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Old 7th August 2007, 17:15   #76
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In India amongst the cars I have driven the order would be
OHC Vtec
Maruti Esteem
Maruti 800
Abroad I have driven in order of comfort and driveability
Ford Expedition 2003
Nissan Maxima 2003
Toyota Camry 2003

My Personal favourite to date is the Ford Expedtion I drove it 1300 miles in 2 days and no strain at all. Of which I drove the 600 miles in 7-8 hrs flat.
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Old 7th August 2007, 18:24   #77
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Baleno Altura ! Ultimate long distance cruiser.Lot of space,comfortable seats,quite cabin,sure footed handling even in hills,very quick and fast,amazing f.e.
Drove it Delhi to Manali,two months ago.Packed everything kids demanded,covered 570 kms in less than 10 hours with 2 breaks and felt no fatigue or dizziness despite a lot of hill driving.And to top it, got a f.e. of 15+ in round trip.What more you can ask?
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Old 7th August 2007, 19:24   #78
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Twice I did long drive in a day (apprx 350KM each) in my swift and never felt tired. I found it very comfortable. Though I need to try the same in some other cars to know the difference.
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Old 7th August 2007, 19:27   #79
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I drove Palio/ Siena and Accent Viva CRDI for long distance covering 400 KMS in a stretch.
I was comfortable in Palio & Siena and could drive nonstop for 6+ hours without any tiredness. In Accent, after driving for 100+ KMS, I felt like to get out and stretch for few minutes.
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Old 8th August 2007, 00:57   #80
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anybody driven the nissan x trail for long runs. i would like to know as i'm planning to buy one for bom to gujrat runs. thanks
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Old 8th August 2007, 09:32   #81
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Safari: Outright winner. Drove for 2800 Kms Gurgaon - Mumbai - Lonavala and back with family (4 members). I was the only driver. No strain and very comfy.

Scorpio: Good machine. But seats could be made more comfortable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mclaren1885 View Post
I have been doing quite a lot of travelling off lately in a number of cars. Which got me to think which is the most comfortable car to drive in. For long distances. All you have to do is put up a list of cars you have driven for a minimum distance of 200kms at a stretch and rank all of them with the best car starting at the top. Engine is not a main criteria for this thread but the seating position, accessibility to the gear lever and all the other pedals etc here is more important. What I want to know is which is that one car you could drive for hours and hours together, yet not feel the strain.
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Old 8th August 2007, 09:48   #82
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I can only vote for Alto coz I have driven only that car for long drives...

As a passenger I did long drive on my friend's Indica Turbo, I liked Indica's rear seats a lot...I think it is best among the hatches

Abhi
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Old 8th August 2007, 10:38   #83
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the Fiat UNO. Ultimate in comfort. Trust you guys me on this one. its the best,
ive had long drives in octi, qualis, corsa, 800, innova, safari, bolero, amby, mahindras. .. but the uno takes the cake. too bad its not in production.
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Old 8th August 2007, 10:54   #84
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In India
Mitsubishi Cedia - in the drivers seat - followed by NHC vtec -
As a passenger - Innova

In USA
Best to drive - Pontiac GP - turbo - great car ( various times hundreds of miles in a day - just great - across all terrains)
Cadillac Deville - 1600 miles 3 days
Ford Mustang convertible
Nissan Altima
Chevy Impala - great workhorse - great space

As a passenger
Has to be the Cadillac and the Impala - when not driving lounge around on the sofa in the back
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Old 8th August 2007, 13:27   #85
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Since i havent really done much travelling in any other car other than my own, guess i cant really speak about them.

My car (Ikon) didnt leave me tired during my long distance trip to Kerala from Bangalore and also within Kerala. However, i am the kind who likes to have stops in between and also admire the scenery. Add to that the fact that during my trip, we also had a couple of friends who were on a Pulsar, and so they wanted butt-breaks in between.
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Old 8th August 2007, 14:55   #86
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It depends on car ergonomics

I think it is down to a car's ergonomics rather than particular model. Any car can be comfortable for me for long driving (over 3 hours at a stretch) provided the car has following features!
  • Driver's seat height adjustment (without it my legs start aching after an hour)
  • Seat horizonta adjustment (usally available in most car nowadays anyway)
  • Seat lumber (backrest) adjustment (if not there will be gap between my back and seat back, thus making journey comfortable)
  • Steering tilt & reach adjustment (desirable but absolutely essential)
  • My right foot can press accelerator while still being rest on its heel. Without this, my right let might hang on the air (while not pressing accelerator heavily). For long drive, it is a great pain.
  • A dead pedal for left foot. Can do without but definitely a plus point.
Since everybody's physique is not same, one man's comfort may be discomfort for another one! For example, I had a peculiar problem with Hyundai Elantra. In my most comfortable position, if I wish to operate sun visor, I need to move my head as it blocks the movement of visor

I discovered that if I don't feel any pain in the first hour of driving in a car, I can usually drive the same car for several hours at a stretch.

Last edited by sbasak : 8th August 2007 at 15:00.
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Old 8th August 2007, 17:23   #87
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Mods : Can we have a poll here ?
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Old 8th August 2007, 17:40   #88
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1)Daewoo Matiz
2)Hyundai Verna
3)Mahindra Scorpio
4)Hyundai Santro
5)Maruti 800
In that order.
Have done approximately 500km in each from my hometown to Mumbai.
Sometimes driving or in the passenger seat.
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Old 8th August 2007, 18:25   #89
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Poll makes better sense the reason every one is typing different cars so its confusing, we can't find the winner however this is good thread. We can get very good information about differne tcars for sure.

Ravi.
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Old 8th August 2007, 22:56   #90
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I have done many many very long drives with me being the only driver (once upto nearly 20 hours in a day, really crazy, right!). These are the ones I have liked the best:

In US:
Lincoln Town car (Longest drive in it: St Louis, MO - Columbus, OH - Pittsburgh, PA - Buffalo, NY - New York, NY - Washington, DC area - Daytona, FL - Orlando, FL - Birmingham, AL - St.Louis, MO). Nothing comes near the Town Car in terms of comfort for long drives. When I compare the ride in the Lincoln Town Car with, for example, a Toyota Camry or an Isuzu 4x4 or Toyota Celica across the country from OH to CA, you realize how much more stable the Lincoln is when you pass an eighteen wheeler at high speed and how much less tiring it is in a Lincoln.

In Europe: Opel Ascona & Ford Escort Wagon. Both were equally comfortable, but like a drive in a 800 when compared to the comfort of the Town Car. But never got tired after covering drives from Aachen, Germany (bordering Holland and Belgium) to Budapest, Hungary through Austria or to Florence, Italy through Switzerland in a day.

In India: Only long drive was from Kolkata to Puri, Orissa (600 kms) and back in my WagonR in the middle of 40+ degrees Celcius. The A/C was very good. But I had trouble with lack of good thigh support after driving for more than eight hours. May be the seats are okay, it's only me getting old. Passengers (my wife and son) said they were quite comfortable.
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