Chevrolet’s Beat has been one of company’s mainstays in the small car segment. Boasting of a 3 cylinder version of our national Multijet diesel engine, it has won quite a lot of hearts with its frugality as well as superb sporty looks. One of our reader Rahul Agnihotri from Delhi shares his Beat with us.
Read and enjoy the pics. Let’s hear it out from Rahul himself.
Rahul:
Beat for me has been a winner with its out of the box designs and sports car look and feel. But I had chosen to steer clear of the Petrol/ CNG as I already have Santro Xing CNG which is ultimate to drive. But the diesel was a different ballgame with the brother of Fiat 1.3 MJD. I was looking at a diesel hatch for a really long time. Almost gave in to Ford Figo but felt I wanted something different and new.
Beat TCDI diesel came and gave it to me. I happened to start following up about the launch of the car. I went across to as many as 4 showrooms and test drove the car as many times. Also drove Ford Figo but the lesser Ground Clearance was one of the very big concern for me and hence I gave up on the Ford.
I started the small 1.0L engine of Chevy Beat Diesel and was waiting for a lot of noise to sink up. There wasn’t any! Drove it further instantly felt the turbo and boy I got hooked. Showed the car to my wife and She liked it too. Not that she had any choice anyways!
Exterior: Smooth curves
I didn’t quite like the satin roof rails and the Rear Spoiler. The back door handle is a plus. The car is tall from the front and unmistakably Chevy. The tall grill screams chevy with its big badge bulging from the center. The small boot door. The funny rear bumper bulges from the rear inviting others to kiss it? But one can’t design a car on your own yet! So, I planned for Chevy Beat Diesel Basic Model and wanted to modify it own my own. I bought it in 2011.
Interior (Features, Space & Comfort):
Low but adequate seats. The buckets are nicely shaped. The dash has good space, the interior is lit well and pleasant in green. It has ample amount of pockets and spaces for cans, bottles and newspapers. Though the tall dashboard is a dampener.
I find the dark grey interiors much better than the beige option provided by some other cars. In my personal opinion Beat’s interiors are better than most of the other cars in its price range.
Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox:
Zippy engine, tubo kicks in around 2000rpm. Travel in the city is a breeze. On the expressway, sped to around 125kmph top speed and it returned an FE of approx 22kmpl with 100% AC and 90-10 highway-city usage ratio. The EPS works amazingly well. Air-conditioning is adequate & pretty effective.
In city driving I have never found the 3-cylinder diesel engine lagging. However on one instance in a unpaved inclined wet hilly road, I found it gasping for power – I think it’s being too demanding on this puny engine.
Ride Quality & Handling:
The beat just grips the road and creases out the bumps easily. The suspension is soft but solid at the same time. A down side is that I feel that the steering does not centre out after negotiating a curve or turn. I am going to check with other users on the same.
Overall Build Quality:
It’s quite a reliable car. Till date I have not faced any issue. Build quality is pretty nice and better than quite a lot of cars in and around its segment.
Finally: A real good car to own. There may be users differing on a few pointers but this one fits my bill perfectly and the Chevy promise says that I need to spend less than Rs 17,500/- in 3 years or 45,000 kms. What can I say? Happy with the buy!!!
Here is a list of all the mods on my Chevy Beat:
Chevrolet BEAT Cosmetic Modifications:
- Bridgestone Tires 205/ 50/14.
- 14″ Durin Alloys.
- GT Rear Spoiler.
- Roof Top Lights.
- Silver Painted Door Handles.
- Silver Painted Side Mirrors.
- Silver Painted Front Grill and Rear Panel.
- Sky Blue Headlight Tint Film.
- Philips Diamond Vision 5000 k Lamps.
- Monster Energy Red Coloured Logo on the Bonnet.
- Black Carbon Fibre Sticker on Fuel Tank Lid & on Door Panels.
Kind Regards,
Rahul
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Chevrolet BEAT Picture Gallery
nice modification…. i liked it…. whats the cost of the light on the top n wat do dey cal for dat….????
GENERAL MOTOR CAR IS SERIOUSLY NOT DESIGNED FOR THE INDIAN ROADS..
Our car was always been properly / regulary serviced by Aravali Automobiles and the last service was in October 2014 , where in they never adviced us that the oil pump was damaged and it needed care / protection at that point of time to avoid any further dents . Also, in the beat cars that were manufactured after 2014 , all had a protection layer / shield on the oil – pump to avoid damage to the said part , but these people did not even tell us that this part was damaged and we need to get a remedy to it , timely , Nor they had provided a shield on the oil – pump to avoid further wear & tear . “WAS THIS NOT A RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHORISED SERVICE CENTRE TO INFORM US , WHUILE THE VEHICLE WAS THEIR FOR A REGULAR SERVICE CHECK UP ? Also , we got our turbo engine checked in the same service ( oct 2014) as we were not getting a proper pick up speed for the car and the employees ( who keep on changing every month – so much attrition ??? ) at aravali told us that the speed was ok and nothing was wrong in the car , on asking for a test drive to be done by the enginerr , they said that the car is working fine and it actually wasn’t working upto the mark , we were not told about it to avoid any replacements in the warranty period to save their targets , they only know how to cheat a customer who comes their with faith in mind ) .
We now realised that they always say that the car is functioning right so that the customer does not ask for any claims / replacement in the warranty period ( All the problems occur immediately , as and when the warranty finishes so that they dealers can make money out the innocent customers who have faith in the brand” General Motor ” and are treated like shit after the sales / warranty period ends !!! . This is sheer cheating with the clients and we regret to be associated with ” General Motors ” .
As we know the distance between the oil pump and the road called as Ground cleareance is 175mm , seeing the Indian roads and the ground clearance , the company ( General Motors) have themselves introduced a shield for the oil pump from 2014 ( as we all know ) for all the Beat Cars . What happens to the cars of the same model sold before 2014 ? Are they given for free to the clients as charity ?
Is the / any service centre ( so to say authorised ) not suppose to advice the clients to add up a shield / plate to protect the said part , timely to protect a damage , in future ?
Is the Chevrolet people waiting for the warranty to end and then churn out the customer’s pocket by telling them that they can get out and do whatever they want to with their old cars ??
Now , we are being adviced by the head of after sales namely Mr. Paul that this will not be covered into warranty and this is damaged and the customer needs to pay .
Why should the customer / we pay for no fault of our’s ? We finish our warranty period in July 2015 and we don’t stand liable to pay for the faults for the authorised service centre – M/s Aravali automobiles . The vehicle has been coming to them for all services / queries , then why dint they tell us about the facts of the oil pump and the Turbo engine , when we categorily came to them only for check up’s ?
We have been given illogical and irrelevant logics for our car issues which make no sense . Everybody knows the scene / condition of the indian roads and keeping that in mind alongwith the ground clearence , it is a mandate that the service centre authorities should advice all the old customers to upgrade their vehicle with new parts / knowledge to keep the vehicle running fine which we dint get at all ( we were never kept informed about any kind of schemes for discounts / promotions going on by general motors in any course of time ) . The customer doesn’t care that what the dealers write in their records for their reference ( as he can feed anything in the customer’s absence , which suits the centre ) , he only looks for a solution and a right direction and then spends on whatever relevant required .
But herein , we were only ” Cheated ” Cheated & Cheated .
A car is meant for running and if the parts are getting damaged from below due to the less groud clearance , it is a DESIGN defect and “NOT OUR FAULT” , then why should we get ” PENALISED ” ???
Our vehicle has run approx. 50,000 kms and we have faced so many problem so frequently You will be shocked !!!!
We ask you ( being your loyal customers ) one thing that if the oil pump body had a small dent initially when the car was brought to the service station , why were we not given a resolution of this problem there and then ?
Do they finish off their responsibility after selling a product and think that customers are garbage and can be treated any way they want to ?
We have firstly been misguided regarding the oil – pump dent & the turbo engine when the vehicle came for an service in October 2014 and secondly , after the car stopped functioning , we were today asked to pay for all the defects ? Why should we pay a penny for the mistake that has not happened from our end & the car has not got any accident ???
We had purchased vehicle no ( beat – petrol , no being BB5610) in January 2010 and then Beat Diesel ( no being HR26BT5424) . We have been a loyal customer throughout to Aravali Automobiles for any purchase / servicing related concerns and this is what today , we have got in return . , FAULTS IN US ONLY ,” THEY DONT SEE THERE DESGIN FAULTS” HANDING OVER FAULTY PRODUCT FOR THE INDIAN ROADS…we were not at all supported to even listen our genuine problems at your said ( so to say) ” Authorised dealers “.
We are writing this issue directly to general motors to seek your support to get the problem resolved for our said vehicle (HR26BT5424) which is still under warranty period till July 2015 and is currently in the service station at M/s Aravali Automolines . We seek a support / intervention from the management at General motors to please take an action for the said concern before any further actions are to be required , to be taken from our end .
Please evaluate the concern at your end ( AS WE ARE NOT AT ALL AT FAULT TO BE BLAMED FOR THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THE CAR , IT IS ONLY BECAUSE OF THE CARELESSNESS OF THE AUTHORISED DEALERS / DESIGN FALUT OF THE CAR DUE TO WHICH THE DENT HAS OCCURED ) and get back to us on urgent basis with your advice , so that we can further move ahead with the right actions / movements to be conducted to resolve this serious concern.
Please feel free to call me directly on 9911474890 for any discussions or talks that you may like to make .
We are highly disappointed / sad to take this experience by using a General Motor Product . Very Very sad and disheartening .
We are awaiting to hear from you and your genuine and kind support to resolve our issue and grant us a permanent and a right solution to the concern mentioned .
Looking forward towards an acknowledgement on receiving this email , please .
Thanks for sharing this very well-written and worth-reading article.
Wish to see more in the coming days.