Team-BHP - Hello from a newbie

Hello All, happy to be a part of this very popular forum!

I'm from Bengaluru and I am passionate about driving and travelling. Ever since I bought my first bike Hero Honda Passion Plus, I realized how much I enjoy driving and visiting places. Moving to car made these travels more fun. I have covered Tamil Nadu state and Maharastra state in hatchbacks (Estilo and Swift) covering more than 3000 kms in a trip. As my wife and 8 years old son also enjoy road trips, we have plans to cover many more states in the coming years.

Especially after the Maharastra road trip, I realized it's time for a better car. After an extensive research in this forum, I have almost zeroed in on Duster (Ground clearance and superb drive quality were major decision makers, and we are ready to compromise on the interiors).

My biggest goal (as of now) is to drive from Bengaluru to Bhutan!

I am also an Astronomy enthusiast - whenever I get time, I come out of the shelter at night, and get myself lost in the cosmos looking at stars and planets. I am also a passionate blogger, and Technical Architect (by profession).

Looking forward to learn more from others and also contribute to this forum.

Wow, welcome to team-bhp, Payaniga !!!

Indeed our country has myriad gems in each of the states, which will take a lifetime or more to see.

Infact why go to state/country level ? After getting a cycle, I have discovered so many gems in my immediate neighborhood in Kerala - this in just a 5km radius, that I previously did not know existed. Keep travelling !!!

I am guessing Payaniga is about the tamil word for traveller.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Payaniga (Post 4227018)

I have almost zeroed in on Duster (Ground clearance and superb drive quality were major decision makers

I will wait for your Bhutan travelogue and you would be passing pretty close to places where my home is :)

See you around.

Quote:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno (Post 4227069)

Thank you supremeBaleno! Very true! Our country has so many beautiful places.
I'll visit Kerala, it's in my list! Payaniga, in Kannada means Traveler. I guess, it's similar in Tamil as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheel (Post 4227327)

Welcome Payaniga! Duster is a good choice, but I wish, you buy in it AWD [all wheel drive] format so that you can explore farther.

If not an AWD, I would say, there are better options out there. Related thread

I will wait for your Bhutan travelogue and you would be passing pretty close to places where my home is :)

See you around.

Thank you Sheel. AWD is out of my budget. I did went through that thread and many more in this forum. Had a couple of sleepless nights thinking about which car to go. Also did TD of Eco Sport, Duster, Rapid, and City (that dilemma of Compact SUV vs Sedan). Finally, after weighing in our needs and what the car has to offer, we decided to go for Duster.

During our several road trips, we came across situations where we did not proceed to places only because the road was not good and we were sure of car getting scraped. And also came across bad roads which was very tiring for me as well as passengers. Considering all aspects, we came to this decision.

I'll definitely share my travelogue of all my future trips.