[CEF_Beasts]

Exploring Igatpuri and a ~400 km drive on the Samruddhi Mahamarg

15th August being a Tuesday, a trip was planned on the long weekend from 13th Sunday to 15th Tuesday.

Having been to Pune and Lonavala several times I wanted to visit a new place. We debated going to Daman as well but the plan didn't materialize. So I suggested we go to Igatpuri and try out the Samruddhi Mahamarg as well, which was on my bucket-list for a considerable amount of time ever since it was inaugurated.

Booked Rakabi The Fern in Igatpuri as our stay from Sunday the 13th to Tuesday the 15th.

We left from Mumbai around 11:00 AM on 13th and planned to stop at the food mall in the Asangaon Industrial Area where there is a McDonalds and Starbucks. We reached the food stop at 12:30PM, ate at Starbucks, took a to-go coffee from McDonalds and left for the onward journey to Igatpuri.

The road condition from Thane to Assangaon Industrial Area was somewhat okay-okay, several deep potholes and roads which were washed away by the rain were present, which after sometime became smooth tarmac.

The Kasara Ghat while climbing had a few wrong-side driving folks which was very dangerous, as soon as we started climbing the weather also started becoming cooler than Mumbai. Other than a two-lane occupying truck puller on the ghat section which took 10 mins to clear, it was absolute smooth sailing till we reached Igatpuri.

We stopped at a spot on the ghat to eat a 'Bhutta' and take some pictures of the valley beneath from where we could see the train passing by, a beautiful sight!

At the Kasara Ghat taking a break for a 'Bhutta' and the view


The ghat overlooking the railway track in the valley

We reached Rakabi The Fern at 2:45PM, the Spicedella restaurant is a very popular joint for Pure Veg food in their premises, so the parking lot was packed with cars. Luckily I was able to find one spot empty after empting our luggage. They didn't have valet parking so I parked the car myself, which I liked a lot! A true car-enthusiast will always prefer parking themselves.

At Rakabi The Fern's parking lot, parked up

The hotel reception was very small but thankfully the corridors and rooms were much larger than what we had expected looking at the reception. The main lobby I believe was still under construction. We could see our car from our room window itself, which is something I absolutely adored!

After checking in by 3:15PM, we stretched our legs for about an hour and left for Bhawali Dam (the Darna River flows from the dam) which was in the list mentioned at the reception as one of the popular tourist spots in Igatpuri, apart from temples and a few other dams nearby. The Samruddhi Mahamarg access that is being built at this spot was visible enroute to the dam. The roads in the end near the dam were absolutely horrible, basically there was no road! Two cars could barely pass on the last stretch till the dam.

On the way to the Bhawali Dam


Water from the Bhawali Dam flowing into Darna River

On the way back from the hotel we stopped at the Manas Resort for a quick tea and some 'Poha'. Just after Manas Resort there was a beautiful valley view-point, where we did some mild off-roading to reach the view-point. Two trains passed in the valley from two different tracks, an absolutely mesmerizing view, TBH! Clicked a bunch of pictures of the car and us at this view-point. The X3's approach and departure angles surprised me by not scraping it's chin anywhere and even the tyres didn't lose any traction over the loose, sharp and wet rocks

A train passing in the valley


Another train passing in the valley








Pictures of the car on the mild off-road path from the hidden view-point just after Manas Resort

Returned to the hotel by 7:45PM and headed for the dinner included in our room package at around 8:30PM. After a sumptuous meal, we walked in the hotel compound itself and could feel the nip in the air, even-though it wasn't raining. The dip in temperature and fresh air made me a fan of Igatpuri during the monsoon season, compared to the humidity of Mumbai. By 11:30PM - 12AM I could see clouds had descended on the road and there was hardly anything visible except the headlights of cars and trucks!

I couldn't sleep till very late because of the excitement of the next day, which was to drive on the Samruddhi Mahamarg. We woke up at around 8AM, got ready by 8:30AM, finished our breakfast by 9:15AM and were in the car by 9:45AM. The Mumbai - Nashik Expressway or Mumbai - Agra National Highway was broken in patches but could manage to keep up a good pace till Ghoti Phata from where we had to turn right. The roads from Ghoti Phata till the right turn for the Samruddhi Mahamarg were horrible to say the least. There was very heavy truck traffic and the road was filled with craters and not potholes!! A low-slung sedan would face a tough time facing these roads till the Mahamarg. After about an hour (around 10:40AM) on the two-way roads, we reached the Samruddhi Mahamarg Bharvir Khurd interchange.

Departing from the hotel for the Samruddhi Mahamarg


Just after joining the Samruddhi Mahamarg from the Bharvir Khurd Interchange, Nagpur's 620kms from this point

Just after entering the toll road to the Mahamarg we were filled with a sense of pride of where India has reached in terms of its infrastructure! This Expressway is nothing short of global standards!

Some key points that I observed after driving on the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg:

- Tolls are placed at each exit and save a lot of time compared to other expressways where all the traffic has to stop. The money is deducted from the fastag when we exit from the Mahamarg and not while the entry.

- The road signs are very well defined and easy to understand and follow. Be it rest-stops and fuel pumps or cities.

- The Mahamarg is finished in cement and can get very rough in particular sections, the tar sections are not perfectly aligned with the cement sections which can lead to the car getting jolted, nothing which the adaptive suspension in Sport mode can't reduce and at speeds of 80kmph if you're travelling with light music the road noise that filters into the cabin can become unbearable, the RFTs making matters even worse. Cross 100kmph and you have to definitely speak much louder than you do on other highways/expressways, to be heard by your co-passengers.

- Since the traffic currently is very less, trucks keep to the left-most lane unless they are overtaking another truck from the middle lane. Cars mostly stick to the middle lane unless again overtaking (taxi drivers driving in the right-most lane at 80kmph has already started).

- Highway hypnosis is a real phenomenon here, we saw one accident which involved only one car with it's front end completely demolished.

- We didn't get to see any monkeys lurking around but there was one dead animal in the right-most lane and there were quite a few daring dogs crossing all three lanes fearlessly, at once. We had two near-misses with dogs, all while being within the speed limit. At one point there was a dog laying down and basking in the sun, in the right-most lane who got up and walked off as I almost panic braked in the middle lane never knowing which direction he would run. And similarly on the way back where we saw a dog walk across all three lanes fearlessly as we approached in the middle lane, with my dad driving. Now I know why several people were sticking to the middle lane!!

- One petrol pump at which we stopped lost its electricity and wasn't able to dispense petrol, thankfully we had air in our tyres sorted before that.

- The absence of food malls is sorely felt!

- At regular intervals there are barricaded emergency u-turns present on the Mahamarg, at one of them we could see a group of people in two cars exchanging passengers and luggage .

At one of the HP Petrol pumps for a quick bio-break

Overall I would rate this Expressway an 8.5 / 10 as it is nothing short of what se see globally. I just hope food malls are created ASAP, this will reduce highway hypnosis as well. And the cement will also smoothen out over-time as more traffic starts using the road.

After roughly 187kms on the Samruddhi Mahamarg, we took the exit for Aurangabad, the car hit the 8000kms milestone as soon as we entered Aurangabad (now renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) and we stopped for lunch at Taj Vivanta. The food for a 5 star hotel was pretty basic tasting, Rasmalai a popular sweet dish which I ordered was stale and replaced with gulab jamun, the chef personally came out and apologized for it. With a 20% discount the meal didn't burn a big hole in our pockets considering it was a 3/5 dining experience and not a 5/5.

The 8000kms milestone after reaching Aurangabad


After driving 200kms in a stretch, the car is recommending me to take a break


At Taj Vivanta, Aurangabad

We left from the hotel around 2:45PM and decided to visit the Ellora caves on the way back to Igatpuri, we had to exit the Samruddhi Mahamarg at the Ellora exit after which it was about 16kms till the Ellora caves. But as soon as we turned on the Ellora Road from where the caves were only 2kms, there was absolutely no road and just craters bigger than those on the moon. The suspension and articulation of our car was properly tested on this road, even a BoF 4WD SUV would have to slow down to a snail's pace here, it was that bad! Sadly we had to turn back mid-way since it would become dark by the time we reached Igatpuri, we wanted to avoid driving in the night. We went back 16kms till the Samruddhi Mahamarg interchange and continued our return journey to Igatpuri.

The open expanse of the highway and lack of traffic




Multiple wind-mills are there along the way

The drive back, other than one dog walking across the three lanes, was uneventful and we covered ground in decent time beating GMap's estimate by a fair margin. Stopped at the McDonald's for a quick coffee once we had reached Igatpuri. Ate dinner slightly late at around 9:15PM and retired early since it had been along day!

At the Food Mall once we were back in Igatpuri


Overcast sky, a Bimmer and the hills in the background


The Mahindra Engine Plant, Igatpuri, just opposite our hotel

The next day 15th August was a leisurely day, getting up at 8:30PM and being called down for the hotel's flag hoisting ceremony. We quickly got ready and headed for the flag hoisting ceremony, ate our breakfast after that and checked-out from the hotel by 10:30AM.

The clouds were on the road even at 10:30AM and some slow traffic movement was there till the down slope of the ghat section started. Stopped on the way down the ghat for a quick photo-op and resumed our journey towards Mumbai.

The only time we have ever opened the sunroof! And what better occasion, than Independence Day?

The road after the ghat ended till Thane was broken in patches with potholes after every kilometre / a washed away top surface of the road / uneven patches on the road done to cover up the old potholes, the drive back was not at all a settled one!

At one of the view-point's while coming down the Kasara Ghat

Anyways we reached home by 1:30PM, the car was caked with mud and grime collected over the past 3 days, gave it a proper pressure wash and foam cleaning.

3 days worth of mud and grime!


Getting a nice and very deserving foam wash back home

There is a slight rattle that has started coming from the driver door on certain roads and a panel below the steering column that has become more loose, it had been loose ever since the 1st service last year. The car has completed 8387kms, 1387 kms done in a month and a half! Other than these two niggles it has been a smooth journey with the car and I'm extremely satisfied by how the car performed in this trip including overtaking on single lane roads and the mild off-roading we did.

8387kms done and dusted

The car will turn 2 years old on 30th August '23 and will be heading for its 2nd service to Infinity Turbhe next week.

NOTE: The number plate present in some pictures 'BLUE BOLT' was used strictly for only photos and not stuck on while driving the car on the road.

[ashish2135]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

Attachment 2491936

Amazing pictures @CEF_Beasts

I love the pre-facelift X3, The headlamps and the split grill look lovely.
The Phytonic blue colour suits the X3.

They ruined a classic design with the LCI.

[Sen]

Great photos and write-up, thanks for sharing. It's a pleasure seeing what something like your X3 can do!

If I travel on those roads, will keep the pit stops and advice in mind.

One point to note about your mentions of Highway Hypnosis. Here's the definition from Wikipedia:

Highway hypnosis, also known as white line fever, is an altered mental state in which a person can drive a car, truck, or other automobile great distances, responding to external events in the expected, safe, and correct manner with no recollection of having consciously done so.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_hypnosis

Falling asleep at the wheel aside, this is a completely different phenomenon you referenced.

We have a lot of tired drivers globally and here in India alike, so it is what it is with the one-car crashes unfortunately. There's fancy driver fatigue systems built into cars to help bring back dulled reactions these days, so that's fortunate!

Looking forward to more journeys. PS - great car and shots!

[Kkumar]

Nice travelogue with great photos. A few months back I did a drive on Samrudhi Mahamarg on the Shirdi-Aurangabad stretch while visiting Ellora. As mentioned by you even I had experienced the roughness of the concrete road. The lack of food plazas en route is a big draw back. Hope that the entire highway network in our country will reach such standards at the earliest.

[CEF_Beasts]

Blue Bolt turns 2 years old, 2nd service completed and a natural calamity breaks the windshield

The 2nd service was due in Sept 2023, anyways since the first service was delayed by Infinity Lalbaug I vowed to never go back to them. Fixed up the service with Infinity Turbhe on 23rd Aug, but the car had not displayed the “Schedule your service” message yet so the engine oil change couldn’t take place.

Got to meet Sushil Sir (aka @Maverick5490), a gem-of-a-person, at Infinity Turbhe. Who showed me around the workshop including the service bays of the other super luxury brands present in the sprawling facility. Really appreciate it, Sir!

Since the oil change couldn’t be carried out before the prescribed time, as the car is under the BSI+ pack just got the wheel balancing alignment and a few other niggles sorted like the loose panel below the steering column and a plastic part belonging to the driver’s seat that was slyly kept in the driver door’s pocket during the first service done at Lalbaug and came back.

The car completed 2 years with us on 30th August 2023 :

The “Schedule your service” message was displayed on the instrument cluster as well as under “Service requirements” in “Vehicle Status” on 4th Sept :

Took the car again to the service centre on 5th Sept to get the Oil Change Service done. Sushil Sir left his busy work schedule and again came to meet me for a small amount of time while I was there.

Another first was giving the car to my chauffeur and experiencing the back seat for a considerable amount of time. It’s more than comfortable but that itch to shift to the driver’s seat in a BMW came back soon enough and I was back on the driver’s seat :

The car being washed before I take it back home:

Gifted the car the Perfume Starter Kit.
There are two Perfume Starter Kits now, the one I got is the new one since the old one has been discontinued but is still available at some dealerships and service centres:

On 7th September, life is going on as it goes, took the car out for some shopping that I had to do before leaving:

Life isn’t as rosy as it seems, and disaster struck on 8th Sept. But life teaches you a lesson as well that sometimes sh*t happens.

It was a wonderful rainy day on 8th Sept, with a yellow alert in Mumbai. I was leaving for my new job the next day and had gone to visit my grandparents before leaving, with the car since the Creta and Fortuner were both not at home.

It was just drizzling when I started back for home but as I reached closer to home the rain started pelting harder with the wind speed picking up as well.

I took a right turn towards the road that leads towards home, was at just 3-5 kmph having just completed the right turn and bang a branch glass from a tree above and smashes the windshield and that was that.

I didn’t know what to do at the moment since the BEST bus stop right ahead of me had people absolutely stare in horror at what just happened. I didn’t get down and take a picture of the damage or the branch that caused the damage and quickly came home which was less than a kilometre away (a mistake on my part).

Came home quickly told my parents what had happened, called the Manager who had serviced my car at Infinity Turbhe just a few days back and he connected me to the Insurance person at their service centre and got started the insurance procedure.

Once my mom arrived home, we went back to the site and took a few pictures of the branch that was still lying there and the surroundings.

Infinity Turbhe’s flatbed couldn’t be arranged the same day as it was already 3PM when the insurance process started and we stay in Powai. The next day the flatbed was late since it was attending to a Lamborghini, but it came nonetheless. And the car was flat-bedded to the service centre.

We have ICICI Lombard’s insurance and they sorted everything at the earliest. The invoice was generated on 11th Sept with the surveyor doing his due-diligence of what all will be covered by the Insurance and the car was back with us on 16th Sept.

Parts changed and used:
- Windshield (Part No: 51317399023)
- Bump Stop x10 (Part No: 51317288462)
- Cleaner R1 for the windshield (Part No: 83192211217)
- Wind cover (Part No: 51317399014)
- Sound Insulation x2 (Part No: 51489493821)
- Rain Sensor (Part No: 61355A70A02)
- Set of wipers (Part No: 61617469821) (The wipers were changed a few days back at the time of servicing but since they had glass stuck on them there was no other option)
- Roundel (Badge) since it had a few scratches (Part No: 51147463684)
- Grommet x2 for the roundel (Part No: 51141807495)
- Removed dents on the bonnet and painted the same.

The entire job was invoiced to a total of ₹1.78L out of which we had to pay ₹3k and the rest was taken care of by ICICI Lombard. A seamless claim process in all.

The branch circled in white that fell vertically on the windshield causing a piece of wood to be still stuck in the broken windshield as can be seen in the below attached pictures.

The flat bed arrived and took the car to the service centre by covering it so that rain doesn’t enter the cabin, not at all a good sight to see your car going on a flatbed. Our first car ever to be flat-bedded.

Eventhough I may have been unlucky that day, I consider myself extremely fortunate at the same time for these reasons:
- The branch fell on the passenger side of the windshield.
- Thankfully there was no one with me in the car at that time.
- The sunshade of the sunroof was open and thankfully the branch didn’t shatter the sunroof and fall on me.
- The whole damn tree didn’t fall on the car or me.

I felt extremely bad that all this happened right a day before I was leaving for my first job to a new city and state in India. But everything has to be experienced once in life!

Anyways what’s done can’t be changed, the car came back like it was on day one. Although I couldn’t check what all was done, I did a video call to check the car completely and the work was approved by my parents including the rain sensor working, one of the most important aspect in a job like this.

Did a small Pooja for the car on 19th Sept Ganesh Chaturthi and the car has been running smoothly w/o any issues as reported by parents.

PS: Why did I add this last part to the ownership review, when I could’ve simply hidden this episode in the car’s life, is simple. There is absolutely no reason to hide something like this just to be found out by a buyer when I go to sell the car in the future.

[bordeaux]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

Another first was giving the car to my chauffeur and experiencing the back seat for a considerable amount of time. It’s more than comfortable but that itch to shift to the driver’s seat in a BMW came back soon enough and I was back on the driver’s seat :

Attachment 2520836

No, no, no, no, NOOO. This is a mistake. If I had a chauffeur, the chauffeur will be chauffeured while I chauffeur the chauffeur! Good to know that you corrected the mistake sooner than later

[FIAT3031]

Looking for suggestions in a used X3 [40k kms].
Any tell tales or signs that I should be wary of ?

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by FIAT3031

Looking for suggestions in a used X3 [40k kms].
Any tell tales or signs that I should be wary of ?

Missed your post, really sorry about that

The most common issue I’ve seen with the G01 X3 are the rear tires showing un-even wear, where the inner side of the tire shows more wear than the outer side.

This causes a humming sound at a particular speed other than that to my best knowledge I haven’t seen or heard of anything else.

Also the stock tire size of 245/50/R19 is very hard to find since most tubeless tires are 255/50/R19s or 235/55/R18s and the only available 245/50/R19s are the Bridgestone Alenza RFTs that come with the car in the market.

Do check the service history and get a paid 360° check-up done by an authorised BMW service centre.

I was seeing pre-owned prices of the G01 X3s in the market recently and they’re surely very attractively priced !!

Best of luck

[CEF_Beasts]

2.5 years and 10,000 kms Update

Sorry for being MIA for so long, with no major update in this thread since October ’23.

The car has been doing great, I was away at my work location in AP and the car wasn’t being driven much by my parents as well. By Mid-March the car was at the 9.6 - 9.7k kms mark.

I had to definitely be there when the car hit the 10k kms mark. I planned my trip to Mumbai in such a way that I would get my wisdom tooth extracted as the first thing when I land and also attend BMW’s JoyTown later in the week.

Subsequently, a trip to Pune was planned on the 15th, where I had a meeting. I clubbed the Pune plan with Lonavla, where I would be attending The Valley Run (Summer Edition) ‘24, as a spectator, being held at the Aamby Valley Air Strip.

With my wisdom tooth extracted on 6th April, I was on bed-rest till the 10th. After which I started going out and the first thing I did was getting the car’s interior and exterior professionally cleaned and waxed.

Got the work done at Wurth Car Care in Hiranandani Powai. Have mentioned the details and cost in this thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/mumba...ai-mumbai.html (Wurth Car Care | Powai, Mumbai)

A picture post the work done.

Next, attended JoyTown on the 12th and 13th. This time the JoyTown was more concert-oriented, damn expensive and was organised by BookMyShowLive, the crowds were absolutely unimaginable on Saturday when Diljit Dosanjh was performing…

Enroute to the JoyTown




The F90 LCI M5 Duo were the showstoppers, standing outside on Day-1, they took part on Day-2 in the Drift Show.








The Toronto Red M4 on display was a real Magnet.


BMW’s Twilight Purple hits different when sunlight falls on it.

Me being a car-guy, I was more interested in the cars on display and the Drift Show that took place. If someone asks me name that one car that really took my breath away at the JoyTown event, then it has to be the XM, undoubtedly!

The exterior is a love-it or hate-it affair, but my god that interior is just something else !! The sheer quality, the sense of occasion, the soft leather used at all touch points, the headliner and sunroof really stood out and space on offer, really need to be experienced to believe it…

I had missed the Drift Show last year, so it was something I absolutely didn’t want to miss this year around. One of the many videos that I managed to capture of the Drift Show, for some reason the quality is not the best…

https://youtu.be/GoxxFeBTCzs?feature=shared

2x M4s and M2 were part of the Drift Show on Day-1

The Chainsmokers and Diljit’s performances were epic as well, but these were anyways secondary to me.

“The Chainsmokers”

BMW owners got some goodies if they presented their keys at the Merchandise section setup at the event. The goodies included a White JoyTown Cap (a Black JoyTown Cap was being given to the VIP and Lounge members), a transparent drink sipper with a BMW tag around it and some benefits when the car visits the service centre, which can be availed before 31st July 2024. Benefits include 20% discount on parts, accessories, discounts on the Pre-Monsoon check-up and the likes.

Since the car would be hitting the 10k kms mark immediately the next day, decided to buy a few official BMW accessories for the car to keep it fresh.

These included:
- Floating Wheel Caps (Set of 4)
- M Performance Key Cover
- BMW Logo Door Projector (the ///M Logo one)

Awaiting brick-bats, for getting the ///M logo accessories for a non-M car, in fact not even a M-Sport car . But nonetheless these small things will help keep the car fresh for a longer period of time. Also these parts are obnoxiously overpriced, I bought them only because they were being offered at a reasonable discount. Paid ~₹17k in total for these three parts.

Met a few family friends at JoyTown, who I didn’t know were also coming and the curtains dropped on the event. Two days gone by in a blink…

Meanwhile, I had booked our stay in Lonavla for the night of 14th of April, in such a way that I could attend The Valley Run ‘24 and also join the Expressway as soon as possible on 15th April morning for my meeting in Pune.

The car hit the 10,000km mark on the Eastern Expressway as we took the turn towards Mankhurd, heading towards Lonavla. We went through the Eastern Freeway, since I wanted to try out the new Atal Setu / MTHL. What a brilliant piece of engineering it is !!

The 10,000km milestone.

A quick stop for a cold coffee at the Food Mall before the Ghat starts, where I coincidentally managed to capture 3 Beamers standing side-by-side. I got down to capture mine and the Tanzanite Blue 6GT. The sun was scorching and I took the picture and went inside, it was only afterwards in the evening that I realised there was an M340i besides the 6GT as well.

”The Three (Beamers) Musketeers”

The Aamby Valley Air Strip was around 26-27kms from where we were staying. Checked into our hotel at 3PM, freshened up and left for the event at 3:45PM. The road leading to Aamby Valley is a joy to drive on and you can really hoon your car on the fast sweeping curves.

Reached the Air Strip and parked up our car where there was parking available and entered. The event like my friend had told me, just a day before, is always messed up in terms of following the time schedule. It must definitely be hard to manage it considering there are so many participants and events taking place together.

The bike races that were supposed to start at 10:30 - 11 AM in the morning started at 3:30 PM and of course everything after that was delayed as well. The Supercar Parade and 4W races were supposed to start at 4:30PM which I had actually gone to see but like mentioned everything was delayed.

Some pictures of the various cars at the Event, I couldn’t manage to click all of them…

McLaren Artura


India’s Fastest Pre-LCI M5


The subtle mods on this Hilux, really made me fall in love with one, including the Hot Wheels sticker! Now even I want a Hilux :’)


Imran Majid’s 1400hp Wild Child, that has a parachute attached at the back, to help stop it


Another Godzilla R35


Sanam Sekhon’s (a.k.a India’s Drift King) 2JZ swapped Lexus GS 300.


Met Parth Gohil from the Motorbeam Team
(who is also a T-BHPian)

Met my friends who were present on both days of TVR ‘24, a major issue that they faced was the absolute non-availability of a washroom anywhere on the Airstrip, not even a temporary setup. I didn’t understand how can the organisers organise such a massive event where there are Female spectators and participants taking part as well, and yet not have a bloody washroom !!

We drove to the nearest washroom which was some 9kms away one-way. And this stretch is where I got to really hoon the X3. Oh, what joy! Sports mode activated, adaptive dampers stiffened and attacking each corner as it came… As I have mentioned earlier and in other threads as well Adaptive Dampers are a real game-changer, without the need of having the expensive Air-Suspension !!

There was lots of dust around the Air Strip, where we needed to park and the car was absolutely caked in it.

My Dust Trooper

I couldn’t stay for the entire duration of the event since my mother was worried about my father and I driving back from the event on those undivided and unlit roads. These roads also helped me understand the working of the Adaptive Headlights much better, including the Auto-Beam assist!! But the real event where the cars raced, I believe started post 8:30 - 9PM, which I missed. Reached our hotel by 8:10PM, had dinner by 9PM and retired for the day.

Next day since we had to head to Pune, woke up by 6:45AM, got ready, headed for breakfast at 7:30AM and checked-out of the hotel at 8AM. Joined the expressway in 5 mins flat and we were on our way to Pune.

The condition of the car, caked in dust, picture clicked the next morning.

Reached Pune by 10AM, completed my meeting by 11AM, met a college friend and his colleague at Viman Nagar with whom I had lunch and left for Mumbai.

On the way back took a slight detour through Pimpri-Chinchwad to take some photos of the JLR factory and TML PVBU gate where I had interned for 3 months in 2022. Refreshing some fond memories of one of the best 3 months I spent in Pune.

At TML’s PVBU Unit, Pimpri-Chinchwad

All the way we thought it was Sunday and why was there so much traffic entering Mumbai, we then realised it was a Monday, hence the office rush. Reached home by 7PM, got the car nicely washed for ₹250 and called it a day.

As I write this I’m on my way back to my remote work location in AP. Truth be told the last 4 days in Mumbai-Lonavla-Pune were really hectic but equally fun and rewarding !! Met a lot of car-enthusiasts and sharing the same mindset really helps in forming a bond.

By the end of the trip, the car has completed 10,400kms. The overall trip fuel economy was in the range of 10.5-11kmpl, which I consider decent for a full-time AWD petrol crossover.

Issues:- Now if many may remember that the car’s windscreen broke in Sept ‘23 and ever since I always find some shards of glass falling in the front passenger and driver footwell carpets. I’m guessing the glass pieces are still present somewhere inside the dashboard and whenever the car goes over any bad roads, these pieces fall down. Will have to get it checked when the car goes in for its service or for the Pre-Monsoon check-up. I’m sure this isn’t the first time Infinity would be changing a cracked windscreen, so I’m damn curious to understand how did they overlook such a critical point.

All in all, I’m mighty impressed by the package the X3 30i offers, it really took everything in its stride in a nonchalant manner. No roads, no problem. Very Dusty environment, absolutely no problem. Fast Sweeping Curves, no problem. Kind of becoming the One Car for all situations for me. The RFTs do make the ride stiff, and the car has a stiff edge to the way in which it handles bad roads, compared to its chief competitors the GLC, Q5 and XC60. Now only if the rear-seats could be reclined. Other than that I have absolutely no complaints. It’s neither too big nor too small as well for our road conditions. Just lovin’ the experience.

That’s all from my end this time, until the next update .