[GTO]

Hello BHPians!

We’re lining up a dream Sunday for BHPians, with cars, petrolheads, Skoda team members and the smell of gasoline in the air. Come, create some great memories, then get back to this thread & post about your experience for everyone else on Team-BHP.

Team-BHP is India’s foremost car community, driven purely by owners & enthusiasts. We do have a whole lot of fun online through threads & discussions, sure, but we also have a core offline DNA with the Team-BHP Meets. As unique as our threads & discussions are in India, so too are the offline Team-BHP meets, drives and events.

Now, Team-BHP is going to take that to the next level. In a very slow & steady manner (as always), we're planning to introduce even more fun stuff for BHPians with extremely unique, specially curated automotive experiences...stuff you will only get to enjoy as a Team-BHPian. What we’ve been thinking about is this = Previews of brand-new launches, new car test-drive events, factory visits with a peek into the making of an automobile, track days (race track & go-karting), 4x4 offroading sessions, direct & open interactions with car guys & gals from the senior management of auto companies etc. These gearhead activities were previously available only to a select few (Team-BHP Moderators, Car Reviewers & Auto Journalists from other media). Now, YOU get to be part of it too! Trust me, these experiences create memories for life. If anyone asks me what is the best part of running Team-BHP.com, I'd say it's interacting with BHPians on interesting forum threads, and test-driving all the new cars first-hand (I have test-driven 5 new cars in the last 6 weeks).

The Plan for BHPians

Big thanks to Team Skoda for organizing this special event for us .

• Have fun, D-R-I-V-E, spend quality time with fellow enthusiasts, learn new things, be a responsible & respectful participant, and contribute to the community. This is the gist of it.

• Event date = Sunday, 15th June 2025 @ Mumbai.

• Location = The Taj Mahal Palace, Colaba. Drive to the Taj in your own car and enjoy Bombay roads on a Sunday. Valet parking is available at the Taj.

• Meet & greet with fellow BHPians at 1 PM dot. Come, talk cars, and enjoy a room's energy that is full of car guys & gals.

• Then, the Kodiaq product presentation by Team Skoda, followed by a 5-course lunch.

• Next up & most importantly, D-R-I-V-E. A fleet of 8 Skoda Kodiaqs will be available for Team-BHPians. We will cover the beautiful sea roads in & around Mumbai.

• Each BHPian will have between 45 minutes - 1 hour of driving time with the Kodiaq.

• Return to the Taj by sunset for car handover, and high tea + snacks.

• The starting time of the event will be 1 PM and we expect to wrap up the event by 7 PM. You will go home with a heart full of memories – you have my word on that. Get ready to regale your family with stories over dinner once you're home.

• Exact itinerary will be shared directly with BHPians who have been confirmed for participation.

• This event is by invitation only. After you drop the below-mentioned PM to Omkar, you will receive a confirmation of your participation by Wednesday / Thursday.

• Why should Bombay have all the fun? Agreed. We plan to host similar events for enthusiasts in other cities too.

Want to participate & test-drive the new Kodiaq with Team-BHP?

Drop a PM to Omkar with the subject “Live to Drive” and your full details in the PM (first name + last name exactly as per your driving license, driving license number, email address, phone number, LinkedIn profile link).

Guidelines to be followed

• The primary aim is to enjoy the event, hang out with fellow BHPians, test-drive the Kodiaq and share the entire experience with other BHPians (via a detailed post on this thread itself).
• This event is currently open only to BHPians (i.e. members with 25+ posts) and those who are active on the forum. In the future, we may consider including newbies & guests as well. There have also been talks of inviting your spouses & kids to some of the upcoming events. While we have had many Team-BHP meets before, this is our first such organized event, so we’d like to build it gradually. If you are a guest reading this, well, here is your 176th reason to register on the Team-BHP Forum!
• The more regular your contributions are on the forum (as well as your thanks & post counts), the higher your chances of participation at these automotive events. Extra brownie points if you have helped this community with detailed threads & extraordinary posts .
• When us Team-BHP Mods & Reviewers attend a media test-drive event, we have to submit a review / report of the same. Similarly, all participating BHPians are expected to post a detailed event report & test-drive review for the benefit & collective knowledge of the forum. Your post will be read by thousands / lakhs of members & guests who weren’t part of this event. You may submit your post-event report & Kodiaq review as a reply on this thread itself (the more detailed your post & supporting pictures, the better!).
• The quality of your review & post on Team-BHP will affect your future participation in events, so request to participate only if you are open to sharing the love & experience in very high detail with other BHPians.
• Team-BHP has built a reputation as a safe, family-friendly, collaborative & impeccably-mannered online community. We would appreciate the same at these offline events too. Immaculate etiquette is mandatory. Do note that any inappropriate behaviour or dangerous driving will automatically bar you from future events.
• No racing or aggressive driving please. Let us all enjoy the drive, the amazing cars & the company of fellow enthusiasts in an easy, calm, comfortable manner. Any rash driving or street racing will be frowned upon. We must make this a safe, enjoyable experience for you, the BHPians you are sharing the car with and your fellow road users. There will be multiple Kodiaqs available and you will be sharing the car with other BHPians. The driving time is approximately 45 - 60 minutes each before you hand over the wheel to the next-in-line BHPian and continue as a passenger. The planned route should take us about 2.5 – 3 hours on Sunday.
• Request to please commit to the event only if you are sure about coming. 'No shows' will be automatically barred from future events. When we confirm a seat for you, it’s one less seat available for other BHPians.
• Out-of-town BHPians are most welcome (although preference will be given to BHPians from the same city)! As a car guy, I have travelled across the country (and even abroad) for unique automotive experiences that drew my interest, and it has been totally worth it. After all, how many such opportunities do everyday car enthusiasts get to participate in?

If you want to get familiar with the new Kodiaq, it would be a great idea to spend some time reading our detailed Official Review (2025 Skoda Kodiaq Review) before the test-drive. In true Team-BHP ethos, we'd appreciate a similarly-neutral review highlighting what you liked about the car and what you didn't like about the car.

Thanks & greatly looking forward!

[GTO]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line!

[MileCruncher]

This is great but am out on a ride that weekend. My badluck :(

[Shreyas_H]

Such a fantastic initiative! Looking forward to this.

[SilverSmoke]

Fabulous! Was waiting for it. Hoping all plans work out.

[GautamJ]

Thank You Team-BHP

The timing is perfect for me, in a market for a Skoda Kodiaq (though looking for TDI, hence taking the pre-worshipped route).

[sunilch]

Wish I could make it but I am out of town on the said dates. Those who will do the TDs, enjoy the TD and share your thoughts on the car.

[rp9357]

Originally Posted by GTO

[*]This event is currently open only to BHPians (i.e. members with 25+ posts) and those who are active on the forum. In the future, we may consider including newbies & guests as well.

I was not even a member when last time Team-BHP x Skoda collaboration happened but followed that particular thread extensively with a constant thought at back of my mind that one day I will also participate in these types of events.

Fast forward, got my membership ~2 weeks ago and still can't participate being a newbie.

Also, as you said, please try to extend these drives to North India. We also want to taste the blood of sheer driving pleasure.

[t3ofil4us]

Woohoo! Excited for this event. Glad this could work out. Driving in the monsoons is a hoot plus a team-bhp event, looking forward with bated breath!

[JunkyardHunter]

Wish I could come, but I don't fit the age requirement. Someday though! Please keep us posted on how it goes

[MahiDesai]

Hi GTO, Mods,

Any idea if and when this event will be held in Bangalore. Being owner of Kodiaq TDI and enjoying the ride, I would like to get my hands on the next-gen Kodiaq and also meet fellow BHPians.

Great initiative indeed. This will bring the enthusiast community closer to decisions makers at auto industry, hope NOT just marketing guts and gals, but their engineering and design team !

Three cheers to TBHP Power

Mahi

[kkunal.shah]

This sounds super exciting, already sent details to Omkar

[puneetakhouri]

Shared the PM to Omkar. Hoping to get selected.

[shardul_pathak]

I have been waiting for something like this my entire life!

A little known secret about me - Before I chose the career at sea, being a marine engineer, I had written to Auto car India magazine, asking them what it tool to be able to work for them as a car reviewer.

I was 17 years old, ambitions, wanted to work hard and pursue my first and true love of cars! Life has happened over the 17 years since that aspirational, yet unreplied email.

This post and Team-BHP's initiative gives me new hope! Unfortunately for me, it'll be very hard to be present in India for these events, but I am sure to apply every tine this happens and I am home.

[Saucyboii2007]

I wish I could've signed up for participating but too bad life has other plans for me lol.

(Off topic - I had spotted a white colored variant of this new Kodiaq in Udupi and didn't realise it was a Kodiaq until I checked this thread and found a perfect match with that long LED strip of the tail lamps.)