[xingamazon]

Team,

Need help on possibility.

My friend and I are planning to drive down from Chennai to Ahmadabad (distance of 1900 kms) with an Alto. We are planning to break it across 4 days.

Has anyone put their Alto through such strain, is it OK?

Please let us know if there is anything we need to be considering.

[condor]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

My friend and I are planning to drive down from Chennai to Ahmadabad (distance of 1900 kms) with an Alto.

We have had BHP-ians driving the Golden Quadrilateral in a Wagon-R that had done close to 2L km. There was some one who had done it in a Nano. What makes you doubt the Alto k10 ?

You could do it in 2 days too .. A lot depends on your drive The car will take it.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

Need help on possibility.

Oh my, its perfectly all right. My parents and me have done the 7 sister states from Mumbai in the carburated Maruti 800 in the year 2000

You could do it in 2 days me thinks, First day Chennai to Kolhapur on day one and Kolhapur to Ahmadabad on day two.

The Alto won't break a sweat.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

Need help on possibility.

Some Alto 800s have conquered Ladakh. One family has done GJ trip in a Nano. The steeds are perfectly capable, its upto the drivers to do the honours

If both of you can drive and take turns, you can dismiss MAA-AMD in 2 days easily.

[agambhandari]

The Car will not give up for sure, given you have checked the basics and if possible get a good service in, before the journey.

But in a car like Alto, I personally end up feeling very claustrophobic and uncomfortable in general due to poorly contoured seats and knees position. And the noise insulation in a car of that class isn't much either. So as a whole it would be tiring on your body and mind. A newer, higher segment car would be much more comfy, thats all. So would suggest you to take regular breaks to freshen up yourself. 4 days seems like a decent time period.

[xingamazon]

Thanks for all the comments and feedback.
Going by the comments looks like 2 day is a possibility. we will try 2 on a stretch or atleast 3 days.
I will keep you guys informed and post pics.

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

...
Please let us know if there are anything we need to be considering

Alto is more than capable of taking the strain of a 1900kms drive. Just make sure you have good tires and car is serviced.

Re spreading the trip across days, I know people who have done Chennai- Bombay in a single day. However, be aware:

1. There are not many decent places to stay between Kolhapur and Pune.
2. Best avoid Kolhapur-Pune stretch after dark.
3. Just before entering Pune, there are multiple gangs who will chase you on bikes and point out a punctured tire on your car. Just ignore them and drive on. If you stop, they will fleece you for multiple punctures at a local shop under the pretext of helping you.

[hemanth.anand]

Alto will have no problems. It's upto you and how much you can take.
A relaxed, stress free drive would be 3 days. Chennai to Hubli, Hubli to Mumbai and Mumbai to Ahmedabad
A drive with some stretch would be 2 days. Chennai to Kolhapur and Kolhapur to Ahmedabad

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

My friend and I are planning to drive down from Chennai to Ahmadabad (distance of 1900 kms) with an Alto.

I own a K10 powered WagonR and have covered ~1200 km/day on three different occasions. I have also done many 500-700 km trips in a single day, some of them on very bad or demanding roads. Let me tell you, the engine has no strain at all and is as eager at the end of the trip as it was in the beginning.

Modern engines are well-engineered and reliable. They are unperturbed by extreme weather conditions or sustained high speed runs. That said, we should still care for them as advised in the manual. Engine oil changes as per schedule and a break of 10-15 minutes after every 2 hours of continuous run. This will ensure the engine and tyres get a cool down time.

For the 1900 km trip, I believe it's perfect for a 3 day trip. Start early and cover around 700 or more on the first day. This will reduce your target for the subsequent days.

Please refer the thread for some good insights: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...nce-drive.html

[Sheel]

http://www.sify.com/entertainment/mo...hp?id=13219184

This should put an end to your worries. If all due services are carried out and you timely refuel, you can drive the entire stretch without shutting off the engine.

[Scarlet_Rider]

We had done the following trips in our previous cars. Some of them more than once.

1961 Fiat 1100 Super Select

Hyderabad - Pune - Mumbai - Ahmedabad
Hyderabad - Nagarjunasagar
Hyderabad - Srisailam
Hyderabad - Aurangabad
Hyderabad - Bangalore - Mysore - Ooty
Hyderabad - Pune

1989 Premier 118 NE

Hyderabad - Bangalore - Mysore - Kodaikanal
Hyderabad - Mumbai

1997 Premier 118 NE Viceroy

Hyderabad - Nagarjunasagar
Hyderabad - Horsley Hills
Hyderabad - Bangalore - Coorg - Mysore

If the Fiats & Premiers can do this, then the Alto can do many times more!

Wishing you a happy and safe journey!

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

...with an Alto.

As long as the car is mechanically in ok condition, it should not be too difficult. Though only one tip from my end - drive at a constant speed rather than constantly braking and accelerating. This is even more stressful (for the driver) in cars with small engines.

I have done Delhi - Jaipur, Delhi - Agra, and some more trips in our M800. Couple of years ago did the Hampi, Badami and Tungabhadra Dam trip in a relative's Maruti 800 (new). It's a nice feeling to drive such cars once in a while. You feel so connected with the car - there are no electronics nannies to interfere.

[GTO]

Of course an Alto can do it, and so can a motorcycle . In the early 2000s, I'd done a 1,500 km road-trip in my Jeep.

But if one does have an option, always choose a bigger & safer car.

[paragsachania]

The strain factor will depend on a lot of elements:

• How used to is the driver with a particular car - Experience of driving this over long distance
  
• How comfortable is the driver on wheels over long distances
  
• How are the endurance levels of the driver over such long distance driving
  
• How is the driving pattern of the driver - Slow, Fast or Steady; Mind you, I am referring to being consistent with any one of the types above and not mixed because at the end of the day this is what will make one cover a long journey without much sweat or make him tired very soon

The Car:
Coming to the Alto K10, as others have rightly mentioned, the fact that you should doubt the capability of the car should be out of your thoughts as long as it remains in good mechanical condition. This will be applicable to cars belonging to all classes and not just the Alto K10.

As condor mentioned above, I had driven the complete Golden Quadrilateral in the month of May in 2012 in my WagonR that has already done 1,65,000 kms when we started from Bangalore with my father and cousin.

Prior to this, my maiden drive to Gujarat in my WagonR was in 2011 when I did Bangalore-Surat in a day with my parents on-board.

The route:

Doing this with one night break makes sense. With 2 nights' break, it will be even more sensible for a first timer.

• Chennai - Bangalore has moderate traffic and easy to drive
• Bangalore - Kolhapur will again be a super fast sector
• Kolhapur - Pune will be moderate but a lot of misc traffic
• Pune - Mumbai will be fast at least till Panvel
• Mumbai - Thane - Vapi - Traffic is real busy here with a lot of trucks and cars
• Surat Bypass will again be busy
• Surat - Vadodara will have thick traffic consisting of both cars and trucks and your Alto K10 will have a lot of similar company here
• Vadodara - Ahmedabad will be steady run on NE1

A good early morning departure on each leg is going to make the drive stress-free as you escape major traffic in wee hours. Additionally, you need to plan in a way that you also bypass Pune & Mumbai when traffic here is least (before 0800 preferably).

Things change on our highways every year, traffic keeps increasing. So the best way to stress yourself less is to plan your drive in a manner that you escape major bottlenecks (slow sectors) at early/odd hours.

[Durango Dude]

Originally Posted by xingamazon

Team,

Need help on possibility.

My friend and I are planning to drive down from Chennai to Ahmadabad (distance of 1900 kms) with an Alto. We are planning to break it across 4 days.

Has anyone put their Alto through such strain, is it OK?

Please let us know if there is anything we need to be considering.

The simpler the car the less things can go wrong with it! Alto can do it for sure. Good that you're going to take your time getting there! You can shoot a lot of pics down the way and visit a lot of places. Now with Google maps around you'd also never get lost. Happy Journey to you both!