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Old 6th October 2013, 00:55   #1
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Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Hello everyone,


This is my first travelouge in Team-Bhp and it also happened to be my fist long distance travel in a car.

Goa... The idea of visiting Goa came to us in 2012. My friend, an IT employee from Bangalore suggested this trip to Goa from Bangalore in his Hyundai i10. We almost got ready to make the trip, but failed miserably.

Then came 2013, I got my new Honda Amaze S mt Diesel. Unfortunately, my best friend got an on site opportunity and could not come with us to the trip. This trip is for around 2200km I was a little bit scared on doing this trip in a brand new car. But experts in Team-Bhp suggested me to go for it.


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-rjpm-goa-jpeg.jpg


Got my car delivered on 4th August 2013 and decided immediately that we would make the Goa trip as soon as possible. October 2,3,4 and 5 was fixed as our journey dates.

Day 1: (01/10/13)


Since I am from Rajapalayam, I started by October 1st 11a.m and reached Bangalore via Madurai, Salem and Hosur on NH 208 and NH7.The route is excellent and the stretch between Karur to Krishnagiri is one of the best and well maintained roads in Tamil Nadu.


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-1.jpg


Total distance is 522km and toll charges came to Rs.500. Reached Bangalore at 9:00 p.m with lots and lots of pit stops and one lunch break for 1/2 hour.


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-2.jpg


Had an excellent drive with 100-120kmph as constant at all the time except for one idiot who came in the wrong direction and gave me a slight heart attack by stopping in the middle of the road horizontally. As usual, I gave him an angry Rajini Kanth look and continued my journey.


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-3.jpg


The car on board kmpl calculator showed 21.8kmpl for this trip which included moderate traffic in Madurai area and Heavy traffic from Hosur to Bangalore. Full tank to full tank method calculation gave me 20.8kmpl.

Calculation:
Trip start 1194 to 1716 => 522km
Diesel consumed : 25ltr.
So, 522/25 = 20.88


Trust me friends, 25kmpl is easily achievable if we drive at a constant 80kmph. And one more thing, it is now cheaper to drive a car for a family of 4 or more than to take the private or public buses.

Day 2: (02/10/13)


Original plan was to start by 4:00 a.m in the morning and reach Goa by 1 p.m because of our check in time in the resort… But, we started from Bangalore by 4:45 a.m (late as usual) and took the NH4 which is an absolute buttery smooth road with less toll charges than the ones in Tamil Nadu.



Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-blore-goa.jpg


Of course, there were some diversions and bad patches in some places but it is worth the money spent. It is safe to say that this road is a 4 way and not a 6 way because in most places, the 6th way was under construction.


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-4.jpg


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-6.jpg


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Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-27.jpg


Though I knew very well that there is a Kamat restaurant at Ranebennur, we were hungry like hell and started discussing about dishes which made us stop at the next hotel at 8:30 a.m. We had breakfast in a roadside hotel at Anagodu which is near Davanagere and continued our journey towards Hubli. The roads were excellent, a proper 4 way road, less toll fee, less traffic etc., but…


There is a small stretch of say 10km near Harihar which is supposed to be a four way lane but there were traffic every were. It passes through a village next to Harihar and people do not care about right or wrong sides. Please be careful at this stretch.


Once we reached New Hubli, there were some bad stretches (as usual) and started climbing small hills which were cut in half to make way for the roads laid in between them. I remembered Cars animation movie at that time. Friends who have not seen the movie, please go ahead and watch it. Actual hill climbing started at Alnawar and the roads were acceptable to a certain point and became worst towards Garli. The fuel level was low and so, I filled her up with 10ltrs of diesel. The views were excellent after Garli and it started raining a lot towards Molem. We lost our hope of enjoying in Goa seeing the rain but…


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-24.jpg


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Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-11.jpg


The rain got settled once we reached Ponda and we reached our destination Castle House Resort, Calanguate by 4:00 p.m. Total journey timing is 11:15 hrs with multiple pit stops and one long stop breakfast stop. Resort is well maintained and food is also good. Got refreshed as soon as possible and went to the Calanguate Beach which is approximately 500 mtr from the resort had fun, came back to the resort and crashed into bed.

Day 3: (03/10/13)


Got up early in the morning and washed my car. (This is the first time I am cleaning my car and it happened to be in Goa).



Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-12.jpg


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-13.jpg


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Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-17.jpg


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-18.jpg


We got ready and went to Aguada Fort which is 6km from Calanguate, went for a boat ride to see dolphins and came back to Baga beach for lunch. Had lunch at Britto’s which was excellent. Please do not miss this place. It’s a little pricey, but its worth it. Enjoyed a lot at Baga beach, came back to our rooms and went inside the city for Paradise Cruise ride at 6 p.m and entered Casino Royal by 8:30 p.m. End of day 3.

Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-19.jpg


For all the Petrol Heads in the forum, Check the prices:


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-20.jpg


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-21.jpg


Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-34.jpg
Day 4: (04/10/13)


Got up late in the morning, had breakfast by 11:00, filled the tank and calculated the kmpl. On board indicator showed 20.58 and our calculation showed 19.47kmpl.

Calculation:
Trip start 1716 to 2417 => 701km
Diesel consumed : 36ltr (including the 10 liters filled yesterday.)
So, 701/36 = 19.47


Started our journey back to Bangalore the same way. We thought of changing the route via Karwar, Ankola, Udupi and Mangalore but…
My uncle asked me to pick up some stuff from his home at Ponda and we finally decided to use the same route and started by 12:00p.m and reached Bangalore by 11:00p.m. When I parked the car at Bangalore, the Odometer read this…

Day 5: (05/10/13)


Being a Saturday and I had originally planned to reach Rajapalayam by Sunday, we slept like kumbakarnas and will have to start early in the morning. Will definitely post another Tank full to tank full mileage check up once I reach Rajapalayam.

Regards,


Guru...
Attached Thumbnails
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Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel-goa-trip-32.jpg  

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Old 6th October 2013, 11:41   #2
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re: Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Hi Guru,
Thanks for sharing this experience, well written and a good set of pics, was hoping for some pics of the beautiful scenery on the Karwar stretch. I'm sure this will always be a special trip for you as this was the first long trip on your new ride. Wish you many many more miles of memorable and safe motoring.
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Old 6th October 2013, 19:41   #3
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Hello friends, am on my way to Rajapalayam. Being a Sunday, I started by 12:00pm from Bangalore. The odometer read 3000kms. Have driven 440kms now. Am near Madurai at a roadside teashop admiring my ride which is truly exciting and entertaining as each and every mile it munches.

I am feeling sad cos I have only 60 more km to drive home.

Will let you know my avg fuel consumption in full tank method tomorrow. As of now, the on board trip meter shows as 23.8kmpl for a stretch of 400kms with full A/C on.
Its an excellent F.E considering I am doing 100+ kmph...

Cheers...
Guru.
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Old 6th October 2013, 20:52   #4
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re: Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Quote:
Originally Posted by amazingGuru67 View Post
Hello friends, am on my way to Rajapalayam. Being a Sunday, I started by 12:00pm from Bangalore. The odometer read 3000kms. Have driven 440kms now. Am near Madurai at a roadside teashop admiring my ride which is truly exciting and entertaining as each and every mile it munches.

I am feeling sad cos I have only 60 more km to drive home.

Will let you know my avg fuel consumption in full tank method tomorrow. As of now, the on board trip meter shows as 23.8kmpl for a stretch of 400kms with full A/C on.
Its an excellent F.E considering I am doing 100+ kmph...

Cheers...
Guru.
Congrats for your Amaze and this amazing drive. It sure is a fabulous car. Hope you have many more 'amazing' drives going forward.

cheers
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Old 6th October 2013, 22:05   #5
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re: Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Quote:
Originally Posted by amazingGuru67 View Post
This is my first travelouge in Team-Bhp and it also happened to be my fist long distance travel in a car.

Then came 2013, I got my new Honda Amaze S mt Diesel. This trip is for around 2200km I was a little bit scared on doing this trip in a brand new car. But experts in Team-Bhp suggested me to go for it.
Kudos to your daring for venturing into such a long trip on a brand new car . I can understand when you have a forum like TBHP to support you, nothing seems impossible. Congratulations on your brand new Amaze & completing your maiden long trip.

The mileage that you have extracted is fantastic. After the running in, it is only going to improve. I have a couple of queries though, hope you can answer it at your liesure:
  • You must be definitely having bootful of luggage, but how many people ventured with you on this journey?
  • How did the car behave on the highways? The ride, handling, braking etc?
  • Did you feel a bigger fuel tank would have helped?
  • Anything else, which you feel would have been better or you felt you was missing in the car?
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Old 6th October 2013, 23:48   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AutoIndian View Post

Kudos to your daring for venturing into such a long trip on a brand new car . I can understand when you have a forum like TBHP to support you, nothing seems impossible. Congratulations on your brand new Amaze & completing your maiden long trip.

The mileage that you have extracted is fantastic. After the running in, it is only going to improve. I have a couple of queries though, hope you can answer it at your liesure:[*]You must be definitely having bootful of luggage, but how many people ventured with you on this journey?[*]How did the car behave on the highways? The ride, handling, braking etc?[*]Did you feel a bigger fuel tank would have helped?[*]Anything else, which you feel would have been better or you felt you was missing in the car?
Thanks Auto Indian,
Regarding your queries:
1) Yes, we had a boot full of luggage and there were 3 of us and to my surprise, my ride did well in all the pot holes with no problem at all.
2) Regarding the handling, it is really amazing. I have never regretted on my decision to buy Amaze over swift dzire. Though the engine noise might be a problem in such a long drive. Hope honda would come up with a solution soon.
Breaking is precise and ABS is excellent. As I have explained in the travelogue, I was around 130kmph and an idiot came from the wrong direction and if not for ABS, I would have crashed him.
3) One would never feel the need of a bigger tank because, a full tank of diesel would probably take the car for at least 700kms for sure. Moreover, why carry an extra weight and reduce the performance and mileage of the car?
4) The main thing I felt missing from the car is Auto climate control. The AC unit in Amaze quickly chills the car and one should always reach for the knobs to shut it down.
One more thing is the Bluetooth connectivity. I had to park the car every now and then to receive a call.
Arm rest for driver would be better.
The main problem is the noise it makes. I can still hear the engine clattering in my ears.

What car do you own? Are you planning for a long drive?
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Old 7th October 2013, 09:28   #7
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re: Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Thank you amazingGuru67 for replying to my queries, appreciate it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by amazingGuru67 View Post
4) The main thing I felt missing from the car is Auto climate control. The AC unit in Amaze quickly chills the car and one should always reach for the knobs to shut it down.
ACC is a must nowadays, so we don't bother about the temperature & comfort of the passengers inside (& focus on the road ahead), wonder why Honda has skipped on such an important feature. However good to know that the AC is a chiller.

Quote:
One more thing is the Bluetooth connectivity. I had to park the car every now and then to receive a call.
Though this is a good to have feature, it can be easily overcome by using a bluetooth dongle (I am using it for the last couple of years & find it very convinient)

Quote:
Arm rest for driver would be better.
I hope you can overcome this by some good aftermarket fitment.

Quote:
The main problem is the noise it makes. I can still hear the engine clattering in my ears.
Hmnnn, I can understand. One won't mind the engine noise on the outside, but this noise should not intrude inside the cabin. Wish Honda can work upon the NVH & bring them down from the current levels. However in my opinion, the engines which make such noises are quite punchy, be it the Innova or the Vento. These start pulling quite effectively even from low revs. Amaze is in the same league.

Quote:
What car do you own? Are you planning for a long drive?
I own a humble Indica, which is 9.3 years young, crossed 131K kms. Though I can carry on with it I am planning to replace it by the middle of next year. Amaze or its soon to come MUV sibling, the Mobilio is on my radar. No long drives planned in the near future (though I have done many in the past).
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Old 7th October 2013, 13:47   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gops2009 View Post
Hi Guru,
Thanks for sharing this experience, well written and a good set of pics, was hoping for some pics of the beautiful scenery on the Karwar stretch. I'm sure this will always be a special trip for you as this was the first long trip on your new ride. Wish you many many more miles of memorable and safe motoring.
Hi gops,
We took the Garli and ponda route instead of Karwar and Margao route mainly because of time constraints.
Regards,
Guru...
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Old 8th October 2013, 15:21   #9
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Re: Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Guru, nice travelogue and amazing mileage buddy. You must have been super thrilled on your maiden long journey, sure it must have been a very proud and exciting moment for you. Wishing you miles of amazing drives.

Some more pictures of the cruise and the beach would have made it even more interesting. Cheers.
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Old 11th October 2013, 10:50   #10
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Re: Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Hey nice travelogue there buddy!! And congrats on taking up and completing such a long drive on your new Amaze!
Inspired by you, even I'm planning a long drive in my Amaze diesel to Palani and Kodaikanal this November for a friend's wedding in Palani.
I'm planning to take the route:
Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Salem - Vedasandur - Palani
Chose this route since I get to go on NH7 all the way till Vedasandur (according to google maps). Is this fine? This would be my first time drive in TN, so how are the roads in this route?
Appreciate any help from anyone. Thanks.
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Old 11th October 2013, 14:46   #11
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Re: Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Nice triplog and good pictures but I somehow could not digest that you washed the car when on a holiday

By the way even though I do not understand the language I have listened to Goa soundtracks, the background score is too good.
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Old 15th October 2013, 13:09   #12
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Re: Amazing Goa in a Honda Amaze S-MT Diesel

Hi, thanks for sharing. Can you tell us more about the resort, please? Price, maintanance the swimming pool. Can we reach the major destinations in Goa from here easily?

thanks.
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Old 15th October 2013, 13:28   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amazer2013 View Post
Hey nice travelogue there buddy!! And congrats on taking up and completing such a long drive on your new Amaze!
Inspired by you, even I'm planning a long drive in my Amaze diesel to Palani and Kodaikanal this November for a friend's wedding in Palani.
I'm planning to take the route:
Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Salem - Vedasandur - Palani
Chose this route since I get to go on NH7 all the way till Vedasandur (according to google maps). Is this fine? This would be my first time drive in TN, so how are the roads in this route?
Appreciate any help from anyone. Thanks.
Hello amazer,
Yes. The route you have chosen is excellent. Please take some time and visit Pollachi and isha yoga center in Coimbatore. Both places are excellent and will redefine you.
Regards,
Guru.

Quote:
Originally Posted by motomaverick View Post
Nice triplog and good pictures but I somehow could not digest that you washed the car when on a holiday

By the way even though I do not understand the language I have listened to Goa soundtracks, the background score is too good.
Thanks maverick,
Yup... even I felt bad after washing my car... but, it was my first wash... got excited and went with the flow...
Try hearing songs from the movie Poda Pod I...

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Quote:
Originally Posted by vrvarier View Post
Hi, thanks for sharing. Can you tell us more about the resort, please? Price, maintanance the swimming pool. Can we reach the major destinations in Goa from here easily?

thanks.
Hey vrvarier,
The resort is OK for that price point. We paid Rs.2500 for one night for 3 adults which includes free breakfast. Rooms are also good, but it is not suitable for families.

Last edited by aah78 : 14th November 2013 at 07:14. Reason: Posts merged. Please use QUOTE+ / " " MULTI-QUOTE when responding to multiple posts. Thanks!
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