I bought Beat LT Diesel in 23rdOct 2011, crossed 3000km.
Milage was 18-19km/l with intermittent AC usage for initial 1000km, thereafter it started dropping to 15-16km/l. Usage is mainly in city Broadways, rarely bumper to bumper.
With Ac on the loss in energy is significantly obvious, Gear shifting particularly 3rd to 2nd bit rigid, otherwise Ok. Power steering excellent- its feather lite. In plain roads ride is a pleasure but it wobbles in ditches.
Dashboard is quite high clearance for short height persons is a problem.
The A pillars creates a Blind spot
while taking Right Turns. Clearance and the blind Zone r much better in RitZ. Ac is Ok.
Climate control is a boon. But if the outside temperature is around 35*C as in Pondicherry, it takes almost 15 mins to cool down and You feel the the loss in power of the engine with exaggerated noise. (I haven’t put sunfilms yet- Hope the performance of Ac improves with sunfilms.)
The dash is really catchy. The Ac & music controls r fun to deal with.The rear windows although r claustrophobic from outside, from inside it doesn’t feel the same.
Its definitely a value for money. You save 50000 compared to Ritz with the same features
But if Milage is your deciding factor its almost the same you get with RitZ.
Gear shift is much smoother in Ritz. Definitely the DDIS engine of Ritz is more powerful and Time tested. the impact of AC on power is not that obvious in Ritz.However Beat has a better look (observer variation applies).
Hope the mileage improves after 1st servicing.
N.B.- The comprehensive service warranty< for 3 yrs/45000km is not available for Diesel version Beat comes with a solid Disc brakes in front, which is inferior and wears of faster than the ventilated disc brakes present in all cars of other brands in that range.
No issues with Pondicherry dealer. Akash Auto is very courteous and prompt. They offered extensive test drive in busy city street as well as in highway separately. Even they brought the test drive car all the way to my office to save my time. You cant expect more than this.
I could bargain goodies worth 6000. Remote lock, floor mat, boot mat, mud flap, car cover, reverse horn and a chevy toy -Teddy was provided free. But generally dealers r reluctant to give anything for free in diesel version.
After sales service-no experience.