toyota Qualis.
But that still does not make Tavera the looker in the budget SUV/MUV class. The Mahindra Scorpio will surely walk away with that honour, despite its age in the market. The Scorpio owner will also get a more dominating street presence.
Interior

The interior of the Tavera is a bit of a let down for the buyer who is essentially looking for a luxury passenger car that can accommodate his extended family.
The seating is comfortable in the higher trim variants and the dashboard plastic and door panels with fabric inserts look better finished and more elegant than the tacky interior finish in the lower trim variants.
But, then, that appears to be in keeping with GMI's plans to push the lower trim variant as a value-for-money option for the fleet owner. That also explains the bench seats in the entry-level variant, which also does not feature an air-conditioner. But even the LT-2 variant's (one shy of the top-end) interior is very spartan.
The only difference that GMI has scored with in the Tavera is that the roof-mounted air-conditioning console comes with opposed vents to simultaneously spread cool air to both the second and third rows. This makes it more effective and quickly cools the interiors. However, the roof-mounted air-conditioner's fan is noisy.

The dashboard and instrument cluster in the Tavera is neatly laid-out and has a few firsts to its credit. However, though the knobs and switches feel rugged, they are puny, and do not gel with the Tavera's overall design theme. They do not give the Tavera's interiors the look of a luxury car, not that the competition's vehicles in this class offer any better.
Engine and performance

Clearly, the Tavera's biggest plus point is its 2.5-litre Isuzu diesel engine. The 2,499cc, four cylinder, direct injected, turbo-charged JA-1L Isuzu diesel burner comes up with a decent 80PS of maximum power at 3,900 rpm.
But, more importantly, the Isuzu engine and the soft turbo-charger combo enable the vehicle to come up with a sprightly performance with the turbo kicking in at very low engine rpm levels.
The Tavera's engine, the same tried and tested one in the Isuzu Panther, comes up with a class-leading maximum torque of 19 kgm at a low 1,800 rpm. The engine is thus very responsive.
However, at higher speeds and into the higher gears, there is hardly any difference between the two vehicles.
Handling and suspension

Dimensionally, the Tavera is longer and wider, but shorter than the Qualis. The Chevy vehicle's wheelbase is also longer, but despite these bigger dimensions, its kerb weight is only on average about 65 kg more than the Qualis.
In the Tavera, the shorter height of the vehicle, the ladder chassis and the more precise re-circulating ball and nut steering system (instead of the more common rack and pinion set-up) gives it a slight edge in handling.
The power-steering response is good and the sharp sloping bonnet gives the driver more confidence in city traffic. But reversing into a parking slot is a bit of a problem as the view is compromised a bit due to the high mounted position of the rear windscreen.