[achyu]

Hey Team,

Team-BHP has got to be one of the best Automotive communities there is in the world, definitely the best in India. I have been a keen follower of this forum since I can remember. Its probably sometime in 2006 that I read my first post here. Years passed. Changed cars. Learned so much from this community. Now, told myself it wouldn't be right if I simply continued gaining from this awesome group. I need to at least try for membership so that I can start contributing in some capacity or the other.

About Me
My name is Ashwanth. I am in my thirties. I am married and am blessed with a daughter.

I have my roots in Thirssur, Kerala. Wife is from Perambavoor, close to Kochi. I was born in Chennai and my side of the family still live there. These are places that we visit often - multiple times in a year. We are settled in Bangalore.

My dad was an expert in the field of plastics. Different jobs took him all over the country and to places like Rwanda in Central Africa, Muscat and Saudi Arabia. Initially we traveled with him and at one stage I had changed eight schools before my 8th grade!

I finished my Engineering from one of the better known colleges in Coimbatore and went on to work in Hyderabad for close to four years. Then moved to Chennai and am now in Bangalore. I am fluent in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi. Can understand Telugu and Kannada. At one stage, as a kid, I could speak Marathi, Bengali and French but have lost touch. Would like to regain that touch sometime. Driving down and connecting with the friends that I make here will be a cool way to do that

I am a Product Manager in the Enterprise Business. I love technology, travel (we do at least one international holiday every year apart from the domestic vacations), sports, movies and of course cars.

Cars I have owned
The very first car that my Dad got was the Premier Padmini. When in Muscat, he drove the Toyota Camry and the Toyota Avalon. In Chennai though, he bought the Alto in 2002 which was passed on to me a few years later. In 2006, I bought my first bike - a Honda Unicorn. I called her "Aphrodite" and loved her to bits. The Alto served me well for a long time. In 2011, however, I decided to upgrade and bought the Maruti Suzuki Swift dZire. Called it the "Pegasus". My mom started using the Alto. Pegasus was with me only for a year and a half. In 2012, I decided to go for a company lease and bought the Honda City. The "Surfer" as I called him was simply awesome. It was by far my favorite sedan and it drove better than even some D1 segment cars. But three years flew by, lease ended and I decided to change cars again. Booked the VW Vento TSI only to cancel the booking in the aftermath of the emission scandal. I love the car but have lost trust in the brand and am worried about what resale value the VW car would fetch even though it is a petrol. It would force me to keep the car longer than I had planned - a very risky proposition considering the gearbox is a DSG!

All this while, actually since 2011, I had been eyeing one particular vehicle but never really went for it because I couldn't afford it until now. I am a Malayalee and we love our food, and our cars, particularly the torque and if it comes on the form of an SUV then even better. The face-lifted XUV5OO has everything that one can hope for in a car. I truly consider it the most VFM car on Indian roads today. Every other car according to me, no offense meant to other owners, seems like a compromise. And when the disappointment of cancelling the TSI (it had put a super wide smile on my face when I drove it) started sinking in, I finally heard the calling loud and clear. Went ahead with the booking and got the car this week. As a kid, I loved He-man. My cousin and I had this huge collection of action figures. He-man's faithful beast is called "BattleCat" and that is what I have named my ride. My avatar has the original BattleCat.

Meanwhile, my mom wanted to change cars and so we sold the Alto earlier this year for INR 1 Lakh and bought the Ford Figo. I drive it whenever am in Chennai and am pretty happy with what it has to offer. My father-in-law has an i10 and I drive it sometimes here in Bangalore.

This has become almost as long as an ownership post. Thank you for your patience. I am super excited to be a part of this wonderful community. Thank you for having me here and I look forward to doing the best I can in contributing to and taking this forum forward.

Cheers
Achyu

[Samurai]

Welcome Ashwanth, that's a very detailed introduction. Which variant of XUV500 did you get?

Good to know you have been following the forum for nearly a decade, I guess we don't have to point you to the rules of the forum. But, I'll do it anyway.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/annou...e-posting.html
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/annou...etiquette.html (Expected Posting Etiquette)

[condor]

Hi Ashwanth, Welcome to TBHP !

2006 !! What were you doing all these years ? Can you imagine - you would have been a veteran if you had joined back then. To be honest, I sometimes kick myself for having delayed my joining (and then active participation) by a few months after stumbling upon TBHP in 2005. In the ensuing few months, I had already purchased my Sumo. Looking back, when I think what would have happened If only I had joined immediately in 2005, and opened a " what car ? " thread, I somewhat regret not joining. I would have possibly got something else other than my Sumo. But not to take away anything from that truck.

Nice intro there, giving a good glimpse of your automotive past. Hope to see lot of interaction from now on , now that you have joined. You could try make up a lil bit :P

Hope you enjoy your stay here !

[vb-saan]

Welcome Ashwanth! That was a nice and detailed intro.

And so impressed with your language skills

[achyu]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Welcome Ashwanth, that's a very detailed introduction. Which variant of XUV500 did you get?

Good to know you have been following the forum for nearly a decade, I guess we don't have to point you to the rules of the forum. But, I'll do it anyway.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/annou...e-posting.html
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/annou...etiquette.html (Expected Posting Etiquette)

Thanks Samurai. I bought the W8 FWD. Practical reasons. I will not use the sunroof. I can live without one push start/stop and I have already found my ideal driver seat position so I don't need the electrically adjustable one. So no real case for the W10. I don't think I will need the AWD. I don't expect to be over-adventurous though I do intend to take my "BattleCat" to places that I have never driven to before. Here are a couple of pictures of him:



Proudly displaying the Team-BHP "Live to Drive" sticker. I have the the website stickers pasted on both number plates as well.


I plan on starting an ownership thread soon. Hopefully next week.

Thank you so much for the pointers to the rules. Yes, I have gone over them many times and will follow them to the T. Also, the links serve as a refresher to not just me but also others who view this thread. Cheers to that.

Originally Posted by condor

Hi Ashwanth, Welcome to TBHP !

2006 !! What were you doing all these years ? Can you imagine - you would have been a veteran if you had joined back then.

Hey condor. Thanks so much. Its never too late. All these years I applauded, admired and was sometimes intimidated by the depth of knowledge here. I hope I have picked the right time to join the forum and hope to be more than just another member. This is one community that will continue to grow for many years to come. Also, over the years GTO and team have done a commendable job in not only maintaining the quality of the forum but also in carefully selecting moderators and distinguished BHPians who are going to be instrumental in taking this awesome team forward. I consider myself fortunate to be here and will be a veteran some day.

Originally Posted by condor

Looking back, when I think what would have happened If only I had joined immediately in 2005, and opened a " what car ? " thread, I somewhat regret not joining. I would have possibly got something else other than my Sumo. But not to take away anything from that truck.

Well..my choice of cars have turned out to be excellent choices from their respective segments and much of that has to be attributed to folks like you and the wisdom that you share. Thank you so much for that. Truth be told, I wouldn't change a thing in my history of cars bought.

Originally Posted by condor

Nice intro there, giving a good glimpse of your automotive past. Hope to see lot of interaction from now on , now that you have joined. You could try make up a lil bit :P

Hope you enjoy your stay here !

Thanks again. Yes, I plan to be as active as I possibly can.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Welcome Ashwanth! That was a nice and detailed intro.

And so impressed with your language skills

Thank you, vb-san. Feels real good to hear the comment come from you. I have been a fan of your posts and threads for a long time.

[famman33]

Originally Posted by achyu

Hey Team,
I am fluent in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi. Can understand Telugu and Kannada. At one stage, as a kid, I could speak Marathi, Bengali and French but have lost touch. Would like to regain that touch sometime.

Dear Achyu,

Welcome to the Team-BHP Forum from a co-polyglot!

I like it when folks try and communicate in the native tongue - the connect is huge and works wonders even though one may not be grammatically correct.


Regards,

Venky