[raghavan]

Hello Bhpians,

A very happy new year to all of you and may this new year brings you more opportunities (and excuses) to drive to different places.

I am Raghavan, born in Coastal Andhra (West Godavari Dist, AP - Namaskaram), brought up in Rayalaseema (Tirupati, Chittoor Dist, AP), Graduated in Trichy (Tamilnadu - Vannakkam Annai), Started my career in Telangana (Hyderabad, back then it was part of AP) and finally moved to Bengaluru (Karnataka - Namaskara guru). I am a software engineer by profession and we build technology for public problem solving (we can talk offline if any of you are interested in this).

I have been a driving enthusiast from the child hood and always used to try to find a seat close to the driver when travelling in a public bus and used to observe keenly how they drive.

The first car I drove after I got my DL was my cousin's Ford Ikon and I have driven it mostly in the city. After that I have extensively driven Fiesta (Fiesta classic) both in the city and on the highway and what a car with its awesome ride and handling, have done lot of highway driving in that. I have driven WagonR, Swift, Alto extensively - both in city and highways.

I own a Fiat Grande Punto - MJD Dynamic - Bosanova White (Feb 2012 model) and it was a tough call to decide between Ford Figo and FGP and picked up MJD for its higher ground clearance and relatively less engine noise in the cabin. I have clocked 30K in these 3+ years - mostly out station trips. I also own a Bajaj Discover (almost 9 year old) bike for short city commutes.

I researched for two years on Team-Bhp and other forums before zeroing down on FGP. I am very happy with it and it is going to be 4 years this march since it came home (4 year ownership report in progress).

Team-Bhp is my first point of reference for planning any road trip, for referring to any problem that I face with my car and ... do you need a reason to browse Team-Bhp posts ?

Driven so far (show off time :-) )

1. Bangalore - Mysore : (at various times) Ford Fiesta, Swift Vxi, WagonR
2. Bangalore - Madikeri - chevy Aveo
3. Bangalore - Hyderabad - Ford Fiesta, WagonR
4. Bangalore - Shivanna samudra - Devarayanadurga : WagonR
5. Bangalore - Tirupathi : (umpteen times) Ford Fiesta, Swift Vxi, Swift Dzire ZDI, WagonR, Fiat Grande Punto MJD, Hyundai EON
6. Tirupathi - Vijayawada - Sattupalli - Bhimavaram - Tirupathi : WagonR, Alto
7. Bangalore - Tirupathi - Vijayawada - Tirupathi - Bangalore : Punto
8. Bangalore - Lepakshi : Swift Vxi, Punto
9. Bangalore - Melukote : Punto
10. Bangalore - Kannur : Punto
11. Bangalore - Vellore : Punto
12. Bangalore - Waynad : Swift Vxi
13. Sholapur - Pune : Opel Corsa
14. Tirupathi - Vijayawada - Tirupathi : Hyundai EON (LPG + Petrol)

Drives that I want to do (some yet to show off :-) )

1. ECR : Chennai - Kanyakumari (planning in progress)
2. Konkan Drive : Kanyakumari - Panvel
3. GQ
4. Leh - Ladakh
5. Srinagar - Kanyakumari (Delhi - Agra - Jhansi - Hyderabad - BLR - Salem)
6. Mumbai - Kolkata

Thank you for reading the long post and I hope I didn't bore you with lot of details. I look forward to contribute to this forum and very eager to meet fellow bhpians.

Regards & best wishes
Raghavan

[GTO]

Welcome to Team-BHP, Raghavan!

Originally Posted by raghavan

The first car I drove after I got my DL was my cousin's Ford Ikon and I have driven it mostly in the city. After that I have extensively driven Fiesta (Fiesta classic) both in the city and on the highway and what a car with its awesome ride and handling, have done lot of highway driving in that.

Lucky you! Started off driving with two very sharp cars. No wonder you ended up with a Punto.

Hope to see some travelogues of your awesome drives.