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Old 9th September 2015, 17:22   #1
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My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

Q. What did I conclude about test drives after using Zoomcars?
A. A 10 km test drive from car dealerships gives you zero idea about the car. You need a full day + 200 km drive to truly test a car.

Full list of cars I test drove till date (in order when they were driven for first time). Some points:
- All the cars are diesel except for Suzuki Ciaz.
- Each car saw one trip of around 200 km driving. Figo and GLA have logged many more trips and kms.
- I'm not associated with Zoomcar or any other rental agency.

Mercedes Benz A Class
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4054.jpg

Likes:
- None

Dislikes:
- Too low ground clearance
- Lacks power
- Claustrophobic interiors

Summary:
Never drove it again. I found Suzuki Swift to be better because of a more airy cabin (yes, actually calling the Swift’s cabin airy in comparison!) and more power.

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Mercedes Benz GLA Class
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4055.jpg

Likes:
- Powerful enough
- Awesome balance of ride vs handling
- Amazing brakes
- Awesome looks
- Ability to go anywhere, thanks to its massive ground clearance
- Tyre pressure monitor system (TPMS). It detected a puncture early during a trip. We were able to complete the trip by topping up air twice. The TPMS ensured worry-free trip.
- I've driven GLAs aged 500km to 50,000km. There's no difference. Must be really resistant to abuse considering that most customers take it for quite a ride, given it is a Mercedes SUV.

Dislikes:
- Claustrophobic interiors
- Very expensive to rent
- Steering feel is mediocre, no matter which drive mode you are in
- Turbo lag

Summary:
My favorite car to rent. I liked it so much that I rented it four times despite the high rental cost.

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Ford Figo
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_1781.jpg

Likes:
- Almost perfect steering
- Great tradeoff between ride vs handling
- Big boot space

Dislikes:
- No ABS or airbags
- Hits belly easily

Summary:
I have driven it seven times so far. Though, now with Honda City dropping in rental cost, I am going to drive City instead, since I want ABS and airbags (only driver side available).

I had my first ever accident while driving a Zoom Figo at a highway crossing in some small town during early morning hours when it was still dark. Unaware that I had entered a town already while traveling on the highway, I approached a blind left high speed turn. As soon as I turned left, I suddenly saw an intersection and a container truck crossing it. I was at high speed (~60-70 kph). As soon as I braked, I was greeted with loads of gravel and low grip concrete road. This combined with hard and old MRF tyres and no ABS made the Figo skid. I steered but front wheels had no grip. The Figo slammed into the side of the truck. Would you believe that the truck had underside protection bars on its side?! Forget side, most trucks don't even have them in front or back! We would have been dead without the underside protection bar.

My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-20150523_010646105_ios.jpg

Both the people in the Figo were wearing seatbelts. I suffered whiplash on lower neck and pain in chest the day after. Passenger suffered seatbelt bruising and whiplash. Seatbelts saved our lives. Please read this again: Seatbelts saved our lives. We were not injured. If you do not wear the seatbelt, you are an idiot.

My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-20150523_013855111_ios.jpg

After the crash, the engine was cranking up but not starting. Radiator was leaking fluid. Pushed the car to the roadside, called up Zoom. They called up Ford roadside assistance. They reached the accident spot, picked up the car, kept the car key, gave us lift to the city borders (so that I could return home in Uber) and left with the car.

My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-20150523_020356553_ios.jpg

There was no more work for me to do once the truck picked up the Figo. Zoomcar refunded remaining hours of the trip in credits and deducted full deposit of Rs 5,000. That's how convenient Zoomcar is. I hope that Zoomcar vehicles are not misused due to this (though they already are).

Mistakes I made which led to the accident:
- I drove at same speed in the dark as I do during the day.
- I turned into left turn blind while maintaining the same speed.
- I drove a car without ABS and airbags. ABS had a chance to prevent the accident (I made this mistake multiple times even after the accident).

Lessons which got enforced further
- Seat belts save lives. Please repeat after me - "Seatbelts save lives". I've worn the seat belt religiously always, and made every passenger wear it (even before my accident).
- Buy a car with ABS and airbags. The newly launched Figo Aspire may have airbags from base model but it is not good news. You must have both ABS and airbags (I still have to follow this lesson, though. Now that I'm earning well, my next car will have both ABS and airbags).

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Mercedes Benz CLA Class
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4051.jpg

Likes:
- Even better ride vs handling than GLA (GLA is a bit stiff)
- Frameless doors are eye candy
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-20150418_015009428_ios.jpg

- Feels most like a Mercedes Benz among the A family (A, GLA, CLA)

Dislikes:
- Low ground clearance makes the car unusable
- Claustrophobic interiors
- Steering feel is mediocre no matter which drive mode you are in
- Turbo lag
- Most expensive to rent. GLA makes far more sense to rent instead because of the usable ground clearance.

Summary:
While I loved driving the CLA, I couldn't rent it more than once because of low ground clearance.

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Mahindra XUV5OO
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-20150509_005046198_ios.jpg

Likes:
- Quite powerful. I had unintentional wheelspins multiple times.
- Space can be utilized well. See the picture below:
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-20150509_012650413_ios.jpg

Dislikes:
- Can't corner well. Tyres squeal easily.

Summary:
I didn't get to test it on bad roads so can't comment about bad road behavior. On good roads, XUV5OO didn't feel anything different from ladder on frame SUVs despite being a monocoque.

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Honda Amaze
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4059.jpg

Likes:
- Has ABS.

Dislikes:
- Engine is extremely noisy. I've never sat in a car with a worse noise. Passengers clearly notice difference in noise level if you press throttle just 1 mm more.
- Poor ride quality
- Poor handling
- Hits belly too easily
- Lazy engine. RPM needle climbs very slowly (the car had done only around 5,000 kms).
- Poor interior quality
- Very poor build quality
- Bad steering feel
- Very costly to rent since City costs the same. The cheaper Figo is better in every single area.

Summary:
Pretty disappointing car. Even passengers banned me from renting Amaze again because of engine noise alone (not that I was planning to rent it again).

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Suzuki Ciaz Petrol AT
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4056.jpg

Likes:
- Swallows bad roads more like an SUV rather than a sedan
- Great ground clearance + suspension setup which doesn't allow it to hit the belly easily
- Has ABS and airbags

Dislikes:
- Automatic transmission is always confused about which gear to use. Problem is worsened by having only 4 gears. No tiptronic either (at least I couldn't find it).
- Very noisy engine. More noisy than diesel cars (Zoom Ciaz is petrol)!
- Very bad steering feel. Gets quite heavy with speed which ends up as minus point instead of plus since confidence doesn't improve.

Summary:
While Ciaz was a decent car to drive and comfortable, somehow neither me nor the passengers liked it. It was never rented again.

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Toyota Fortuner Full-Time 4WD
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4307.jpg

Likes:
- Monster power and torque. The most powerful car on Zoomcar.
- Fat tyres give supreme confidence in straight line.
- The only real SUV in Zoomcar. Has that 4WD lever thingy near the gear lever (sorry, I'm not an SUV guy).
- Insanely comfortable
- Superior ride quality which improves as you put more load in the car.

Dislikes:
- Body roll comes too easily and in all four directions
- Drum rear brakes. Toyota, seriously?
- Only two airbags
- Impossible to navigate this massive rhino around narrow places. Even rear parking screen doesn't help.

Summary:
A dream to drive for SUV lovers, I suppose. Rental cost not too bad since you don't easily get real 4WD SUV for rent elsewhere. While I loved being a passenger in it, I can't really drive it well. I'm a low slung car person. Naturally never going to rent Fortuner again. It was a nice first time experience.


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Mahindra Scorpio 2.2L
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4737.jpg

Likes:
- True SUV. Swallows bad roads with no problem.
- Almost no turbo lag
- Good ride quality. Stability not as bad as feared.
- Very refined and rev-happy engine. Seriously it can't be a diesel! (It had done only 80 km which can be a factor for dream-like engine)

Dislikes:
- No ABS or airbags
- Feels like it was built crudely. Feels very Mahindra.
- Poor interior space

Summary:
Well done Mahindra. The Scorpio feels nice to drive. Feels nearly like an urban car. Not crude like the spartan Bolero. Not going to rent it again, though, because of ladder on frame chassis (mediocre dynamics) combined with lack of safety. In case I need to cover bad roads and rent again, it will be the Ecosport/XUV5OO

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Honda City
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4966.jpg

Likes:
- Pleasant ride quality without affecting handling badly
- Comfortable cushiony seats which are ergonomically good
- Nice space
- Engine is fairly good in power and noise control (it had done 62,000 kms! This is quite something considering that it is a rental car)
- Steering is a pleasure to use (and I am a Ford Figo owner!). The lack of feedback is compensated by brilliant agility, accurate cornering and good chassis feel (and it was my first time driving the City so I was not familiar with its dynamics yet).
- With recent pricing, terrific value for money to rent among Zoomcar vehicles
- The City I drove had done 62,000 kms and felt not bad to drive. Must be abuse friendly.
- Passengers voted Honda City as the most comfortable car among Zoom vehicles barring the Mercedes cars.

Dislikes:
- Unstable rear. Rear wheels seem to lose traction quite easily.
- Pathetic thin metal sheets on doors and boot door (though I did not get any problems due to the flimsy metal sheets)
- No DTE (Distance to Empty) meter. I'm spoilt. I like reading DTE instead of fuel meter.

Summary:
The cost of renting Honda City has recently dropped to become marginally more expensive than the Figo & Swift. It now costs as much as the Amaze. It has replaced Figo as my default choice to rent. Somehow the unstable rear makes it fun to drive.


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Ford Ecosport Titanium
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5163.jpg

Likes:
- Has ABS and two airbags
- Engine feels petrol like in revving (though it is very lazy in revving up)
- Built like a tank. Build quality oozes everywhere from exterior to interiors.
- Brilliant front seats
- Fairly good ride quality on road despite raised monocoque nature. It is very sensitive to road surface which can be a put-off for many people, though.
- The Ecosport I drove had done 52,000 kms and felt not bad to drive. Seems abuse friendly considering that it is an SUV, so customers must have abused the hell out of it.

Dislikes:
- Very lazy engine. Tachometer needle takes years to climb (It had done 52,000 kms. Not sure if it is a factor for lazy RPM needle).
- Underwhelming performance and annoying turbo lag
- Too much body roll (though I understand that it is a raised monocoque)
- Off road ability not as great as Scorpio (yes, I understand that Ecosport is trying hard to be good at both on and off road manners)
- Very heavy doors (tail door as well) which take strength to close
- Poor interior space
- Blind spots due to front quarter glass
- Poor steering feeling

Summary:
If the trip road is going to be bad enough to need an SUV, I am going to rent the Ecosport. It feels like a modern and urban SUV to drive and sit in, but it still is a small car and feels a bit cramped. Would have liked it if it was not a sub 4 meter car.

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Cars not driven:
Tata Safari:
- I would definitely have tried the Safari Storme, but not the Safari. I'm not an SUV type person and hence not very interested in Safari.

Suzuki Swift:
- I've driven the Swift already and found it mediocre. Not really keen on driving it again.

Tata Nano:
- Not available in Pune
- Not going to drive if it becomes available, either.

Mahindra E2O:
- Not available in Pune
- Might be interested in driving it if it becomes available. Want to check out how an electric car feels to drive.

BMW 3 Series:
- Not available in Pune

Toyota Innova
- Not available in Pune
- Will not drive if it becomes available since I've already driven the Fortuner.

¨˜”°º••º°”˜¨

In wishlist to drive as rentals:
- Ford Figo Aspire
- VW Vento (Don't know why it came to Zoomcar Bangalore and was then removed)
- Skoda Octavia
- Audi Q1
- BMW 1 Series and 3 Series

Last edited by DevilsCry : 10th September 2015 at 21:46.
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Old 10th September 2015, 12:09   #2
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Places covered thanks to availability of self drive rentals

When you have a car at your disposal instead of a cab, you feel far more free in exploring places around you.

Places we covered:
The places are listed in the order they were visited. All the places were visited this year.

Lavasa
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_0438.jpg

Likes:
- The road to Lavasa is in an excellent condition and has amazing curves. Visibility around the corner is excellent, giving you maximum safety.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-20150418_014530108_ios.jpg

Dislikes:
- There is not much fun at Lavasa city. Kinda pointless destination. This is Lavasa city.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_0468.jpg

Summary:
Want to test drive a car on good roads? Head to Lavasa. I recommend reaching Lavasa early morning (~ 6 AM) if you want an empty road since Lavasa roads are devoured by enthusiastic bikers as early as 7-8 AM. I've done test drive of all three Mercedes A family members and XUV5OO on Lavasa roads.

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Beaches from Diveagar to Harihareshwar
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_1777.jpg

Likes:
- Very few commercialized beaches on the 40 km long stretch.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_1784.jpg

- Several beaches have beautiful, clean, bright yellow sand and they are pretty isolated like a private beach.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_1851.jpg

- At Harihareshwar beach, the Savitri river enters the Arabian sea. You can get non-commercialized views there. There is a ferry nearby where you can take your car to cross the river.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_1854.jpg

- If you are coming from Pune, you have Mulshi lake and Tamhini Ghat on the way, both of which are quite beautiful during monsoons. There's a variety of ghat roads, mountain roads, fast & flat to beach roads. This is my favorite road trip so far. The 400 km trip is doable in one day even with a single driver.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-screen-shot-20150910-12.45.28-pm.png

Dislikes:
- None

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Neelkantheshwar Temple near Khadakwasla lake
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3437.jpg

Likes:
- Roads are quite serene in monsoons. Hardly used by others since Neelkantheshwar temple is not much known.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3381.jpg

- You get amazing view, largely free of human population. Not just at the destination but also on the route itself. Below is a pic from en-route.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3404.jpg

Dislikes:
None

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Purandar Fort
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3538.jpg

Likes:
- Relatively less known. An army area. You can enjoy the fort free of tourists.
- The road to Purandar Fort is fantastic!
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3553.jpg

My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3534.jpg

- You get to do soft mud roading inside the army area. Easily doable with low GC cars.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3543.jpg

- Army folks are pleasant and friendly to interact with.

Dislikes:
- No photography allowed on the fort. That's why I've not posted any pic from the fort.
- Fort doesn't open before 9 AM.

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Lohagad Fort
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3660.jpg

Likes:
- Fort trekking level is easy. You get a panoramic view of many areas since the fort is massive.
- Roads are scenic. Here's what you see upon approaching the fort base.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3646.jpg

- Pawana lake is big and accompanies you for a large part of the trip.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3686.jpg

- Can't count how many hidden off road routes exist in the Lonavala region. Here's a soft road route for the humble Honda Amaze.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3689.jpg

Dislikes:
- None


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Tamhini Ghat
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3739.jpg

Likes:
- Seemingly infinite number of waterfalls, big and small. One such waterfall is this.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3884.jpg

- Mulshi lake never ceases to give an amazing view.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3745.jpg

Dislikes:
- Tamhini Ghat is a somewhat boring place to visit. Roads are not really fun. There is no real 'destination'. Scenery is very beautiful, no doubt.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3746.jpg

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Last edited by DevilsCry : 11th September 2015 at 10:47.
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Old 10th September 2015, 16:14   #3
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Re: Test drive of vehicles from Zoomcars

Sinhagad Fort
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4029.jpg

Likes:
- Despite being very commercialized, it is an amazing place to visit. Lush greenery, strong wind points and plenty of areas to get away from tourists.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3980.jpg

- There are many ways to reach Sinhagad fort. Just one road is crowded. Less known roads are quite scenic.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_3956.jpg

Dislikes:
- None

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Madhe Ghat
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4461.jpg

Likes:
- An upcoming tourist spot. Not crowded yet.
- You approach Madhe Ghat waterfall at its top as opposed to bottom in case of other waterfalls. This is pic of mouth of the waterfall.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4447.jpg

- There is an easy trekking path to go to bottom of the waterfall. The path has water flowing on it. Yes, this crowd looks a bit too much but it was Independence Day. Some other day, there was no one at all at bottom of the waterfall.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4699.jpg

- Plenty of scenic ghat roads on the way.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4414.jpg

Dislikes:
- Roads are quite broken. Gave Merc GLA a puncture. The road is still doable by low GC cars though.

¨˜”°º••º°”˜¨


Bedse caves
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4845.jpg

Likes:
- Not popular yet. Free from tourists.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4843.jpg

- Pristine stairs full of flowing water, big yellow crabs and several snails.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4925.jpg

Dislikes:
- Nothing really to do much once you reach the caves. You need to go to one more place once you have visited Bedse caves. Otherwise, your trip day will feel empty.
- You may have to ask passengers to get off the car at few points on the way so that your car doesn't hit its belly.

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Tikona Fort
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4864.jpg

Likes:
- You will remember Tikona Fort fondly for its almost vertical stairs (still easy though).
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4868.jpg

- You get commanding view around showing you few forts, big Pawana lake and general beautiful landscape. The trekking was one of most enjoyable for me. Looks formidable but is easy level and low endurance.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_4898.jpg

Dislikes:
- None

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Korigad Fort
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5099.jpg

Likes:
- There is a trek via forest route to go to top of Korigad Fort. The route seems pretty safe and at same time, gives feeling of adventure.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5077.jpg

- The slopes are beautiful
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5224.jpg

- If you pick Mulshi route as shown in the map below, you get almost pristine view of nature.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-screen-shot-20150911-10.10.55-am.png
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5060.jpg
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5183.jpg

- While returning via the expressway, you can stop at Shivling Point which has better view than the famous Tiger Point of Lonavala and is far less crowded.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5234.jpg

Dislikes:
- Mulshi route has moon craters, not just potholes. SUV highly recommended. Please don't take your hatchback/sedan.

- On Mulshi route, Aamby Valley township blocks roads at many places, forcing you to take diversions multiple times. Please note that despite the negative points, Mulshi route was still the most beautiful route I ever saw.

¨˜”°º••º°”˜¨


Bhor region
With retreating monsoons, places south of Pune become best place to visit due to blooming season and not so harsh sun. Bhor region is usually quite empty of tourists despite being quite beautiful.

- Baneshwar waterfall
Interesting erosion patterns on the rocks.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5380.jpg

- Neckplace Point
Click on the above link to get exact location on Google Maps. Necklace Point is otherwise almost impossible to find. When you reach the above location, you will see a dam in distance. Get off the road at that point, look a bit around and you will find Necklace Point.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5657.jpg

- Backwaters of Bhatghar dam
There is really not much around backwaters of Bhatghar dam. The dam had all its 20 gates closed due to weak monsoons this year. It was still pleasant visit due to several wallpaper material scenery.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5406.jpg
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5679.jpg

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Varandha Ghat
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-001.jpg

Likes:
- Many waterfalls on the way, of all sizes.
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-dsc_0247.jpg

- The ghat section is long and full of good scenery
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-img_5700.jpg

- Many lakes and dams on the way
My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet-001-1.jpg

Dislikes:
- None

¨˜”°º••º°”˜¨

That's all, folks.

Last edited by DevilsCry : 11th September 2015 at 15:02.
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Old 11th September 2015, 16:04   #4
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Re: Test drive of vehicles from Zoomcars

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line section. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 11th September 2015, 16:48   #5
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

Crisp summary of the strengths and weaknesses of many cars in the zoom lineup, and also fabulous pictures of the trekking getaways in and around Pune. Just curious, how much for the Mercedes GLA?
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Old 11th September 2015, 17:01   #6
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

Awesome review and pics. Nice concise summary of the driven cars.

One question, given that you had an accident with ZoomCars, were they hesitant to rent out their car the next time you booked? or was the booking process smooth? Just want to understand if they maintain customer driving behavior as a database for future bookings, which ideally they should be doing.

Last edited by DriverR : 11th September 2015 at 17:04. Reason: Additional text added for clarity
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Old 11th September 2015, 17:19   #7
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lalvaz View Post
Just curious, how much for the Mercedes GLA?
Short answer:
5,700 rupees for 14 hours trip on a weekend covering 200 km.

Long answer:
On weekends, 330 rupee per hour. 10 km per hour included.
Charges after exceeding the included km is 18 rupee per km.

The website has a calculator to help you calculate expected cost.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DriverR View Post
One question, given that you had an accident with ZoomCars, were they hesitant to rent out their car the next time you booked? or was the booking process smooth?
1. My accident had zero impact on future bookings.
2. Zoomcar didn't question me about the accident.
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Old 11th September 2015, 17:26   #8
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

From the thread it appears you rely on zoomcars.

But don't you find the fact that every time you have to rent a car, you have to go and pick the car from their yard, and then drop the car back on completion of your trip is a big turnoff?
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Old 11th September 2015, 17:53   #9
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

This is an excellent article in summarisation of vehicles as well as the beautiful pictures of the locales and other places.
Self driven rental cars are a good option to experience these wonderful set of wheels. It is very good to hear that after accident, Zoomcars made it a hassle free experience for you.
Only thing is that like other businesses, here too companies are interested in making profits and spending little on vehicle maintenance as you have pointed out in Figo and Ecosport description.
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Old 11th September 2015, 18:00   #10
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

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Originally Posted by deepfusion View Post
But don't you find the fact that every time you have to rent a car, you have to go and pick the car from their yard, and then drop the car back on completion of your trip is a big turnoff?
No. Because Zoomcar pickup locations are near my home (200m, 1km, 7km, 8km). Btw, they told me that home delivery is "coming soon".

The real turn-off is that Zoomcar is heavily booked. You may have to book 8-12 days in advance. Also, high chance that you can't extend your trip duration because your car is booked for someone else after your trip ends.
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Old 11th September 2015, 18:44   #11
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

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Originally Posted by DevilsCry View Post
The real turn-off is that Zoomcar is heavily booked. You may have to book 8-12 days in advance. Also, high chance that you can't extend your trip duration because your car is booked for someone else after your trip ends.
From my point of view the real turn-off of Zoomcar, for me, is it simply does not exists in my city.
Man, I didn't know that they offer such nice latest cars on Zoomcar, until I read your comprehensive review of the cars they offered, and how you used them to explore places. That made me take a second look at the Zoomcar website. I wish they open their branches soon in my city.
The already existing rental car types only offer typical vehicles (the Indicas, Swifts, i10s etc).
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Old 11th September 2015, 21:31   #12
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

Nicely compiled review.

Regarding Honda City i couldn't make out you drove the petrol or diesel one?
Also City does have a DTE in SV, V and VX models. Don't know if its available in lower models or not.
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Old 11th September 2015, 21:51   #13
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

DevilsCar , Very nice & informative thread - covers your travelogue as well review on rental cars - looks you are multi tasker

Quote:
- Insanely comfortable
- Superior ride quality which improves as you put more load in the car
Your comments on Fortuner are little different from my experience - with which Car did you find Fortuner comfortable specially rear seat considering you were not driving, front side & driver seats are far better though
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Old 11th September 2015, 22:45   #14
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re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

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Regarding Honda City i couldn't make out you drove the petrol or diesel one?
Also City does have a DTE in SV, V and VX models. Don't know if its available in lower models or not.
The Honda City was diesel S model. May be that's why it lacked DTE meter.

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Your comments on Fortuner are little different from my experience - with which Car did you find Fortuner comfortable specially rear seat considering you were not driving, front side & driver seats are far better though
I was comparing with XUV5OO and Scorpio which are both kinda cramped compared to Fortuner. Yes, the Mahindras have more plush ride but I kinda prefer stiff ride. Gives me feeling that I'm connected to the road. That's combo of good space and decent ride quality. Though after your comment, I am wondering if I overrated comfort level in Fortuner.
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Old 12th September 2015, 16:01   #15
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Re: My Experience: Test-driving cars from Zoomcar's fleet

DevilsCry,

This is an awesome thread! Loved your write-up and the pics (especially). Can tell that a lot of thought has gone into the pics. Rating thread a well-deserved 5 stars!

You are sending out a strong + sensible message with this thread. And I completely agree. If you want to buy a car:

1. Read the Team-BHP Official Review. Read Team-BHP Ownership Reports.

2. Rent a self-drive car for 1 / 2 / 3 days from Zoom, Myles or any service provider (there are so many of them coming up everyday!). Spend a good amount of time with it. Let your family check it out. There's a lot you will understand about the car in 3 days that you simply wouldn't in the 10 minute dealership test-drive.

3. Rent self-drive cars for fun or as the need may be. E.g. rent an SUV for that one week in a year that you need it, instead of keeping one permanently parked down your house. Or, if going on a fun road-trip, rent a CLA and enjoy the handling!

Related Thread: Link.

Last edited by GTO : 12th September 2015 at 16:06.
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