[chandu]

Originally Posted by N33raj

Such a simple idea! However, the fun starts when you rent a car in RHD Britain and drive into LHD France or vice versa! Now that i need a few kms even now to reset my brain!
And i think you are right about the theory on indicator stalk positions on LHD and RHD cars.

Ha ha yes, that really screwed with my mind , I have done a road trip with an English Salesman and gone across the channel and it was freaky driving on the "wrong" side of the road where the driver would ask me to check if it was safe for an overtake

[murajith]

Originally Posted by manjunathkl

For a long time, I had one Korean and one European car. Yes, you guessed it - Headlight, Wiper stalks are reversed in these cars. Atleast once in a long-while I would operate the wrong stalk and my family would make fun on me.

Exactly, that’s one thing I mess up between the cars.
I have been driving manual, automatic, diesel and petrol cars, different size/brands. I adapt to these quickly. But, headlight/ wiper stalks are something that i mess up once a while even after long drives as I am more native with European style stalks.

[fhdowntheline]

I have had the experience of switching since I went into the two car ownership mode with the following pairs so far:
1) Linea T Jet + Nano
2) Linea TJet + Micra CVT
3) Duster 110 + Micra CVT
4) Duster 110 + Polo TSi
5) Currently, City CVT + Polo Tsi. As you would agree, from a driver interface standpoint, the Duster/ Polo combo was the most well aligned. From driving perspective, currently both cars are AT, but as alike as chalk and and cheese!
I still manage to use the wrong stalk for indicator/ wiper from time to time but only for the initial 1km or so.
PS: Incidentally, i just noticed that every car that I have got rid of ,has either gone out of production in the immediate aftermath or is on the verge of being so. Whereas the two earliest cars I owned ,i.e Santro and Dzire, are still going strong.

[Swap_Abarth]

I have optet for 2nd option.

The anxiety & excitment of driving new car/bike is always there with me irrespective size & power. It takes around couple of Kms to familarise. Side mirrors, driving/riding position, clutch travel, acceleration inputs are some of critical elements, where I take time for allignment.

[n_ramesh99]

Voted for the third option.

I was driving Ecosports Diesel and (old) Baleno some time back. Nowadays I drive Ecosports regularly and Alto occasionally when I visit home time. The problem I face(d) is the location of wiper and indicator. In Maruti, I engage viper intending to change indicator. This can be very frustrating.

When I go on short trips abroad, I drive carefully for some time. It has happened to me two times that I became quite confident after sometime and took a left turn to find myself in the wrong side of the road. Fortunately, there were no vehicles at that time and after that always very careful while taking turns.

[vsrivatsa]

Voted for the second option "I will be good in few km". I use the Honda City Diesel as my daily driver to office as well as for any highway trips. I use the Ignis AMT as a city runabout.

So the switch here is between the fuel types as well as between a Manual and an AMT. The switch between the fuel types is made easier due to the AMT I would say. But it does takes a kilometer or two of driving to adjust myself to the different car.

[Rajeevraj]

Couple of days back had a situation where I drove my Vento TSI from Point A to B, then a Santro AMT from point B to C and then an Ecosport DCT from point C to A. All drives within the city, ~10km each. Was reminded of this thread and noticed a few things.

Indicator confusion still continues. When I switched back to my car, atleast a couple of times hit the wrong stalk.

• Noticed that I started a couple of overtaking maneuvers in the Santro that would have been straightforward in the Vento DSG, but maybe slightly risky in the Santro and backed off when that realization hit.
  
• Drove through some narrow roads with more caution then necessary in the Santro because my style was tuned to the size of the Vento.
  
• Went very carefully over a gate entrance in the Ecosport because my Vento's rear tow hook sometimes scrapes on the climb in. The Ecosport would have no such issues.
  
• The way I hold the steering in my Vento was not suitable in the Santro and it was extremely light and vague in comparison.

So while the switch itself is not an issue, there are definitely small things that will keep cropping up especially if there is a large difference in the time spent driving the primary car vs others.

[Sophomore]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

• Noticed that I started a couple of overtaking maneuvers in the Santro that would have been straightforward in the Vento DSG, but maybe slightly risky in the Santro and backed off when that realization hit.
  
• Drove through some narrow roads with more caution then necessary in the Santro because my style was tuned to the size of the Vento.
  
• Went very carefully over a gate entrance in the Ecosport because my Vento's rear tow hook sometimes scrapes on the climb in. The Ecosport would have no such issues.
  
• The way I hold the steering in my Vento was not suitable in the Santro and it was extremely light and vague in comparison.

So while the switch itself is not an issue, there are definitely small things that will keep cropping up especially if there is a large difference in the time spent driving the primary car vs others.

Superbly listed, will be hard to explain more simpler than this.

And I agree with what D-bhpian Rajeevraj said, it won't be much of an issue for most to switch, but there are things which keeps cropping up and can possibly be very dangerous if not dealt with properly.

[skchettry]

Originally Posted by vibbs

I have a question to those who drive their cars in India as well as abroad.

How do you guys manage to adjust with the different driving sides?
I travel a lot, but have never driven outside India. Just sitting in the passenger seat at times gives me scares when I am in one of the 'Right hand drive countries'.

First few hours are difficult. Need to be a bit cautious.The stalks moved would be the wrong ones. During such times, I would be running the wipers when I needed to switch on the indicators, would look for the gear lever on the opposite side. Lucky to say they did not think of rearranging the Accelerator, Brake and Clutch in a different order.
The side of the road you drive on gets adjusted if you have traffic around you; but on deserted roads, I would ask myself many times 'Am I on the right side'.

[sdasgupta]

I have a manual (Innova) and an auto (i10 grand) and find no issues switching between them. The only difference I find is in the lack of engine braking in the i10, and sometimes I do switch to the tiptronic mode to get some engine braking.

I recently drove in the US after almost 16 years, and was wondering if there would be an adjustment needed. However, even though I arrived around 9pm and picked up a rental from the airport to drive to my hotel, I had no issues at all even though it was night-time, a switch to left-hand-drive and an unfamiliar car. I think there is something like driving muscle-memory that kicks in

[gautam109]

I am generally uncomfortable in a new (friend/family/test drive) car for first 3 to 4 kms.
Takes time getting the right seating position (esp if car dimensions & seating height are different from my daily driver). Plus different sized mirrors & unfamiliar controls. Plus car behaviour - engine & steering responsiveness, gear throws, free play in pedals etc. So I drive cautiously until I get a hang and then can drive normally.

Also depends on the model. I found the 1st gen Figo, Swift (prev gen) and the old Hyundai Accent very easy to get used to at a time when my daily driver was a Maruti 1000.

Diesel vs Petrol has generally not been an issue for me.

[matchvan]

I have a Swift Vxi Petrol, SX 4 Petrol and S cross Zeta in my garage.
The Swift and SX4 are a breeze to drive and there are no issues when i switch between these two.
But when i switch over to the
S Cross, gear changing, braking and seating position it takes time to get adjusted.
In the city the Swift and SX4 are very easy and fun to drive, similarly the S cross gives great pleasure to drive on highways.
The SX 4 petrol is rocket on highways as well..
May be Petrol vs Diesel engine conundrum here...

[benbsb29]

I find no issues at all. When in India I used to alternate between a Scorpio (diesel) and a Ford Ikon (Petrol). Only issue if at all was the indicator stalks were flipped. Now, I alternate between a Pajero/Montero (diesel) and a petrol Corolla hatchback. Zero issues.

[amitayu]

Interesting topic!

I drive my personal car in Delhi, and drive other car(s) when I go home to Kolkata.
Some of the main issues I face are:

a) remote locking and the lack of it. One of my drives in Kolkata is an old school Zen and I often lock the car leaving the keys inside!

b) a new challenge I recently faced: now I have a switch start for which I have to press clutch and the start button. The Old ones need to press accelerator and then turn the key! Made a mess of myself couple of times during transition on both cars at red lights!

c) Engine responses to throttle and gear change ratios are often different. Though that is an irritant for the first few minutes. The problem is re-calibrating my right foot when I step from one car to another.

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

I drive a Honda City and a Grand i10. Whenever I drive Grand i10, I find brakes to be excessively grabby and over sensitive as reported by many BHPians on the forum. (Hyundai Grand i10 : Official Review)

So, it used to come to standstill even if I applied light brake to slow down. Now things have improved (not Grand i10 but myself ).

One more thing, Start/Stop button is on the right hand side in Grand i10 and on the left hand side in Honda City. I always try to find it on wrong side in first attempt in either of the cars and my kid always laughs seeing this.