This week i had an opportunity to let the Fortuner stretch its legs. My parents had some work in Lucknow where we all lived for a considerable part of our lives. Some loose ends needed tying up and they were keen to go off on their own.
I offered to drive them down as it would be much more convenient to have a car there at their disposal and also i would not have to stress about their well being.
The day before we left was Saturday the 2nd of June and i decided to have all the tyres checked for punctures as they were all losing air at a very slow rate. As it turns out all 4 tyres had nails in them resulting in small amounts of air escaping from them. In all there were 7 punctures in the 4 tyres.
We left early the next day on Sunday the 3rd of June, at about 6 AM and were in Lucknow by 3 PM owing to the horrible day traffic around Faridabad and Palwal. A small stop was taken at Mathura and then it was non stop all the way to Kanpur.
The average FE was about 13.2 kmpl.
Movies played were Padosan and Rang Birangi on the way up and Kashmir Ki Kali and Sholay on the way back. I must stress here that it no way impeded my driving. I was happily enjoying the dialogues while my parents watched with great interest. It really made time fly and they were surprised at how little they felt the journey.
A couple of days were spent meeting old friends and finishing all the work that was needed to be done.
A view of the famous Hazaratganj. (sorry for the blurred pic..though it depicts my moist eyes at seeing ye olde hangout)
We had to leave under all circumstances on Tuesday as my Father had an early morning flight to Nepal on Wednesday.
By the time all the work was done on Tuesday it was 4:30 pm and after refueling and getting the air checked in all tyres (which was just one point low) we finally left at exactly 5:05 pm. After a brief halt for tea at Nawabganj, Kanpur was crossed at 7:05 pm and the huge flyover type byepass made things a breeze.
We reached Firozabad around 10:45 and it was looking like we would only get to Delhi in the wee hours around 3:30- 4 am.
At this point we saw the Yamuna Expressway On ramp about 12 kms before we hit Agra. There were signs that said the Expressway was closed and guards were manning the barriers. I had been informed in Lucknow that a friend had just traveled on it the night before.
I took a U turn at the next break in the divider about 100 meters from the on ramp and came to a halt at the barrier. I got of and went and spoke to the guards and requested them to let us through.
He refused right away when i said we did not have a pass from Jaypee.
I then saw him looking towards the White VIP looking Fortuner with its hazard lights on standing behind his barrier. I said "Jaano do bhai jee..sahab gaadi mein hain..ya aap unse hi baat kar lo aur khud mana kar do unhe" (Please let us pass brother..Sir is sitting in the car OR you can tell him yourself that you will not let him through)
At this he looked a bit perturbed and immediately asked "Kya rank, kaun department?" (What Rank and department?) to which i blurted out "Revenue"
He looked at the other guards and one of them nodded while saying "Jaane do abhi barah bhi nahi baje hain" (let them go as it is, its not even 12 yet)
They took the registration number and my name down on a register and instructed me not to stop at all anywhere along the way.
At exactly 11:05 pm we were on our way on the brand new Yamuna Expressway. It reminded me of the M1 in England. Beautifully lit with 4 wide lanes (including hard shoulder) well marked with cats eyes and reflective paint on the billiard table smooth cement.
The only surreal part was it was a ghost highway. Not one car was crossed in either direction and we crossed 4 toll booths whose staff took down my number and let me pass without paying anything.
The 180 odd kilometeres to Noida were dispatched in one hour and 20 minutes. I was constantly between 120 and 150 kmph.
ONE because the road was so so good. Beautifully lit and flat with not a single dog, bullock cart, tractor, motorcyle, car or anything in fact on it to slow us down and TWO because i just wanted to get the hell off this surreal deserted ghost highway as soon as i could.
I was home at exactly 1:05 AM. In 2 hours from before Agra to home in Delhi!! 2 to 3 hours were saved besides the hassle of not facing any perennially huge truck jams at the entrance to Delhi and at Ashram.
The only victim was the FE which fell to about 12.1 kmpl.
All in all a really good trip. Work was completed and I got to drive solo on a supreb Expressway!
Sadly there arent any Pics of that as it was night time and i was concentrating on driving.
An interesting point was that at one point near Etawah i had to go off the Road onto the soft mud shoulder of the road to byepass a kilometer and half long line of trucks waiting to pay toll. Due to the recent downpour this area had become slushy and very uneven with huge dips and craters. An Innova and Alto tried following me and promptly got stuck.
I engaged 4HL just to be safe and went through each dip and slush filled crater in first gear. There was no tantrum or drama as the Fortuner handled this mini OTR with aplomb. My dad was impressed. A few miles down the road i was happily cruising at 130 -150 kmph in the same vehicle on the Yamuna Expressway!!
I love the Fortuner!!