Chevrolet Beat [2009-2011] User Reviews

Exterior Bad boy looks, Introduced as "skids" in Transformers 2.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Good Driving experience, complains from people sitting at the back seat.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Awesome engine and gear shift, mileage is just satisfactory of about 15-16, reverse gear does not fall at times.

Ride Quality & Handling Amazing maneuveribilty on the car at very high speeds with excellent braking and steering control.

Final Words I only wish that the servicing was good and the spares did not cost as much. My first paid service costed me 8000.

Areas of improvement Car could have been a little more lengtheir I guess.

Exterior Great styling, very sporty. Headlights are very powerful. More powerful then some of the big sedans.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Auto a.c is very effective,decent space. Seats are comfortable. Seats need height adjustment option.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Low power. Needs more of it. Engine makes too much sometimes. Gears are smooth, the ratios could have been better though.

Ride Quality & Handling Smooth and comfortable ride. Decent handling. brilliant for city driving. Aand cruises at 130/140 kmph at ease on highways. Goes over bumps without much trouble. Boot space shooud have been better. Takes corners with good grip with better tyres. Mine are maxxis maZ1 195/50/15.

Final Words If u want better handling change the tyres to atleast 185 width. Good car for daily city driving. Real value for money. Will get you from point a to point b economically.

Areas of improvement Stock tyres,better cabin insulation, audio system and speakers, atlest give space for 6" speakers. Biiger fuel tank 35 litres is just not enough.

Exterior

very very sporty 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

 very very cool

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

 good enough

Ride Quality & Handling

 good 

Final Words

 my heart beat

Areas of improvement  

 music system

Got My New Beat LT(Super Red) on 17th july 2013 nearly one month after the booking date of Got Discount on Insurance from the Dealer.

Exterior The exterior of the car looks really nice with muscle car styling, Dynamic Grille complemented by the new Chevy bow-tie logo, Aggressive twin-barrel headlamps providing enhanced lighting & style, Chrome-Rimmed Front Fog Lamps for increased illumination, Recessed Rear Door Handles, Integrated Sporty looking rear spoiler for enhancing aerodynamic performance & to provides stable stance in high-speed driving & Satin Silver Roof Rails, etc... everything is very attractively designed in this car to my view, but opinions do differ from people to people..... aren't they 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) 

The Automatic climate control A/C option is really cool in this car, the A/C chills instantly at temp of 22 deg Celsius or below, the fan speed is good but it is little nosie below 17 deg setting. The leg room in the front rows seat are good for 6 footers like me & they can comfortable sit in these seats. Even after the front seats full pushed back there is sufficient leg room for people measuring 5.5ft. Beat can easily accommodate 3 normal people in the back seats but if someones overweight then comes the problem. And any six footer sitting at back near windows will find it difficult with only inches of space between their head and cars roof... 

The Music System in the car is really good but the speaker fitted in the car are not top notch quality that one can get in the market & ice-blue illuminated controls panel in the car looks really cool at night while driving, the controls are nicely placed in the car, one can easily get used to it after driving for a while. 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

Beat has a state-of-the-art STEC II engine, equipped with Port Deactivation technology, dual overhead cam and EGR, As per ARAI testing it delivers a level of fuel efficiency of 18.6 km/l.

The Engine is very very quite at Idle, sometimes i tend to forget the engine is running due to near absence of noise from the engine. GM have redesigned the engine with Indian user in mind so it compromise Pick up for better fuel efficiency. So the car doesn't take off if u floor the Accelerate to the metal below, as i found out Gradual Acceleration does the trick here. By accelerating gradually in the Right gear you can have a good pick up.

This tough, sexy, smart machine is sure to get your heart racing, this little gem of an engine by GM reaches upto speeds of more 150kmph. As i found out on numerous occasions in the new express highway between Pondicherry - Tindivanam & also Chennai - Vellore express highway it easily reached speeds of 140kmph & on couple of occasion it reached the 150 mark. It can go even a little further i think but i was not prepared to take that risk since i was travelling with my family.

Ride Quality & Handling

The McPherson strut-type front suspension, combined with a solid stability bar, enables an optimal balance of ride comfort and handling agility, resulting in a smoother performance. At the back, the rear compound crank suspension incorporates a tubular V-beam for a more comfortable ride. A tight, stiff Body Frame Integral (BFI) structure provides a heightened sense of solidity, stability and confident road command.

The High speed stability of Beat is best in its class i can say after taking this beauty for couple of trips, The first trip was from Pondicherry to Melmalayanur, Thiruvanamalai & Back to Pondicherry in a day trip, second one was Pondicherry to Chennai, Kancheepuram  & Back to Pondicherry in a day/night trip. I was feeling very comfortable & relaxed while taking her around the corners, never felt any lose of control while taking corners at speeds in excess of 90-100kmph in express highways

The braking of the car is ok for speeds it is capable  off... but disc brakes at the back wheel will make it even better cause this beauty can go beyond 150kmph. Had couple hard braking incidents in the Tindivanam - Thiruvanamalai road to avoid path holes in road at speed of 90-100kmph & lots of  hard  braking  incidents in the Kancheepuram - Tindivanam road due to lot of speed breakers on the state highway without warning signs that too in night driving at speeds of 90-100kmph. 

Final Words The Beat is a brilliant package. It’s a great combination of style, interior packaging, fuel efficiency and dynamics. It is difficult to find fault with this car because there are no glaring faults. Most of all, it represents fantastic value-for-money. What GM India has here is a winner. The Beat excites at more levels than one and its good looks and unique style features are set to go a long way in winning over customer hearts, am sure i will do...  The competition be better prepared to face the heat from the Beat, its here to give other hatchbacks in the segment a run for their money & scurrying for cover

Areas of improvement Disc brakes at the back,  Music System Speakers not up to the Standards, Large bottle holder to accommodate large 1.2lt & 1.5 lt pet bottles.

Exterior Looks like muscular,extremely new apart from other vehicles in the market.attracts its viewers.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Very good color combination on the dashboard,driver seats has plenty of room, but less roomier at the back,not so comfortable for 3 seaters for full grown ones.but comfortable for the ones who ok in size.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine performance is good,pickup is slow as it seems riding a 4stroke bike rather 2stroke bike,fuel economy is good due to such engine and gearbox.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride quality is excellent it does not make u feel tired even though u go on a long run,as being a small car handling is also very good,does not make u move much on seat. easy to minour as its a small car.

Final Words Final words intial buyers with family memebrs of 5 can priorties beat and den the rest of the vehicles,as it is a small car by size, which is very good for a city ride, and the most needs less parking space

Areas of improvement little bit spacious at the back seat where 3 members can sit comfortably.

Exterior Musculine hunk look like a wwe wrestler. First look gives a impact that you are a owner of a american car.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Gr8, But only for taller people with 6 ft height like me. Short people will surely find it difficult as B pillar is unseen from drivers side.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox 17 in city,23 on highways from very first day. After first service on 1000 kms fuel economy is more.

Ride Quality & Handling Feels awesome, cant feel difference between petrol & diesel version from day 1, on highways ive taken speed of 140 km/hr. Still steering remains still & huge comfort. Beat diesel is also perfect for city drive in traffic conditions. Even if u drive 17 kms ur cost is only rs 57.

Final Words VFM, for stylish people, who wants 2 make difference from the mass, beat is for those people who are heartBEAT of nation.

Areas of improvement Luggage space pathetic. Total black interiors make u feel bore sometime. Rear seat only accomodates 3 adults, could have been a few inches bigger.

Exterior

This is a fact that nobody can negate, Exterior styling is excellent and this car stands out as far as exterior styling is concerned

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

V. nice dashboard and power steering but it falls short on space and comfort. Front seats are perfect but when comes to a weekend trip with family/ friends, you look for keeping the luggage everywhere :) probably that's where one can use the roof rails too. Also not to forget to save your knee to keep touching the AC dials while driving

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

 Its more of a daily commute car, which is meant mainly for city. There is a noticable lag below 14-1500 RPM but once you're there you'll be able to push it till 3200, which again falls short that means we're dealing with short gear ratios.

Fuel Economy is another trump card that runs in favor of this car, I am practically able to fetch 22.5 kmpl (with no AC, thanks to lovely weather in winters) from it. With AC, it returns around 18.5-20 kmpl. It is mostly because I drive it in no rush

Ride Quality & Handling

Ride in this car is good specially after upgradation by Chevy to R14 tyres, it has increased significantly. Handling it in corners is not a big concern, but a v. funny thing about this car is it tends to See-Saw, probably because of short wheel base, if you try to drive it on a inclined ramp sideways :)

Final Words

 Good VFM car but as mentioned above, your knee keeps touching the AC dials v. often, probably 1 reason can be that if you're tall this car is not meant for you, I am 5'8" and still sometimes feel sitting posture is not that good which was never felt in a Wagon-R. Also missing here is the under thigh support, the seats feel so dull ?

Areas of improvement  

 Guess Chevy should handle Ergonomics issue well because even if they are able to sell some they will always run a risk of losing customers in long run and since competition is so tough, I dont think anyone ca afford that !