My BIL, his wife, and my MIL visited us over Diwali. The house was full of people. And what happens when the house is full of people - why we go out together - what else?
The first such outing was to Barbeque Nation - all 8 of us crammed into the 7 seater Milemuncher. The "custom cushion seat" for the kid was placed in between the 2 middle row captain seats. Wifey drove us, and the experience was pretty good for everyone - except the kid - who did not have adequate backrest support. It was ok for a 45 minute drive through town - but would not be ok for a 300+ km round trip. A firmer backrest is a minimum for everyone.
That tipped the choice of ride for the upcoming Delhi-Vrindavan-Delhi trip in favour of R3. I drove.
Impressions from the family - after the drive
Seating positions
1) Front row passenger seat is the most sought after - because of an independent arm rest, and the blower in front. The seat back can also be conveniently tilted back to a significant angle without discomfiting middle row passengers. Leg room is more than adequate.
2) Middle row - side positions are next in popularity. The arm rests on the door and the relatively larger windows provide support for a quick nap. Air throw from dash mounted blower is adequate if these are properly adjusted, and not obstructed by the front row headrests. Leg room is nothing to write home about - but one can get to angle one's feet underneath the front row seats - to eke out some toe-wriggling space.
3) Middle row - middle position, is a tad bit uncomfortable and the choice of someone who draws the shorter straw. That's mainly because there's nothing to place one's arms on - except one's lap. Besides the air throw from the floor mounted vent is not sufficiently powerful to quickly cool the torso / neck area. The visibility from this position is good - allowing the person to anticipate twists and turns - as well as the driver and front row passenger. Leg room is better than the side positions - as the knees don't graze the seat in front.
4) Last row seats were surprisingly not as unpopular as one would have thought. Air throw to these seats was compromised, and the occupants had to depend on the gradual cooling of the cabin. Quite unlike Milemuncher's rear seats - where the rear ceiling mounted vents offer a quick blast to the face / neck to get people sufficiently comfortable.
Smaller stature of occupants helped adjust to the anticipated reduction in leg room.
But what really worked well, was the higher seating position - and therefore a grand view of the road ahead. That worked wonders for the general health of the last row occupants - as they did not for a moment feel claustrophobic. Certainly a welcome change from the Milemuncher's last row experience - where the lower seating position, often results in ingested breakfast spilling out on the pristine seat covers.
Driving experience
5) I have driven on the YEW many many times in Milemuncher and this drive was no different albeit on R3 -purely from a drive perspective. Yes cruise control helped in some sections. Handling at triple digit speeds was definitely A+ and perceptively less body roll than a fully loaded Milemuncher on the same curve sections. The natural Italian tune-up was a bonus!
6) Though Vrindavan is but a couple of hours away by car, I am far from being perceived as a regular traveler to these parts. I had to depend on the GPS to wend my way past the unruly UP traffic. En route to one of the more famed temples - I came across a narrow section where there's just enough space for two cars to pass - and certainly not enough for a car and bus (because of an open drain on both sides).
As I tried navigating the section, a very enthusiastic bus driver coming from the opposite side pushed his luck a bit too far - and came to a grinding halt by me - because he (like I ) quickly concluded - that proceeding further would involve dire consequences for his left front tyre.
We were both stuck! And as is inevitable in such circumstances - traffic piled up behind both of us - making reversing for either quite impossible. Going forward was out of the question.
An equally enthusiastic motorcyclist behind me and to my left had to urgently deliver a coop of chicken hanging from his pannier. He squeezed in , just so he could nose ahead ( oh those
inscrutably curious villagers ) and in the process left a centimeter long scar on the left side of R3's rear bumper. Anyway - there was not much that could be done at the moment , and rather than lose one's sanity - I chose to depute my BIL & wifey to do some traffic management - so we could start moving again.
The chore done, the rest of the drive through town was without incident. In fact I found R3 handled adequately well over the pot-holed streets of Vrindavan. The passengers did not complain of "bumps" even once.
So - lesson learnt - offer bus drivers the right of way - even if they are further away from the offending point/section - where one might pass them. They are after all "larger" than R3.
On my return - a visit to
Ramesh took care of the scar (Rs 550/- only + Rs 30/- for two coffees while I waited) - and R3's again back to his former self.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoneRidder Hi Joybhowmik have you fixed the reverse camera on R3 yet? |
I have decided against it - as it cannot be installed where I need it to be.