[deehunk]

My Accent was on a record breaking spree completing 33,000 kilometers in 15 months. I was expecting a minimum expense of Rs.40,000 if I retain the car till 70,000 km knowing well the small issues which were creeping in. The used car market was on a downhill so best rate that was offered to me by dealers were Rs. 1.8 lakhs, very few calls were received from individual buyers for my ads otherwise. Then I decided to retain the car and buy a small diesel car. Luckily my cousin was looking for a cheap car to just use on weekends for 40-50 km; I offered him a price of 1.5 lakhs and no change in ownership to avoid the number of owners jumping up. The deal was completed and I was out searching for a new diesel car (my first, after promoting LPG for 5 years)

Selection
I did not want to spend too much of my money as this would be my 3rd car in 4 years but got a good feel of diesel cars by driving i20, Swift, Fabia available in my close circle. Then selection process started with the below list of cars

1. Quanto - Always the 6th person is missed out in my family, so first in the list to TD was Quanto, my first learning experience was on a Mahindra Jeep so knew to an extent what to expect from this vehicle, I liked the drive-ability in city, steering was stiff, gear shifts not smooth, loads of space at front and middle seat, great visibility and good torque available in 1st and 2nd gear to accelerate from idle. I was ready to compromise on awkward 3rd row seats also as this would fill the gap for 6th person but going by market response and no discounts in April felt this car could be a issue when selling it after some time and may be even have spares issue. I left it out finally.
2. Ritz - I had the experience of booking a Ritz and then canceling it 2009 due to the dealer behavior, but again went to the same dealer Kalyani Motors, BG Road. This time I TD a diesel Ritz, liked driving the vehicle through narrow lanes of Bilekahalli, with and without AC, liked the peppiness and smooth steering, the seating position was perfect although rear seat was a letdown. But somehow I have never liked Maruti cars for their shabby quality interiors, the color shade inside the strange looking power windows switches and the door pads looked very bad, still considering the FE and easy to drive feeling went ahead and booked a VDI. I still was not sure so just when the loan process was to start I decided to try out a Figo, one drive with Figo, came back and canceled Ritz.
3. Figo - The sales person at Lathangi was very helpful, entertained all my questions and requirements, Lathangi also had good offers for the mid variant but I always like to buy base variants because I get a chance to customize the car to my requirements. I read lot of reviews on Figo in this forum only and saw there were complaints of rattling, poor quality interiors so there was no further progress.
4. Sail UVA - First impression I was bowled over by the space it offered and the ride comfort, for me always the obvious comparison was with Accent. The quality of plastics was a big let down, when I TD diesel vehicle from 2 different dealers felt engine was somewhat strained in lower gears, this would have been OK but I got to know about QC issues in diesel versions from a reliable source and expected re-call, although recall did not happen the sales were stopped later. So this was dropped.
5. Beat - I always had known about Beat diesel as a no-nonsense car from lot of reviews read and few of my friends owned one, I had the experience of owning a spark and had a good rapport with Kropex, so decided to go for Beat. Kropex were offering good discounts for 2012 cars, I had no problem in buying one of them if the vehicle was fine. I had to choose between PS and LS variants of Super Red color. The people at Kropex were good enough to let me to check these vehicles, thanks to Teambhp the PDI went well; I decoded the VIN numbers and finally opted for the PS variant. The vehicle had a scratched rear bumper otherwise the vehicle was in good condition.

Buying process
I selected Beat diesel PS version, Super Red color from the stockyard and bargained for discounts and accessories considering it was an October 2012 model being sold in April 2013. I was able to get the following benefits

1. LHS ORVM
2. Remote locking
3. 3M Under-chassis coating
4. Discount of Rs.3,000 on vehicle insurance
5. Corporate discount of Rs. 3,000, additional cash discount of Rs.25,000 plus basic accessories

the final on-road price was Rs.5, 48,000 including a free 3 year cashless ownership.


The sales person goofed up certain loan documentation but all issues were resolved and I took the delivery of vehicle on May 3rd, 2013. I never thought owning 3 cars in 4 years with the mindset I had about cars 4 years ago.

Likes

1. Front seats very comfortable
2. Digital speedometer
3. Ovum's with good visibility
4. Best in class engine refinement at idle
5. Very silent cabin/engine till 100km/hr
6. Impact proof bumpers and paint quality

Dislikes

1. Base variant misses Day/night IRVM and LHS ORVM
2. Intruding dashboard affects legroom at the front
3. Too much of Grey shade spoils the sporty dashboard and overall interiors
4. Too much of noise when AC on and speeds above 100km/hr
5. Poor headlights for Bangalore outskirts and highways
6. Rear seats lack width and very upright position. It is a good 4 seater, 5th person is a definite no for my family. Spark had a spacious rear seat
7. Stock tyres from Goodyear suffer from poor road grip and inefficient braking

Additional expenses

1. ICE setup with Ken wood KDC-U453, blue back-lit matches with interiors nicely, JBL CS series 4" component speaker for front and GTO series 6" round speakers for rear, total cost of setup INR 9000
2. Torq brand all 4 door power windows with inbuilt Up-module and centralized control switch, cost Rs. 10,000.
3. Wooden finish dashboard trim, cost Rs. 900.
4. Art leather steering grip, cost Rs. 450.
5. Elegant brand dual shade Grey fabric seat covers, cost Rs. 4,500.
6. Stock tyres replaced with Yokohama A-drive 175/65/R14 profile, cost Rs. 11,500.
7. Day/night IRVM cost Rs. 1200.
8. Dieseltronic-Pro tuning box cost Rs. 18,000.

after 6500km

Engine & Gear Box
Highly fuel efficient Engine was the single biggest factor which made me buy this car. The low end torque is good, this coupled with short 1st and 2nd gears makes city driving a breeze. I sometimes feel 2nd gear should have had bit more punch. The best part of the car is after 1500 RPM; the car takes off in P2 mode with the tuning box but without also is still good. The gear throw is short and precise. The 1st gear is very short; you hardly manage 10-20 km/hr, the engine starts yelling. Engine noise is not audible till 90km/hr beyond which it intrudes into cabin and is very noisy.

Brakes
I always had cars with good brakes, but initial driving experience made me scary especially on wet roads with 2-3 slips on BETL. I decided to change the tyres immediately, never had done this with my previous cars. I opted for Yokohama A-drive with 175/65/R14, braking and vehicle dynamics has really improved and I feel very confident with the brakes.

Looks
The front of the car is appealing but rear end overdone. The color combination of interiors is not in line with the sporty look of the car and feels dull. The blue interior light theme is very cool; the head lights are sufficient and no need of an upgrade.

Ride and Handling
The steering wheel is feather lite and chunky to hold. It is super light and the feedback is excellent in city and on highways it beautifully weighs up. Ride quality is good on potholed Bangalore city roads; on highways very stable and balanced even at 120km/hr, top speed I have clocked so far is 137.4km/hr on Bangalore-Hassan road without tuning box. Ground clearance of 175 mm takes care of all humps and craters, after the change of tyres I may have +3mm which leaves me tension free when driving on very bad roads.

Build Quality
The build quality, fit and finish are good with consistent panel gaps. Paint quality is top notch. Car has been rattle free so far even after removing door panels ‘n’ number of times. Indicator stalks, Steering wheel, Door handles all feel durable and good quality.

Fuel Economy
City FE - I am getting mileage of 19 -20 KMPL in city with no AC without tuning box, with tuning box it is as high as 22.5 KMPL in city. On highways I have got a FE of 26-27 KMPL without tuning box.

Photos of my Beat

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line section. Thanks for sharing!