[jeganatu]

Chevrolet Beat Cocktail Green Petrol PS 16000 KM Ownership report.


The Desire

It was “Love at first sight“ when I saw the launch of Chevy beat @ 2010 New Delhi Auto expo .By then actually we dint not had any thought of buying a car to our family. We live in a join family set up, a total of 4 family and 15 members and all these year we owned a 1996 HM Ambassador. During Mid 2008 we modified our Amby to give him the latest Ambassador grand.

During late 2010 with saving from my side as back up for achieving my love for the new car Beat, I had a conversation with my dad. I convinced him that it’s enough we had with our Amby, every time we take him out, he gives us trouble. He had lost his reliability. Common’ lets get a new vehicle. More over “riding the diesel monster on the local street and finding a parking space is every day’s nightmare”. He seems interested in my argument moreover with a good mood. Hurray!! I slowly conveyed about my love to him. And now he knew the reason for this conversation and he gave the green signal. I told the choice of Beat. He was stunned with my ready decision of the new car which was already in my mind. Soon got the green signal from him and I started the booking process.

A preview of of modified 1996 ambassador



Why Beat?

Fell in love for its looks.
International identity for the model.
Well refined, smooth and powerful engine which gives nippy drive.
Futuristic interiors and sporty speedo.
GM’s reliable built quality.


What if there was no beat?

May be our decision for new car would have been postponed. My budget was limited to 4.5 lakhs OTR . The other option would be A Star or I 10 or the common car Swift. If it was swift, we would have to shell out 50k extra to our proposed budget to pick the base variant. Since it was love with beat, there was no second thought.


Petrol vs diesel

The basic variant of Diesel being approximately Rs 90,000 extra on OTR with reference to petrol PS. Plus I got December month discount of Rs 20,000. So it amounts to Rs 1,10,000 /- as savings. We already got a diesel monster Amby. Not all time our family will use both cars. This time we will go for a smoother petrol mill. Our annual mileage run will not be more than 18000 Km both cars combined. As per my calculation it will take mileage of 55000 km to reach the break even point for opting diesel beat. (Thanks to Team bhp for helping to make calculations.) So it was not a wise decision to go for diesel and wait for 1 year for diesel launch as during 2011 Jan Beat was only available in petrol.

Choosing the variant.

Our maximum Budget was 4.5 Lakhs and basic requirement was AC and Power steering, and nothing more than that. I already had in mind to fix after market GT spoiler and angel eye projector in the fog lamp assembly. So it was either PS or LS. Ls was Rs 25000 higher. It included left mirror, front power window, and Central lock with-out remote, split seat, vanity mirror, and parcel shelf. I could see no value for money for the excess 25k we shell out to LS model and LT which was 80k aprox higher than PS with many unwanted fancy thing like chrome front grill, Mettalic IP, Rear de fogger ( I am in TN, not required), etc which did not attract us. Also I had an option to add selective fitment to my PS which will be worth the money. I chose, left mirror Rs 1300, and Gm autocop’s central locking security with remote Rs 3200, radio antenna Rs 450. So add on total to PS was Rs 4950. Saved 20k again not choosing LS model!

GM original fog lamp fitment was Rs 9500, I saved Rs 5100 for a sexy angle projector as fog lamp.
Gm original Spoiler fitment was whooping Rs 13200 as add on, I saved Rs 8600 for a unique sporty Gt spoiler.
Cost for opting LS model, and add on GM fog lamp+ Spoiler amounts to 25000 + 9500 + 13200 = Rs 47,700.
Due to my add-on and after market fitments total saving is Rs 20,000+5100+8600= Rs33,700/-.

Delivery and Experience

I booked my car during December month gaining additional discount of Rs 20,000/- provided by GM. Aras Motors is the Dealer in my city Madurai. But on the price list they tactically added 4500 Rs worth compulsory accessories and came out with a OTR price of Rs3,87,XXX /- inclusive of 20k discount.

Luckily my classmate’s cousin owns the Chevrolet Showroom – Jayaraj karz in Trichy which is 120 Kms away from Madurai. He quoted Rs3,84,XXX /-. As a friendly deal he also offered free tank full of petrol and 5k worth free accessories for which I was given a choice to choose from. I chose Roof rails and GM AC-DC inverter.

On December 16 th 2010 I just made a single phone call to the Trichy showroom manager and booked Beat PS (base model) and couriered him booking amount of Rs.10,000/- . He also added that the Beat PS green color is not in their stock, and will order and get it within 12 days time. I got a call on 29th Dec morning (exact date committed ) that the car has arrived fresh from Halol plant. So we planned to bill it in December and to register in the first week of January. And I totally forgot about decoding the VIN number as I was at cloud nine waiting for new car. Mean time I finished up with loan formalities and paid the cheque to Trichy showroom. We decided to register on Jan 3rd, me and my dad went to Trichy about 11 am and visited the showroom for the first time, yes you read it as “first time”. We enquire, booked, paid the loan cheque and then visited them, leaving all the confidence and faith to my friend and his cousin. Manager was pleased to welcome us, and was very glad to inform that Car is ready for temporary registration and we can proceed. He also added that his MD (my friends’ cousin) has instructed him to order the car fresh from factory and we were lucky to get one such piece. I checked every thing as per Team Bhp’s check list, but some how dint remember to check the VIN. But later after few days I confirmed it was manufactured in December 2010  ( gosh! I got my life back). Thanks to my friend and manager. Finally about 6 pm we got delivery of the car. They gave us chevy toy, leather key chain, and a sweet box as compliments. They also sent us a driver to get us with the new car to Madurai as requested by since it was a new car and our first power-steering vehicle.

Model: Chevrolet Beat
Variant: Ps (Base Model)
Color: Cocktail Green
Engine Type: 1.2 L Petrol
Make (Decoding VIN): December 2010 Thanks Wildon
Billed: 31-12-2010
Registered: 03-01-2011
Ex showroom Rs 3,35,494
Temp. + Perm. Registration, safety tax and road tax Rs 39,300
Standard Insurance done with showroom Rs 9,370 /-
OTR Price: Rs 3,84,164/-
Odo on delivery: 000015




Additional Showroom fitments

Free
Standard free Accessories floor mats + Car dust cover + Mud Flap worth Rs 1700
Additional discount as committed: Roof Rails Rs 3400 GM genuine Ac- Dc inverter 1400

Paid fitments
Left mirror Rs 1450.
GM Genuine Auto-cop central lock with remote Rs 3200 +Rs 700 Labour
Radio Antenna Rs 450

Aftermarket Fitments

IND secure license plate Rs 1050
B-Pillar Black vinyl sticker Rs 150
Team Bhp Stickers $ 5 ( I had the stickers even before my Beat got delivered )
GT sport spoiler with painting Rs 4400
Angel eye projector as fog lamp Rs 4600
Aftermarket Fog lamp assembly Rs 550
(Used the back dome casing and front lens to fix projector in the bumper)
Relay for Fog from showroom Rs 290
Body Color finished Head light assembly Rs 2000
Led park lamp Rs 200
Floor lights and Boot Led lights Rs 600
Exhaust muffler Rs 6000
ICE : Got a good deal for an 2 yr used Sony Dvd head, Sony Xplod amplifier, cable, JVC 7 inch roof screen, Pioneer 6 inch oval speaker for Rs 7000 from my friend.
Fixed exhaust muffler Rs 6000 when odo was on 13450 kms. This was to ease the breathing, car feels more powerful and pulls very well even in 4th gear on steep road. Sooner new lungs (K&N filter) will be added.

Bland Looking Stock car


Modifications


Killer eyes for sure!






Engine and Performance.
Since more people have discussed on this topic I am precise.
Powerful, smooth and peppy engine to drive. I am a sedate driver and don’t feel 2 nd gear lag as most people say, but after the exhaust modification, I dint feel the use of 2 nd gear, it makes me to quickly move to 3rd or 4th faster. City drive is extremely easier to maneuver. The engine is optimally designed and powered to meet both city and highway driving styles. I still run on original ECU setting.


Ride quality and comfort.

City bumper to bumper to drive is so easy compared with our Amby. No engine knocking with use of proper gear ratios. My average city mileage is 12 KMPL. I hardly drive in city very limited run distance per ride say less than 6 km. Out of 17 k km hardly some 3.5k was driven in city which is 20% of 17k. Built quality of GM is top notch. Not a single vibration nor niggles at bumps. High dash set up will get accustomed no sooner and drive by judgment is wonderful experience after we are used to. This setup is actually helps the driver to drive cautiously. With ambassador front bonnet view, we had always tried to go pass the traffic, which is not possible in Beat for new drivers. High way cruising at 110 to 125 is done easily with out any vibrations. After 140 steering response is tight and little vibration kicks in from the tiny wheels. Yet the aero dynamic design comes into rescue at these speeds where most small car lacks. Suspensions are like cakes. No thud even on bumpy road. But sometimes we need to be careful about its low ground clearance. The steering response is very good at all type of drive environment. It doesn’t feel bland even at 145kmph speed.Gear shift is very soft and easy and is in the same condition even at 17k kms. I had noticed drop is gear shift smoothness, suspension vibrations in Tata manza which my uncle own after some 12k kms.

The tyre feedback on rough highway patch is very vibrative and gives shaky feel over the steering and drumming sound inside the cabin which is torturous to ears. The quality of tyre which is JK tyre (Made with technical assistance from Continental AG Germany) in my case, is at par with industry standard quality. Tread wear in so miniscule even after 17k on odo. Had made tyre rotation once during 10500 on Odo follwing X method.

Check picture taken at 17k.




Interior / Exterior styling / Seats, built quality:

What an excellent insulated silent cabin. A completely new wonderful cabin experience we had not got from an ambassador’s machinery drive. Dash board design is great for a 4 lakh car, unlike the bore looking maruthi’s. The quality of plastics is also top notch with the segment and could feel the global GMs interference kicking in. Fit and finish and panel gaps is consistent conveying GM’s quality.
Once I did notice TATA plastic mold division logo embossed inside the panel surrounding the front AC vent while removing to fit Music player. Quality was better than the console used on Tatas. Boot space is adequate to fit a small family on a week long tour if packed perfectly. Seat space is better than most cars in the segment. For short people front Seats wont be ergonomical with regards to high dashboard setting. They will need to look up straight to drive. Seats are comfortable on highway than on city with this set up. It’s not a problem to me or anyone in the family. But sitting on a beat and ambassador is completely opposite. We have a mixed view always. Who will regret the bench seat of a good ‘ol amby. That is why it is called pleasure! Exterior styling was the love factor to me, so to me its a perfect smart design that I love looking it up all the day.

What can be improved?

Back seat surely needs thigh support.
Driver seat height adjustment is must considering low height average for Indians to ease city drive giving wider and deeper front spread view.
Or bring down dashboard height.
My left knee hitting the center console.

Fuel Efficiency:

I am keen to keep a log record of every km run our car had. We got this habit of keeping log records related to Mileage, refueling, Service carried out, fitments made or any other activity related to car from our 1980’s Amby’s chauffer.

Find the attached excel sheet to have a look at my mileage and fuel efficiency log sheet.
odo.xls

Am a odo Freek!

Attachment 934702

Attachment 934704


Attachment 934707




Very lucky to notice and capture this one!



Problems:

Once my battery charge got low and car failed to start. Problem solved after charging. It happened at home, so did not face much issue.
And once I had asked the showroom people to fix GM genuine gear lock made by autocop. They had only one piece and broke the lock while trying to fix without knowing how to fix on my car. Raised this issue to Chevrolet India via facebook and got immediate response that they will fix it when I take my car to them next time. I changed my mind not to hand over to them again, also dropped the idea of fixing the same.

Service:

I always had a good rapport with service guys, rather to have a hard voice on them. They always pleased my presence and took car of my car well. I had never faced any issues till date with the service guys. It was always a pleasant experience. And to my bad luck, the Madurai dealership Aras motors shifted their operation on a highway which is 26 kms from my home on the same month I took delivery of the car from Trichy. Their old service station cum showroom was just 2 km away.
Every time I get my car to service, there would be some staff eager to ask me about the details of Team bhp sticker, my colored head lights and angel projector. My car has 7 Team bhp stickers stuck overall. Gto u got to give me promotional fees! I am crazy

End note:

Likes:
Style and a great look car with international identity, sold in over 80 countries.
Built quality and extreme reliability of the car and performance and drivability.
Sporty Odometer set up and side profile of the car.
Extremely silent cabin.

Dislikes:
Small boot.
No front seat height adjustment
No back seat thigh support.
Center console hitting knee.

Few more pictures to enjoy.
Rain drops on window

Even these dog knew Team Bhp, and looks greedy that I have one.

My favorite

[Rameshdude]

Congrats Jeganatu. Wonderful review and love this colour. You have kept all details in record and pics,great.

[jeganatu]

Few more pictures












Bland looking stock head unit




Rain drops






Two hole pierced to mount the spoiler

[musicmanaman]

Hi Jeganatu, that’s a very detailed report of the Chevy Beat, looks great in that Green colour.
You seem to be very lucky with odo meter readings, very precise captures. Beat has one of the best ride qualities in my view, and the only area I feel it lacks a little bit is the under thigh support, otherwise it’s an excellent car and feels fantastic to drive. Do keep posting updates on how your ownership experience goes, by the way I like your Amby too.

[superutp]

Hey Jeganatu, finally you wrote about your Green Beat!! Great Writing with good pictures!

" Love at first sight" haha, tell me about it!!

Good to see no reliability issues with the Petrol Beat in the 16k kms. Why did the battery go down? was it because a light was left on?

Surprisingly the JK Vectras are doing pretty well.

Can you give some more details about the exhaust you installed?

Do your fogs serve any practical purpose or are they only for looks?

[jeganatu]

Originally Posted by superutp

Hey Jeganatu, finally you wrote about your Green Beat!! Great Writing with good pictures!

" Love at first sight" haha, tell me about it!!

Good to see no reliability issues with the Petrol Beat in the 16k kms. Why did the battery go down? was it because a light was left on?

Surprisingly the JK Vectras are doing pretty well.

Can you give some more details about the exhaust you installed?

Do your fogs serve any practical purpose or are they only for looks?

I got melt down by its stunning looks
Car was parked in home for some 8 days, Battery got discharged automatically. It was about 8 months after delivery. Never charged the battery earlier.

Vectra tyre gives good traction and control too, Once I comfortably did 80 plus on 4 way with severe rains. And to my surprise the under body was clean after rains since it was on the 4 way without any mud on road.

Regarding muffler I am not sure about the technical details, my friend got that fitted for me, will update soon about that.

The angle projector fog fitting has rings surrounding the lens and gives cosmetic appeal. The same fitting also has a inner normal yellow light bulb that powers to act as a typical fog lamp.

[white-rabbit]

Awsome photographs,man.I like it.Especially the one with the dogs.
Keep posting.

[GTO]

Great review, Jeganatu. Thank you for sharing your ownership experience with us.

The Beat is one heck of a budget hatchback and one of my favourites from the segment. For one, the overall quality feels much better than the Figos. It's also wearing far more modern clothes compared to the dated Ford. Then, there is the excellent ride quality. Must say, the Beat Diesel (unfortunately launched much later than the petrol) is one heck of a city commuter. Have you driven it?

The colour you've chosen suits the Beat's futuristic body. And yes, the stickers look wonderful!

You really need a nice looking set of alloys to complete your car. Be sure to get high quality tyres too. The JKs are rubbish!

Drive safe, Odo junkie

[nair]

Woah! Good looking car. Sticker work and other work very tastefully done. This car is like a shrine to Team-BHP with stickers all over. . Also good to see a very well maintained good ol' Amby.

But I have a question. Do you use the new petrol car or the old diesel car for long trips?

[jeganatu]

Originally Posted by GTO

Great review, Jeganatu. Thank you for sharing your ownership experience with us.

The Beat is one heck of a budget hatchback and one of my favourites from the segment. For one, the overall quality feels much better than the Figos. It's also wearing far more modern clothes compared to the dated Ford. Then, there is the excellent ride quality. Must say, the Beat Diesel (unfortunately launched much later than the petrol) is one heck of a city commuter. Have you driven it?

The colour you've chosen suits the Beat's futuristic body. And yes, the stickers look wonderful!

You really need a nice looking set of alloys to complete your car. Be sure to get high quality tyres too. The JKs are rubbish!

Drive safe, Odo junkie

Thanks. Your review was a great support and was a pat to my back in finalizing my decision to choose the Beat. I had read and understood every point you said in your review and its true in what ever sense u wrote. I have driven diesel beat during the first week of launch itself and instantly I cud feel the change in steering response from its electronic PS. EPS is extremely easier to maneuver in parking speeds. Not sure about its tightness on highway speeds. Diesel beat is again a real value for money for those who are a sedate driver, not looking for a rocket engine. The noise of beat diesel is also equally silent both on the inside and outside the cabin. Cocktail Green is awesome, I love 'em up. Figo 's green is no match with beat's green superior paint quality and finish.

[jeganatu]

Originally Posted by nair

Woah! Good looking car. Sticker work and other work very tastefully done. This car is like a shrine to Team-BHP with stickers all over. . Also good to see a very well maintained good ol' Amby.

But I have a question. Do you use the new petrol car or the old diesel car for long trips?

Thanks.
We use both the cars . My dad n his bro takes amby for long most of the times since they use a temporary driver in their trips. Me and my bro takes Beat for long.

[mi2n]

The Amby is outright gorgeous and the funky Beat stands in an amazing contrast. Although, to be honest, I did not manage to get along with some of the mods, only 2 infact, the green led strip on your headlamp needs to go and the spoiler needed to be a bit more subdued.

Must mention that we do share exactly identical garages, mine comprising of a 1500 DSL Amby(white) and a Petrol Beat PS(Green) too. So cheers to that.

I'm nearing 30k on the ODO, and touch-wood, the Beat has behaved well.

Will stay tuned for more cosmetic mod-jobs/ideas for the Beat. Drive Safe.

[thoma]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Beat. Guess it is the same Amby that had set a thread on fire regarding insurance claims against an altercation with an Alto

Liked the blue angel eyed fog lamps and the doggie picture. Personally, I felt that the spoiler is a bit sharp and that the roof rails not blending well with the spoiler. This is because the spoiler would then have took center stage, than the roof rails. Also felt nice that you don't get too freaked out on low FE (going by your xls, the lowest is 7.5!), unlike me, whose requirement was an efficient city hatch.

Beat is a vehicle with strong positives and strong negatives. I was initially influenced by the positives but was later caught in double mind with the negatives taking over my mind. One really need to concentrate and enjoy the positives for not falling in for the negatives. Alas, financial matters added to the situation and I had to forgo her after 8 months of ownership. But I still roam around the Beat official review thread helping in whatever way I can.

Wish you many more happy miles to beat

[superutp]

Originally Posted by jeganatu

I got melt down by its stunning looks
.

I missed your FE track record the first time around and now on seeing it I am like

7,8,9kmpl, My god!! and I complain for getting early 10's. Whats your driving style like? Or is there some other reason for the FE being so low for those specific calculations?
I also see some 18,17 for highway runs which I think is pretty decent.

Any plans on getting alloys? I feel they'll compliment the existing visual mods.

I agree with thoma, without the roof rails and only the GT spoiler your beat will look better.

Originally Posted by thoma

Alas, financial matters added to the situation and I had to forgo her after 8 months of ownership.

What!! Thats really sad to hear. I had noticed that you were caught up in many of the negatives of the car but didn't realise you had let her go.

[jeganatu]

Originally Posted by thoma

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Beat. Guess it is the same Amby that had set a thread on fire regarding insurance claims against an altercation with an Alto

Liked the blue angel eyed fog lamps and the doggie picture. Personally, I felt that the spoiler is a bit sharp and that the roof rails not blending well with the spoiler. This is because the spoiler would then have took center stage, than the roof rails. Also felt nice that you don't get too freaked out on low FE (going by your xls, the lowest is 7.5!), unlike me, whose requirement was an efficient city hatch.

Beat is a vehicle with strong positives and strong negatives. I was initially influenced by the positives but was later caught in double mind with the negatives taking over my mind. One really need to concentrate and enjoy the positives for not falling in for the negatives. Alas, financial matters added to the situation and I had to forgo her after 8 months of ownership. But I still roam around the Beat official review thread helping in whatever way I can.

Wish you many more happy miles to beat

Originally Posted by superutp

I missed your FE track record the first time around and now on seeing it I am like

7,8,9kmpl, My god!! and I complain for getting early 10's. Whats your driving style like? Or is there some other reason for the FE being so low for those specific calculations?
I also see some 18,17 for highway runs which I think is pretty decent.

Any plans on getting alloys? I feel they'll compliment the existing visual mods.

I agree with thoma, without the roof rails and only the GT spoiler your beat will look better.




What!! Thats really sad to hear. I had noticed that you were caught up in many of the negatives of the car but didn't realise you had let her go.

Yes, it was the same discussion with amby that hit with alto.
Low figures of FE like 7,8 and 9 happened randomly on the logs and was not consistent overall. So did not care much about that. Also the previous and after reading of the FE was in highs which makes out averaging FE for that particular low run. May be due to 100% ac with short runs, multiple persons driving, or error while refilling tank full after auto cut off is breached. When it is for love, I need to compromise certain drawbacks.

Regarding driving style I always try to keep rpm on 1750 to 2500 range, on HW speeds 110+ its always 2750+ .

And as per Arai specification Fe is 18.6 kmpl,and it should be done on a test conditions with speed in the range of 45 to 80 kmph which is not at all possible to follow on real world. Hence 15.5+ on Hw and 12+ on City with low mile per run seems to be fine to me.

To my perception, wearing alloy will converge peoples attraction to the wheel alone masking my other mods done on my car. Also alloys on the move does not reveal its real beauty. Moreover Beat has a steel pressed rims that pretend to be a alloy. Alloys are becoming more common now, like people using default ring tones on mobile than using cinema tunes.