The Enjoy is Chevrolet’s first shot at the relatively uncrowded compact MPV segment with only the Maruti Ertiga as its direct rival. The Enjoy may not look as contemporary as the Ertiga but is pleasant enough. The profile is typically MPV, the short, steeply raked nose meets the large windscreen and massive body, and there are some interesting details. There’s an attractive swage line that runs off the bottom of the grille, the prominent ‘V’ in the bonnet looks smart, and the line that runs from the front wheel arch to the rear breaks up the mass of the body quite nicely. The back of the Enjoy is, however, large and very boxy and the 14-inch wheels are a bit too small.
Like the Ertiga it is built on a car-like monocoque chassis but unlike the Maruti it has the engines placed longitudinally and, more importantly, sends power to the rear wheels.
The ambience inside the cabin isn’t too bad either. The cabin is light and airy and visibility from all seats is good. The design of the two-tone dash is a bit boring and old fashioned on the one hand, but on the flipside it is neat and uniform, meaning it won’t put off many people. The levels of fit and finish however are less than impressive. You are surrounded by a phalanx of hard plastics and the even the stitching of the seats look distinctly aftermarket.
There aren’t too many really useful cubby holes either. The door pockets are shallow and the pair of cup holders can only hold small cans and not bottles of water. Equipment levels too are a bit disappointing. There’s no Bluetooth, no climate control, the music system is a mere single-DIN unit and the driver does not even get a dead pedal.
GM and Chevrolet went to great lengths to get a diesel version here to India - without it there frankly wouldn’t be a project worth considering. And all things considered, it has done a good job. The motor settles into a smooth idle as soon as you start up, with only a bit of vibration coming off the floor. The engine feels eager and willing to rev as soon as you take off, and the few nagging doubts you have about the engine being too small in capacity in comparison with the bulk of the car are soon dispelled. There is even less lag than on GM’s earlier version of the engine and it feels like you are on boost from 1600rpm onwards, which is fantastic. This means upping the pace at a moment’s notice is quite effortless and often does not even need a shift to a lower gear. The reconfigured motor pulls well till approximately 4000rpm, after which power tails off. However with only 73bhp and 1345kg to push, acceleration isn’t too strong; it takes a leisurely 21.36 seconds to get to 100kph.The Enjoy, however, feels much quicker in the real world where the demand for instant responses and early upshifts are all part of everyday driving.
The gearbox has a light action and gears slot in easily, but the long throws and loose feel sloppy. The only major irritant is the considerable amount of lash and vibration you get from the propeller shaft at around 1200rpm when off the throttle.
GM’s China-sourced MPV underpromises and overdelivers. Yes the interiors do feel cheap in places but otherwise GM India seems to have done a stellar job of re-engineering the Enjoy for India. To begin with, the Enjoy is compact, but spacious and comfortable, it rides, steers and drives well and the diesel engine is sufficiently powerful and tractable. Priced around Rs 50-70 thousand(depending on the spec) cheaper than its direct rival Maruti Ertiga, the Enjoy undercuts the Ertiga by a generous margin. Overall, here’s a whole lot of car for reasonable amount of money.
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