[gomzi]

I saw a Chevy Beat being ripped on the EEH today. The car did not have any TC registration. Instead the plates showed BEAT in large lettering.

The car looked imposing in my rearview mirror, but when it went past I was like "what were they thinking when they designed the back like that!" (personal opinion).

The tyres did look on the skinny side for the funky body styling. A tyre upsize will be essential I think.

[sushantr5]

I Test Drove Beat. I found nothing special in that car. Interior is average and the biggest thing is the Lack of Thigh Support in front as well as rear. Car looks great only in Photos and pictures. Physically it is not a looker.

[Sn1p3r]

@sushantr5 could you talk more about your TD, what all did you not like and comparing it with others in its category. Also what other option would you suggest currently.

[sushantr5]

Originally Posted by Sn1p3r

@sushantr5 could you talk more about your TD, what all did you not like and comparing it with others in its category. Also what other option would you suggest currently.

Here is the story. I and my friend were out on 14th January for Test Drive and choose a car for my friend. Budget was not matter of concern. But my friend was obsessed by chervolet and specially Beat and so I, because its new car and was looking attractive. The main choosing criteria for my friend was FEEL inside and outside and nothing more. As we approached Chevy showroom and saw Beat parked outside and there was a blow to our assumptions, Physically car does not look as good as photos. Ok its matter of personal test. Then we sat inside the car. I cant explain our feeling inside specially my friends feeling who is die hard fan of Chevrolet. No thigh support, seats were not comfortable. After this we realized this car is small car and is here for competing with Alto, A-Stars category. Boot is very very small compared to others. I can not comment on drive because I hardly drove this car for 5 kilometers in city. After dismal interior and comfort we were not interested in drive so I didn't payed attention to drive. What I felt is that this car is overpriced when compared to what it offers.

Then we had big question. Which car for my friend? Swift is good but now we are used to it so out of question. Vista is the same case because I own it and we are used to it. Punto was not in our mind but we came to TATA showroom just to have a look and test drive of Punto Active 1.2 ltr petrol. And guys after this we finalized Punto. Next day we changed to Punto Active Multijet. I think I dont need to explain anything about Punto.

In short Punto Active 1.2 ltr Petrol is anyday better than Beat LT, I would say in terms of FEEL, LOOKS, FIT and FINISH, DRIVE PLEASURE, SUSPENSION, IMAGE. Beat only has better features to offer nothing much.

[Pyrotek]

@Sushant

When it comes to choice, subjectivity is everything. I don't think the feel, fit or finish of the Punto can hold a candle to the Beat at the moment, but I have no qualms in your friend's ultimate choice. The Punto is a magnificent car, and I would have certainly considered it, if not for the Beat.

In terms of looks, Punto and Beat come from different schools of thought. Evolved elegance versus uber-chic. Both hold their own ground firmly. For me, I noticed that the rear legroom in the Punto is not much better than the Beat anyway.

I enjoyed the drive in the Beat, and i've also test-driven the Punto 1.4 Ep. I own a Swift petrol. So all in all, having experienced some of the best hatches around, I rate the Beat exceptionally well. Coupled with a very good warranty package and an unbeatable price, this car manages to tick all the boxes for me.

Let me sum it this way, if money was no object, I'd buy the 1.4 Ep Punto. Period. But if I'm hunting for a great car armed with a max-budget of 5L, I'd consider the Beat VERY VERY seriously.

[slayer87]

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

@Sushant

When it comes to choice, subjectivity is everything. I don't think the feel, fit or finish of the Punto can hold a candle to the Beat at the moment, but I have no qualms in your friend's ultimate choice. The Punto is a magnificent car, and I would have certainly considered it, if not for the Beat.

In terms of looks, Punto and Beat come from different schools of thought. Evolved elegance versus uber-chic. Both hold their own ground firmly. For me, I noticed that the rear legroom in the Punto is not much better than the Beat anyway.

I enjoyed the drive in the Beat, and i've also test-driven the Punto 1.4 Ep. I own a Swift petrol. So all in all, having experienced some of the best hatches around, I rate the Beat exceptionally well. Coupled with a very good warranty package and an unbeatable price, this car manages to tick all the boxes for me.

Let me sum it this way, if money was no object, I'd buy the 1.4 Ep Punto. Period. But if I'm hunting for a great car armed with a max-budget of 5L, I'd consider the Beat VERY VERY seriously.

well said, i have similar thoughts on the beat. I own a swift zxi, A-star and Civic and let me tell you after driving the beat, none of the hatchbacks come close to it in the sub 5 lakh category. The fit and finish of the car is far better than Punto. i did not expect the interiors to be soo good after hearing the price, but to my surprise everything inside had a feel good factor in the LT variant, dont know about rest. The seats were much better than even my swift zxi and the steering wheel was wow! it felt and was much better built than most of the cars under 10 lakh and i would rate it almost as good as my civic in terms of sheer quality. the second highlight was the space inside the car, it was brilliant and the rear legroom was much more than my swift. The 3 year warranty further cements my decision to buy the beat.
Punto is a great car too, but in terms of interiors its a sheer dissapointment, for me atleast.

[rupinder]

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[quadmaniac]

Guys, did the Chevy dealer mention about the 3 year warranty on the BEAT? I read somewhere else on tbhp that people are just assuming that this will be present since it is on the Spark - and that this does not apply to BEAT!

Also, yeah - the interiors of the PS ARE rather dull! But I wanted to go for PS since GTO mentions that the SQ of the LT ICE is flat, and I definitely want a decent ICE for my first car!

~Raj

[EssYouWe]

I mentioned in my review that the 3 year warranty comes for an added price of 13k.

It is not free.

[anku94]

It looks like a revamped version of Spark. We have one and many 'Spark'y things caught my eye....

[WindRide]

Saw this ugly creature on my way to office 1/2 hour back on the Indiranagar - Airport Road flyover. Man, i almost vomitted in my helmet... silver coloured rear lights, vertical rear grip, bulges sticking out all over the front, vents instead of windows in the rear..... yuck!!
This car is strictly for the aesthetically-challenged 18 year olds.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Saw this ugly creature on my way to office 1/2 hour back on the Indiranagar - Airport Road flyover. Man, i almost vomitted in my helmet... silver coloured rear lights, vertical rear grip, bulges sticking out all over the front, vents instead of windows in the rear..... yuck!!
This car is strictly for the aesthetically-challenged 18 year olds.

Well definitely, Aesthetics do not comes to everyone easily. To me this is another Love it or Hate it Design. Don't know how many people remember but the Suzuki met with the same kind of response especially because of its retro type looks but still went on to be liked by lakhs of people across the globe.

I especially remember one Car review episode on CNN (sometime in Feb 2005) where people laughed and few almost puked watching Suzuki swift and its funny looks.

I can tell you from the response i saw on Chevy pavilion in Auto Expo, people were falling over to sit inside the car. Noticed how a lanky person like GM MD, Slym drove it onto the stage.

As far Punto is concerned from exterior it looks amazing, and I waited for it for 2.5 years having worked on supply side of few parts. But frankly, I have come across too many people who were put-off by its interior quality, that i don't anymore recommend this baby to my friends.

EssYouWe had checked the warranty aspect, it definitely comes with 3 year 1 lakh Km warranty, although the much publicized free service and maintenance comes with an additional cost, not sure how much.

[sushantr5]

I think Punto has better warranty package, 2 years unlimited kilometers plus 2 years extended upto 150000 KMS. Only thing extra is that we need to pay for consumables.

[slayer87]

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

I mentioned in my review that the 3 year warranty comes for an added price of 13k.

It is not free.

the 3 year warranty does not cost anything, its standard. The 3 year maintanence package comes at a cost and not the warranty.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by sushantr5

I think Punto has better warranty package, 2 years unlimited kilometers plus 2 years extended upto 150000 KMS. Only thing extra is that we need to pay for consumables.

Think, Extended Warranty is charged separately from customers and other manufacturer asurely must be offering the same, Atleast maruti used to offer it through their sales guys not sure whether the practice still remains.

The 2nd biggest constraint would be the # of service centres for Chevrolet and Fiat. Chevrolet sure must be having fourth largest *** network (given their volumes) and Tata/Fiat *** is probably not upto the mark. I also think this was the main reason why Punto sales are down despite being a competant car.