[akshay87kumar]

Not a single comment in praise of the facelift! And perhaps I wish to malign even further. Afterall it pains to see such frivolous misdeeds from a manufacturer whose car I greatly admired.
How I wish someone from GM team could read all this. They understand that all is not going well with their Indian operations and yet playing a laid back attitude towards a car that could have potentially usurped a good portion of market. While on the other side is Tata Motors which has its ex-customers and potential customers going gung-ho over the future launches. Now that the moves of GM and the competitors are laid down, atleast for the next couple of years, it will be worth seeing how Chevy salvages itself.

[Soumyajit9]

On a happy note to prospective Beat customers, HERE is the ACC that can be afixed to their rides.

[akshay87kumar]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

On a happy note to prospective Beat customers, HERE is the ACC that can be afixed to their rides.

Thanks, but its for the aesthetics that one generally does for auto climate control! The functionality is served quite well by the manual rotary switches too, albeit the auto function.

[Soumyajit9]

Alright folks. Keep your fingers crossed. Here comes the fresh set of pictures and a very short review, live from Kropex Chevrolet Showroom, Bangalore. I had been there for the 30k service of my 2011 Beat LT Petrol.

No idea about the new pricing. The vehicle that I have reviewed / saw below, is a Beat LT (O) Petrol Model. Features will vary from model to model. Kindly refer to the Chevy Website for the exact details of features.

Highlights / Lowlights of Exterior:

- Fresh Redesigned Front and Rear Bumpers.
- Fog light design has changed. It now features a new grille, apart from the new shape.
- Honey Comb Design of the front grille is gone. The new one looks like Inter-weaved Honeycomb !!
- Rear 3rd Brake light is now Integrated into the spoiler. Spoiler looks a little smaller than the old one.
- The new red reflective stickers are vertical and look nice.
- The plastic cladding below the rear bumper looks super with a grille and gives a sense of a body kit being added ! Good job here.
- Rear tail lamp design remain same, but its glass cover is now red. While everyone is moving to the clear glass pattern, I wonder why did Chevy go back to old school type !!

Highlights / Lowlights of Interior:

- Steering Mounted controls for Audio.- Golden Logo on LT (O) Variant.
- Automatic Climate Control now Gone.
- AC Recirculation type has changed from Push Button to old school type, like in Alto - A Slider. Horrible thing to do.
- Rotary knobs have changed to complete black colour from earlier white border.
- Pathetic looking silver trim on Door, Bottle holder, Ultility space besides steering and on the passenger side too.
- For all those desperately waiting to see whether Chevy has introduced the Mode functionality or not, sad news is, NO.
A few Team-BHPians made a wonderful discovery in their Beat Petrol cars.

HERE is what the Mode functionality does. Sad that Chevy did not introduce them in this facelift model.
- Engine - No change. No ECU Remap to fix 2nd Gear lag issue.

Here comes the pictures:

New Front Look:


Closer Look:


Inter-Weaved Honeycomb Design:


Inter-Weaved Honeycomb Design:


Re-designed Fog Lamps:


Re-Designed Tail Lamps:


Rear Look:


Closer Look at the Rear Bumper with Grille:


3rd Brake Light, now mounted on Rear Spoiler:


Interior Console:


Closer Look at the Steering Mounted control:


Silver Inserts everywhere:

[Topolino]

Originally Posted by RSR

One positive is the inclusion of height adjustable headrest (neck restraint) for the rear centre passenger, which is very welcome!

Originally Posted by mi2n

Rear centre headrest for a Beat? Laughable addition to put it mildly.

Originally Posted by akshay87kumar

Exactly! Where is the space to seat the fifth passenger! And what happens to the rear view through IRVM?

The height adjustable headrest for rear seat is the thing of past. Now the rear seat comes with integrated head rest.

[mi2n]

Originally Posted by Topolino

The height adjustable headrest for rear seat is the thing of past. Now the rear seat comes with integrated head rest.

Not really! Especially in hatches with small rear windows where fixed headrests can be quite a nuisance vis-à-vis the adjustable types found in Beat/A*/Swift etc. However a 3rd rear adjustable headrest in Beat is unnecessary as there is absolutely not enough space for 3 passengers to sit abreast in its rear seat.

Coming to the face-lift, or if I may say face-drop (literally too as the grill drops down further) and the simultaneous price hike has put the Beat in a real predicament. The Diesel LT is now at 6.20l OTR, Kolkata after discounts which is at par with the i10 Grand Magna CRDI! The Grand has a tad bigger mill, well appointed interiors with a segment above feel, fresh looks, more space. To further dissuade the prospective buyers they have removed the ACC (a perceived upmarket feature). The fresh-air/recirculation slider in the Beat looks and feels very ugly, trust me, I'm living with one. It was somewhat acceptable in my 3.8l OTR small car, but is totally unacceptable in a 6.2 lac rupee small car.

I had booked a Black Diesel LT last month. Cancelled it, and booked a Figo TDCI instead. I wanted to have two Beats in the garage. It is a good car none the less and then the thought of waking up every morning, walking down to the garage and pronouncing - "Autobots roll out" in "Prime" style.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by Topolino

The height adjustable headrest for rear seat is the thing of past. Now the rear seat comes with integrated head rest.

[quote=mi2n;3369498]Not really! Especially in hatches with small rear windows where fixed headrests can be quite a nuisance vis-à-vis the adjustable types found in Beat/A*/Swift etc. However a 3rd rear adjustable headrest in Beat is unnecessary as there is absolutely not enough space for 3 passengers to sit abreast in its rear seat./quote]

I gues there is some confusion. There is no height adjustable neck restraint for the Rear middle passenger in the 2014 Beat.
Its the same as it was earlier.

Pics shown on various websites differ a lot from the actual production model that can be seen only in the showroom.

[Topolino]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

I gues there is some confusion. There is no height adjustable neck restraint for the Rear middle passenger in the 2014 Beat.
Its the same as it was earlier.

There are only two neck restraint for rear seat in 2014 Beat, but now even in LT/LT(O) variants they are fixed/integrated with the seat.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by Topolino

There are only two neck restraint for rear seat in 2014 Beat, but now even in LT/LT(O) variants they are fixed/integrated with the seat.

That is correct bro !! My statement was kinda misleading. Infact, its all the same with the interiors of the rear seat. Two neck restraints - Height adjustable.
Are you sure that its not height adjustable ? Because AFAIR, I saw height adjustable neck restraints on all the 4 seats.

[Topolino]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

That is correct bro !! My statement was kinda misleading. Infact, its all the same with the interiors of the rear seat. Two neck restraints - Height adjustable.
Are you sure that its not height adjustable ? Because AFAIR, I saw height adjustable neck restraints on all the 4 seats.

Yes I am sure, the rear neck restraints are fixed. I was invited by Chevrolet Dealer on the launch of Beat 2014 here in Udaipur, I checked all the new features detailed by you in your short informative review and while comparing with pre 2014 Beat I found that rear seat neck restraints are integrated/fixed with the seat.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by Topolino

Yes I am sure, the rear neck restraints are fixed. I was invited by Chevrolet Dealer on the launch of Beat 2014 here in Udaipur, I checked all the new features detailed by you in your short informative review and while comparing with pre 2014 Beat I found that rear seat neck restraints are integrated/fixed with the seat.

Ahh, my bad then. But fixed neck restraints !! What level of cost cutting spree is GM on ?
I mean what is left of the car comfort then ? No ACC, No adjustable neck restraints. GM is surely trying to kill the Beat with slow poison.

[myavu]

Even I posted that in their Facebook page. Little Beaty is killed.

GM why did you do this?