[anandpadhye]

I had to visit Kannur (Kerala) for a wedding. Decided to try Zoomcar for the 1st time from Mangalore. They did not have any "nice" cars in Mangalore, no ATs! For my duration and dates (Friday 2nd March 5:30PM - Monday 5th March 9 AM), only 2 cars were available - a swift and a Creta. Swift was @Rs. 7800, Creta was @Rs. 12800. Both with 320km free. Chose the Creta because it would be more comfrtable and I had never driven it before, so good opportunity to TD it over 3 days on local roads and highways. There was absolutely no personal interaction - I had to reach the pickup point simply based on the address and GPS directions. It was in the basement of a mall with no visible Zoomcar boards anywhere! Had to ask the Taxi and security guys where Zoomcar office was! The car was in decent condition. @26000km done Creta. The real bummer was it had a speed governor set at 80kmph Anyways, I decided not to cancel the booking because taking a regular tourist taxi with a driver would be equally boring, if not more + I thought let me see how good Creta is (having owned the 1st gen Tucson for 8 years). This thing is so lethargic - with severe turbo lag below ~2000 RPM, I was a bit disappointed. On top of it, this speed governor! The combination completely killed my trip. On the undivided NH-66 towards Kannur, when I tried to overtake a leisurely driven vehicle (and there were many), I would pull out, had to rev hard to overcome the lag and and by the time I could gather some momentum to pass the vehicle, Creta would hit the speed governor! Scary. In fact, they also had a rev limiter set at 3000RPM in 3rd gear. So on inclines, it I have to pass someone, even though I am way below 80kmph, the engine would cut off at 3000RPM! Total non-sense. Within 1st few kilometers of the trip, the fun was over, I drove all the way to Kannur and back like an auto rickshaw. Assuming this is a government rule, and not a Zoomcar initiative, I don't think I can blame them, but the dream of using self-drive rentals is over for me.

Anyways, to summarize:

Zoomcar +ves:

1. A simple app and website
2. The Creta allocated to me was mechanically good

Zoomcar -ves:

1. Speed Governor
2. Speed Governor
3. Speed Governor
4. No AT cars (this may be location specific)

Creta +ves:

1. Nice and accurate steering with no vagueness
2. Crisp and short throw gearbox
3. Nice instrument cluster
4. Light clutch
5. Comfortable cabin

Creta -ves:

1. Lethargic engine
2. Turbo lag
3. Crappy Goodyear Assurance tyres that skid when braked hard even on a "speed governed and and anemic" 1.6 diesel

My 1st gen Tucson was so lively, what an engine it was!

[dhruvritzed]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

My 1st gen Tucson was so lively, what an engine it was!

The cars under zoomcar are 1.4 litre diesels with the same mill as the i20 and the tuning whereby the lower end was a bit weak for the better top end. So this was expected but I didn't know the car had a 3k rpm limiter too. By my experience, I swift would've been better to drive slow but then it lacks features l, even barebone ones at that.
I've driven a zoomcar ecosport and came out smiling even though the car had an 80000kms, it was well maintained and was a titanium with 125kph limit.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by dhruvritzed

The cars under zoomcar are 1.4 litre diesels with the same mill as the i20 and the tuning

Ah! So it was 1.4L!

Zoomcar should clearly mention the engine/variant so customer will know what he will be getting. If I had known their Creta was 1.4, I would have opted for Swift instead.

Anyways, with this speed governor thing, no Zoomcar for me. I will drive my own car instead.

[dhruvritzed]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Ah! So it was 1.4L!

Zoomcar should clearly mention the engine/variant so customer will know what he will be getting. If I had known their Creta was 1.4, I would have opted for Swift instead.

Anyways, with this speed governor thing, no Zoomcar for me. I will drive my own car instead.

They have the lower power variants of all cars, hexa also is the lower powered trim, as is the i10, it's with the older 70 bhp lackluster engine. They don't focus on passenger safety at all, evident in the fact that their cars do not have ABS airbags as standard that just ride had.

[bhappyharsha]

Hello everyone,

I am planning to visit Puri for the weekend of 7/8 April with my wife. I will fly from Hyderabad to Bhubaneswar and from there plan to take a self-drive car from the airport. I will need it for 2 days. I intend to return on 9th April. I will also visit Konark Sun temple from there.

This will be my first self-drive trip. I see that Zoom car is the only available option there. I have read some bad reviews and some good reviews. I am a bit skeptical. Is there any other option for self-drive in Bhubaneswar?

Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations in this regard?

Regards,
Sri Harsha.

[san_udyawar]

Decided to use the zoomcar's service and my maiden experience with them was very positive. I had booked a Tata hexa for my two days trip to shirdi from Mumbai. It was a new car with just 8k kms on the odo, with no physical damage to the car. The best part was that the car was devoid of any zoomcar's branding on the sides, just one on the back windshield. If I had anything to complain about it would be the cleanliness of the car as it was quite dirty inside out, got it cleaned as soon as I got the car. But leaving that aside everything was quite smooth right from the pickup to drop experience although I am yet to be reimbursed the fuel cost.
About the car : Hexa is a beautiful car to drive, extremely comfortable and the variant that they have ie the xe model comes euipped with basic safety features like airbags with the added benefit of a good sounding music system and sunblinds for the middle row.
Would love to zoom again.

[ts1506]

Had an unpleasant experience with Zoomcar. This is my first time using it.

I recently moved to Bangalore, and had a lot of errands to run today. Booked a Ford Ecosport from Zoomcar, reached the site on time.

Boom, no car. The car is not there, and they have no idea. After a lot of searching, they find that the car had a breakdown.

They could not offer me a replacement car, neither could they find one at another location. I had a meeting, lots of deliveries to take, and the last moment cancellation just botched up my day.

[fz_rider]

Mahindra Electric today joined hands with self-drive rental platform Zoomcar, as part of which the auto major will offer its 100 electric vehicle 'e20 plus' on the latter's platform in the capital.

Source : timesofindia.com

[Aceman82]

Took a Zoomcar Scorpio for a Rajasthan round trip covering the circle of Jaipur-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Lohngewala-Tanot-Sam-Jodhpur-Kumbhalgarh-Udaipur-Chittorgargh-Ranthambore-Jaipur. Drove for around 3000 km in the car.

Zoomcar positives:

a. Polite, well-behaved staff with on-time pickup and drop from Airport.

b. Hassle free refund. The complete caution deposit and fuel bills were reimbursed within a few hours of returning the car to the credit card with which I did the initial booking.

c. AC and 12 V plug points worked fine and mechanically the car gave no issues during the trip.

d. The car did not have any speed governor.

Zoomcar negatives:

a. Tire mismatch in the rear. The left side had an Apollo Apterra HT which did not have much life left and right side a relatively new Ceat Czar AT. The Stepney was a fully worn out Apollo Apterra.

Also, tires pressures were way off with every tire having a different pressure. Inflated all the tires to 35 psi and did the journey. While nothing happened to the Apollo there was a nagging feeling in the mind on the tire mismatch in the rear.

b. The car had been driven for 90K km when I had got the same. Every part of the vehicle was banged up. For safety reasons took a video of the car with all the dents, mismatched tires before starting the trip.

In spite of the negatives, I would still recommend Zoomcar due to the sheer convenience it offers.

[Surya-TJet]

Hi guys, a small query:

I need to make a mangalore - sringeri - mangalore trip next weekend.

There are a few rental agencies, but zoomcar seems to be far more reliable. Any checks to be made before start of trip if I opt for zoomcar?

P.S - Had originally booked Drivezy; but cancelled as they were having too many negative reviews and hence did not want to take a chance.

Quick suggestions / answers will be very helpful.

Thanks in Advance.

[catchdoon]

Originally Posted by bhappyharsha

Hello,
Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations in this regard?

Regards,
Sri Harsha.

Hello Sri,
I'd definitely recommend you to go ahead with Zoom Car Experience.

I've had couple of nice experiences & I'd share the longest trip I undertook using ZoomCars.

The Great South-Indian Roadtrip 2016

It was my colleague's wedding at Palakkad & since we had to go down south, we made it a point to do it in a way that the memories would stay forever.

The route undertaken was as under:


We flew from BOM to BLR as driving till B'lore would be uneventful & we'd have to dig a lot on our holidays. I had booked ZoomCar right from the Airport. The Zoomcar Picked us up from the Airport & took us to the nearest ZC location where I had booked Ciaz AT Petrol. We were 5 people & Sedan seemed the most comfy option - Read: BOOTSPACE.

Following captures the details of our booking.


We chose the XL option since our trip was touching close to 2k kms & we considered some detour etc.
However we well we in our limits.


The charges were as under. Since this was a Holi Weekend (23-29 March 2016), the rates applied were Peak Rates.



After initial exterior inspection, I realized that the car wouldn't start
Well the battery was the culprit & I argued with the ZC guy to either change the battery or provide another Ciaz AT Car.
He didn't have another Ciaz AT & for the battery, he said there wasn't much he could do.

This was not the kind of start I was looking for but then since we had to reach Palakkad by evening & I was the only driver AND having slept just 2 hrs the earlier night [Previous Day: Left office by 2000 hrs - Slept till 2300 hrs - Left for Airport by 0000 hrs - Flight Dep: 0325 hrs - Flight Arr: 0430].

Clearly I was not in a mood to fight & start thee trip on a bad note. But I made sure that ZC would refund all the expenses that would arise due to the battery issue.

The Itinerary was as under. It wasn't followed dot by dot but we made sure we stuck to it & we did.

1. 23rd March – WED – Fly to Bangalore (Reach by 04:35) – Push to Pallakad and reach by 3PM. 8hrs Drive [450Kms]
2. 24th March – THU – Post Lunch (by 12Pm) leave for Munnar – reach by 7 PM. 10-11hrs drive including breaks. [160kms]
3. 25th March – FRI – Go to Allepy. Reach by 1pm & go for Backwater Rides & be back next Day.[180kms]
4. 26th March – SAT – Reach Trivandrum by 2pm. Visit Kovallam Beach & push to Kanyakumari [150kms + 90kms]
5. 27th March – SUN – Sunrise + Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Post Lunch push for Rameshwaram and reach by 8PM. 6hrs Drive [310kms]
6. 28th March – MON – Rameshwaram Temple etc. Push for Madurai in relaxing way. 4 hrs Drive. [170kms]
7. 29th March – TUE – Madurai to Bangalore. 9hrs Drive [470]  Fly to Mumbai by Night Flight.

Since this is not a travelogue, I'm cutting it short.

Issues Faced:
Apart from Munnar where we had a Battery issue which was rectified after calling Maruti Suzuki Assistance, there was no other issue faced during the whole trip. I was charged 200 INR for the same. You can see the same amount being refunded in the Payments Screenshot.
And guess what, all MS guys did was jump start & I kept the vehicle idling for 20 mins & took for 8-9 kms drive.


Pros:
1. Car was in decent enough condition & had clocked 64k+ kms.
2. ZC assistance over the call was brilliant & helped me to settle my queries or help (in case of ignition issue faced at Munnar).
3. Seamless, handover & return of the car.
4. FUEL covered in the Price & I personally feel that's the best part as compared to other Self Drive options.

Cons:
1. During the whole trip, the only thing that kept nagging me was the Speed Governor which would start beeping as we came close to 125 kph.


I have undertaken couple of more ZC services & it's been spot on each time.

I'd totally recommend it.

[PVS]

Originally Posted by Surya-TJet

Hi guys, a small query:P.S - Had originally booked Drivezy; but cancelled as they were having too many negative reviews and hence did not want to take a chance.

I recently (Last month - April end), rented out a Swift from Drivezy - Mysuru. The overall booking process was pretty simple. I had booked the car with the basic package from 1 PM to 10 PM with around 45 Kms free, and around Rs 12 per Km there on. Cost worked out to be Rs 945/- I had downloaded the DriveZy app, and had to upload my DL (Front and Back). After a few unsuccessful attempts to upload the images, I finally came to understand that the upload size was exceeding the preset limit. Strangely, I missed to see the warning message about the file limit upload, the first couple of times. It was either me, or the fact that the UI was not designed properly.. Anyways

We headed to hotel Kalyani Residency on the Ring Road, and the Drivezy cars were parked on the pavement, in front of the hotel. There was a representative standing there, and he checked my booking particulars, and asked for the original DL. I had a laminated photocopy of my DL, which was sadly not acceptable. Luckily, my wife was carrying her original DL, and I was able to complete the formalities with her DL. The process of verifying the DL, with the Drivezy office took some time, and finally after 10 minutes, the procedure was completed. The bloke asked me to inspect the car for damages which I duly did, and took photographs of the existing dings and scratches. He took note of he ODO reading, and I also took a snap. He showed me the boot with the stepney. I took note, and also verified all the documents in the car, and finally by 01:30 pm, we were ready for the drive.

Having gone around a few places of interest such as Balmuri Kshetra, Ranganathittu and Brindavan gardens (Top speed of the car limited to 80 kmph, I hardly exceeded 60 though), we were back at the hotel by 8 pm. The bloke on duty checked the car, questioned the dings and I duly showed him the photos on my camera. Satisfied, he checked the ODO, and billed me around Rs 108/- extra, which I paid thru debit card. So, the total bill came to around Rs 1050, which seemed reasonable. Overall a satisfactory experience with Drivezy.

[YashD]

Seems like folks at Zoomcar has finally woke up and are improving their fleet. Recently, went to Ganges Ford, Kolkata dealership of Ford to book the Freestyle and saw a few Ecosport Titanium for Delivery to Zoomcar in various shades. Also, they had a couple of white Figo Titanium ready for delivery too. As per my sales executive, Zoomcar took a delivery of 14 vehicles that evening and all were WB commercial plates.

[harishpr]

Dear all,
I was with mychoize for last 1 year. Recently Mychoize has put speed governer on 'all' their vehicles and capped at 80 Kmph.
I have now booked with zoomcar and their FAQ section says that the speed limit is 120 kmph. One of my friend who rented zoomcar last week in Bangalore mentioned that his car didn't go beyond 80kmph.
can someone confirm their zoomcar experience with speed limits.

[red.devil_19]

Originally Posted by harishpr

One of my friend who rented zoomcar last week in Bangalore mentioned that his car didn't go beyond 80kmph.
can someone confirm their zoomcar experience with speed limits.

I had recently rented a Ford Aspire in Bangalore through ZoomCar. I can confirm the speed limit is indeed 80 kph. It is as per the directive from the government and has been stated by other BHPians as well, earlier in the thread.