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General Motor's New Chevrolet Beat Diesel review, test drive

At a time when the petrol price is the biggest foe of the car-buying middle class General Motors is sure to make everyone sit up and take notice as they prepare to launch the smallest diesel offering in the country by way of the Beat Diesel. Powering GM’s first oil-burning hatch in the country is a three cylinder version of the famous Multijet diesel unit that was co-developed by GM and Fiat. The engine has been in the works for over 2 years, being constantly refined to deliver the right amount of fuel efficiency, driveability and smoothness. Does the Beat deliver?

For the most part the Beat Diesel is a pleasant surprise, right from the first time you crank it. The engine settles down to a smooth idle and you can barely feel the vibe from the 3-cylinder motor. Noise is also well suppressed in the small hatch. As soon as we were out onto the narrow Goan roads it was apparent that the Beat was happy to amble along. 57 bhp of power and 15.29 kgm of torque from the 936cc motor isn’t particularly impressive. However, GM has chosen shorter gear ratios so that driveability at city speeds is satisfying. The engine too really feels like in its sweet spot from the 1600rpm mark up to the 3000rpm mark, giving the Beat Diesel a useful mid-range. Ambling around in third gear at 40kmh you just need to step on the throttle to get past the rickshaw without making a fuss. It’s just that there’s no zest or punch in the proceedings. NVH levels are also impressive with the Beat feeling particularly smooth around the 2000rpm mark. You can barely hear the motor and there are no vibes at hand.

However, things change once you hit the highway. The three-cylinder diesel thrum becomes apparent once you get past the 2500rpm mark and is hard to shake off when cruising along on the highway. The shortfall in grunt also becomes more obvious as quick overtaking maneuvers require a shift or two down on the gearbox. Rev the engine to its 5000rpm red-line is pointless as in the last 1500rpm the engine gets noisy without adding any pace.

What is apparent is that the new gas-charged shock absorbers and the wider 165/65 R14 tyres have made the ride a lot more pliant. The Beat now rides over bumps and potholes without the sporty firmness that was felt on the petrol Beat. There’s a softer, more accommodating feel to the way it handles bad roads. The new electric power steering also offers a more tactile experience. It has lost that distant, inert feel replacing it with a more direct communicative link to the front wheels.
Overall the Beat Diesel is a very interesting and exciting package. Its engine offers the kind of drivability that makes short work of city traffic and rounds it off with good NVH levels. What will pique interest levels further is the company claimed fuel efficiency figure of 24kmpl. Now all that remains to be seen is the pricing. GM could price the Beat Diesel around the Maruti Swift, Ritz and Figo. However, we expect the price to be below these established players, and that will put the Beat Diesel in a very enviable position.

FACTFILE OF BEAT DIESEL>>>>>>>>>

Overview of Chevrolet Beat Diesel

Chevrolet India is planning to launch the Beat Diesel in India on 27th July. GM India has announced the manufacturing of 1-litre (936cc) diesel engines (57 Bhp-150 Nm) from their Talegaon manufacturing plant which will be doing duty for the latest hot hatch Beat. Company is also planning to increase production of two of their cars – Beat and Cruze to meet the customer demands. The diesel variant of Chevrolet Beat is expected to be priced 40-50 thousand more in comparison to its petrol siblings.

Here is what General Motors India Vice-President (Sales, Marketing & Services) Ankush Arora had to say, “The one-litre diesel engine will be rolled-out from Talegaon early next year for our small car, Beat.We are planning to increase the production of Cruze to 900 units from the current 600 units and intend to raise production of Beat units to 4,000 from the present 3,300 units.”

Fast Facts About Chevrolet Beat Diesel

- Expected to be launched on 15th July
- Will be powered by a 936cc TDCi diesel engine
- Maximum power will be 57 Bhp
- Maximum torque will be 150 Nm
- Is expected to be available in 4 variants
- Is expected to be priced around four lakh rupees for base model
- Top variant will feature automatic climate control system and airbags
- Is expected to be available in seven shades
- ARAI certified fuel efficiency of 24 kmpl
- Excellent NVH deadening, silent operation
- Very less turbo lag, linear acceleration
- New Electric Power Steering replaces the hydraulic unit

Expected Variants of Chevrolet Beat Diesel

Chevrolet Beat Diesel is expected to be available in four variants:

- Chevrolet Beat Diesel PS
- Chevrolet Beat Diesel LS
- Chevrolet Beat Diesel LT
- Chevrolet Beat Diesel LT Option

The base variant of Beat Diesel will come with AC and power steering. The top of the line LT Option pack consists of ABS, Alloy wheels, Dual Airbags and Seatbelts with Load limiters. The Beat Diesel will come with host of features including Automatic Climate Control, Integrated Centre Stack Audio with USB and Aux-in Port, Tilt steering, Steering Column mounted LED back-lit speedometer & LCD digital tachometer, 60:40 Split folding seats, Tubeless Tyres, Satin Silver Roof rails.

Engine Of Chevrolet Beat Diesel

- New 936cc TDCi diesel engine
- Generates maximum power of 57 Bhp
- Develops maximum torque of 150 Nm

Chevrolet Beat Diesel will be powered by a 1.0 litre (936cc) TDCi diesel engine which will generate 57 Bhp of maximum power at 4000 rpm with 150 Nm of maximum torque at 1750 rpm.

Expected Price Of Chevrolet Beat Diesel

- Chevrolet Beat Diesel PS - Rs. 4,00,000.00
- Chevrolet Beat Diesel LS - Rs. 4,20,000.00
- Chevrolet Beat Diesel LT - Rs. 4,60,000.00
- Chevrolet Beat Diesel LT Option - Rs. 5,00,000.00

It is expected that Chevrolet India is going to price the Beat Diesel very compitively at Rs. 4.00 lakhs for the base variant.

Expected shades to be available in Chevrolet Beat Diesel

It is expected that Chevorlet Beat Diesel will be available in seven attractive shades:

- Olympic White
- Linen Beige
- Caviar Black
- Misty Lake
- Moroccan Blue
- Green Cocktail
- Super Red

More official details, exact specifications, photos and price of Chevrolet Beat Diesel after its launch on 27th July.

that's it for now.............Drive safe make sure you wear your seat belts and please do not use high beams...........

The General Motor's new Hybrid car Volt by Chevrolet (test Drive review)

Chevrolet

What is it?

The future. Chevrolet is not only the first maker to bring a serious series-production battery-powered car to the market, it has, arguably, come up with the most technically intriguing solution.

General Motors insists that the Volt is not a hybrid but an ‘extended range electric vehicle’, making it the first production battery-powered car that can promise not to leave the driver stranded at the side of the road.

GM's announcement on the inner-workings of the Volt's innovative and complex powertrainhit the headlines last week over just what the car should be classified as. Ignoring the semantics, GM will argue that the Volt’s unique layout is best placed to offer the potential of both a purely battery-powered commute during the week and pretty frugal, mostly petrol-powered, longer journeys at the weekend.

The car is based on GM’s new Delta platform, which also underpins the new Astra and Chevy Cruze. It uses the same basic McPherson suspension and the clever U-section Torsion beam axle. Unfortunately, the Volt’s back axle does without the Astra’s clever Watts link. The Volt gets also unique, lightweight wheels and specific Goodyear low-friction tyres.

See test pics of the Chevrolet Volt in action
What’s it like?

There’s virtually no noise when you press the illuminated start button and you only have to pull the (disappointingly awkward and clunky) shift lever into ‘D’ mode to make a silent getaway.

The smooth torque of the electric motors does a surprisingly good job of disguising the Volt’s 1715kg kerb weight. However, like the Prius, the Chevy seems to encourage the driver to flow along gently, rather than to push on.

This is probably a combination of the steady swell of torque, lack of gear changes, the silence of the drivetrain and the dash graphic counting down the distance to discharge.

Even under reasonable acceleration on the local freeways, the Volt’s battery-driven drivetrain mode remains relaxed and refined. There’s none of the audible strain of the racing engine and CVT ‘box that can blight the Prius.

When the battery is dead, the Volt can pull away on battery’s buffer store and then the engine cuts very quietly at around 20mph to power-up the motor/generator. Only under hard acceleration above, say, 50mph is the engine properly audible. It’s not noisy, but it’s not the most engaging sound either.

On the arrow-straight roads of rural Michigan, it was hard to establish whether the Volt has a spark of enthusiasm for being driven briskly, but what we did experience didn’t bode well.

The steering suffers from nearly a quarter of a turn of light and feel-less response (likely to be partly tyre-related). On Michigan’s hideously broken concrete roads, the Volt suffered from very intrusive bump-thump, though the ride was actually pretty good.

Otherwise it has a very quiet cabin (making front and rear conversation easy) and left me quite refreshed after a few hours at the wheel. Overall, the Volt is easy, fluid and breezy as befits a car tuned entirely for frugality.

Styling-wise, while the Volt’s filmically futuristic exterior is neatly executed, it’s the interior ambience that really impresses.

The cabin – a strict four-seater because the battery intrudes in the shape of a large centre tunnel – is wonderfully light and airy, with a fine view forward through the front doors and windscreen, as well as rearwards, over the driver’s shoulder. The loadbay’s big too, and completely flat with the individual rear seats folded down.

The dashboard layout successfully embraces the Volt’s clean-sheet running gear, using two LCD screens, which deliver a myriad of graphic information. Perhaps most useful are the live representations of the driver’s driving style and use of the climate control system and their subsequent effect on fuel consumption. The console uses a flat, touch-sensitive surface rather than individual buttons.
Should I buy one?

While the Volt has crawled from the wreckage of GM as an extremely innovative and complete machine, there are big question marks over this type of car.

It is very expensive for what amounts to a car that can travel, pollution-free, for around 40 miles using admittedly inexpensive domestic electricity. For many regular commuters, they will probably never use the engine in anger. In petrol/generator mode on the motorway, however, the Volt will probably only return around 40-45mpg.

For European buyers, a diesel-powered Astra will be much cheaper to buy, better to drive and probably more economical. Further down the road, the refining of conventional technology, such as the upcoming 78mpg Mazda 2, show that cars like the Volt will only play a small role in the greening of the mainstream car.

But anyone who is enthusiastic about the car industry should rejoice that the Volt exists. It is an extremely clever and remarkably well-thought machine and a credit to a company that managed to develop it while undergoing a bankruptcy that reverberated around the world. Still to come in India

Final Words on Chevrolet Volt

Price: £25,000 (est, including £5000 gov rebate); 0-62mph: 8.9sec; Top Speed: 100mph; Economy: up to 50 miles on one battery charge plus 41.1mpg (est) average on engine/generator; CO2 emissions: na; Kerb weight: 1715kg; Engine layout: Four cylinder, 1398cc, petrol; electric drive motor, electric generator motor; Battery: 16 kWh, lithium-ion; Power: 147bhp; Torque: 273lb ft; Gearbox: Two ratio, planetary gear set

The Volt can travel up to 50 miles on battery power alone

More Photos>>>>>>>>>

that's it for now.............Drive safe make sure you wear your seat belts and please do not use high beams...........

General Motor's New Captiva test drive, review

Chevrolet

Chevrolet will soon launch this refreshed Captiva in our market. Here we’re testing the Captiva before its launch in India with 181bhp 2.2-litre engine, six-speed auto, four-wheel drive and seven seats, there could be an option of a six-speed manual gearbox mated to this layout.

In many ways this new Chevrolet Captiva is a big step forward over the pre-facelift model. The most significant improvements come in terms of refinement and power delivery. Upgrades to the cabin insulation have made the Captiva a more relaxing place to cover miles, with much less engine noise and vibration creeping into the cockpit, and the punchy motor also makes progress very easy.

Mated to the six-speed torque converter the engine offers good response across the range, with the auto box making slightly lazy but well-judged shifts. For all that it is not the most rewarding drivetrain, it’s effective at what it needs to do, and is really quite likeable because it encourages such an easy-going, laid-back driving style.

The Captiva’s chassis set-up has been modified for the 2011 facelift, with the intention of making it more worthy of the ‘sport’ element of SUV, or at the very least a more positive driver’s car. And whilst the steering is marginally better tuned with that in mind, this is still a distinctly stodgy car to drive, now with correspondingly lumpy ride. This could in part be down to the 19-inch alloys that all top-spec LTZ models get as standard, since our test car did settle down on smoother main artery roads, but there’s too much jogging and jarring over typical b-roads. It’s not unforgivable, and is unlikely to be a deal breaker for those who are taken with the Captiva’s looks and practicality, but it could certainly be better.
There is no doubt that when the new more-powerful Captiva is launched, it will be a much better car.

FACTFILE>>>>>>>>>

Overview of New Chevrolet Captiva

Chevrolet India is planning to launch the New 2011 Chevrolet Captiva in India next year. The main reason to launch the New Captiva is that the sales of Captiva have dropped after the launch of Toyota Fortuner which is current segment leader in SUV market. The front design of New Chevrolet Captiva is same like we have seen in Cruze and Beat, it features split grille which is dominated by Chevrolet Bow-tie logo in centre. New Captiva looks much better, bigger and fresh in comparison to the current generation model.

Whats New in 2011 New Chevrolet Captiva?

- New design for head lamps and tail lamps.
- New Split design front grille
- New 3.0 litre engine expected to be launched in India
- LED turn indicators integrated into rear view mirrors
- New design for side air vents integrated into the fender
- New dual cockpit design for the centre console
- New color combinations for interiors and fabrics
- New dash integrated music system featuring AUX and USB ports
- New design for the alloy wheels

Expected Price of New Chevrolet Captiva

It is expected that the price of New Chevrolet Captiva will be around Rs. 220000o to Rs. 2400000, these prices are ex-showroom.

Expected Launch Date of New Chevrolet Captiva

It is expected that the New Chevrolet Captiva will be launched in first or second quarter of 2011.

Press Release: New Chevrolet Captiva

The new Captiva SUV will be seen for the first time at the Paris Motor Show, featuring a new front end design, a range of enhancements to the interior and new engines and transmissions. Captiva will be one of four Chevrolet world premieres. The Captiva combines confident and dynamic new styling with an available active-on-demand all-wheel drive system that distributes power as needed. It retains the advantages of its adaptable, theatre-style seating in three rows which comfortably accommodates up to seven passengers.

A number of features are immediately noticeable when viewing the new Captiva from the front, including its athletic stance: the sharply sculptured hood, Chevrolet’s signature dual-port grille with the Chevrolet 'bow-tie' sited proudly in the middle and the prism-style headlamps and integrated LED turn signals on the outside rearview mirrors. Moving around to the front fenders, the side air vents now take on a more angular shape to emphasize the new Captiva's sportiness, while from the A pillars back, the Captiva retains its handsome profile, characterized by a sleek, rising shoulder line.

Accentuating the new Captiva's body are the new exterior color palette and the sculpted wheel arches which will accommodate wheel sizes of 17 to 19 inches. Many changes are also taking place under the Captiva's hood. In Europe, four new powerful engines will come standard with a new manual or automatic six-speed transmission for a powerful, smooth ride. The new engine lineup, which is comprised of two gasoline engines (2.4L and 3.0L) and two turbo-diesel variants (2.2L), incorporates a host of advanced technologies aimed at delivering an optimal balance of performance and fuel economy.

With the introduction of a new 3.0 liter, 258 hp, V6 gasoline engine with direct injection and variable valve timing, the Captiva will be one of the most powerful vehicles in its class in Europe. The new 2.2 liter common rail turbo-charged diesel engines will be available with either 163 hp or 184 hp outputs. Rounding off the new lineup is a 2.4 liter dual overhead-cam gasoline unit with variable valve timing, rated at 171 hp. Both the 2.2 liter turbo-diesels as well as the 2.4 liter gasoline engine can be ordered in front- or all-wheel-drive configurations.

The new Captiva's chassis has been tuned to further enhance vehicle dynamics, improving cornering, roll characteristics and ride feel. With Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS) and Braking Assist System (BAS) standard, as well as front-, side- and head curtain airbags, the Captiva also provides a high level of safety. The Captiva's new and upgraded interior now features an array of new finishes and textures including all-new seat fabrics and interior décor appointments that give the SUV an upscale feel and look. Chevrolet’s designers applied elements featured on other new Chevrolet models, such as the ice-blue back lighting and the 'wrap-around' design of the front fascia which flows into the front driver's and passenger doors creating the dual-cockpit look.

The new Captiva features Hill Start Assist, eliminating "roll-back" on hills and an electric park brake that opens up space for further storage in the center console, including two large cup holders. The audio system includes an auxiliary input, USB-port and Bluetooth connectivity. Passengers will be able to enjoy their audio experience thanks to multiple acoustic measures resulting in low road, wind and engine noise. Captiva is available with a touch-screen navigation system with rear view camera for safety and parking assistance. With its European launch scheduled for spring 2011, Captiva offers powerful, yet efficient engines, all-wheel drive capabilities, roominess and versatility for up to seven passengers. Captiva will not be available in the United States.