HIGHER PURCHASE

You can’t get by on a smile and a good price in this new class: cars need all-round talent as well as that extra, special something. We know the Octavia and the Corolla have it, but can the new Chevrolet Optra get a grip on what it takes?

CHEVROLET OPTRA List price Rs 8.2-10.1 lakh Top speed 191 kph 0-100kph 11.11 sec Kpl 9.6 (overall) For Interiors, comfort, value for money  Against Unexciting to drive

TOYOTA COROLLA List price Rs 9.9-12.0 lakh Top speed 195 kph 0-100kph 9.07 sec Kpl 10.5 (overall) For Performance, comfort, fuel efficiency Against Suspension, feels built to a price

SKODA OCTAVIA List price Rs 10.3-11.9 lakh Top speed 185 kph 0-100kph 11.96 sec kpl 8.9 (overall) For Solid build, ride comfort, huge boot Against Lacks luxury feel, cramped rear seats Prices ex-showroom, Mumbai

There’s a new segment emerging in the Indian market. It’s so new that we haven’t thought of a name for it yet. Call it the premium mid-size or the compact luxury class, it’s the hot new niche that sits bang in between the Honda City-Baleno-Lancer gang and the upper crust Accords, Camrys and Mondeos. Not long ago, it was just the Skoda Octavia which ruled this Rs 10 lakh roost; then came the Corolla, which knocked the Octavia off its perch with an aggressive price and a badge that works wonders anywhere in the world.

GM India has jumped into the fray with its newly launched Chevrolet Optra. It knows that however good the Optra may be, the only way to combat the Toyota badge is by winning the metal-for-money fight. The Optra undercuts both the Corolla and Octavia by a substantial margin, but does your money go as far in this Korean-built car? Does the Corolla’s Toyota badge come with tangible benefits that helps justify its higher price? Or is the Czech-built Octavia the most substantial car of this lot? We had to put all three into the same ring to get the answers.