Chevrolet Beat : Test Drive & Review

Technocrat · 7th December 2009, 20:36

Excellent Review Again GTO

Btw most of the missing features(Keyless entry, steering mounted controls, multi-info display) are not really a norm in the segment that Beat would feature in, so I dont think people would really miss them.

Like you said pricing would be big factor & i wish that GM does well so that they can bring in more good cars like the Spark, Optra & Cruze

vivekanand005 · 7th December 2009, 20:39

nice review GTO, i Love the looks of this car, GM INDIA is getting to know the Indian buyer's mindset, hope they price it right.

gupta_chd · 7th December 2009, 20:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Chevy logo on steering looks different in both these pics. First looks good one, may be a metallic but second one is bland plasticky.

How's that? Are they different variants?

auto-one · 7th December 2009, 20:42

Iam looking forward to buying a new hatch, and I thank you, GTO, for your,excellent review. I esp. appreciate the finer points, which even some magazines fail to note.
IMO,GM knows that it doesnt enjoy that kind of brand loyalty so as to have a premium price tag, and hence would be pricing the BEAT competitivly.Thats the reason its skipping on some goodies like electric mirrors, MID,height adjust drivers seat,auto box etc.
However,these features could have given the 'BEAT' an edge over the competitors.Today the customer likes premium features ( an example is i20 ) and are willing to pay for it.Also, since the car would be positioned as a 'young and'trendy',city hatch,these goodies could have added to the USP.
Perhaps GM may introduce these features soon.Lets hope so.

jp2u · 7th December 2009, 20:45

Great review again GTO

Wow the blue one looks very cool and very refreshing new design, kinda like the rear door design

Now it all comes down to pricing, the fate of beat lies on it

MonkeyMan · 7th December 2009, 20:54

Great Review GTO, your reviews are always equally good if not better than ACI reviews. I think the Beat will sell well initially because of the WOW features like the Gauges, Styling, Rear Door Handles. Then I see them tapering down keeping in mind the VW Polo's "German Made" Factor and Figo's Ultra Refined Diesel.

mmmjgm · 7th December 2009, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

How'd you guess it was Rajasthan? The pictures were shot in Jaipur.

My own land,

know it well to recognize it anywhere.

The buildings (architecture & hills as well as vegetation is a dead give away).

Cheers

machinehead · 7th December 2009, 21:00

Nice review there. The Beat looks good from all angles and functional and funky too. Looks meaner than the Ritz. I think GM is got a winner on their hands if they get their marketing and pricing right. Boot space i dont think shud be a deterrent. The swift sold with a small boot..! The cruze is a great car and another one from them. Kudos.

karanraheja · 7th December 2009, 21:07

Awesome review Rush!! From pics the interiors look good, rather funky after seeing U-va's boring interiors. I think after seeing Cruze price , we can expect this to have a killer price tag. Get a Diesel Beat chevy!!!!

~~h · 7th December 2009, 21:19

Great review GTO... Did chevy's always came with bliker stalk on the right ? Which is a great thing I'm having a tough time whenever I drive my punto.

Dine · 7th December 2009, 21:21

Excellent Review GTO, again setting the standards.

BEAT is cool trendy small car, I believe it has all the features to compete with i10 & Ritz. One of the best hatchbacks for the city drive.

The colors are bold in inline with the car appearance.

PAVAN KADAM · 7th December 2009, 21:21

Wow.

A great GTO review, fantastic.

The Matiz first grew up to be a Spark and now re-born as a Cruze off-spring.

Very unusual styling

Caramelo · 7th December 2009, 21:28

my 0.02s

* wow!! the first thing i saw in this car was climate control!! and i just jumped with a smile

. this feature is not offered in any of the small hatchbacks!! costing 5 lacs or below! not even in the ritz!

* also i love the black piano wood look! (i know it fake:P) given to the cars dash to spruce it up! i have watched the designers view on this (youtube) and he said that they were gonna put in the exterior color in those panels. so if you had bought a red beat! you would get red panels. which would kinda look tacky. so chevy (thank god) decided to give it black piano style finish!

* love the speedo and digital RPM. something to look forward! will remind me of my bike! and it tilts with the steering!! fantastic so you have the perfect view (poeple complain can't read this and that steering comes in between) no more of that folks.

*what happend to tyres,damn they are skinny, alloys look okay! i would go and upgrade to fat new tyres and stick some plati chrome wheels! yeah baby. it deserves it

*my favorite color would be black with this one or florescent green!

* we all know pricing is gonna be briliant after cruze!!

a question! for experts. does the sound quality depend on the HU. or its just the speakers. i like the looks of the HU (so blue and avatar like cool)!!

also i see 2 speakers in the front dash? usually they are on the doors, so can you ad more speakers! and a sub-woofer( very small boot??)

what tyres would suit this car? if you are targeting looks, and don't give a damn about fuel efficiency!

Aquarian20 · 7th December 2009, 21:29

Wow seems to be a nice hatch. It should give i10 run some good competition. It will be interesting how GM prices this.

naveenroy · 7th December 2009, 21:29

Nicely written report as always.

Love the rear door handles...

7th December 2009, 20:36	#31
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,770 Thanked: 2,705 Times	Excellent Review Again GTO Btw most of the missing features(Keyless entry, steering mounted controls, multi-info display) are not really a norm in the segment that Beat would feature in, so I dont think people would really miss them. Like you said pricing would be big factor & i wish that GM does well so that they can bring in more good cars like the Spark, Optra & Cruze
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 20:39	#32
vivekanand005 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 85 Thanked: Once	nice review GTO, i Love the looks of this car, GM INDIA is getting to know the Indian buyer's mindset, hope they price it right.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 20:42	#34
auto-one BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Pune Posts: 237 Thanked: 14 Times	Can it 'BEAT' the competition? Iam looking forward to buying a new hatch, and I thank you, GTO, for your,excellent review. I esp. appreciate the finer points, which even some magazines fail to note. IMO,GM knows that it doesnt enjoy that kind of brand loyalty so as to have a premium price tag, and hence would be pricing the BEAT competitivly.Thats the reason its skipping on some goodies like electric mirrors, MID,height adjust drivers seat,auto box etc. However,these features could have given the 'BEAT' an edge over the competitors.Today the customer likes premium features ( an example is i20 ) and are willing to pay for it.Also, since the car would be positioned as a 'young and'trendy',city hatch,these goodies could have added to the USP. Perhaps GM may introduce these features soon.Lets hope so.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 20:45	#35
jp2u BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: chennai Posts: 237 Thanked: 21 Times View My Garage	Great review again GTO Wow the blue one looks very cool and very refreshing new design, kinda like the rear door design Now it all comes down to pricing, the fate of beat lies on it Last edited by jp2u : 7th December 2009 at 20:53.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 20:54	#36
MonkeyMan BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Ludhiana Posts: 44 Thanked: 0 Times	Great Review GTO, your reviews are always equally good if not better than ACI reviews. I think the Beat will sell well initially because of the WOW features like the Gauges, Styling, Rear Door Handles. Then I see them tapering down keeping in mind the VW Polo's "German Made" Factor and Figo's Ultra Refined Diesel.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:00	#38
machinehead BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 27 Thanked: 26 Times	Nice review there. The Beat looks good from all angles and functional and funky too. Looks meaner than the Ritz. I think GM is got a winner on their hands if they get their marketing and pricing right. Boot space i dont think shud be a deterrent. The swift sold with a small boot..! The cruze is a great car and another one from them. Kudos.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:07	#39
karanraheja Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Coimbatore Posts: 1,961 Thanked: 436 Times	Awesome review Rush!! From pics the interiors look good, rather funky after seeing U-va's boring interiors. I think after seeing Cruze price , we can expect this to have a killer price tag. Get a Diesel Beat chevy!!!!
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:19	#40
~~h BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Singapore Posts: 145 Thanked: 17 Times	Great review GTO... Did chevy's always came with bliker stalk on the right ? Which is a great thing I'm having a tough time whenever I drive my punto.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:21	#41
Dine BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 121 Thanked: 14 Times View My Garage	Excellent Review GTO, again setting the standards. BEAT is cool trendy small car, I believe it has all the features to compete with i10 & Ritz. One of the best hatchbacks for the city drive. The colors are bold in inline with the car appearance.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:21	#42
PAVAN KADAM BANNED Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NAMMA BENGALURU Posts: 5,601 Thanked: 2,557 Times	Wow. A great GTO review, fantastic. The Matiz first grew up to be a Spark and now re-born as a Cruze off-spring. Very unusual styling
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:28	#43
Caramelo BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: ahmedabad Posts: 769 Thanked: 17 Times	my 0.02s * wow!! the first thing i saw in this car was climate control!! and i just jumped with a smile . this feature is not offered in any of the small hatchbacks!! costing 5 lacs or below! not even in the ritz! * also i love the black piano wood look! (i know it fake:P) given to the cars dash to spruce it up! i have watched the designers view on this (youtube) and he said that they were gonna put in the exterior color in those panels. so if you had bought a red beat! you would get red panels. which would kinda look tacky. so chevy (thank god) decided to give it black piano style finish! * love the speedo and digital RPM. something to look forward! will remind me of my bike! and it tilts with the steering!! fantastic so you have the perfect view (poeple complain can't read this and that steering comes in between) no more of that folks. what happend to tyres,damn they are skinny, alloys look okay! i would go and upgrade to fat new tyres and stick some plati chrome wheels! yeah baby. it deserves it my favorite color would be black with this one or florescent green! * we all know pricing is gonna be briliant after cruze!! a question! for experts. does the sound quality depend on the HU. or its just the speakers. i like the looks of the HU (so blue and avatar like cool)!! also i see 2 speakers in the front dash? usually they are on the doors, so can you ad more speakers! and a sub-woofer( very small boot??) what tyres would suit this car? if you are targeting looks, and don't give a damn about fuel efficiency!
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:29	#44
Aquarian20 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore, India. Posts: 73 Thanked: 2 Times View My Garage	Wow seems to be a nice hatch. It should give i10 run some good competition. It will be interesting how GM prices this.
	() Thanks

7th December 2009, 21:29	#45
naveenroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,518 Thanked: 1,318 Times	Nicely written report as always. Love the rear door handles...
	() Thanks