[GTO]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

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.

a) Can we say that Ritz is better performing and more responsive as far as engine goes ( for both city and highway ) ?

Engine is not a match for that jewel of a 1.2 in the Ritz. The Suzuki unit is better in all parameters, be it high rpm refinement, responsiveness, performance or even the gearbox its mated to. No competition.

2) Space is disappointing considering the cab forward design.

Actually, passenger room is pretty good, relative to tall boy competition. Its just as much as the Ritz or the i10.

Is this car more stable than Ritz/i10 at highway speeds like 100+ ?

Been a while since I high-revved an i10, though the Ritz was definitely better at speed. The 185 patch tyres of the Ritz are also at play. GM has clearly prioritized ride quality over handling here. The low speed ride of the Beat is superior to the Ritz, in that it lacks the bumpiness.

c) Is the rear visibility less than Ritz ?

Cannot comment unless they are compared back to back.

[AdrenalinJunkie]

I think Chevrolet have been exceptionally smart with this car. The clear targeted audience is the youth, what with its funky unique look and space age dashboard. Make no mistake about it, this car is meant only for the youth and no one else.

Chevrolet has failed miserably with its hatchback offerings in the past with the U-Va being too bland and bulky without the goodies of a premium hatch and the Spark being VFM with a cheap feel. The SRV looked like a million bucks but severly lacked the bite.

With the Beat, Chevrolet seemed to be targeting the Ritz and the i10 for the VFM package factor but i think their main target is the Swift which is undoubtedly is the segment leader hands down.

The Swift was so unique when released that it immediately captured young hearts and the rest as they say - is history. With the Beat, GM probably wants to create the same kind of cult following but in keeping with the modern times, have provided it with superior levels of trim and finish not to mention decent goodies in the top-end variant to excite young hearts. This would probably explain the cramped rear end.

With the center console along the lines of the Cruz and the unique exterior styling, I would say they have 2 out of 3 things right for now. I really do expect the diesel version to be a lot more driver friendly, and then it would truly be game on coz I expect the swift to do well for another 2 years atleast!!

Also GM has cut down on items that would probably get switched by the users anyway [undersized tyres, ICE] though the undersized tire smust be for higher FE figures. This way they can keep the car relatively pocket friendly. For the hatchback cateogory, the Beat offers goodies on par with the current crop of cars if not better[not counting the premium hatchbacks off-course]. The high FE doesnt hurt either.

IMO the car had it been around 2 years ago would have done really well, but i sincerly do believe that GM have finally got hatch pack "Beat".

[basilmabraham]

@GTO 4th January 2010 is the launch. Production has started so I expect bookings + deliveries soon thereafter.

Cool. Thanks for the info. This looks like a hot style statement for those not ready to shell out too much, and ready to compromise on some of the features.

[needforspeed88]

Auto magazines need to learn a thing or two from you ,as to how to go about penning a review.Thanks GTO for such a comprehensive and totally unbiased review. I have rated this thread five stars.

[veyron_head]

Excellent review GTO, as always!

I am seeing a hatch that is not 'butt-ugly' after a long time. After swift, I-10 and a host of others, this car's design is a sigh of relief. Their 3 year warranty scheme kinda makes up for their poor dealer network. If the top-end is priced around 5 lacs GM sure gotta winner.

@GTO: Do they have plans for a LPG on this one, like spark?

[lsp]

Nice review GTO. Informative as always.


Personally, the car didn't strike a chord within me. I see it more as a second car in the family or the car of a young college going person. Pricing of this car is something to which we all look fwd. Really really critical. Chevy needs to price it right, to sit where it appeals to the head and the heart.

With the non stereotypical looks the car might find it difficult to sell in semi-urban and rural areas. I don't know how is Spark's penetration in this market.

I admit that these will not be the major centers which car manufacturers would be aiming at.

[fast_elegance]

Great review.

Finally a breath of fresh air in the design.

[Zensi]

Wow! it looks awesome! and a nice review as well!

Couple of things immediately spring to mind - GM is definitely after the younger crowd and even the fairer sex - who play an important part in influencing the decision, the interior with the cool blue back lit, the chunky steering wheel and digi meters look super. Glaring is the omission of the MID at the center and the thin tyres.
The gear knob looks a bit odd - how was the gearshift quality and throw like?

Overall the car looks like a winner in my book and this should give a tight fight to the i10 and the Ritz!

[Fraz33r]

What an awesome review, and continue to do so..

So we will be expecting reviews as soon as a new launch is anticipated.One good thing is TBHP is doing really well and it seems that car manufactures are indeed getting customer inputs and showcasing their new products.The Beat was actually chosen from a public vote from three concept cars from GM stable.

I remembered the Astar ad, i cant stop imagining a college kid doing stunts in the Beat, I wished there was a software wherein i could replace Astar with Beat in that Ad.

In India,or anywhere else, the only entertaining(is to watch the world out of the window) thing when you travel for long, I dont know why the auto designers are reducing the size of the rear window.In an emergency jumping out of the window would also become difficult.

[Sawyer]

From a 3495 by 1495 footprint for the Spark, the Beat has grown to 3640 by 1595. That is my gripe about the way car models seem to bloat in size in succeeding generations. The great thing about the Spark is the brilliant packaging that allows one to be reasonably comfortable in front in a small city adept footprint. While being not too bad at the rear, for two people, for shorter distances, or for kids and smaller people for longer. For its larger footprint, I am not reading any change in the interior comfort in the Beat over the Spark, in fact the airy, large windowed rear that is a great feature of the Spark has given way to a Swift type prison cell.
I am not sure of the model designation, but between the current Spark and the old Matiz, there was a body shape that essentially was a more muscular Matiz. I think that was a gorgeously styled body, that even today is a lot better than the Spark. Or even the Beat, to be honest, the front treatment of the Beat is better suited to a Cruze sized car.
But I guess we will never see the car that I refer to, a great pity. It had the potential to be a cult style car like the Mini or the Beetle if someone in Daewoo/GM had seen that in it and developed it with better powertrain and interior upgrades in the same body shell.
In a couple of months, I see the Beat getting lost in the small car noise with all the new models about to arrive.

[theMAG]

Awesome review. This is one of those cars that establish a trend. Hats off to GM for launching a very futuristic looking car to the common man.

I was about to ask the availability of the 3-cylinder diesel when I read about the 2010 engine-plant launch. Thats going to be a killer.

[phamilyman]

lovely report. Thanks GTO and GM

[MCR]

Excellent review GTO. You beat Mr.Siddharth vinay pathankar of NDTV car and bike show by 32 minutes. By the way were you with him during the test drives? I saw that NDTV also showed these two cars(Blue and red).
The best part for me is the Instrument cluster. Is the steering wheel made thinner and larger just to avoid it from obstructing the view of the instrument cluster?
This is the best looking car as compared to Ritz and i10. OMG, i10 is already looking old compared to Ritz and Beat.

[sharma_sanjeevi]

Originally Posted by GTO

Other Points:

• The positioning of the rear power window switches is awkward. Ergonomically poor.

@GTO, First of all, thanks for a good Test Drive Report & detailed pics.

The Power Window Switch for the rear window seems to be at the right place to me, any specific observation, are they fiddly to use ?

[sunil8089]

Excellent Review....

Front side looks like a mini Cruze.......