SVP unwraps the Chevrolet Beat diesel

Our good friend Siddharth Vinayak Patankar of the highly popular Car and Bike Show on the NDTV network unwrapped the Chevrolet Beat diesel on last evening's episode.

Siddharth gave readers the lowdown along with a brief comparison with the Ford Figo.

Details revealed during yesterday's CnB show

- A 936cc 3cyl diesel engine producing 57bhp and 150Nm of torque is paired to a new 5-speed gearbox
- Turbo lag is less as the turbo is small and comes to optimum operating speed quickly
- Suspension is tuned for more comfort
- The cabin is more silent than the Figo's
- Variants are the same and equipment hasn't been discounted on any of them
- ARAI approved fuel efficiency figure is 24kmpl
- Steering system shifted from hydraulic to EPS

The Beat's diesel engine is a downgraded edition of the 4cyl 1.3-liter Fiat Multi-jet engine powering everything from the Fiat Palio to the Maruti SX4. On the show, President and MD of GM India Karl Slym on said the Beat and Spark have different sets of customers. The buyer the Beat diesel will target is the WagonR and i10 fan. As petrol prices continue their journey north, the Beat diesel we must say has come at the right time, though the company would have liked to have it much before.

OnCars.in earlier this year reported that the new diesel engine will be marketed as XSDE (eXtra Smart Diesel Engine). Features of the engine include an iron block, aluminum DOHC cylinder head, maintenance-free timing chain, centrifugal blowby separator filter for reduced oil consumption, low-noise timing gears, a balancer shaft designed to minimize NVH and a precisely sized waste-gated turbocharger.

GM India told IAB that the Beat diesel will be launched during the second half of July.

Chevrolet Beat Diesel caught testing

The review can be seen on NDTV.com