Hai muscular, hai popular, spectacular…. Well the market is definitely up-‘Beat’. Taking a test drive of Chevrolet Beat had been really one of the things on my wishlist The Chevrolet Beat is here to stay and holds all possible credits to give its competitors a run for their money. A gleaming red Chevrolet Beat was just pulling out of the parking lot when I reached the venue. The first impression was.... Okay…the Chevrolet Beat is not as big as it shows in the promos or advertisement. The Chevrolet Beat is really a small car!

With the Success of Spark in entry level hatchback, offering great competition to the likes of the Santro, Zen Estilo, Astar, Indica, GM India has now decided to take on the mid segment Hatchbacks like Hyundai i10, i20, Swift, Ritz, Indica Vista, Punto etc. The all new Beat is set to take all these head on.

Looks and Style

The Chevrolet Beat is definitely impressive and stylish – in fact, in a word, I would call it ‘stylish’. Bold looks and strong design cues are prominent. Its funky looks have already raised immense interest amongst the Indian customers. The front is inspired from the looks of Cruze, and the front bonnet is extended in front and there is a lot of gap between the front grille and the radiator. In fact, the gap is so large that the front grille is supported by a red bar between the grille and the radiator.

The rear tail lights are bigger than the Spark’s and are flashy as well. They are high mounted tail lamps with chrome finish tail gate handles and rear spoilers. The base model does not come with roof-rails which add to style in higher end models.

Interiors are flashy and complement the exteriors. On the face of it, the Chevrolet Beat may look as if the rear passenger may feel cramped but the car has enough space. The size of rear window has been considerably compromised due to the designing of the car. The rear door handle is also present in the window panel which has further shortened the size of rear window. Now that’s something reckon with! If you have kids and a small family, you would be just as happy as me. Now the kids can easily roll down the windows and you need not bother they will jump out of the window or even put their hand out. But the rear window is small and an adult may feel a little claustrophobic. The rear door has a good height. Check out the pictures from inside of the Chevrolet Beat.

The boot is extremely small. The size of the boot is even smaller than Hyundai Santro. So this means, you cannot use the car if you plan to go on vacation or even drop someone to the airport or railway station who plans to go on vacation. There is only a small space to carry your shopping bags from the mall. However, the rear exterior is quite attractive – and not ugly like the Ritz. Chevrolet has taken care of the rear style and design as well.

The front dashboard is quite impressive. The inspiration from the Cruze transcends to the front interiors as well. Chevrolet has given enough pockets and holding spaces to put your mobiles, etc. The backlit display on the buttons, digital display mounted on the steering and similar features are quite funky and good enough to attract the young car buyers as well. The mobile holding space on the right is quite useful and this time, if you mobile rings while driving, you can easily see in a glance who is calling.

 Engine, the Technical and the Run

The Chevrolet Beat is noiseless, that’s for sure! It features tubeless tires and all 4 suspensions are gas-filled. Even when the AC was on, you could hardly feel the hum of the Chevrolet Beat either.

Chevrolet has launched only the petrol version of the car so far which is powered by 1.2 L, 1199 cc MPFI engine that delivers maximum power of 80 bhp. The multi-point Fuel Injection engine definitely increases the performance of a small car. The mileage claimed by the company is above 18 kmpl but that’s in testing conditions. It still remains to be seen what the Chevrolet Beat delivers in actual city rides. We experienced a mileage of 14-15 kmpl in urban traffic and 16kmpl on highways.

The base variant PS features only power steering, air-conditioning and rear folding seat. The higher model LS is accompanied with central locking system, rear parcel tray, front power windows, digital clocks, etc. The top end LT model features fog lamps, rear defogger, roof rails, front and rear power windows, body colour door handles and side view mirrors.

I took a long test drive in the most crowded area of the city where people do not walk or cross the road but they just tend to appear in front of your car bonnet. Well, the Chevrolet Beat handling was really nice. Unlike Maruti Swift, I did not have to bother about managing the car while taking extremely short turns around the corners or saving myself from the dense traffic. Although the Chevrolet Beat has bold features and the rear styling is little broader, nevertheless, the Beat is not as broad as the Swift. I seriously did not have to mind the bumps and bangs in such a crowded urban traffic.

When I pulled out of the city to a little greener and cooler areas the picky up was nice and the car did not waver at high speeds. Maneuvering the Chevrolet Beat with its power steering is quite nice and steady.

Other Features

The Chevrolet Beat is available at a base price of Rs. 3.38 lakh. The on-road price of top end model comes out to be Rs. 4.5 lakh. Now that’s a good price for a small car with latest technology, cool features and good interior space but a little compromise on the boot space.
The Chevrolet Beat is available in 7 colours, namely Linen Beige,Green cocktail, Supper red, Caviar black, Misty Lake, Moroccan Blue and Olympic white.

The Chevrolet Beat competes with Hyundai i10, Hyundai Santro Xing, Maruti Ritz, Tata Indica Vista, Fiat Punto , upcoming Volkswagen Polo and Ford Figo.

Conclusion

Chevrolet Beat is a good family car and has been specifically designed for urban rides. If you areplanning to change your car from a Maruti 800 or a Hyundai Santro, Chevrolet Beat can be a new option. If you intend to wait, you can hold your breath till Ford Figo launches next month or VW Polo makes its debut in the Indian market in March first week.

In terms of specifications, style, interiors fit and finish and warranty of 3 years unlimited KM, the Chevrolet Beat offers tough competition. It has all the ingredients to be successful including competitive price, variants and features according to cost.

Pros:

Great colour options, good styling, EXTREMELY competitive pricing, commendable engine performance and the nice sporty look

Cons:

Virtually no boot, small rear window due to big rear door, extended front grille which may get a dent if you happen to bang a little hard.