Roomy Opel Swing from GM Stable

Just be Simply Bindaas when you sit in the new Opel Swing from the General Motors stable. Having made their foothold stronger, all these foreign car manufacturers are coming with various options as the Indian car market is getting wiser about the offerings. There was not much choice available in the past, other than a handful of vintage technologies and that too for a premium and with the anxiety of waiting. Today the Indian buyer has a wide range of automobiles available to suit every requirement and every occasion.

One thought that station wagons would not sell in India but it has proven otherwise and this one from GM is very compact - something in which one would not mind going to office or parties. The Opel Swing sits on the same footprints as that of the Opel Corsa but has a larger luggage area and a very cute looking rear end. The design has been so intelligently done that all the mechanical functions are placed at the extreme ends of the car, thereby leaving the entire passenger floor areas for the comfort of the occupants and the luggage.

After putting almost 27000 cars on Indian roads since 1996, General Motors India launched the Opel Swing last week. The all- purpose 5-door compact Swing is equipped with all the standard luxury features to meet changing tastes, lifestyle and different needs of today's discerning customers. This vehicle has been launched after a detailed "needs segmentation" research done by GMI across various centres in India. The research indicated that there was tremendous potential for a wagon with compact dimensions and priced in the range of B segment vehicles such as the Ford Ikon and the Hyundai Accent.

'The Swing, a symbol of space, prestige and style, among other exclusive features has a flexi-boot, raised roof rails, low loading height for baggage, a luggage compartment cover, reinforced suspension, superior ventilation, air-conditioning and heating with 14" alloy wheels being offered as an option. The cute and contemporary car will have two engine options of 1.4 and 1.6 litre which have been attractively priced to make them real "value for money" - Rs. 6.6 lakhs for the Swing 1.6 and Rs. 6.2 lakhs for the Swing 1.4.

The Swing offers excellent interior space for stacking anything and everything in a car while the compact exteriors provide for the low turning radius ensuring easy manoeuvrability to move around in the crowded city streets. The precision of German engineering and attention to detail has resulted in an ergonomically designed interior. It optimises the space behind the rear seat without adding length to the overall vehicle, which is important keeping the manoeuvrability of the vehicle in today's traffic conditions in mind. The ski racks add to the breezy charm of the car without being conspicuous enough to distract the attention away from the overall well proportioned exterior dimensions, although they cannot be usefully used in our country.

The overall space behind the rear seats of the Swing is much more than that in the Corsa but the overall dimensions are the same as those of the Corsa which only highlights the "Space" packaging inherent in its design and styling. The 5 door vehicle gives plenty of room for options when it comes to putting it to different usage. The "flexi-boot space" offers flexible cargo volume.

This estate is targeted at people intending to buy the regular notch-backs such as the Hyundai Accent and the Ford Ikon. With its versatility and eye catching styling the Opel Swing provides an excellent option for upgrading to a contemporary vehicle for the owners of hatchbacks and those upgrading to regular notch- back vehicles.

``Simply Bindaas'' is the new punchline GM has adopted; it seems Indian slang is catching up with the West. I am waiting to hear some yankies speak our language back home in their conversations.

Tutu Dhawan

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Section  : Business
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