The Best Economical Diesel Hatch

 

Exterior If you are a classic style seeker, it is certainly not what you looking for. But as for me it is great. I purchased the olympic white coloured beauty because from my viewpoint ithink Beat looks the best in white. It is a head turner and it looks much expensive than it really is. The styling strip, roofrails makes it feel larger from the outside than the other hatch(including all petrol hatches like i10, Wagon-r, Estilo etc) . But there is no other diesel hatch in this segment as the price suggests . The least expensive we got after beat is the Ford figo which I think is very old fashined. I also liked the Polo but could not afford it.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Interior is where evryone will like the Beat (except for the rear windows) . It certainly edges out almost every hatch(In quality and design) except for the Skoda fabia and VW Polo. But as I said before they are too expensive . The Dashboard , seats , gear lever evrything feels very rich in quality for a small and cheap hatch . It is easily the best beacause the Ford Figo(others are too pricey) is nowhere near the Beat in almost every aspects expept rear seat space. All the seats are very comfortable(as the headroom and legroom are concerned) but due its narrow width rear seat cannot sit three comfortably. As for me I am single . So i am not much wooried about rear seats. But for families it would be a serious matter .

When the features are concerned its the best car in all hatchback segment . It has automatic climate control, Blaupunkt 2 DIN car audio with USB and Aux port which sounds great, central locking, four door power windows etc. Now-a-days most of the cars have bluetooth but I think its nothing but increasing the cost because who will be talking with phone when driving (Its dangerous). There is plenty of space to keep your knick-nacks too.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox This is the best thing about the Beat diesel . Just a 1.0 litre engine churning ot 15 kgm of torque at just 1750 rpm ; remarkable! The engine also has the minimum turbo lag. You can feel the torque just when you hit the gas. It may be not the quickest but it is the most fun to drive small diesel hatch in the country . It is Zippy ,it is fun .It gives gives great driveability in the city and pretty stable in hghway too. The NVH(Noise ,harshness and viration) levels are very low for a three cylinder diesel motor (the other three cylinder units tends to vibrate which is very annoying) . The noise insulation is very good as you cannot feel that you are driving a diesel car.

When price of the fuel is increasing rapidly what can we think except a eonomical hatch . Beat does it well in this too .I'm getting around 19 -21kmpl in the city . Very economical .

Gearbox is not that sleek as in the i10 or in the polo but it is also good. GM kept low gear changing ratios for this car to experience the ultimate driveability in the city. It is light to use and quick too .

The Beat is a much better car than Figo in terms of engine. The engine might be small, but it is much more peppy and refined than the Figo.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride quality is the best among small cars and much improved from its petrol sibiling. It just glides over the potholes and small bumps. It is very smooth and quite. 

The steering is a electronic powersteering and is almost accurate. The extra weight added to the steering feels nice and it gives great feedback. It doesn't have that artificial feel which some cars like i10 , ritz have .

The Figo offers brilliant handling package, but it is not as easy and effortless to drive as the Beat. But overall, Figo is better in terms of handling. Although, Beat surpised me with its very good road manners for such a small footed car. It is only secod to the Figo.

Final Words I am very much happy with my car. My friends recomended that I should buy a Figo or a Swift or something like that . I was influenced by their words . But when I drove those i didn't like them. Swift lacks the quality feel and is not sturdy enough . Interiors are a bit drab and cheap too. Though the maruti dealer was ready give me a flat 30,000 discount. The figo is from a generation ago and it feels very cheap . I can't believe this car got lots of awards . It is very unrefined and slow . It gives one of those truck like attitude . And the irritant fact is it doesn't have rear powerwindows, not even as an option . Every modern car has rear powerwindows except the alto and the alto k10 which are cheap and it is considerable . So when GM launched this car I went to their showroom out of curiosity . When I saw it in the flesh I liked it very much . It fits my requirements perfectly. I am happily recomending this ca to everyone.

Areas of improvement The only issue with this car is its small boot at 170 litre. But most modern cars has even smaller than this (A-star~129 litre , Ritz~159 litre). Another thing is small rear windows for which it feels a little cramped from the inside . I think GM should seriously think about this.

Style ,Space, Fuel Economy, featuressmall boot and rear windows