Team-BHP > Team-BHP Reviews > Official New Car Reviews


Reply
  Search this Thread
2,333,175 views
Old 7th December 2009, 21:30   #46
Senior - BHPian
 
McLaren Rulez's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Mysore
Posts: 3,379
Thanked: 4,994 Times

I think I'll be the first to stick my neck out and say that the styling is awful. My god! Its distinctive all right, in the same way as wearing pants whose waistline is near your nipples is distinctive. The first car that truly has the power to make children cry.

But having said that, full marks to GM for not giving us another boring bland design that offends no one. It also looks like some of the others posters approve of the styling.
McLaren Rulez is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 21:32   #47
Team-BHP Support
 
Vid6639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 17,717
Thanked: 43,237 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by Caramelo View Post

a question! for experts. does the sound quality depend on the HU. or its just the speakers. i like the looks of the HU (so blue and avatar like cool)!!

also i see 2 speakers in the front dash? usually they are on the doors, so can you ad more speakers! and a sub-woofer( very small boot??)

This is not at all an ICE friendly car. 4" speakers on dash and 4" speakers in rear shelf.

No wonder the audio sucks. No provision in door means that only option is to cut the rear door pads or to install a plank in the back and be stuck with 4" in front.
Vid6639 is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 21:56   #48
BHPian
 
vaisakhr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: KL-32
Posts: 381
Thanked: 197 Times

Oh my god! what an awesome review. Its feels like I am in the car. Very well written.

My few suggestions
# Steering with music controls would have been nice
# A nice diesel motor
# USB instead of mini USB
# A height adjustment for driver seat.

IMO it will be really an i10/ritz killer.
vaisakhr is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:01   #49
Senior - BHPian
 
blackasta's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: WB 26
Posts: 3,405
Thanked: 2,916 Times

Great review GTO !

What I like:

styling - distinctive
SBK inspired gauges - awesome
fake wood - looks nice
almost invisible rear door handles - kewl

What I do not like so much:

puny tires - not good, looks like the car is riding roller skates
speaker positioning - dash + rear parcel shelf is not a very good positioning
rear quarter glass absence - claustrophobic. I guess this is a trade off for having the pseudo 3 door hatch look!

what does not matter so much:

No remote lock - one has many aftermarket options


What I wish to have:


Diesel
Autobox
Diesel + Autobox

Last edited by blackasta : 7th December 2009 at 22:02.
blackasta is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:08   #50
BHPian
 
carlosTHEjackal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 107
Thanked: 81 Times

As always good review GTO.

How easy is to open the rear doors from the right hand, especially driver side rear door? Won't this be an odd feeling to the passenger to open it from outside with fingers not facing towards the passenger. (generally the case for all hatchbacks)

You have provided the snap of the co-driver side passenger door, this doesn't have hindrance to the passenger.

My feeling it will take a lot of time for people to get used to the rear doors handlers.
carlosTHEjackal is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:10   #51
BHPian
 
himanshukalia's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Delhi
Posts: 38
Thanked: Once

A perfect review GTO... Interior styling is excellent but looks are off-base.
himanshukalia is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:21   #52
Senior - BHPian
 
_raVan_'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Pune
Posts: 1,074
Thanked: 660 Times

The looks are striking and would definitely turn heads when on the street. Also the dashboard and the speedometer looks funky indeed. Though I dont expect steering mounted controls and keyless entry, the USB port should have been given (atleast in the top end variant). Also am sad to see the puny tyres and the rear seat comfort (only 2 people can sit comfortably!!!).
_raVan_ is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:23   #53
BHPian
 
basilmabraham's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Sydney/Cochin
Posts: 772
Thanked: 76 Times

Thanks GTO. Nice review as always....

Any news on the sell dates, bookings starting date etc. ?
Observations from fellow tbhpians makes one feel that this is not at all ICE friendly car, now that could cause issues in numbers selling, unless there is a workaround.
basilmabraham is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:26   #54
Senior - BHPian
 
blackasta's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: WB 26
Posts: 3,405
Thanked: 2,916 Times

Another thing - is ABS + Airbag an option across all variants?
blackasta is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:41   #55
BHPian
 
Turbo Head's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 322
Thanked: 215 Times

Superb Review and equally great car to test.
Tires are puny as mentioned by everyone, can be upgraded unlike the boot, which is a big disappointment.
Interiors can teach the cars two segments above a lesson or two.
With appropriate pricing and excellent VFM proposition its a very decent package overall.
Turbo Head is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:46   #56
BANNED
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NAMMA BENGALURU
Posts: 5,602
Thanked: 2,549 Times

Also to add my few paisas

Imagine a local tinkers horror if such a car comes for tinkering..... Which lines to set straight, where to curve it were to beat it flat
PAVAN KADAM is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 22:50   #57
GTO
Team-BHP Support
 
GTO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 70,335
Thanked: 298,733 Times

No comments on the pressed steel wheels? Sure, the top end has alloys but even the pressed steel wheels of the base version are so much better than the regular fare of other brands.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Technocrat View Post
Btw most of the missing features(Keyless entry, steering mounted controls, multi-info display) are not really a norm in the segment that Beat would feature in, so I dont think people would really miss them.
Hey, among other things, the Ritz has height adjustable seatbelts and steering mounted controls. The top variant comes with 185 patch tyres too!

Quote:
Originally Posted by gupta_chd View Post
Chevy logo on steering looks different in both these pics. First looks good one, may be a metallic but second one is bland plasticky.

How's that? Are they different variants?
And the first prize goes to..........seriously gupta_chd, that's fantastic observation. Both cars are different. It could be that the airbag mounted steering wheel has a shiny logo (first pic is of the top loaded variant, second isn't) or maybe the second car had its logo fall off.

Quote:
Originally Posted by auto-one View Post
IMO,GM knows that it doesnt enjoy that kind of brand loyalty so as to have a premium price tag, and hence would be pricing the BEAT competitivly.
I agree. Not the brand loyalty nor the distribution network (dealers) either.

Quote:
However,these features could have given the 'BEAT' an edge over the competitors.Today the customer likes premium features ( an example is i20 ) and are willing to pay for it.Also, since the car would be positioned as a 'young and'trendy',city hatch,these goodies could have added to the USP.
Exactly my point. Its clearly positioned as a car with some amount of spunk, will have a good number of younger buyers....why not give the goodies atleast for the top variant? But well, as long as they price it well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyMan View Post
Then I see them tapering down keeping in mind the VW Polo's "German Made" Factor and Figo's Ultra Refined Diesel.
As posted earlier, we ought to be prepared for absolute mayhem in the hatch segment. Makes me wonder, what will happen to the cars that are already slipping in sales, when newer competition comes in?

Quote:
Originally Posted by ~~h View Post
Great review GTO... Did chevy's always came with bliker stalk on the right ?
I guess the Spark has euro-stalks (lights on the left and wipers on the right)?

Quote:
Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM View Post
The Matiz first grew up to be a Spark and now re-born as a Cruze off-spring.
LOL! Nice way of putting it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Caramelo View Post
the first thing i saw in this car was climate control!!
True. Best part is, even the variant running on non-alloy wheels (and thus a lower spec) had climate control.

Quote:
love the speedo and digital RPM. something to look forward! will remind me of my bike! and it tilts with the steering!! fantastic so you have the perfect view (poeple complain can't read this and that steering comes in between) no more of that folks.
Makes for the two of us. I love that superbike style meter arrangement.

Quote:
a question! for experts. does the sound quality depend on the HU. or its just the speakers. i like the looks of the HU (so blue and avatar like cool)!!
As long as the HU is atleast of a decent type, I would say speakers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez View Post
I think I'll be the first to stick my neck out and say that the styling is awful. My god!
I told you its a love it or hate it design.
GTO is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 23:00   #58
GTO
Team-BHP Support
 
GTO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 70,335
Thanked: 298,733 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by vaisakhr View Post
USB instead of mini USB
For the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone would give the less popular connector!

Quote:
A height adjustment for driver seat.
All the more important due to the high dash. Could pose a problem to shorter drivers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by carlosTHEjackal View Post
How easy is to open the rear doors from the right hand, especially driver side rear door?
Works like a charm. Didn't face any hindrance in the thousands of times that the rear door was opened and shut for the photo shoot. I see your point about the RHS door, but to be honest, I didn't even notice.

Quote:
Originally Posted by basilmabraham View Post
Any news on the sell dates, bookings starting date etc. ?
4th January 2010 is the launch. Production has started so I expect bookings + deliveries soon thereafter.

Quote:
Originally Posted by blackasta View Post
Another thing - is ABS + Airbag an option across all variants?
Information on the varying trim levels has not been released yet. Though, I do believe airbags are part of an option pack on the top end variant. Hope the middle variant gets an ABS option.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM View Post
Imagine a local tinkers horror if such a car comes for tinkering..... Which lines to set straight, where to curve it were to beat it flat
GTO is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 23:00   #59
Senior - BHPian
 
aaggoswami's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Vadodara
Posts: 4,982
Thanked: 2,929 Times

Excellent Review once again.

1) Engine, at best seems adequate. I thought they finally had a motor to match Suzuki and Honda. Simply put, Suzuki and Honda have very good 1.2 units which others are not able to catch up.

2) Space is disappointing considering the cab forward design.

3) Exterior design and refinement is a positive point. Aveo has one of the quietest interiors and I think this car is no different. Very useful for city driving.

4) To me, it looks like a cousin of Ritz. Its pretty sad that Suzuki could not bring in Cervo here. This car looks like its twin brother of Cervo.

5) @GTO :
A few questions :

a) Can we say that Ritz is better performing and more responsive as far as engine goes ( for both city and highway ) ?
b) Is this car more stable than Ritz/i10 at highway speeds like 100+ ?
c) Is the rear visibility less than Ritz ?

Last edited by aaggoswami : 7th December 2009 at 23:07.
aaggoswami is offline  
Old 7th December 2009, 23:00   #60
Distinguished - BHPian
 
Nikhilb2008's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 5,196
Thanked: 10,128 Times

You know what's my biggest problem?

An upsize to 155/70 R14!

Why in heaven's name do these companies insist on creating new tyre sizes? First it was Honda with 175/65 R15. It's been more than a year and it's still ONLY Honda who uses this size on the ANHC and the Jazz.

Then it was Tata with the 185/60 R15.

At least for the above 2, 195/60 R15 is a good size. It should fit the Manza, but not sure.

Now, for the Beat 155/70 R14 is such a wierd size.

Edit: It's not too bad! The 185/60 R14 is a perfect match. 175/65 R14 is alos a good match. Decent options in these sizes.
Nikhilb2008 is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks