The current generation of the Chevrolet Onix could be the closest to a replacement for the Metro

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Unlike the Spark and Sonic which have a somewhat more minivan-like shape, the Onix has more conventional proportions.


It's only fitted with 3-cylinder engines between 1.0L and 1.2L according to each of the markets where it's already available, including turbocharged versions. Brazil only gets the 1.0L ones, while a naturally-aspirated 1.2L is bound to export for Argentina only with a manual transmission while the turbocharged 1.0L is also available with automatic transmission. AFAIK the turbocharged 1.2L is only available with the automatic.


It was initially released in China as a sedan, which is the only bodystyle available there and in Mexico.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Nearly one year and no answers, but it still seems more reasonable to put these pics here instead of another thread.

I didn't really expect to see the Onix retaining a foothold for Chevrolet on the taxi market, as the 1.0L engines place it at a tax bracket which leads to a lower tax rebate than similar models with a larger naturally-aspirated engine which in turn is cheaper to manufacture. At its favor is the ease to adapt to also run on CNG, as the Brazilian model resorts to port-injection instead of the direct injection fitted to its Chinese counterpart.

[freebeard]

Maybe the lack of response is explained here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Onix#Markets

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Maybe the lack of response is explained here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Onix#Markets

Sure. But anyway, even though it caters specifically to emerging markets such as China and most of Latin America, its more traditional appearance compared to the Spark and the Sonic could be supposed to attract some interest from the subcompact buyers who are quite conservative by nature.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

The sedan has been quite a strong contender in the taxi segment in Brazil, both with the naturally-aspirated engine available only with manual transmission and the turbo which has the option for either manual or automatic. Truth be told, to much of my surprise I see a reasonable amount of the turbo with manual transmission being used as taxi in Porto Alegre, which sounds even more surprising as cars up to 1.0L displacement are now not allowed to have a CNG conversion when operating as taxi.

On a sidenote, the Onix production in Mexico was ended, in order to increase the output of the Equinox which is now export-only, yet Mexico and some other Latin American countries are now supplied with the Chinese-made Onix. The naturally-aspirated engine option for the Chinese Onix, available only as a sedan, is a 4-cyl 1.3L instead of the 3-cyl 1.2L fitted to some export-only Brazilian versions. Well, considering its closest direct competitor in Brazil nowadays has either a 3-cyl 1.0L engine recently introduced, or a 4-cyl 1.3L which has been carried over since 2018, GM could consider bringing the 1.3L engine to the Brazilian Onix too.