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came across a weird problem with the Beat. just wanted to check the cause of the problem.

Last week went for a test drive of the Beat. went to Trident in HRBR layout on Outer Ring road. the staff was courteous and informed me that the car is out for a test drive and would be back in a while.

The car came and i hopped on the car and checked the space inside. impressed by the feel which you get on the drivers seat (definately better than my M 800). liked all the gadgets, fidgeted around with the MID and ACC like a small kid. Checked the RPM meter and other display on the dashboard as well. Satsifiedso far.

The part which shocked me was the engine sound at stand still. the engine is extremely silent. I wasn't able to make out whether the car was on or off (and mind you, the window was open as well in a silent neighbourhood). Only after checking the rpm meter was i able to confirm that the car was on (my first experience with a car so silent)

took it for a drive and found the responsive engine to my liking. everything was going smooth, when suddenly at 80kmph, i feel some kind of air compression in the car.:Shockked: the tough part is to explain what it was. it was kind of similar to the maruti omni feeling inside the car when the car is at very low speeds and in the wrong gear. the air compression was very apparent inside the car with the windows closed.

i checked with the Chevy person who was in the car with me and she told me that she hadn't come across this problem herself till now. not convinced, I slowed down the car, checked the windows etc and the engine is back to cruising. I raise the speed again to over 80-90 kmph and the same air compression kind of a feeling in the cabin is back.

this is the first time i came across this issue in a hatchback. Can someone please tell me what this is? was it my fault in driving style or a demo's car fault?


I did not have the time, so could not check with the service engineer, though I am not too hopeful of a satisfactory response from them.

You mean cabin air pressure or the wind noise ? The cabin pressure will not increase /decrease assuming you have taken the TD on normal plains/Sea level.

Car cabins are not pressure tight unlike aircraft where the cabin is pressurized at higher altitude.

I took the test drive at Trident hyundai (Green colour LT variant). Driven around 80-100 for few minutes, did not observe any issue of cabin air pressure. I am planning to test drive again on this weekend in my home town, will check in detail and post here.

It wasnt the wind noise since the windows were up.

it may be the fault in the car. But it was definately there and consistent when i went above 80. didnt go much over 80 so dont know if it goes away after a certain speed.

But i am sure i got it.. it was more of fluctuations in the cabin pressure. cant really explain how it was.

hi guys,

Congratulations azharace and vprodigy, I was traveling and did not get to talk to my dealer. I had shot some queries regarding the tires and alloys tech spec, logistics and temp registration charges as I am opting for the LT(O) variant. Also asked the sales girl to correspond with me using official mail rather than personal mail.

Duh! no response since. I am a bit shocked by the response time and the lack of salesmanship. If it was my sales team, they would be looking for new job. I still like the car, but if the response is gonna be like this during sales I am tempted to go to Maruti.

On the other point of having 2009 cars, I think GM produced a sizeable lot to launch and many cars will be 2009 but how does it matter to members, the registration will be done in 2010 and that its always the registration number rather than the manufacturing date that is considered, right?

Make sure you contact GM India directly and complain about the dealer.

Chevrolet Customer Care Numbers in India |Cardekho.com

Try another car. Nobody understands what you mean. You do get buffeting when one of the back windows is down.

sales people at the gurgaon dealership really don't care once the booking has been done, I'm also tempted to go to Maruti especially the new KB swift. I have paid booking amount 10k for the Beat so i'll have to fight to get it back I know they won't give it back so easily. The promised me February first week and now they don't pick up the phone and when I call the sales person she says she does not have much information as she has been transfered to a another Chevy office. I think others were right when they said Maruti or Hyundai is better.
i can only hope and wait for another week else I'm going to cancel my booking.

Hi Guys,

A great appreciation for the fabulous review. I have booked a Cocktail Green Chevy Beat LT, It has been about more than 15 days and still no ETA. This is when it's on a priority delivery through GM.
Dealership promised me that they will deliver it in 7 days, I knew it was too good to be true so I called after 7 days and they had not yet generated a work order number. I personally do not mind waiting for the car but anticipation gets to you. And at the least you want is a realistic time frame, so that car buying experience remains pleasurable.
I have booked it through Regent Automobiles - Faridabad. Staff is not very helpful, though the sales people and staff at Regent Automobiles - Delhi were extremely nice. That's where I took a test ride. It's a great ride, a little bumpy for backseat people though.

I have plans to give it a Skids-Autobot look, though the rear and front bumpers are different but it would still look cool. Any suggestions?

Congrats deeptrip. Can you share the invoice amount and the charges etc.

Thanks Mpower. Vprodigy and deeptrip how about trying what Mpower recommends.

I was to gift the car to my mother and now I know I can't surprise her with the gift on her b'day. Inspite of early start this is what we get.

Anyone with updates on the tires that the OEM alloy can take on?

Vprodigy: Apra in Gurgaon still does not commit to KB swift. They say it will come but you can not book. Already they are running a backlog of 2 months on 1.3lt Swift. It outsells Ritz.

Any discounts on 1.2 Kappa i10? I am not tempted to pick that one to meet the deadline.

Thanks to GTO for your crisp and clear review.
Your review helped me very much in finalizing Beat LT.

I made a couple of visits to Kropex Chevrolet Bangalore and done test drives on both LS and LT version.
It was better than I expected and I liked the LT variant - both styling as well as interiors(purely subjective).
Checked engine at both extremes:
- was even able to drive at less than 40kmph in 5th gear without jerk and then accelerate smoothly.
- I could go only up to just 100+ in the short stretch and evening traffic and was very good- smooth and silent- no vibrations.
The engine response was very good - I could do some quick acceleration test and the braking was also was impressive(TD vehicle was a non-ABS variant).
The following are my other observations:
- Even though the dash is high-mounted, I did not find it difficult because the side windows offer much better side view during cornering.
- The rear leg room is very good compared to Ritz (even though front seats travel too much towards back).
- The quality of dash board plastic, door trims and the rubber beading are good.
- The sloping roof can be a problem for a tall person sitting in the rear - I don't care about it, because I will be always in the driving seat:)
- Climate control is very good and I really liked it.

I also did some research on the "on road price" quoted by various dealerships and also based on the info given by "Sn1p3r" and "quadmaniac".
The difference in price is more then 33K - very much disappointing.:deadhorse
Here is the comparison for LT metallic version:


One interesting thing I could find is that the insurance amount quoted by dealers are too high.
I found carwale quoting the least!
Here, the difference is around 5.5K!
I just got some quotes to compare:


The dealer is quoting 1.5K for the standard accessories, includes only floor mat and mud flap!
They are giving a low quality floor mat. One can get a better one from outside for ~600
Those who already booked and waiting for the delivery can save ~6K by going for separate insurance and std accessories.

BTW I will be booking Beat LT Cocktail Green tomorrow!
Dealer is telling that the waiting period for green is more compared to other colors!!
Hope to come with a detailed review once I get the delivery.

I have booked the Beat LT in blue. Metro Motors in Safdarjung, Delhi say it will take at least 45 days, maybe even 2 months. They say that they have now stopped taking booking orders for LT. I wonder if in a few months suddenly we'll see plenty of them on the road. See one per day as of now. I plan to change the tires and def the speakers. But 45 days is a lot. The waiting gets to you. :mad:

Guys, I finally booked the Beat LT (Blue) yesterday. Many thanks to those here who guided me on this decision!

I now hope that the dealers stick to the 25-30 day promise!

Nice price comparo salbin.

I agree, the price difference is just TOO MUCH :Frustrati

Sites like carwale don't take into account the hikes in VAT or other stuff leading to the increase of ex showroom cost. They also dont consider these "logistics" charges that seem to be a new trend. And to be honest, I don't expect carwale to be up-to-date with ex showroom prices when Beat's official site chevybeat.co.in isn't!

I had mailed GM sales email address, asking about this, but some lady just replied with a generic copy-paste email saying that the prices can be found at the dealers :deadhorse

I've just given my booking amount. I'm planning to call GM's number before the final payment though. Please let me know if any of you guys have some other email addresses of top GM officials or something...

The insurance is based on the ex-showroom price and the cubic capacity of the vehicle. Other charges like road tax, regn, accessories etc. will not be considered for insurance.
All the quotes were collected based on the inputs given by me only
ie. same vehicle price and IDV.
Actually carwale was offering me icici lombard policy (like any other agent dealing with multiple companies).
You can find the same policy offered by another agent was higher than this.
As I understand, the difference is basically due to the agent commission and discounts being passed on to the customer.
You can also pay the premium as 6 EMIs without additional cost.
When I checked this with the dealer, they told "very well you can go for your own arrangement for insurance if it is beneficial for you".