[noopster]

Anyone from Pune tried the Zoom car service? They have 3 outlets, I discovered, at Hinjewadi (Formule 1 hotel), Model Colony (Fiat showroom) and Viman Nagar (Ibis hotel). Considering this option very seriously for a long trip planned in October with another family. Rather than take 2 (petrol) cars, which will not only be expensive but boring (since the kids will be upset if they are separated!)

With 4 adults and one baby seat, the two kids will need to share the third row so it needs to be preferably front-facing. Scorpio LX and Safari both have jumpseats at the back I understand so that leaves the XUV5oo. Discovered an interesting glitch in the website when I tried to book the car today- it allows bookings only within the next 90 days (understandable) but it doesn't allow even the end-date to be outside the 90-day period. Which I think is kinda ridiculous. If I need to book a car for a vacation 3 months from now, I should be able to, right? Whether I drive the car for an hour or a month shouldn't matter.

Am online now with a customer service chappie and he has assured me he will pass on this info to their technical team. My details have been taken and they say they will email me with updates. I doubt I will be able to visit their site from work so hoping it resolves quickly.

5-day trip on 24-hour basis for the XUV is about 15,660/- rental and includes 1200 km free. Which by happy coincidence is about the distance I expect to cover on my trip That is a sweet deal because if we take our cars the cost will be approx (even assuming 14 kmpl and petrol price @84 gives 6 Rs/km) 7200/- per car, so 15400/- in all- almost exactly the same as the Zoom option. Plus we get to all be in the same vehicle, a nice SUV with road presence to boot! I will have to pay the entry tax for yellow-boards when I cross state borders but their website lists the amount as 600/- or so which is not bad at all.

Also bear in mind the Scorpio rental for the same period is just 11K (Safari is 13K). If the kids are OK with the jump seat, renting from Zoom is actually CHEAPER than driving our own cars. It sounded a little unbelieveable so I called resident expert Viddy up and quizzed him endlessly about it but apparently it is true

Watch this space for updates...

[SR71-Blackbird]

Originally Posted by SR71-Blackbird

I have booked a scorpio from their whitefield location (formulae 1 hotel) for 3 days this weekend for a trip to Sakleshpur!
...
Will pen down a short review of their services next week!

The entire process was smooth and we had a wonderful drive to Sakleshpur where we stayed at a homestay called Mugilu which is owned by fellow bhpian chandan.

The scorpio that was assigned to us had run only 1900kms. The gear shifts were a little tight because of this.

It had a 5" andriod phone with a airtel sim for navigation and it had coverage all the way till the home stay.
There was a basic sony HU with sony speakers fitted separately by zoom.
The car also had all the basic needs like a line-in cable, multi pin mobile charger, first aid kit, user manual, tools, torch and a huge umbrella!

Both the hiring and return process took only around 5-10 minutes and we were also allowed to park our car there for the duration of the rental which was pretty convenient!

[ankan.m.blr]

Guys, I need some suggestions. Some of our friends have decided for a day outing in last week of September. Location is not yet decided, but it'll definitely be within 150 KM from Bangalore. We are 6 adults ( 3 couples) and no kid. I want to book a self-drive either from zoom or myles (preference is zoom). Friends are suggesting to rent a sumo,innova etc but being a petrol-head, I don't want to miss the chance of a good drive (although I am not able to convey the same to them."Why taking the burden of driving dude" is the question. Its only something a Team-BHPian will understand)). Anyway, please help me with these please :

1.For 6 adults I guess we need a SUV. Zoom offers Scorpio & Safari, Myles has Ertiga in their stable. As I prefer zoom over myles (going by reviews here ), a scorpio should be good for 6 persons (avg built) ?
2. Whats the difference between Scorpio LX & SLE (zoom has both)?
3. I have mostly driven hatchbacks (swift, ritz, santro etc ) and a few sedans (dzire, indigo) but never a SUV. How difficult would driving a scorpio be? Is it better to rent one in hourly basis and have some practice beforehand?

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

1.For 6 adults I guess we need a SUV. Zoom offers Scorpio & Safari, Myles has Ertiga in their stable. As I prefer zoom over myles (going by reviews here ), a scorpio should be good for 6 persons (avg built) ?

You may need an SUV (XUV/Scorpio/Safari). You may want to check the availability though, because it was all booked for the long holiday weekend.

2. Whats the difference between Scorpio LX & SLE (zoom has both)?

LX is 7 seater, with jump seats(side facing) for 6th and 7th passenger. SLE is 8 seater with 3 rows of seats; all forward seating.

3. I have mostly driven hatchbacks (swift, ritz, santro etc ) and a few sedans (dzire, indigo) but never a SUV. How difficult would driving a scorpio be? Is it better to rent one in hourly basis and have some practice beforehand?

You will get adjusted to the new vehicle in a few kms. No worries. Just be cautious in the parking lots/tight spots.

Edit: Looking at the options, XUV may be a better choice since third row of the Scorpio may not be comfortable for long drives. Safari have a wide middle row and could possibly sit four in comfort depending on the build. An Innova would be ideal - but Zoom don't have it. So Myles, maybe.

[black_rider]

Originally Posted by noopster

Anyone from Pune tried the Zoom car service?

I had taken the A-Class from their Model colony office last week. Staff was courteous and co-operative like I've experienced in Bangalore. A smooth transaction this time as well. They had parking space for my car too. Currently their cars are KA registered, but that should cause no problems as they said they have all required permissions.

About the car, well its a head turner, looks hot in red and sits squat on those 17 inch wheels and 225 section tires. Comfortable as well for four short adults like me. Boot space was enough, but a good deal of it was eaten up by the spare tire. Another important thing, it was just next to impossible to NOT scrape its belly on speed humps in Magarpatta city. At even less than crawling speed and oblique approach, it would touch with 4 adults on board; there just wasn't enough clearance. But that doesn't reduce my love for low cars.

[noopster]

^^ Thanks black_rider! Interesting to see they are using yellow on black plates now, because the earlier vehicles all had commercial plates (black on yellow).

[athanedar]

Originally Posted by noopster

Anyone from Pune tried the Zoom car service?

Also bear in mind the Scorpio rental for the same period is just 11K (Safari is 13K). If the kids are OK with the jump seat, renting from Zoom is actually CHEAPER than driving our own cars. It sounded a little unbelieveable so I called resident expert Viddy up and quizzed him endlessly about it but apparently it is true

Watch this space for updates...

Noopster,
You can save few more hundred bucks by using promo code ZOOMWKDAYOFF on your first booking. You have to book by 4th September.
25% off on weekday rentals. So if you are booking for 7 days from Monday to Sunday you will get 25% off only on the week day cost.

I got this in email after registration.

Regards

[//M]

I rented a Zoom Figo and an EcoSport recently from their Hinjewadi office in Pune.

The Figo had only 9500 kms on the odo and was orange in color. I think the orange color is not standard on the Figo, maybe Zoom got in painted !

The EcoSport was just a couple of months old with 7000 km on the odo. Drove it to Lavasa and loved driving it in the ghats.

The Zoom staffs were very cooperative and courteous as expected and the car was absolutely clean with no foul smell as such. I got the refund money back within 2-3 working days as promised.

Overall, I was very satisfied with their service. I am already planning to rent a A-Class for a day from their Model Colony office.

[TheInterceptor]

I had used Zoom's Bangalore Airport service recently. This post would be useful for those landing at Bangalore Airport and needing a self-driven vehicle.

We booked an XUV for just one day. My brother was moving to the United States and hence we needed a vehicle with good room for luggage and hence booked the XUV.

The main thing to note is that Zoom does not have an office/counter at the Airport (unlike Carzonrent, they have a counter at the Arrival terminal). Zoom's office (more like a vacant plot of land than an office) is actually located 4 or 5 KMs away from the airport.
Its located right next to the McDonalds at the junction with the Traffic lights just before the Airport Toll gates while coming from Bangalore city.

As soon as we landed we called up their airport fleet executive (number will be provided in e-mail confirmation on booking) who arrived at the airport within 15 minutes. We were picked up and taken to their office (near the airport toll gate).

Vehicle was inspected, documents checked and we were off in 20 minutes. The XUV was a red W6 with 26050 on the odo with a full tank of diesel, but the car had quite a few scratches and dents.
The vehicle had a Micromax phone with 3G for navigation, USB chargers, flashlight, AUX cable and an umbrella.

While returning the car, we had to take it to their office (near the airport toll gate), the vehicle was inspected and we were dropped at the airport by the Zoom executive in the same car.

Overall a good experience and definitely recommended for those who are landing at and flying out from Bangalore airport and requiring a self-driven car.

Costs

Vehicle Rent 2760/day
Refundable deposit 5000
15Rs/KM if exceeding daily limit of 240KMs.

The ride.

[SR71-Blackbird]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

3. I have mostly driven hatchbacks (swift, ritz, santro etc ) and a few sedans (dzire, indigo) but never a SUV. How difficult would driving a scorpio be? Is it better to rent one in hourly basis and have some practice beforehand?

I have driven only hatchbacks and sedans before I rented the scorpio LX from zoom and my usual drive is an alto!
Though it was my first time driving a SUV, I was pretty comfortable within a few kms of driving mainly because of the excellent visibility outside from the high seating position.
Reversing was a little difficult though, but the zoom car had reverse parking sensors fitted that made it easy as well.

[//M]

Zoom Pune introduces the Honda City to its existing range of vehicles:

Link: Zoom

[black_rider]

The guy at Model Colony outlet said that they are adding Linea and Punto also to their fleet.

[Waxeloquent]

Planning to go with 5 adults to Kabini River lodge in Dec. We already have my Duster which can take 2 more adults besides me and my wife. What car I should look for with Zoom given the road to Kabini is not that great? Is EcoSport or Scorpio an overkill? Cheers

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Waxeloquent

Planning to go with 5 adults to Kabini River lodge in Dec. We already have my Duster which can take 2 more adults besides me and my wife. What car I should look for with Zoom given the road to Kabini is not that great? Is EcoSport or Scorpio an overkill? Cheers

Scorpio would be overkill but Ecosport is ideal if you are taking 2 cars. It won't seat 5 in comfort as back seat is not as wide.

If you want to take just one car, go for the XUV500 or Safari. 3 abreast at the back of these 2 is easy with loads of space. And you have huge boot to stuff the luggage.

Even the duster is not bad for 3 at the back but won't be as comfortable as the XUV or Safari.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by noopster

Interesting to see they are using yellow on black plates now, because the earlier vehicles all had commercial plates (black on yellow).

For rental cars, this is the correct kind of plate to use. The other one - black on yellow/yellow board would make it a Taxi, right ?