[Vid6639]

If priced right this will hurt the Figo TDCi and the i10 petrol. The i10 petrol is priced more than the beat diesel by 40-50K, if the beat is anywhere near your getting a diesel city hatch for petrol car money.

Also the pic with the Figo and the beat. Man the Figo looks so dated and boring compared to the trendy Beat next to it.

[noopster]

Great review GTO, as always.

Wow the timing could NOT be better for this launch- someone rightly pointed out that this may well be the gamechanger for GM! I was a little chary of the 3 pot engine but your review suggests minimal turbo lag and excellent urban driveability which is fantastic! I like the Beat's interiors, in fact the only grouse I have is that the exteriors are over-designed. But I guess that's something you can get used to.

Can't help but remark what a wonderful time it is to be a car buyer in India! First, a Toyota under 4 lacs, now a diesel under 5!

Edit: I agree that volumes will come from the WagonR/ i10. Chevy has played a masterly hand by launching "lower" than its direct diesel competitors. Someone looking for a compact urban hatch would certainly look hard and close at a diesel alternative!

[rlakhanpal]

Thanks for the crisp review GTO.

Chevy pricing now holds the key to a potential market leader - what say? Petrol is getting into the "luxury commodity" bracket. "Kitna deti hai?" is a very big factor. CNG distribution might have improved in Delhi, but refueling is still a "process" lacking agility.

It does seem more suited for office commute in cities like Delhi (NCR) - where you travel long distances and not necessarily need space for 5.

[vinya_jag]

This is the best thing that has happened to Indian automotive industry.
The small diesel car segment.
Fuel efficient, eco friendly, light, peppy, small cars.
Now, its the turn of other manufacturers to bring in something similar.

Ford has their 1 liter ecoboost engine. This I guess will be in a new car that Ford would produce for India. [The figo can not take a 1 liter engine. Its too heavy and too big for a engine of such size].
Ford Announced One Lit EcoBoost Engine Internationally

Maruti could use the same engine and bring us a Zen like car which had excellent packaging for space and yet give us a small family city hatch. [I would buy that for sure]

Fiat could give us a Fiat 500 like car with this engine and make it a India car in next 2 years.

Tata is already in this segment with their ev2 but need a new face for their premiere model.

So, can we expect a new segment opening up? A more sensible one this time!

[blackasta]

A nice diesel engine in a car that I love the looks of! Now that's good news.
If GM puts in a sensible AT box sometime in near future, this would be my next car when I go back (as dad is using the i10 and his low usage justifies the petrol)
As usual - straight, informative and punchy review GTO - 5 stars.

[oxyzen]

As far I see, The Beat just got a Huge improvement
1) Better drivability - The petrol with its taller gearing is not fun to drive. There is no instant torque at tap. (Even after ECU upgrade). Before the upgrade it was horrible.
2) Wider tyres - This is the most Fundamental change Beat needed from Day 1. Now solved.
3) Similar variants for petrol & Diesel.
4) Beat was never known for Fuel efficiency. Maybe the Diesel will be. Welcome to the era of 1L diesel.
5) I just cant believe how a 1L 3 pot diesel be so refined. I have to get my hands on it.

However rear seat comfort is still not taken into consideration by GM. I was hoping they would atleast increase the under-thigh support. Like GTO said, a Biege interior can definitely get rid of Claustrophobic feeling.
If you dont design a car for the driver (SWIFT/PUNTO/POLO/FABIA) you definately need to get the backseat perfect.

[smashnerd]

Wonderful review. I think GM has a winner in the making and pricing will decide its fate. Just keep it sweet GM.

[veyron_head]

First thought that came to my mind after reading this review is: Chevy is doing all the right things! A sub 5 lac diesel hatch is non-existent (except the indica) and Beat is positioned in a very lucrative space. I guess it will poach customers across segments :Alto, WagonR, i10,Swift petrol and diesel etc.

I only wish the launch of this car fuels competition and we get to see more sub 1 liter diesel cars from Maruti, hyundai and others.

[Nash24]

Originally Posted by veyron_head

First thought that came to my mind after reading this review is: Chevy is doing all the right things! A sub 5 lac diesel hatch is non-existent (except the indica) and Beat is positioned in a very lucrative space. I guess it will poach customers across segments :Alto, WagonR, i10,Swift petrol and diesel etc.

I only wish the launch of this car fuels competition and we get to see more sub 1 liter diesel cars from Maruti, hyundai and others.

Hyundai is already making a 1.1 diesel for i10. Maruti and others cant make a diesel for sure.

Maruti has only 3 options if beat diesel becomes a huge hit.
1) reduce the petrol car prices and try and push sales (Copy of the honda's move)
2) Put the 1.3 DDiS in the Wagon R and Astar, price them correctly and fight the competation royally, because power to weight ratio's in these cars will be too hot. Even if these maruti cars are 30k-40k more expensive than 1 litre beat diesel, they will sell like hot cakes owing to the maruti name and authorised service factor.
3) release another hatch in the market which has a big engine bay to accomodate the 1.3 ddis easily,ensure no petrol variant of this car is available & manage other things in the car like good handling and features, price the car close to the beat diesel or slightly higher

[Pri2]

This is awesome!!! Thank you GTO for the quick and detailed review! The Beat with the 3 Cylinder Diesel has the potential to beat all the other cars in its category and become the next Alto !

[Nash24]

Originally Posted by GTO

Other Points:

- 3
- The first 3 cylinder diesel to be sold in India was the Accent CRDi, which incidentally was also the first common-rail diesel for <10 lakhs. The second is the currently sold 1.2L in the VW Polo & Skoda Fabia. You’ll be seeing a lot more 3 cylinder diesels in the future. Maruti & Hyundai will be watching the market’s response closely. After all, think of what a small diesel could do to the Alto or Santro.

- Diesel Beat's instrument console doesn't have a glow plug indicator.

-
.

Hi Folks,

Can anyone please throw light on what is the glow plug indicator?

Also i feel this car, though everyone is telling the 3 cylinder engine NVH is less and vibrations are less, in the long run i think its better to stick with the 4 Cylinder motor. Correct me if i'm wrong on this one.

After 3 years if this 3 cylinder motor starts vibrating too much and noise levels are same as the 4 cylinder motor from the outside, it still makes sense to buy the 4 cyclinder 1.3 DDiS for peace of mind if we wish to own the car for a minimum of 5 years.

End of the day i'm just trying to figure out if it is worth puting 5lakhs on the Beat 3 cylinder engine or pay 6 lakhs on on the ritz 4 cylinder engine if the car needs to be kept for 5 years minimum and the car does about 1500km in the city and about 200km on the empty roads or the highways on a monthly average basis.

[pgsagar]

Wow! Great review GTO! And great car,too! I like only three hatchbacks in India ( on looks ) -- Beat, A-Star and Swift. I feel very bad the first two haven't been a success they deserve. They look so sporty and refreshing compared to boring Figo and Liva.

I am sure Beat D will be a big hit. The only downside seems to be top-end on highways and congested rear seat space. But then Beat should be looked upon as a city run-about car. How often do we get to hit highways and take it up beyond 120 kph? Low-end and mid punch is more important for an about-city car. And the rear sapce? Again, we do not load up our car on a daily basis. I fill my car with 5 persons 1 or 2 times a year. I drive alone 80% of time and with wife/son the rest of the time. I am sure it goes for most of us. So, does it matter then?

Now, if only GM also brings in an AT on this car. Since, the pricing is very reasonable, there IS room for GM to throw in an AT box and yet price it like a hatch. Now THAT will revolutionize motoring in India. I have been waiting incessantly for a diesel AT hatch since ages but none appears on the horizon. Came close to buying A-Star hatch but petrol prices are scaring me. So the wait continues and am still stirring the shift-stick of my Lancer every 100 metre or so in the &*$%ing rush hour traffic.

[sahakar]

I was so close to buying an auto Astar too but something stopped me. I am on the lookout for buying a sedan but this totally rivets my attention and increases my confusion. Can anybody please explain what is this 3 year vibration stuff of diesel cars. I have never owned a diesel and am a bit apprehensive if a diesel car would just give up n 3 years.

Cheers

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by sahakar

I was so close to buying an auto Astar too but something stopped me. I am on the lookout for buying a sedan but this totally rivets my attention and increases my confusion. Can anybody please explain what is this 3 year vibration stuff of diesel cars. I have never owned a diesel and am a bit apprehensive if a diesel car would just give up n 3 years.

Cheers

Sahakar, A-Star looks so cute to me that I had a tough time walking away from it. Only reason being, it is petrol. It and Beat, too, just look adorable. Everytime I look at a Beat or an A-Star, I just drool. At traffic signal, if I am parked next to one, I fail to notice the lights-change and get honked from behind. I wish I had parking space for two cars. So, the Lancer has to go if one fo the two has to come. Now, if only we get an AT on Beat D OR a diesel plant on A-Star AT. Oh, how I wish....

[sahakar]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Sahakar, A-Star looks so cute to me that I had a tough time walking away from it. Only reason being, it is petrol. It and Beat, too, just look adorable. Everytime I look at a Beat or an A-Star, I just drool. At traffic signal, if I am parked next to one, I fail to notice the lights-change and get honked from behind. I wish I had parking space for two cars. So, the Lancer has to go if one fo the two has to come. Now, if only we get an AT on Beat D OR a diesel plant on A-Star AT. Oh, how I wish....

Yup either of those options would be great. A small auto diesel would be perfect in all respects. I hope wifey can drive a manual now then I think I will buy this one for the wifey and get me a tjet plus I have been just changing models like changing clothes the last few days.

Cheers