Chevrolet Beat Vs. Maruti A-Star

Hello Everyone, 


Mr. Vinay wanted to buy a hatchback under 5 lakhs and he had shortlisted Chevrolet Beat LT and Maruti A-Star Zxi. His concern was mileage, comfort, power and Budget. The following table compares the two cars.

Feature	Chevolet Beat LT	Maruti A-Star Zxi
Engine	1.2 L	1.0 yL
Power	80.5	67
Mileage	18.6	19.5
Automatic Climate Control	Yes	No
Seat Lumbar Support	Yes	No
Rear Window Washer	Yes	No
Length	3640	3500
Width	1595	1600
Height	1520	1490
Ground Clearance	165	170
AntiLock Breaking System	No (Optional)	Yes
Anti Theft Alarm	No	Yes
Airbags	No (Optional)	Yes
Price	Around 5 Lakhs	4.90 Lakhs

Other points to consider: (Consists of test drive reports by me and few others that I fetched and complied from other sites)

Chevrolet Beat: Chevrolet Beat has a powerful and silent engine. The pickup is good and the accelerator and breaks are sensitive. At low revs the Beat is incredibly refined and near-silent at idle. It has a perky throttle response, which is useful in stop-and-go traffic but depress the throttle more than halfway and you instantly notice the lack of mid-range punch. It’s not a particularly effortless motor but if you work it hard, it will deliver respectable performance. The car is Effortless to drive within city and handles well in the highways too. The suspension is well-tuned for comfort and ride quality is supple over most road conditions. The gear box is fairly smooth. Beat has a funky styling inside & out. Unique superbike-inspired speedometer. The design of the car has prioritized rear leg room over boot space and hence the boot is quite small compared to its counterparts. The tyres are small and puny for a car that looks this amazing. The seat lumbar support provides comfortable seating position.

It does not have a keyless entry, height adjustable drivere seat and the small rear window creates a claustrophobic ambience at the back but in time you will get used to it.There’s storage place and cubby holes everywhere. A spot below the drivers side air-vent (plus a coin holder too), you can slide your hand into the door pockets, 1 liter bottle holder on each of the front doors, two cup holders below the center console, a spot for your cell phone below the climate control knobs, and a single bottle holder for rear passengers.

The car is nippy within the city, yet the handling is at best sedate at speed. Straight line stability is fine and safe enough, but sudden lane change manouveurs will see the tyres squealing easily. Body roll, too, is noticeable in fast corners. If you shift by the rpm meter, you will miss the conventional rpm gauge. The car has a digital RPM meter which does NOT turn red (at the redline), a minor issue. Speakers are just fine. The car had a mini USB port and you will need to purchase a mini USB to USB convertor which costs around 300 bucks. But I heard that the newer ones come with a USB port.

Maruti A-Star :  ASTAR , The sporty car, is an excellent option for people looking for second car in family. The engine is refined and is sufficiently powerful to provide a good and fast pickup.Smooth shifting gearbox is sweet to engage and the ratios are even, except for the awkward gap between the 2nd and 3rd gears. The 3rd gear had a play right from the beginning, which still does not work the right way. Sometimes it engages when you have to shift gears in quick succession for acceleration. On rough roads, even in 2nd gear it speeds quickly and you have to control its acceleration by braking which means you will have to keep shifting between accelerator and brake. The second gear it is little sluggish. Third gear is powerful. Overdrive is a beauty but we rarely get to use it in city. Steering wheel feels slightly sluggish and the car does not respond to direction changes as well as one would expect but one can ignore it. The air-conditioning and heating is very good.  

As far as the comfort, design and convenience is concerned, Maruti A Star is equipped with a standard climate control AC, Power windows, integrated audio system with 4 speakers, front and rear power windows, power steering, manual lock at the centre, remote fuel filler and folding rear seats. To secure the driver and passengers the car is loaded with a lot of passive and active safety features that include dual airbags, ABS with EBD, front seat belts pre-tensioners and force limiters, immobiliser, child proof rear door locks, security system, etc.The interiors are loaded with good quality plastics, best fit and finish in a maruti car and the 2-tone grey interior looks good for a tiny car. one major irritant was the red illumination of the dashboard. Small speedometer and dinky tachometer are design disasters. Absence of a tilt steering and seat height adjustment again is a disadvantage. Headroom is OK but your head may hit the roof if it is driven at a high speed over a pot-hole. Rear legroom is very less, makes it feel that you are sitting in a claustrophobic cabin

For a factory fitted unit in ZXI with 4-speakers, it sounded pretty good. it is mp3/wma compatible and also comes with an i-pod auxilary input jack.. steering wheel feels slightly sluggish and the car does not respond to direction changes as well as one would expect . The side view sometimes become a challenge.

Comparing the price, features and looks I would rate Chevrolet beat 8 and Maruti A star 6 on a scale of 10. The only thing that is in favor of A-Star is the brand name and slightly lower price but that is negated by the stunning looks of Chevy Beat.