Chevrolet Beat diesel review by our reader Rahul Agnihotri

The Chevrolet Beat has to be among the most successful of small cars from GM India. While the sales performance of Beat petrol variant hasn’t been anything to write home about, the diesel variant has surely done a lot of good to the Indian subsidiary of the American car maker giant. We have always loved the way Beat looks and has felt that the car is a really well sorted out machines, so much that we have a Beat in Motoroids family. Now, one of our dear readers, Rahul Agnihotri, seems to be at least as much in love with the tasty looking car as we are and writes to us with his take on the Beat diesel, a modified Beat diesel at that.

He has decided to call his prized possession as “The Exquisite & Tough BEAT” and here is all that he has to say about it-

In words of Rahul

Back in 2011, I was in the market for a small hatchback that would fulfil my needs, one of which was to drive around in a sporty looking car with a fresh design. I had chosen to steer clear of the Petrol/ CNG powered cars as I already have a Santro Xing CNG, which is really relaxing to drive.

I was really close to putting my money on the Ford Figo but felt I wanted something different and new. This is where Beat diesel came in to my rescue. I went in to a Chevrolet showroom near my home and test drove the car. To make up my mind, I drove the car some four times again, at different dealerships.

I still remember the first time I got into the Chevy Beat Diesel and started the car. I was waiting for the diesel clatter to sink in but to my great surprise, there wasn’t any! Drove it further instantly felt the turbo and boy I got hooked. Showed the car to my wife and she was really appreciative of its looks.

The car looks really nice on the outside but to be frank, the satin roof rails and the rear spoiler weren’t to my liking. Other than these two small details, I absolutely love the way the car looks. The tall grill screams Chevy with its big badge bulging from the center. The small boot door, chic rear bumper and most other details, the car certainly looks smart. However, I decided to do up my car and hence, it was the base variant of the Chevy Beat Diesel that I went for.

On the inside, first to catch my attention were the nicely shaped bucket seats. The dash has enough storage spaces, looks fantastic, the interior is well lit and the sportsbike inspired speedo console is a work of art. The only bad bit here is that the dashboard could have done better without being this tall. I find the dark grey interiors much better than the beige option provided by some other cars. In my personal opinion interiors are better than most of the other cars in its price range.

When on the roll, the engine’s Turbo kicks in around 2000rpm. Travel in the city is a breeze. On the expressway, sped to around 125kmph top speed and gave an FE of approx 22kmpl with 100% ac 90-10 highway-city usage.The EPS works amazingly well.Airconditioning is adequate & very effective.

In city driving I have never found the 3-cylinder diesel engine lacking. 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.

Final Words- Good car to own and but. There may be users differing . But this one fits my bill perfectly and the Chevy promise says that i am to spend less than Rs 17,500/- in 3 years or 45,000 kms. What can I say? Happy with the buy !!!

As planned, I was quick to customize my car a bit. Here is a list of modifications that one may find in my car-

* 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.