Delhi-Jaipur-Delhi on the ‘new’ toll road is no longer a joy. At more than a dozen locations along what used to be a comfortable 3 hour drive, which now takes 5 or more, villages, workshops, x-ray clinis and zoos have moved in right on to the pavement. The slow lane is a parking and repairing lane, as well as for use to pick-up-and-drop-off passengers by all forms of public and quasi-public transport options – propelled by horsepower, as well as camel power. And that's what GM had in store for us – to test drive their newest offering for Indian roads, we were off to the tented resort at Samode. But first, we had to clear the Gurgaon gauntlet, and get on to the Jaipur multi-modal menagerie.
But this is about the car and not about the fine food and wine on offer after a fairly strenuous drive into the setting sun – made easier by the fact that it is December, although we’re still using air-conditioners while driving. So, on to the observations, and then the opinions.
From the Inside
The first thing you notice when you slide into the driver's seat is that General Motors have finally solved the digital versus analog argument on the dashboard. They give you both. Takes a bit of getting used to, moving from a round speedometer dial that reminds you of old-style motorcycles to a rectangular combined digital display perched alongside – incorporating the trip meter, odometer, fuel capacity, tachometer and other useful stuff. Luckily, everything is aligned nicely directly behind the steering wheel, and not in the centre – though a clock could well have been provided in the huge, empty multi-function display screen above the center console.
Nevertheless, this is one feature that will certainly set the Chevrolet Beat apart from its competition. The on-dash display will appeal to an entire generation of people from 18 through 80, all of whom want something really new and fresh – not just bits and pieces of plastic chrome added or deleted here and there. And traits such as this will be crucial when all cars this size start sporting similar attributes as far as basic size, shape and space are concerned. It’s obviously extremely difficult to be different when designing and selling a mass consumption product, but General Motors, with the Beat, aims to do just that, as they move aggressively into small car territory in India.
Another functional design change on the Beat is the high up and away positioning of the exterior door handles for the rear doors – close to the roof, encased in a grey composite housing in a sort of reverse triangle, apex downwards, where the quarter window used to be in older generation cars. This leaves the rear doors looking very clean and undisturbed, while making this whole business of opening and closing doors easier, in an unfussy kind of way. Score: 2-0 so far. Though, I personally wish the doors would open a wee bit more – to about 90 degrees from the fore-and-aft line. Small cars need ease of entry and exit, and the Santro sets the standard here.
The third plus point one gets used to very soon are the vast number of small and medium sized storage space options inside the car. Think about it: when there are four, big built journos inside a small car with approximately one dozen electronic instruments per person – you have laptops, cameras, iPods, telephones, and accessories for all of them, plus chargers. Add small suitcases, bags and enough cola, drinking water, chocolates and chips to feed a small army, and somehow they all fit – even the 500ml bottles, which slot neatly into the curved recesses inside the door panels. This is to be highly appreciated – especially when also looking for exact change to pay at the multiple toll booths sprouting all over the country.
From the Outside
As far as external looks go, there is no end or dearth of comparisons. The rear reminds you of the Maruti Ritz, or maybe the Hyundai Getz. The front reminds you of the car seen in Total Recall. The sides are standard, with rear wheels tagged on right at the end, and a deceptive high feel to the roof. And underneath you have alloy wheels, skinny 155/70 R14 tyres, front discs and rear drum brakes, plus a ground clearance of 165mm. Length 3,640, width 1,595, and a wheelbase of 2,375, all millimeters. Surprisingly heavy at 965 kilos means there has to be a lot of steel hidden away somewhere to satisfy safety and other requirements.
On the Road
Under the hood, there’s a 1.2 litre petrol engine pushing out 80bhp at 6200rpm. Nevertheless, we were cruising comfortably at well over 100 km/h without breaking through the 4000rpm mark. 2nd and 3rd gear provide amazing top speeds without really straining the engine, think 90 and 110 km/h. On the safety front, airbags are standard on the upper end versions, but of ABS there’s currently no mention – presumably that too will be available. And on the economy front, manufacturer claimed fuel economy is almost 19 km/litre, as per ARAI, though some more details on this are still awaited.
Handling is, as is always the case with media test cars, superb. Questions on whether the fuel used is normal or has been elevated using octane boosters or other such tricks, as well as queries on engine performance settings, are deftly handled by all manufacturers.
The price for the Chevrolet Beat is not known as yet. In terms of slotting a car somewhere, one would place it between the Hyundai i10 and the Maruti Ritz. General Motors have been moving ahead steadily in India with their dealer and service outlets. They claim to have over 200 outlets nationally, and hope that the Beat will provide them the numbers, which in turn will give them with the impetus to grow further. Thankfully, within the Indian context, they’ve stopped comparing themselves to Ford, and from conversations with management, they now look towards Maruti, Tata and Hyundai as the real competition. The recent tie-up to introduce commercial vehicles of all sizes should see a further growth in after-sales and service options, but as of now, a lot is pinned on the Beat.
Verdict
So, final opinion? The car is extremely peppy. It has the new age looks and electronic gimmickry, which is bound to appeal. At speeds of upto 120 km/h, this is delightful – though one looks forward to a turbo diesel for that special punch over 2000rpm. Cabin noise is well suppressed, even at high speeds, and the steering wheel provides good feedback of actual road conditions. Personally, your correspondent enjoys this feeling, but not on the Delhi-Jaipur highway where re-incarnations of long gone kamikaze pilots take charge of MUVs, making them do things at payloads and headcounts they were never designed for.
Now, all GM India have to do is to price it right, and somehow work out how to beat the impression the market has that they only make wonderful huge cars. Because, with the Beat, they've shown that they can make small cars just as well as anybody else. I mean, if I hadn't known this was a Chevrolet, I wouldn’t have been able to make out if it were a Maruti or Hyundai. And, as far as small cars in India go, that's a compliment.
