Mumbai: Honda Siel's target of becoming the market leader in the upper mid-size segment by 2006-07 was an attainable one till a few months ago. That was before the launch of the Chevrolet Optra from the stable of General Motors India (GMI) last month.

The Chevrolet Optra, originally the Nubira from Daewoo Motor, is GMI's much-publicised entry vehicle into the mainstream Indian market. On all fronts the car has everything going for it.

Designed by Pininfarina, a well-known Italian design house, the Optra has superb looks and styling, comes with a powerful engine and has luxurious interiors. And all this comes at a price that is likely to give competitors sleepless nights.

Within two weeks of its launch, the Chevrolet Optra has sold over 1,000 cars even though the company had initially targeted to sell around 1,000 cars in a month. The company is now planning to increase the Optra's production to meet the surging demand.

GMI seems to have realised the price value equations prevailing in the Indian market and has priced the Optra, on all counts a premium D-segment offering, in the Rs 8-9 lakh bracket, competing with cars like the Toyota Corolla, the Skoda Octavia and the Honda Siel.

While the sales of the Corolla and the Octavia may get affected from the launch of the Optra, the car most likely to feel the heat of competition is the Honda City.

The Honda City, currently one of the top-selling cars in the upper mid-size car segment, is available in two models: the City Vtec and the City 1.5 Exi. Compared to the Optra, the fully-loaded variant of the City is under-powered, has a smaller engine and is actually smaller in size as well.

The Chevrolet Optra is powered by a 1.8-litre DOHC engine that delivers 115ps of power, while the Honda City Vtec comes with a 1.5-litre engine that can generate 100 bhp of horsepower.

Please refer to the figures given below:

TECH SPECS	HONDA VTEC	CITY 1.5 (EXI)	CHEVROLET OPTRA
Body	Three box 4-door saloon	Three box 4-door saloon	Three box 4-door saloon
Dimensions; front-track	1450mm	1450mm	1480mm
Kerb weight	985kgs	985kgs	1265kg
Overall height	1395mm	1395mm	1445mm
Overall length	4270mm	4270mm	4500mm
Overall width	1690mm	1690mm	1725mm
Rear track	1455mm	1455mm	1480mm
Tank capacity	45 litres	45 litres	60 litres
Brake horsepower	100bhp @ 6500rpm	100bhp @ 6500rpm	115PS @ 5800rpm
Displacement	1493cc	1493cc	1799cc
Layout	4-cylinder, in line-front; transversely mounted	4-cylinder, in line-front; transversely mounted	In-line 4-cylinder, 16-valve DOHC, MPFi
Torque	13.5kgm @ 4700rpm	13.1kgm @ 4600rpm	156Nm @ 4000 RPM

All said and done, the price will be the real clincher in the success sweepstakes. That said, the City in all its variants is pricier than the Optra and this fact taken along with the engine size and power may work against it.

On road prices (Rs)	Chevrolet Optra	City 1.5 (Exi)S	Octavia 1.9 Tdi-ambient	Corolla 1.8e
Delhi	788956	877976	1099742	1080000
Mumbai	824244	959162	1141323	1174815

The Optra also beats the Corolla and the Octavia on the price front but on other counts the Corolla and the Octavia are comparable to the Optra. The Toyota Corolla, the top-selling car globally, comes with a 1.8-litre engine that generates 125bhp, while the Octavia, which is backed by the superb engineering reputation of the Skoda, has a 1.9-litre engine that can generate 111bhp.

Specifications	Chevrolet Optra	Corolla 1.8 E	Octavia 2.0 Ambient
Kerb weight	1220kgs	1160kgs	1330kgs
Overall height	1445mm	1500mm	1455mm
Overall length	4500mm	4530mm	4507mm
Overall width	1725mm	1705mm	1731mm
Tank capacity	60 litres	50 litres	55 / 7 (reserve) litres
Brake horsepower	115PS @ 5800RPM	125bhp @ 6000rpm	111bhp @ 5100rpm
Displacement	1799cc	1794cc	1984cc
Fuel	Petrol	Unleaded petrol	Unleaded petrol
Layout	In-line 4-cylinder, 16-valve DOHC, MPFi	4-inline	4 cylinder in line
Torque	156Nm @ 4000RPM	158Nm @ 4200rpm	168.80Nm @ 3000rpm
Valve gear	4 valves per cylinder	4 valves per cylinder, DOHC, VVT-I	SOHC, 2 valves per cylinder

Possibly the only front where the Honda City could steal a march over the Optra is in fuel consumption. This factor assumes mammoth proportions in India and was one of the reasons why the Fiat Palio was not as big a success as expected.

With a low kerb weight of 960kgs the City gives up to 12 kms per litre in city driving. The Optra weighing 1220kgs might go heavy on fuel, which might go against it in the long run. Initial sales figures apart, the Optra needs to sustain such numbers consistently before it can well and truly be pronounced a success.

In the recent past, the Honda Siel has been making the right kind of noises. These include plans of introducing an upgraded City by the end of the year and a cut in the price tags of both the Accord and the City.

The company has invested Rs 200 crore over a period of three years (from 2001) on upgrading its existing models, which includes upgrading the City.

Last month the Honda Siel said it planned to reduce the prices of both its models the City and the Accord and also that it will increase the local component in its cars that will enable it to reduce prices again later.

In June this year, the Honda Siel launched the seventh generation new-look Accord priced between Rs 14.7-15.7 lakh, pitched against premium cars like the Toyota Camry, the Ford Mondeo and the Hyundai Sonata. In January next the company plans to again launch an improved version of the Accord, which will sport a 3000cc V6 engine.

Honda has a market share of 15 per cent in the premium D segment, which it hopes to increase to 25 per cent share in the next two years. The company is targeting sales of about 20,000 cars this year. Last year the Honda Siel broke even with revenues of Rs 1,000 crore by selling around 13,300 cars comprising both the City and the Accord.

Future plans include starting a second shift at its Greater Noida facility. Recently the company phased out the highly under-powered 1.3-litre variant of the City and may also phase out the 1.5-litre variant in the near future though it is not confirmed.

Honda, which has completely knocked down assembly operations of the City and the Accord with indigenisation levels of 75 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively, has a total installed capacity of 30,000 cars per annum on a two-shift basis.

The size of the premium car market is about 85,000 units and is expected to increase to 1 lakh cars by the end of the year.