Beat: Buying Decision. Review on Chevrolet Beat

I recently purchased a Chevy Beat 1.2 LT from Pashankar Motors Pune. I have been driving GM cars for a while viz. Astra and Corsa and am a bit fan of the ride quality. Beat was way below in my initial list but then topped given the features and price at which I got it. Also, my requirement was more inclined towards ride and build quality with decent mileage. In terms of a Value for Money package the Beat was the best fit.

The choice:

I listed a few models I would see before I decide starting from Ritz, Swift, I 10, Punto, and Beat. My budget was within 5 lakhs. Ritz was the best in terms of space as it is wider and longer but again the looks were a little radical to accept. I was bent on buying a punto as the build quality of a Fiat is best but since the dealer was quite far from where I stay and service may be a long journey to end of the city I chose not to. Swift and I 10 are tried and tested cars, the I 10 I would say is a little over hyped. Though in terms of transmission and engine power I would say it does a wonderful job but the build quality and ride was very poor. I had zeroed down on Ritz and Beat finally before I decide.

Why Beat:

I was a little conscious on what I get for the amount I spend. The I 10 and Ritz had some common features but the Beat had the best interiors and exteriors as well as a good enough music system, auto climate control, and power windows for all windows. Considering it was costing me 4.5 on road I found it to be a fair deal.

Looks:

No one can complain on the looks of Beat, the stripped down base model is an eye catcher and well crafted. The headlights are a little bigger than required but it gives that muscular stance flowing down to the grille with the chevy bowtie. This car gives an appearance of a three door hatch as it is sold in countries abroad however it has well placed handles for the rear doors. I was told that it gets claustrophobic sitting next to those small windows but it didn't bother me for long.

Interior:

This section is an absolute winner for the beat, it has the best in class dash which may seem a little high to short drivers. But the quality of plastic and design is catchy and good. The blue lit dials and tachometer, the music system, and AC knobs gives an up market feel when sitting during night. The LT variant comes with an auto AC feature which is a good add on though a manual HVAC is least you need for a hatch. The CD player is good for radio and plays CDs as well it has a mini -USB port. We need an adaptor to connect a standard USB device. The seat fabric is of good quality and the front seats have a lot of cubby holes to hold bottles, sunglasses, mobile phone. Very thoughtful design.

Engine, performance, Mileage:

The engine is the tried and tested 1.2 litre which does the duty on Aveo U-VA. It has been tuned well to give enough power. There have been issues related to lack of that initial thrust required and I would agree with all. However, I can say that for Indian conditions it is just right, as well for the stop and go traffic. The gear are a little short but then this is to fit in the Indian road and travel conditions. The mileage claimed is 18.6 and am expecting around 12-14 kmpl during these initial runs.

Ride and handling:

The handing is quite good thanks to the hydraulic power steering, no EPS for lower costs. The ride quality is the game changer. Bumps and bad roads are soaked well and there is no "jumpy-bumpy" ride as we find with he hyundais and marutis. The car fares well in high speeds and though I haven't hit the engine any hard yet.

Service:

Now this is the most important factor which I would say is an apprehension among many. In pune there are two dealers and Pashankar is the biggest. I have discussed with chevy owners and they have mentioned that the dealer is ok on the service front. I have got the 3 year/1 lakh km warranty as well which is good when it comes to the final price paid.

The verdict is Beat comes with tempting features at a very very competitive price. The Indian buyers normally have the herd mentality of trying only tried and tested products. Beats are not often seen on roads due to service and brand apprehensions. I guess GM has not done enough but is on the path to do better.

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Latest Update 26 September 2011.

Hello all. After six months of driving Beat I can vouch that my decision to buy this vehicle was a wise one. The vehicle has performed well to my expectations. The mileage is 14-15 kmpl in the city(with AC always on) and around 18-20(with AC always on, on 80% AC usage I managed around 21 once on highway). The vehicle is sensitve to style of driving. If you revv the engine a lot and brake a lot then mileage goes down considerably. My wife is accostomed to an auto transmision and hence when she drives the mileage in city sticks to around 11. The vehicle is stable at high speeds, manages bad roads with ease, and all features run absolutely fine. It is a pleasure to ride this vehicle daily. I have completed 7k Kms and plan to go to bangalore in last week of october so probably I'll complete 10k very soon. The service provided by both the dealers in Pune is satisfactory(not great though). I had an accident within a month and the body design saved us from getting hurt. The total bill on the accidental job was around 25k. Understood from the service personnel that the design of the vehicle is to soak the impact on the vehicle chasis and the chasis is designed in a way that there are two impact zones in front and back which bend and soak the impact in case of an accident. A similar accident on a friends I10 resulted in multiple changes viz. radiator, ac condensor, etc. Friends I would still recommend the BEAT to all. It is a value preposition. With the new diesel avatar it should be a good option since petrol is ultra costly now