Developed entirely in Brazil, the Chevrolet Agile is the first member of a new General Motors family codenamed Viva (the name of the Vauxhall small car sold from 1963 to 1979 now also used on an Australian Holden model sourced from GM Daewoo – ed) that cost US$400m to develop and will spawn at least two more derivatives.
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It is produced exclusively at GM’s long-establshed Rosário plant in Santa Se province, Argentina, with sales initially restricted to the four South American Mercosur trading bloc countries. The regional media launch was held in Mendoza, Aregentina’s largest wine producing area.
The Agile will compete with the likes of Fiat’s Punto and the Renault/Dacia Sandero. It’s 157in (3,988mm) long on a 100in (2,540mm) wheelbase and 57.8in (1,468mm) high. In the Mercosur GM range, it is larger than the locally-made (second generation) Corsa but smaller than the Astra (still the 1998-2005 European generation).
The Agile is offered with two trim levels – LT priced from R$37,700 ($21,500) and LTZ at up to R$42,700 – ($24,400) which pitches it against the Volkswagen Fox, Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207 and Citroën C3, as well as the Punto and Sandero and the better equipped versions of the VW Gol, Fiat Palio and Chevy Corsa II (which GM has reduced in price to avoid ‘cannibalisation’ by the new car).
LT equipment includes power steering, air conditioning, front electric windows and central locking, height adjustable driver seat, onboard computer and even cruise control.
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By GlobalDataNot unusually in South America, airbags are available only as options and ABS brakes are also extra and then only for the LTZ.
Roominess, especially rear seat legroom, together with the 11.3 cu ft. boot volume, makes the new compact the benchmark in this hotley contested segment, by far the most important here.
Styling as a whole is attractive but the enormous grille with Chevrolet ‘bow tie’ badge and the styling and black appliqué on D pillars may not be to every potential buyer’s taste.
However, the high bonnet and boxy body shape have negatively affected the aerodynamics: Cd is 0.37.
The only available engine, for now, is the flexible-fuel 1.4 litre/84.7 cu in unit rated at 95bhp on petrol and 100bhp on local E100 ethanol.
Since curb weight is about 2,425 lbs (1,100kg), performance is a little lacking but it’s is likely GM’s 1.8 litre engine will be offered later.
Curiously, the Agile sits on the same architecture as the first generation (1994) Corsa launched here a year after its European debut as the Celta/Prisma duo.
But it is roomier than the second-generation Corsa (launched here in 2002) but lacks that model’s front subframe due to budget constraints.
GM do Brasil’s engineers widened the tracks and stretched the wheelbase of this now veteran platform and allowed for derivatives such as the new compact pickup truck scheduled for mid-2010 and the first Chevrolet compact SUV, due in 2011.
The automaker said it was “studying” a three-box sedan version but this is widely expected to be a certainty as the body style is popular here in Brazil, as it is in other emerging markets such as China, Russia and India. These additional variants will all be made only in Brazil.
Fernando Calmon
