[LoneRidder]

Originally Posted by achyu

Accessory update:

I got the Coozo 5D Mats today.

The fit and finish looks very neat and tidy. It gives a plush feel, better than nomads I guess!

Originally Posted by achyu

Accessory update:
be visiting many other places en route. Will post about the travel next week.

All the best for the trip

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by achyu

I got the Coozo 5D Mats today.

Looks nice Ashwath Hope it holds up pretty well in long term.

Bon voyage on your first long trip and I am sure Cheetah will not let you down and will enjoy your trip

[achyu]

Originally Posted by LoneRidder

All the best for the trip

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Bon voyage on your first long trip and I am sure Cheetah will not let you down and will enjoy your trip

Thanks so much guys! Happy Diwali to you!

fusionbang,
Bon voyage to you too. Safe travels.

Cheers

[adu]

Originally Posted by achyu

Thanks so much guys! Happy Diwali to you!
fusionbang,
Bon voyage to you too. Safe travels.Cheers

Safe travels Sunay and Achyu!

I myself have lots of driving to do over the next 4 days. Leaving for Jayapura (near Sringeri) this evening to attend my cousin's engagement which is tomorrow. Then head to Virajpet from there tomorrow afternoon to attend to some personal work there and return from there to Bangalore on Tuesday. Looking forward to the drive in my XUV .

And Happy Diwali to everyone!

[achyu]

Originally Posted by adu

Safe travels Sunay and Achyu!

I myself have lots of driving to do over the next 4 days. Leaving for Jayapura (near Sringeri) this evening to attend my cousin's engagement which is tomorrow. Then head to Virajpet from there tomorrow afternoon to attend to some personal work there and return from there to Bangalore on Tuesday. Looking forward to the drive in my XUV .

And Happy Diwali to everyone!

Thanks adu. Happy Diwali and safe travels to you too.

I just checked into the hotel at Udupi. Had a wonderful drive. Pictures will be posted once I get back to Bangalore.

[achyu]

Finally, BattleCat was unleashed on the highways, ghats, narrow and patchy roads and also in heavy rain. The beast brought us back home safe and sound. The trip was thoroughly enjoyable.

I plan to post a travelogue shortly. But here are some tidbits.

Places visited: Dharmasthala, Udupi, Murudeshwar, Gokarna, Jog
Number of days: three (Nov 7, 8 and 9)
Number of people: six adults and one child. I folded one of the third row seats to accommodated the luggage - stacked one bag on top of the other.

Observations and niggles:

1. Cruise control: On Day 1, just after Nelamangala, as I was setting the cruise control, it suddenly stopped working. I was pretty sure that it will work again on shutting down the car completely and starting it again. Lo and behold - we stopped for breakfast and when we started again, everything was back to normal and the cruise control was working as expected. It did not fail me since but as a precaution, I accelerate to the desired speed using the pedal and don't press the Set button for more than two seconds.

2. Hill descent: Decided to give this a try in the ghat section and started hearing a weird sound while braking on a downward slope. Initially I thought the sound was emanating from the tyres but on checking with fellow XUV owners, I found out that the noise is actually from the brake pads and is usually heard when the hill descent control is engaged. The noise is audible to not just me but also to the co-passenger. Decided to turn off hill descent and not use it ever again. Hill hold assist works like a charm.

3. Front suspension: Last night, as we neared Bangalore, it had started raining very heavily. The rain and the light from the oncoming vehicles, falling directly on the eyes, severely impaired visibility. I ended up going over a few humps quite badly. I, then, started hearing an 'umph' sound from the front suspension each time I took the car over a hump slowly. On checking with friends, I was told that other have had similar experiences and this issue happens only during rainy days. The sound goes away automatically in dry weather conditions. Need to get this checked at the service center but not sure how it can be reproduced - possibly wait for a rainy day to visit the center .

4. Third row head-room: The poor soul who was forced to sit on the third row had a rough time when ever I went over those humps. The humps on the road transformed into humps on the head .

5. Headlights: The headlights could definitely have been more powerful. Would have aided in better visibility considering the conditions that were dished out last night but they are not so bad that I want to change them immediately. That said, they are, for sure, on my list of things to upgrade.

Mileage:
At one stage, I was getting upwards of 14kmpl but after all the winding in the ghat section, negotiating narrow roads and driving through the rain, it settled for this:


We did close to 1130 Kms overall - start to finish. I filled up the tank once before leaving and once at Murudeshwar.


This is now my current ODO meter reading.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by achyu

3. Front suspension: Last night, as we neared Bangalore, it had started raining very heavily. The rain and the light from the oncoming vehicles, falling directly on the eyes, severely impaired visibility. I ended up going over a few humps quite badly. I, then, started hearing an 'umph' sound from the front suspension each time I took the car over a hump slowly. On checking with friends, I was told that other have had similar experiences and this issue happens only during rainy days. The sound goes away automatically in dry weather conditions. Need to get this checked at the service center but not sure how it can be reproduced - possibly wait for a rainy day to visit the center .

Hello! Glad to know your enjoying the beast

The front suspension noise, 'umph' type, Happened with me aswell, And yes only during the rainy season and would disappear in dry conditions. We indeed have a self healing car it seems, Just few days back my car was giving out loud knocking sounds from the engine bay, And after almost 200-300 kms of driving with the sound, It disappeared!

[achyu]

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Hello! Glad to know your enjoying the beast

The front suspension noise, 'umph' type, Happened with me aswell, And yes only during the rainy season and would disappear in dry conditions. We indeed have a self healing car it seems, Just few days back my car was giving out loud knocking sounds from the engine bay, And after almost 200-300 kms of driving with the sound, It disappeared!

Thanks Tanveer. I have read about the knocking sound on your thread. Very strange indeed that it disappeared on its own! Better get it checked, as per your original plan, if only as a precautionary measure.

Another quick update:
I have posted a DETAILED TRAVELOGUE here. Hope it is useful to folks looking to drive to these places in Karnataka.

Couple of things I forgot to mention in my earlier post are:
1. I kept it very sedate on the road - between 70 and 110 kmpl. Never crossed 3000 rpm and only once touched 150 kmph to check the 'beep' sound .
2. The Navigator worked very well. I fed in intermediate places rather than end destinations. It took me to the all the places without a problem.

[achyu]

Originally Posted by achyu

Observations and niggles:

3. Front suspension: Last night, as we neared Bangalore, it had started raining very heavily. The rain and the light from the oncoming vehicles, falling directly on the eyes, severely impaired visibility. I ended up going over a few humps quite badly. I, then, started hearing an 'umph' sound from the front suspension each time I took the car over a hump slowly. On checking with friends, I was told that other have had similar experiences and this issue happens only during rainy days. The sound goes away automatically in dry weather conditions. Need to get this checked at the service center but not sure how it can be reproduced - possibly wait for a rainy day to visit the center

Another update: BattleCat had a whole day's rest yesterday and when I took him out today, the 'umph' sound is gone, even on monster humps! The car's self healing mechanism has come to the fore again .

[trek]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

- Just yesterday I saw this Linea on the road near my office while commuting in cab:

Attachment 1435290

Attachment 1435291

Bangalore to Paris by road in a T-JET is completely beyond me.

Originally Posted by achyu

Woah true blue explorers! Not sure how these guys find the guts, time and money for such journeys. I am sure the research and planning are really long and as much fun as the journey itself Hats off to them. Wonder if he is a BHPian - will be nice travelogue to look forward to

This family did a road trip from Bangalore to 11 countries in 111 days. More details here:

http://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/bangalore-to-paris-111-days/

[lyneld]

achyu, this is a fantastic report and such a pleasure to read! Genuinely sparked the need for me to upgrade to a XUV myself Thank you for this and please do keep the updates coming.

[achyu]

Originally Posted by lyneld

achyu, this is a fantastic report and such a pleasure to read! Genuinely sparked the need for me to upgrade to a XUV myself Thank you for this and please do keep the updates coming.

Thank you, lyneld. I am very happy that you find the report useful. Will keep it updated for sure.

[achyu]

A quick little update:

There have been discussions on some of the XUV threads here in the forum about the right tyre pressure. Mahindra recommends 32psi on all tyres. These last few days, I have been driving with the pressure on all tyres set at 34psi and I actually find that the ride quality has improved. A lot smoother now, definitely less bumpy.

I plan to keep the tyres at 34psi unless someone points out reasons not to.

Cheers

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by achyu

A quick little update:

There have been discussions on some of the XUV threads here in the forum about the right tyre pressure. Mahindra recommends 32psi on all tyres. These last few days, I have been driving with the pressure on all tyres set at 34psi and I actually find that the ride quality has improved. A lot smoother now, definitely less bumpy.

I plan to keep the tyres at 34psi unless someone points out reasons not to.

Cheers

Mahindra recommends 32psi for front and 30psi for rear right?

As per my knowledge, the only reason to not fill more pressure in tyres is, it may tend to bulge more and a small sharp edged stone might damage the tyre which is very dangerous. So stick to the company specified pressures.

[achyu]

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Mahindra recommends 32psi for front and 30psi for rear right?

As per my knowledge, the only reason to not fill more pressure in tyres is, it may tend to bulge more and a small sharp edged stone might damage the tyre which is very dangerous. So stick to the company specified pressures.

Thanks Sunay. It's actually 32psi for all tyres. But will the additional 2psi matter so much? The ride has improved and I do not see any significant bulge.