SPACE RACE

The Toyota Qualis and Mahindra Scorpio have dominated the attention of large families so far. But has the arrival of the Chevrolet Tavera set the cat among the “ The tavera is by far the roomiest, with loads of legroom and generous width as well.” pigeons?

AT A GLANCE

CHEVROLET TAVERA
List price Rs 7-8 lakh (est) (SS 2.5)
Top speed 135kph
0-100kph 24.0 sec
Kpl 12.15 (overall)
For Ride and handling, space
Against Dated interiors

MAHINDRA SCORPIO
List price Rs 7.25 lakh (GLX)
Top speed 138kph
0-100kph 19.63 sec
Kpl 11.65 (overall)
For Performance, image
Against Unsorted ride and handling

TOYOTA QUALIS
List price Rs 8.65 lakh (RS Diesel)
Top speed 132kph
0-100kph 26.37 sec
Kpl 11.95 (overall)
For Reliability, user-friendly
Against Hearse-like styling
Prices ex-showroom, Mumbai

I magine you have a family of six or seven, and you have to decide what to haul all of them around in, wife, bawling toddlers, surly adolescents and grandma and (sigh) mother-in-law included. You could try and squeeze them into a Maruti 800 and two bicycles, but you may hear some protests. A family saloon is too small, a Tempo Traveller too large and a big SUV too expensive. You want plenty of seats of course, as many of them as comfortable as possible, a nice, fuel-efficient diesel engine, a hassle-free ownership experience, lots of refinement and style. To top it off, you want all this at a very good price.
Until now, the choice for a budget people-carrier has really been between the very practical Toyota Qualis and the very stylish Mahindra Scorpio. Both of these are so extreme in their character that they actually cater to different kinds of people. But now there's a third player which wants to muscle in between the two and grab customers from both sides.
GM India has finally launched the Chevrolet Tavera, which is essentially a re-badged Isuzu Panther, a popular Multi-Utility-Vehicle in Indonesia, to show the competition who's boss. Everyone expects a lot from this modern MUV, but how does it stack up against its highly successful rivals?