[shyamkrish]

Thanks for the details on Metachem ! I will probably do the coating during the 5K service as i anticipate lots of offroading to my farm.

On the topic of water leakage, i must say that 8 of us got caught in a heavy downpour in Kodai for about 3 hours. However there was not a single leak in the soft top. My family was cursing the jarring ride but they didnt complain once about water seeping in. Was really impressed. I think leakage also depends on how well the soft top was put up during the initial delivery

The only water issue that i have observed is the water being collected on the soft top which falls over during turns

Thanks
Shyam

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by shyamkrish

Thanks for the details on Metachem ! I will probably do the coating during the 5K service as i anticipate lots of offroading to my farm.

Any pics of your King in its natural habitat?

[shyamkrish]

Yea sure. I will upload photos next week since iam out of town. I got back from a 3 week vacation at Kodai. Took the king to my farmhouse the next day that it rained when a lot of people warned me that the path was full of slush

I took my brother-in-law with me and we could see the 4WD in action through slush and steep terrains. Infact the Gypsy passed pretty much every test including the toughest. Handling full fledged traffic in steep terrain where we could get the burnt clutch smell from every car. Everytime i thought it was the king. But luckily since i used the hand brake there was very little load on the clutch. Gave the King for the 1000 Km service and it was absolutely fine.

And seriously, the first gear of the Gypsy is awesome. It starts a bit slow but when u press the gas you can feel the torque. As i said earlier, the terrain from my house has 3 steep gradients, the last being the steepest. With a full load of 4 adults, 2 kids (above 12) and 2 others (below 12) the Gypsy climbed easily in 1st gear. I feel this vehicle was too ahead of its times when it was launched.

Really enjoying the ride !

Thanks
Shyam

[Sawyer]

While I still like my Gypsy, I won't go so far as to say that the ride is my favourite part of it! I don't mind the steering effort or the turning circle, or even lack of AC - these things can be managed by using it in the right environment. But the ride isn't suitable for any Indian roads at any time of the year - even the concrete ones that are getting to be too common because the Gypsy can any time prove that they aren't finished to the extent any good road ought to be. Indeed, the car does better on a tar road that is well finished.

Enjoy the car.

[shyamkrish]

So myself and wife decided we need to do a weekend trip every saturday to some jungle or lake or beach so we getaway from the city. Being fortunate to be in Madurai (rather than Bangalore/Chennai) most spots are within 20-30 kms and not more than 40 minutes drive

So this week we decided to go to Athoor lake which is a very pristine lake near Dindigul but not at all known for being a tourist spot

The perfect place for a Gypsy. when we reached the lake the shore was full of gravel. We wanted to go a bit further. What lay ahead of us was about 12 ft length of gravel about 1 feet deep. 2 Bikes that went ahead of us fell with wheels spinning. I thought this was a great test not only for the Gypsy but also for a new 4WD driver like me. Switched to 4WD with right wheels on the gravel. There was not a single skid and it went through it flawlessly. Same while coming back

Wife was really impressed that the vehicle didnt lose any traction. Here are a few photos





All,

One question i had is, if you look at the 1st photo, the soft top lining behind the drivers seat just below the roof keeps coming out. The one on the passenger seat is good. So there is water leaking when it rains. How can it be fixed so it doesnt come out?

thanks
shyam

[Sawyer]

Nice clean looking Gypsy; keep it maintained to the manual prescribed schedules and it will serve you for years, even decades.
Is the water leaking from where the top is fitted to the body - if so, a reinstall may be all it takes. But if it is from around the transparent section, ask for a replacement roof.

And make sure you keep it long enough for the boys to learn to drive and use once they have their licenses. I can't think of a better car for that application. No worries about minor dents, and any car is easy to drive afterwards!

[shyamkrish]

Its not the transparent section. Its the lining parallel to the door lining. I pushed it in yesterday and it worked. But at high speed it comes out. However the lining on the other side is intact.I will get it checked at MASS

[shyamkrish]

One more thing i noticed while driving yesterday was, my hand brake was partially on while driving. I drove probably 20-30 kms with Handbrake on. There was no burning smell nor did i feel any lag. The heat meter was also at less than halfway.That is, the Hand brake was in a position where if i disengaged it, the vehicle went a slight faster (probably 20%). So it was probably at 10% of its full power

Has anyone else experienced it. I have never had this issue with any other vehicles. If hand brake was on i would know immediately.

[schakravarthy]

Which among these cars has the most comfortable driving seat? Needless to say, the transplant is for a Gypsy.
Amaze, Swift, Innova, or i20

Also, any other suggestion?

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by schakravarthy

Which among these cars has the most comfortable driving seat? Needless to say, the transplant is for a Gypsy.
Amaze, Swift, Innova, or i20

Also, any other suggestion?

Innova Seats. Eyes closed. Anyday.

[schakravarthy]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

Innova Seats. Eyes closed. Anyday.

Thanks.
And, between Innova and Safari?

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by schakravarthy

Thanks.
And, between Innova and Safari?

Dont know about Safari. Heard that they are good. I had the Tavera Seats on my 2nd Gypsy and never had any spinal issues compared to my 1st which had the stock seats.

[genesis]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

Dont know about Safari. Heard that they are good. I had the Tavera Seats on my 2nd Gypsy and never had any spinal issues compared to my 1st which had the stock seats.

People mostly go for innova or tavera. Tavera being cheaper...(usually)...depending on what is in stock in the scrap market.

[shyamkrish]

I had been to my farmhouse 2 weeks back on the Gypsy. But unfortunately we couldnt travel all the way to my farmhouse due to the rains and inaccessible roads.So we had to park the Gypsy about a Km away and walk down.

But i wasnt satisfied with this and had to get back. So i told my caretaker at the farm that i will be back. So this weekend i gave it another shot. It was an amazing ride! While the ride to the farmhouse was great i had a shock of my life on the way back. I didnt realize that on the way to my farmhouse i had gone all the way down on steep terrains. Going on neutral and 1st gear it was ok (though not an easy task as we had to go over rocks on 4H)

On the way back i just froze at the first obstacle. A 20-30 ft incline full of rocks and loose mud (though dry). If it were a normal Tar road i would have gone full throttle 1st gear to clear it. My initial tries with the clutch and 1st gear were useless as the Gypsy stalled half way and i had to reverse,even the hand brake was ineffective .At this point i seriously thought about getting outside help as the terrain looked unsurmountable. Running my thoughts i decided i will give one last try with the 4L (since i could already smell the burning clutch). Switched to 4L 1st gear and gave a push on the accelerator and the Gypsy just ploughed through the terrain. At that moment i realized the power of 4L. I switched to 4L the entire 10 minutes and cleared all the rocks effortlessly.

The amount of experience gained out of this trip is unparalleled.

[Sawyer]

Next time, try 2nd in 4L. That usually is an easier to drive car. Foot off the clutch asap, of course.