The trail had very bad roads with gravel & mud, perfect for using the AWD. On the highway, the SUV was absolute fun. It performed brilliantly with no drama whatsoever.
BHPian abirnale recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Since we are not getting some opportunity to do longer trips, we are going after every chance we could drive out even if it is for a short duration!
We recently went through two interesting drives – first – via BG-KPR forest road towards Muninagara Dam and then into a completely unmarked forest trail with no fences. On this trail I am unable to even get onto the maps with the terrain and being out of cell phone coverage, neither is my location tracking got updated. The trail was memorable as it involved very bad roads with gravel and mud, perfect for my AWD and the route offered a lot of bird sightings – spotted a large family of Indian Paradise Flycatchers with juveniles, male and female – all in their best habitat. The best part is that the car engine is so silent at crawling speed that the birds didn’t even notice us being closer to them. Love it!
Some pictures around the trail:
The second trip was a longish one involving the highway drive! On Sunday afternoon we took the Bangalore – Hassan stretch to find some isolated spots around Gorur dam. The place was serene, accessible with high GC cars. All you need to do is – look at the maps, find those tiny white lines that go closer to the backwaters. Park at a place it is safe and risk-free and then enjoy the sunset and beautiful cold breeze blowing over water. This was the longest highway drive on the car so far – absolutely fun! Didn’t even use Zoom mode but the feel is really pumping the adrenaline! The overtaking was easy – without a drama.
I was apprehensive about how the car will behave compared to the MT tranny. Will I get that surge movement that I used to in my old car by holding onto the gear or dropping a cog down sometimes? I think AT just understands your intentions to move faster or slower – obviously, it’s not instantaneous but as soon as you push the pedal down, the car knows you want it to hold the gear and keep accelerating. It was a mad adrenaline rush when I tried this in Zoom mode! The movement on the road through traffic is like dancing at your own will! The tires aren’t as noisy as I thought.
And the best part is – even when we were stuck in the traffic-crowd of parol-returning Bangalore crowd over Sunday weekend after a long Holi weekend, I did not feel exhausted at all. It took me about 30 mins from the last toll on Mangalore highway to Nelmangala Elevated toll road and another 30 minutes in a standstill situation on the NICE road! When people were going mad and driving crazy, I was letting the AT and EPB/ Auto-Hold do their job without freaking out!
Here are some clicks from this drive:
On the highway, the combination of all drives, the car gave a FE of 12.2 or so (tankful to tankful). And yes, the speeds mostly hovering above 100, occasionally with inaudible speed beeps.
Another long drive in planning – hopefully, it materializes this weekend.
Oh and I also love this Google Photos auto-creations – then and now – made my day!
Keyword: Took my Mahindra XUV700 on a forest trail & long highway drive