Chevrolet has been long gone from India. But the American carmaker introduced some of the best cars known to us Indians. These include the Cruze, Beat, Tavera and so on. Chevrolet Beat was launched in India back in 2010 at the Auto Expo. It became a really huge success in India, thanks to the sporty design and peppy engine.
2010 – A brief look at the launch of Chevrolet Beat
India was becoming a land of great opportunities for automotive companies. Maruti Suzuki Alto, Hyundai Santro, i10, and so on, the hatchback segment had a plethora of options. But Chevrolet thought of beating the competition, quite literally and launched the 3rd generation of Spark and renamed it Beat.
Talking about the dimensions, it was almost 150mm longer than the Maruti Suzuki Alto, the then segment leader.
Dimension Comparison | Beat vs Maruti Alto (2010)
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| Chevrolet Beat | Maruti Alto (2010) | |
| Length (mm) | 3,640 | 3,495 |
| Width (mm) | 1,595 | 1,475 |
| Height (mm) | 1,520 | 1,460 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 2,375 | 2,360 |
| Ground Clearance (mm) | 165 | 160 |
It was wider, taller and lengthier than the ongoing leader. It even had better ground clearance. The Beat was powered by a 1.2-litre SMARTECH Petrol engine capable of churning out 80.5ps@6,200 rpm and 108Nm@4,400 rpm.
On the features part, it had power steering, power windows, central locking, tachometer, automatic climate control, tilt steering, internally adjustable ORVMs, integrated audio system and so on. It also had safety features such as ABS with EBD, dual airbags, a seat belt with load limiter and high mount stop lamps. The Beat offered a fuel efficiency of 18.6kmpl. It was priced @₹3.3 lakhs for the base variant while it went up to ₹3.9 lakhs for the highest spec.
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2011 – Beat Diesel Launched!
The company was quick to understand that in order to win the game, they need to answer the question: ‘Kitna Deti Hai?’ with a good number.
So, in 2011, Chevrolet launched Beat Diesel with a tagline, ‘India, Drive Khulke!’. It was powered by a 3-cylinder SMARTECH diesel engine with a claimed mileage of 25.44kmpl!
Beat Diesel Engine Specifications
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| Engine | 1.0-litre 12V DOHC SMARTECH |
| Capacity | 936CC |
| Power | 58.5ps@4,000rpm |
| Torque | 150Nm@1,750rpm |
| Mileage | 25.44kmpl |
The mileage was not the only part that the Beat had more to offer. There was an extra 10mm of ground clearance added with the Beat Diesel. As for the features, Beat Diesel also offered power steering, power windows, central locking, tachometer, automatic climate control, tilt steering, internally adjustable ORVMs, integrated audio system and so on. The price though went up by ₹1 lakh from the base variant. The Diesel came at ₹4.3 lakh.
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It had a good run, although never as popular as the petrol one. The Beat was discontinued along with all the other models when GM decided to wrap up operations in India. What do you think about the Chevrolet Beat diesel? Should Chevrolet include Beat Diesel in its lineup it plans to come back to India? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Chevrolet should continue it’s service in India.
i think they have it
GM’s comeback to India will be successful only with more service centres. Scope of Indian vehicle market is endless. I own Beat LT Diesel whose interiors are still the best in its segment
I have chevrolet beat petrol, Crazy design and spec still service is provided I get each n every parts with out any issues, it is not outdated by its design compared to any of the competitors small car model till now in 2021 bec its not at all easy to get better shape n design. Both the petrol n diesel r good cars. Petrol is very smooth engine, where as diesel provied more mileage. It looks small but Very Spacious from inside for 5 passengers. Strong body n Safe vehicle comparatively . Suppose if the beat was
launched in the brand of suzuki it would be a hot selling car in India. GM Chevrolet should come back to India with crazy products n service offers. When new brands can rule y not chevrolet hope they will come back soon with new n unique product.