Chevrolet Beat : Test Drive & Review

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by myavu

@ sajjt Where are the Beat's dimensions? I think you compared the rest with U-VA.

Regards

Vinu

Oops my bad. Sorry for the wrong comparison guys, I mixed with Uva and Beat. Thanks for pointing out this Vinu.

Beat is built upon modified platform of Chevrolet Spark. But the new Beat has larger dimensions than it's predecessor - Spark. The Beat which is larger than A-Star has more interior space than Ritz. I was searching for a data about the leg rooms but to no avail.

But one thing to be noted, the left leg always hits the dash, just where the A/c temp dial is placed. Irritating indeed.

[myavu]

Originally Posted by sajjt

But one thing to be noted, the left leg always hits the dash, just where the A/c temp dial is placed. Irritating indeed.

Mine never so, I had find a perfect seating position. Now my knee is always 1 cm away from AC Temp dial. By the way I am 5'8"

[KA18]

@ Amrisharm, Chill man!

I am sorry if you have felt offended by my posts. I don't mean to put down anybody's view point.

Originally Posted by amrisharm

What i wrote was my personal experience.

And I wrote my personal experience.

Originally Posted by amrisharm

no need to put down others point of view just because it does not match yours. This is a public forum where all personal experiences are shared. The prospective buyer will read all this, take a test ride themselves and come to his/her own conclusions so no need for you to try and control what should and should not be written.

I have not put down your point of view anywhere, nor am I trying to control anybody's opinion. I just advised you to take a test drive before judging a car. Please read the post again carefully.

Originally Posted by KA18

I have test ridden all the cars in the segment and finally decided on the BEAT.

It is less wider than the Vista and less longer than the Figo. The boot is smaller compared to Vista/Figo.

Before passing any conclusions, I strongly advise you to take a test drive.

Finally, it is you who is spending the money and you will be the best person to decide what's right for you.

The BEAT was nowhere in my list of options while buying a car and I felt the same as you felt before driving it.

But my notions changed after I test drove it along with my family.

I agree that the BEAT or any other car can have/has its own share of problems and that is far from being perfect.

I hope the subject ends there.

Do keep us posted on which car you decide, followed by a review after you buy it.

[Topolino]

Originally Posted by sajjt

Oops my bad. Sorry for the wrong comparison guys, I mixed with Uva and Beat. Thanks for pointing out this Vinu.

I don't have any technical data about rear legroom of the cars you mentioned, but I have personally checked rear legroom of all these cars after adjusting driver's seat for my 6'1" frame. The cars which I found to have better rear legroom than Beat are only Vista & New WagonR.

sajit@ earlier you have complained about lack of power/torque in 1st gear. Is there any difference after ecu remapping or still you have same observation.

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by Topolino

I don't have any technical data about rear legroom of the cars you mentioned, but I have personally checked rear legroom of all these cars after adjusting driver's seat for my 6'1" frame. The cars which I found to have better rear legroom than Beat are only Vista & New WagonR.

sajit@ earlier you have complained about lack of power/torque in 1st gear. Is there any difference after ecu remapping or still you have same observation.

I just pasted the datasheet from another thread. Here's the link.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1372488

Its got GM Spark data and obviously for Beat it will be anything higher than this. I am yet to try New Wagon R but Vista/Swift/Punto are more roomier than any of these. According to this data, I20 is more cramped than I10 or even Spark in terms of legroom.

Nope. That was with the 2nd version of ECU software. No body here in the forum was seems to be believing my words. After the ECU remapping, all gears are in a balance where you can adjust your driving style.

[Topolino]

Originally Posted by sajjt

That was with the 2nd version of ECU software. No body here in the forum was seems to be believing my words. After the ECU remapping, all gears are in a balance where you can adjust your driving style.

A request to you and all other Beat owners. With 4 adults on board try to ascend the car on a ramp or incline in 1st Gear from dead stop and check whether the engine knocks badly. Please let me know your observations.

[Alphaprime1509]

Originally Posted by Topolino

A request to you and all other Beat owners. With 4 adults on board try to ascend the car on a ramp or incline in 1st Gear from dead stop and check whether the engine knocks badly. Please let me know your observations.

I have observed this on my car too. After the ECU Remap the engine is more prone to knocking. THE car begins to knock under heavy load or when climbing a slope. i will have this checked during my 10K service. Engine knocking is not a good thing for engine life and should be checked by ASC. I am not sure if you have noticed but apparently the car needs no reason to start knocking. To test try this - when your car is in neutral (stand still) engage throttle and rev up to 3k. Usually when you drive you will accelerate gradually but for the above test engage throttle a bit faster and you will hear the engine know initially before reaching 3k rpm.
Engine knock also happens when you have slowed down and need to start accelerating again. This is really irritating.

As a precautionary measure please back off the throttle immediately when you hear a knock. I wonder what the knock sensor in the car is doing if it continues to knock for no rhyme or reason. It seems GM tried to improve the Gear lag and all but has got the config of the car totally messed up in the beat.

[auto-one]

Alphaprime1509, have you informed the dealer about the knocking problem? If yes, what was the dealer's reply?
BTW do all other Beat owners ( who have got their ECU remapped ) are facing this problem?

[Alphaprime1509]

Originally Posted by auto-one

Alphaprime1509, have you informed the dealer about the knocking problem? If yes, what was the dealer's reply?
BTW do all other Beat owners ( who have got their ECU remapped ) are facing this problem?

I spoke to the dealer this morning and they asked me to bring the car for a check on saturday. I will keep this forum updated with the outcome of the check.

Cheers!
Prime.

[amrisharm]

Originally Posted by Alphaprime1509

I have observed this on my car too. After the ECU Remap the engine is more prone to knocking. THE car begins to knock under heavy load or when climbing a slope. i will have this checked during my 10K service. Engine knocking is not a good thing for engine life and should be checked by ASC. I am not sure if you have noticed but apparently the car needs no reason to start knocking. To test try this - when your car is in neutral (stand still) engage throttle and rev up to 3k. Usually when you drive you will accelerate gradually but for the above test engage throttle a bit faster and you will hear the engine know initially before reaching 3k rpm.
Engine knock also happens when you have slowed down and need to start accelerating again. This is really irritating.

As a precautionary measure please back off the throttle immediately when you hear a knock. I wonder what the knock sensor in the car is doing if it continues to knock for no rhyme or reason. It seems GM tried to improve the Gear lag and all but has got the config of the car totally messed up in the beat.

Originally Posted by auto-one

Alphaprime1509, have you informed the dealer about the knocking problem? If yes, what was the dealer's reply?
BTW do all other Beat owners ( who have got their ECU remapped ) are facing this problem?

Originally Posted by Alphaprime1509

I spoke to the dealer this morning and they asked me to bring the car for a check on saturday. I will keep this forum updated with the outcome of the check.

Cheers!
Prime.

hello Beat owners, Just curious to know, why have some of you re mapped your ECU? This may sound like an ignorant question but i am sure a fair few people would be wondering the same. So any info would be great thanx

[informmaha]

Originally Posted by amrisharm

hello Beat owners, Just curious to know, why have some of you re mapped your ECU? This may sound like an ignorant question but i am sure a fair few people would be wondering the same. So any info would be great thanx

Hey Amirisharm,

If you are a regular driver of maruti or hyundai you can feel that there is less power when shifted from 1st gear to 2nd gear. But if you are new to driving, you cannot find this as an issue. So ECU remap can be done which was optional for the user. If you dont like the present setting of the ECU, you can remap it to the newer version where in you get good power in all gears. Basically it gives good torque at lower RPM's which was not the case before. But the advantage of the previous setting was that in highways you can reach speeds of 140kmph with ease. But city driving would have been a bit difficult with that original setting. (I suppose they released the older setting for getting good performance of the vehicle, basically the setting used in korea)

But now after remap, you get good power even in lower RPM's. That's all about remapping. Now you cannot find this in present BEAT's. Vehicle's which were released until August was having the older settings. Presently the vehicles come out of the line with remapped ECU setting. So even if you get a new vehicle now, you cannot find this issue. I hope this clears your doubt.

[sajjt]

Originally Posted by informmaha

Hey Amirisharm,

If you are a regular driver of maruti or hyundai you can feel that there is less power when shifted from 1st gear to 2nd gear. But if you are new to driving, you cannot find this as an issue. So ECU remap can be done which was optional for the user. If you dont like the present setting of the ECU, you can remap it to the newer version where in you get good power in all gears. Basically it gives good torque at lower RPM's which was not the case before. But the advantage of the previous setting was that in highways you can reach speeds of 140kmph with ease. But city driving would have been a bit difficult with that original setting. (I suppose they released the older setting for getting good performance of the vehicle, basically the setting used in korea)

But now after remap, you get good power even in lower RPM's. That's all about remapping. Now you cannot find this in present BEAT's. Vehicle's which were released until August was having the older settings. Presently the vehicles come out of the line with remapped ECU setting. So even if you get a new vehicle now, you cannot find this issue. I hope this clears your doubt.

Well said informmaha

Add to that there was no change in the FE with regards to the older and the present versions.

But GM needs to be more precise in designing the gear ratios for the cars in India as we dont have much super highways to cruise @ 100+ and I dont think that this car is for such high speeds. Mostly are city commuters and short trips needs the gears to be bit more taller for better torque.

Is there any Spark owners to give a testimony here?

[amrisharm]

Originally Posted by informmaha

Hey Amirisharm,

If you are a regular driver of maruti or hyundai you can feel that there is less power when shifted from 1st gear to 2nd gear. But if you are new to driving, you cannot find this as an issue. So ECU remap can be done which was optional for the user. If you dont like the present setting of the ECU, you can remap it to the newer version where in you get good power in all gears. Basically it gives good torque at lower RPM's which was not the case before. But the advantage of the previous setting was that in highways you can reach speeds of 140kmph with ease. But city driving would have been a bit difficult with that original setting. (I suppose they released the older setting for getting good performance of the vehicle, basically the setting used in korea)

But now after remap, you get good power even in lower RPM's. That's all about remapping. Now you cannot find this in present BEAT's. Vehicle's which were released until August was having the older settings. Presently the vehicles come out of the line with remapped ECU setting. So even if you get a new vehicle now, you cannot find this issue. I hope this clears your doubt.

That was exactly what i was looking for. I did not know about the re-mapping of the ECU by the company itself after august. I was thinking you guys had been doing some tinkering on your own. thanx

[salbin]

Originally Posted by informmaha

Hey Amirisharm,

If you are a regular driver of maruti or hyundai you can feel that there is less power when shifted from 1st gear to 2nd gear. But if you are new to driving, you cannot find this as an issue. So ECU remap can be done which was optional for the user. If you dont like the present setting of the ECU, you can remap it to the newer version where in you get good power in all gears. Basically it gives good torque at lower RPM's which was not the case before. But the advantage of the previous setting was that in highways you can reach speeds of 140kmph with ease. But city driving would have been a bit difficult with that original setting. (I suppose they released the older setting for getting good performance of the vehicle, basically the setting used in korea)

But now after remap, you get good power even in lower RPM's. That's all about remapping. Now you cannot find this in present BEAT's. Vehicle's which were released until August was having the older settings. Presently the vehicles come out of the line with remapped ECU setting. So even if you get a new vehicle now, you cannot find this issue. I hope this clears your doubt.

You are absolutely correct.
In fact I had clarified this earlier with one of my friend working for GM Design Centre before going for the ECU re-map.

IMHO using a higher octane premium fuel will give better results.

[Topolino]

Dear Beat Owners in my opinion in the remmaped ECU GM has advanced the ignition timing which is the main cause of knocking. Two types of ECU remapping are available with the GM. One is named Regular Setting and other is named Second Gear Improvement Setting. I switched to Second Gear Improvement Setting and instantly observed improvement in low end as well as overall reponse of the car, but on uphills and on ramp I noticed knocking. I thought it could be due to the low octane/adulterated petrol, but the knocking existed even when I filled BS IV petrol from a trusted petrol pump in Ahmedabad. So I decided to revert to the original ECU Regular Setting. I got it done on Monday and the knocking has totally disappeared now. I am quite happy with the ECU Regular Setting and have decided to keep the same for future too.