Chevrolet Beat Diesel : Road Test

When the Chevrolet Beat first hit enthusiasts’ minds as a concept car many moons ago, it was right there as a funky youth-oriented global offering and this bit yet stays true. Of course, while the product was A-OK, the perception levels regarding its parent were anything but and many of GM’s products suffered on this count as the company had to fight raging fires on so many fronts. In this period of global turmoil, the Indian arm of GM made itself financially secure with some deft footwork. Immediately from thereon it set into motion a series of product development initiatives which focused on product, product and even more product so as to be a complete portfolio player in the Indian market. As is a no-brainer in this country, diesel was paramount in the thought process for the GM India team. 

Karl Slym and his team knew that they had to consider a small capacity diesel engine sooner rather than later if GM had to not just get critical mass to be in the reckoning but also that its efforts would have a spill over effect in the Asia-Pacific region as well. What marked out GM’s way of working out a small diesel engine was its going against prevailing convention to come up with not just the country’s smallest passenger car engine but also to make it work. Where others have dabbled with engines ranging from 1.3 litres and upwards, the GM team (including specialists at GM Europe and also GM R&D in Bangalore) went through the existing hardware within the GM empire and zeroed in on the 1.2-litre four-cylinder Opel SDE motor. The idea was to put into motion the downsizing mantra which has energised every car maker on the planet but without sacrificing torque and driveability and thereby ensuring high fuel efficiency and low tail pipe emissions.

DRIVETRAIN

Many a time I have experienced small petrol and diesel engines, which have been poorly developed for fuel efficiency just because they displace less volume. In doing so they also compromise driveability and that is the key to good fuel efficiency. The new GM engine, designated the 1.0 XSDE Smartech, is a departure from this line of thought. First the basic architecture of this unit consists of a short skirt cast iron block for its three cylinders, the GM boffins lopping off one cylinder from the 1.2-litre base SDE unit. This long stroke engine, with 936cc displacement (courtesy bore and stroke dimensions of 69.7mm x 82.0mm) has an alloy cylinder head packed with double overhead camshafts operating four valves per cylinder. 

The engine works on a 16.5:1 compression ratio and employs the latest Bosch CP1H common rail direct injection technology, squirting diesel into the combustion chambers at 1600 bar and working in conjunction with a Borg-Warner KP31 fixed geometry turbocharger to provide a punchy 150Nm of torque (at 10750rpm), which as it stands does all the talking and more to make this Beat dance and sing. For the record the engine makes 58.5PS at 4000rpm and these power and torque figures are impressive in themselves for they make the Beat deliver best in class outputs: 62.5PS per litre and a whopping 160.3 Nm per litre of displacement!

Careful thought went into minimizing the harmful effects of friction within the engine which not only robs power but also impacts fuel efficiency. Light alloy pistons with anti-friction coatings, fractured and bolted con rods, maintenance free timing chain and hydraulic lash adjusters are some of the other design details which constitutes this small but tough engine. Three-cylinder engines have an inherent vibe problem but this again has been addressed with sound engineering logic to endow the vehicle with very low NVH levels. To begin with the cast iron cylinder block gets an aluminium bedplate to both damp pout the vibes while also strengthening the engine. Additionally, a balancer shaft with torsional vibration damper has been incorporated into the engine to cancel out the heavy primary vibes from a three-pot motor. Additionally the engine is mounted on to the monocoque via hydraulic mounts which further insulates the body from the drivetrain induced vibes.

From the emissions perspective, the engine features an electronic EGR with pneumatically actuated bypass to keep NOx emissions in check while a close-coupled diesel oxidation catalyst further helps keep tail pipe gases to a minimum. Engine oil blow by and further harmful emissions are kept at bay thanks to the use of centrifugal blow by separators. 

The one big mistake many car makers do make in small car powertrains, is to lavish quite a lot of effort in doing up the engine but then losing the plot by mating it to a transmission with ill-matched gear ratios. Probably using the same gearbox for a petrol engine and trying to match it to the diesel torque points by the simplistic expedient of tweaking the final drive ratios more often than not results in grief. The Fiat Grande Punto is one clear manifestation of that but that’s another story altogether.

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Surprisingly, the GM India boffins didn’t make this mistake at all and instead went the whole hog in developing an all new five-speed manual gearbox (designated the Y4M SHD – the last three alphabets standing for Super Heavy Duty) with completely revised internal ratios working to keep the strong torque flowing in linear fashion across the rev range. GM has adopted a hydraulic clutch and simple electronic tell tales cues to help switch points and also enhance the driver appeal while cutting down on heavy effort.

Overall on the drivetrain front, the work done to make and deliver a diesel engine which is punchy and strong while being powerful yet eminently driveable and frugal at the same time in the real world is a revelation. That probably is the one thing which one can’t visualise at first sight of the car but you get to know, feel and delight in when you use it.

First off, let’s complete the constructional make-up of the Beat Diesel, which isn’t very different in turnout and appeal from its petrol-engined sibling but there has been some good work done underneath that funky shape. The body has been better screwed together and the gas-charged suspension has been tweaked to deliver good ride quality in both laden and unladen state without compromising on the handling qualities. The car’s electronic power steering with variable assist ratio is another fine detail and overall the strengths of the petrol-engined car have been carried through in toto.

Much thought also went into reducing weight all across the vehicle and it was not just the bodywork, which saw different grades of steel sheet being employed but also in other areas where functionality wasn’t compromised. The use of a plastic air intake manifold is one such detail and overall the kerb weight of 1027kg marks this car out as decently turned out in this regard.

PERFORMANCE

To put it in one word, scintillating! Yes, that’s right and the way to see it is to look at the pleasure and the way it delivers this across the operating spectrum. The transmission – torque marriage is the key to the power delivery and this helps makes this Chevy sing and dance to a most welcome Beat – pun definitely intended! Also the clever interplay between turbocharger and common-rail injection helps make for a seamless flow of power and torque and this is further enhanced – majority of users will not even make anything of it – by there being next to no turbo lag or intervention! It works as if it is a naturally aspirated mill and this I think is one of the biggest attributes of what is simply the smallest and surely one of the finest passenger car diesel engines in the country.

Performance is never found wanting across the rev range but of course the second and third cogs in the gearbox are key to making the delivery and the drive pleasurable. Also performance in pure quantifiable terms, while more than adequate, is not necessarily the thing to look at in this class of car but it is the feel and the sweet delivery, which sees it win many hearts. The Beat Diesel took 18.5 seconds to hit 100km/h from standstill (00.0 seconds for the Beat petrol if you want a yardstick) and went on to hit a top whack of 152.01km/h, figures that mark a new standard in small car operability in the country. If you are in this flat-out mode in a budget car like this then you are also going to delight in the 14.9kmpl average you’ll get in the city and 23.4kmpl on the highway.

However the good news doesn’t end here, for the above is in all out high rev stuff and the results have been electrifying. How about doing things in a relaxed unruffled manner and the Beat Diesel sings what will be the most beneficial tune many motorists in the country like to hear and experience today. In aware city driving, we had the car return 16.2kmpl and on the highway with easy cruising in the 100-110km/h range the Beat delivered 27kmpl! I can live even without such high figures, making do with the consumption akin to the flat out driving modes as long as the drive is delightful and the car sings along happily but to a large populace of motorists, fuel consumption is the magic mantra and the Beat Diesel seems to be the font of all such magic! The perfectly matched gear ratios with the correct step up from cog to cog mean no drop off in performance. This results in a linear driving experience, something which the roll-ons illustrate to stunning effect. Again, mind you, this isn’t a high performance sports car but the effect of the well sorted out drivetrain delivers a sweet result which many in this class would find sporty.

EXPERIENCING THE DRIVE

While everyone will be struck steadfast with the engine and its performance delivery coupled to its fuel efficiency, the Beat is a very zestful performer with fine manners on the road. Be it in traffic or on demanding hilly roads, the steering-ride-handling and braking characteristics are confidence inspiring. Key to the handling characteristics of the car is the body structure, which is taut and better, put together. Clever use of special sheet steel at different areas across the monocoque results in a stiff yet light package and with the gas charged suspension at all four ends being optimized for both compression and rebound damping while at the same time aiding good grip and stability, the Beat is a very sporty and enjoyable car at the same time. Given our road test chief Dilip Desai’s comments about how effectively this car brings out the smiles at a fraction of the price compared to more exalted cars in its class, says it all and the smile proposition is at the heart of this car.

The basic Beat architecture makes best use of its optimised wheelbase-to-track ratio and with the 165/65 R14 tubeless radials, the ride is grippy and the car exhibits impeccable flair even when hustled thru the twisties in the hills.

The interiors are funky and new age but that’s not to mean they aren’t welcoming to people from all walks of life and age. You sit well in the car and the driving position is very good which is where it all starts to get involving. There is ample space for five and the air con seems to be pretty efficient though this isn’t the right time of the year to check out its efficacy.

Having said that, there certainly are niggles with this car. For one, the engine does make itself audible from cold starts, especially outside the car though it gets subdued massively once it has reached its operating temperature. You can hear it roar when in all-attack mode or when driving spiritedly through the gears but it is not that discomforting. However, a lack of underbody insulation means wind and road noise do make an intrusion in the cabin. 

VERDICT

The brilliance of a well defined and built product is more often than frittered away by many car makers by pricing it at a premium and this was what GM also practiced to the hilt in this country. Thankfully, this time round, the overall price-performance-value proposition has been spot on. GM will be offering the Beat in four trim and equipment levels beginning with the Beat PS at Rs 4.3 lakh, the Beat LS at Rs 4.59 lakh and the Beat LT at Rs 4.99 lakh. There is also a top end LT with option pack at Rs 5.45 lakh, but in our opinion, the LS and LT versions represent stunning value whichever way you may tend to view it. Given that the bulk of the country’s car buyers are in the Rs 4.5-Rs 5.5 lakh bracket, the Beat Diesel represents massive bang for minimal buck, something that GM hadn’t been known for, as yet!

A winner it is on so many counts but if nothing else, it is a true gamechanger. And I’ll give you an indication why I say so. The Tata Indica has been the standard bearer of the private taxi brigade in this country for the better part of a decade plus and given that the taxi drivers realise their investment within 60,000-65,000km of operation, I see the Beat Diesel being a winner in this segment as well. And even more tellingly at that because the ergonomics and the refinement are surely a level higher and the fuel efficiency is strong and consistent. 

Again there should be no muddle in the mind trying to balance personal car usage and thinking it to get diluted thanks to acceptance by the taxi trade. Heck, one only has to see Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 5 and 7 Series, Toyota Grand Crowns etc excel as high mileage taxis the world over, to once and for all put an end to this line of thought. So if GM intends to stay in sync with its target of 7000 units per month from the Beat family, wooing buyers across the personal space and the taxi trade will only help accelerate the gains for the Chevy brand against every rival of consequence in the country.