[designersf]

Originally Posted by fangface

Pardon my ignorance, but does the Beat have more boot space than an Alto?. Tried looking around for info on the Alto's boot space, but couldnt get any numbers on that. Would appreciate any info on this!

Alto is around 200-220L I think because I had one some time back.

Originally Posted by Equus

There are a few petrol hatches which havent been as discriminated as the Beat D

How many folks actually end up caring about the 3 Vs 4 cylinders? Space, Mileage, Service costs are far more important to the average buyer.

Couple of points--
- Chevy has kept some pricing power to factor in discounts as and when necessary.
- Chevy (will tweak and) insert this engine in the Spark as well. Expect it to be 40-50K cheaper.

I like the fact that Chevy dared to come with this 936CC engine. Bravo!!

Chevy will never launch a Spark diesel because of 2 cases :

1. If it is 40-50K cheaper, then it will kill the Beat diesel
2. If it is 20-25K cheaper, then some people might just go for Beat as it is more modern. However, this is an advantage as it will result in overall sales of Chevy's diesel cars.

From the way I see it, the engine room will need to be modified in the Spark which doesn't make business sense to me. Its a new development altogether.

Originally Posted by nikhil3456

Afaik, the Beat-D engine is more frugal than Figo, has lesser turbo lag and very much a driveable.

My personal take having driven the cars is that Beat-D has better ride and handling than Figo -a fact also mentioned by NDTV which compared the 2 cars.

While Figo beats Beat-D on cabin space and boot space, I have found the Beat driver seat to offer a lot more comfort over long runs for a 6'2" guy like me.

Afaik, going by market research reports, Chevrolet has a better brand consideration and value than Ford. GM has a bigger service network than Ford's (I think ~50 more service centers) and is offering better maintenance package. Figo's resale value is good only on the diesel and not on the petrol. So, the resale value factor is an unknown as of now, since Figo petrol has similar resale values to Beat petrol.

What a comedy! Beat might have a little better ride but the Figo trumps it hands down when it comes to overall ride and handling. NDTV guys are nuts. Chevy Beat's front seat might be fine but the question is the situation sitting behind a 6'2" driver!

[abhi1309]

Diesel Spark will seriously be awesome and both diesels (Beat and Spark) would be segment firsts, they would do a lot of good to GM India. I can just imagine the ARAI figure of the Diesel Spark Also it will be an ideal 2nd or 3rd car for wifeys and others. Nice torque for us to drive once in a while. Going crazy thinking about it..

[adimicra]

@fangface: Here is the data for boot space of Alto and Beat:
Alto: 177 litres
Beat: 170 litres

Even I am suprised to see that Beat has less boot space than Alto. In fact, A-star is even less at 129 litres.

[fangface]

Originally Posted by adimicra

@fangface: Here is the data for boot space of Alto and Beat:
Alto: 177 litres
Beat: 170 litres

Even I am suprised to see that Beat has less boot space than Alto. In fact, A-star is even less at 129 litres.

@adimicra - thanks! I currently own an Alto, and as long as i have a similar amount of boot space, i am ok with the Beat! That said, it is surprising that the Altos boot is slightly larger.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by bigvishnu

At Bangalore, below are the prices:


BEAT 1.0 BASE TCDI N. MET 521,289
BEAT 1.0 BASE TCDI MET 527,989
BEAT 1.0 LS TCDI N. MET 557,667
BEAT 1.0 LS TCDI MET 564,368
BEAT 1.0 LT TCDI N.MET 611,001
BEAT 1.0 LT TCDI MET 617,766
BEAT 1.0 LTO TCDI N. MET 666,386
BEAT 1.0 LTO TCDI MET 673,150


am disappointed, the prices are not as exciting and aggressive as i would have liked!

I agree! Okay these are Bangalore prices, so considering the higher taxes there, Beat D should be a bit cheaper elsewhere. I was not surprised by the AN Fiesta pricing...Turns out that surprise was reserved for Beat D. And moreover, already they are saying the prices will be hiked later on. Not sure this is going to work as well as we had expected.

[fangface]

WRT to the debate about the Beat vs Figo, i have no doubt that the Figo Diesel is a fine car with very few weak points.

That said, the Beat is a neat little car and quite enjoyable to drive! I would suggest that people give it a test drive before dissing the little car

I had booked a LT (O) and the final on-road prices were slightly higher than my expectations. I have given serious thought about whether to cancel my booking and go the Figo way, but ultimately i am sticking with the Beat for the following reasons -

1. Exterior Styling - The Beat is so much snazzier than the Figo. Overall an attractive car to drive, may not appeal to all, but does to me!
2. Interiors - The interior of the car looks so much more modern and well put together, feels ergonomic and well thought out. The Figo IMHO is a notch or 2 lower on styling.
3. Driver comfort - I am 5,9" and love the driver seat comfort of the Beat. There is ample leg room in the back seat, but the under thigh support is on the lower side for passengers.
4. Engine response - Drive the Beat, its peppy and responsive, linear power delivery, fun to drive, i dare say almost petrolish . NVH levels are great, very refined car.
5. Features - Full safety pack - Airbags+ABS, alloys, climate control, tilt steering. The only thing i miss are electric mirrors which the Figo Titanium has.
6. Usage profile - I mostly drive alone and I do quite a lot of long distance driving, but normally cruise at 80-90kmph, the Beat will easily do that and more without a fuss. I dont intend to break too many speed records and i am confident that the Beat will do just fine for my needs.
7. Fuel efficiency - 24kmpl is a serious carrot! I hope to better those numbers on my highway runs though.
8. After sales support - The Chevy dealer in mysore has good reviews for service quality, much better than the Ford and Hyundai guys! The 100k km / 3 yr warranty + 15k service intervals point to low cost of ownership, another plus point for me.

[Urban_Nomad]

For me, the make it or break it point (post pricing) is the 3 year cashless maintainence that Chevy offers. Will this be extended to the Beat Diesel?

If not, long story short, Figo takes this match. In 40k more, I get a more powerful, equally drivable in the city (as Beat) but a better performing car on the highway (basis GTO's report), better cabin space, mature ride quality and handling vis a vis Chevy (again basis GTO's report), lot more boot space for those out of towners with the family and overall a lot more practicality.

Looks are subjective and I am not a big fan of the Beat's curves. Figo is no beauty either but (for me) its the lesser of the two evils.

And really, for 40k, what is the difference in the EMI?

[oxyzen]

I was wondering what would happen if GM decides to provide the lisence to manufacture this 1L 3 pot engine. I think it can be the next national diesel engine.

Surely Beat will loose its credibility and uniqueness but imagine the revenue that GM can generate. Cars like Astar, Wagonr and i10 would be dying to get such an engine. Imagine what would happen if Maruti could get one such powerplant for Alto.

[birashis]

If someone is looking for a city car then Fuel economy and lower cost of maintenance will definitely play a big role in the final buyer decision

[Skyline GT-R]

Agree with designersf.

Most cars nowadays can take a 6ft2" driver comfortably (Except Alto/AStar). The question is can anyone sit behind as passengers?

While i test drove the beat i had to push the seat to the extreme & there was literally no space for anyone to sit behind me (on the rear seats) I am 6ft1" with kind of longish arms which means the seatback was a bit reclined too.

Beat should be good for 4 pax City use & 2-3 pax highway use (with luggage)

But i like Beat better than Figo for looks alone.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by GTO

I say that the Figo & Beat diesels have taken the fight where no one dared. Right to Maruti's & Hyundai's backyard.

If we are talking diesels, then I would say its Maruti and Tata's backyard. Hyundai still lacking a VFM diesel i-20 and the i-10 is yet to see an oil burner.

Originally Posted by designersf

Chevy will never launch a Spark diesel because of 2 cases :

1. If it is 40-50K cheaper, then it will kill the Beat diesel
2. If it is 20-25K cheaper, then some people might just go for Beat as it is more modern. However, this is an advantage as it will result in overall sales of Chevy's diesel cars.

Then why does'nt the same logic apply to the petrol versions??

[Equus]

Spark sales are pathetic compared to Alto/WagonR. So I am 100% sure they will introduce this engine into Spark as well (Karl Sym didnt say no when asked this).

If the petrol spark costs 2.78L exshowroom, spark diesel will cost 3.5 exshowroom.
Fits the bill perfectly! Chevy will go all the way - incase they intend to remain relevant. Their plant has a capacity of close to 2 Lakhs and it cant be rotting!

[Auto Motive]

Since petrol is becoming a precious commodity by the day most of us who are considering to buy a family car are going the diesel way. Car like "house/flat", in most Indian families is a strategic long term purchase which will stay with them for long (7-8 years or even more). I think a majority of car buyers in India would not mind spending 20K more for a car like Figo TDCI which is both a good city car (low end torque & no turbo lag) as well as a highway cruiser (67 BHP - 1.4 CC - 4 cylinder) than going for a city only car like Beat TCDI. Users wont mind getting a couple of kms less for a litre for the complete package that Figo TDCI offers. Almost all of us like to go on long drives on our cars, and I am a little skeptical about Beat TCDI carrying 5 people and luggage on a steep incline like a ghat section with AC switched on. The whole point is if I pay 20K more and am willing to compromise on a couple of kms for a litre I am getting an all rounder a complete package.

[mukeshgoel]

One more interesting add-on to cost.

In Delhi, metallic colors cost Rs.5,879/- extra. (5508/- for metallic colors, 220/- for increased registration charge and 151/- for increased insurance)

[ff1609]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

One more interesting add-on to cost.

In Delhi, metallic colors cost Rs.5,879/- extra. (5508/- for metallic colors, 220/- for increased registration charge and 151/- for increased insurance)

Thats alright, I went to a Chevy dealer in Bangalore today and he mentioned Rs. 6500 extra for metallic colours (all colours apart from white and black).

The higher tax in Karnataka makes it way more expensive here (about 50k more than Delhi). Since you are in Gurgaon, consider getting a HR 26 registration, it will be about 20k cheaper than DL reg & as long as it is a NCR reg like UP 16/ HR 26/ HR 51 its alright.