[tazmaan]

After my first solo trip last year http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...eli-goa-2.html it was again that time of the year.

I had originally planned for Pondicherry but changed my mind post riots in Bangalore as tension were still high between the two states.

Background:

Post my previous solo experience I was itching to do this again. Also I had booked an Isuzu V-cross and thought that it would be just perfect to take the new car again on a solo trip.

After some research I decided to go to Ranthambore.

The Route:

There were two options to drive to Ranthambore.

1- Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Chittorgarh-Kota-Sawai Madhopur
2- Mumbai-Indore-Kota-Sawai Madhopur

I decided to go with the Udaipur route since I had driven on this route before and I was comfortable with a known route.


Preparation:

1. Make sure car is prepared like checking tire pressure, oil level, coolant level etc. Even though it was new car I did all the checks to be certain.

2. Check the camera I have a Canon SCLR with a variety of lenses. Make sure everything is charged and cleaned. Empty memory card to make space for new pics.

3. Pack Swiss knife, Charger for mobile, tool kit, Spare Car key, Update music, set GPS route and fill up diesel.

4. I did install (For Emergency) a tracking app on my cell phone called life360. It allows people permitted my me to keep a track of my location.

Once this was done I was set for the trip.

Disclaimer:

I have not put the map since it is a straight forward route.
I have not put a lot of everyday details like Lunch/Dinner etc to keep it simple.
I have not put any details on Expense incurred since I am not comfortable.
People with specific cost queries can PM me.

[tazmaan]

Date : 3rd October 2016
Travel Time: 4:30 AM to 10:00 PM
Distance Covered:

I had around 1150 kms to cover in one day and thats a lot of driving for 1 person. I decided to start early and left early morning at 4:30 Am.

Following Halts were taken:

1. Breakfast near Navsari at McDonalds
2. Fuel Refill break at Ahmedabad
3. Lunch Break at Chittorgarh
4. Fuel Refill just before Kota
5. Several nature breaks

I have driven upto Udaipur several times and it was absolutely smooth sailing upto Udaipur. But just before Udaipur the weather got really bad and it started raining. This slowed me down considerably, it continued to rain till I reached Chittorgarh. Also the traffic on Udaipur bypass road was very slow moving upto the Udaipur Airport exit.

The Highway from Chittorgarh to Kota is just phenomenal (SH27) and one of the best stretches of roads I have driven on. I managed to reach near Kota around 7:30PM and with only 142 kms to go I took it easy with a long break post refueling. Only if knew that Map My India is going to take me on non existing roads.

I was asked to turn left and exit the SH27 just before Kota which I did. But that road was under construction and a couple of cops/security guided me through the fields with no road. It was my first taste of off roading in V-cross and was not a very good experience since it was already dark.

I lost almost an hour for 10 kms of driving and was exhausted at the end of it. Further I joined the correct route (which I should have taken) and the road from there to Sawai Madhopur is full of potholes except for last 45 kms which is good. To add to it everyone driving on that road was keen to kill me with their headlights, using high beams which made it difficult for me to spot the craters on the road. This stretch is easier to drive on during the day time.

Finally I did manage to reach the hotel Tiger Machan at the end of a deserted road at 10:00 PM.

I checked in, booked my safari for 6AM next morning had dinner and went off to sleep.

Few Pics from Day one and early day 2.

Starting Odo



Breakfast At Mc-Donalds Navsari



Rain on Udaipur bypass road



On Chittorgarh - Kota highway SH27




Mileage


Total Distance and Average Speed


Total Driving time



Parking lot picture next day morning

[tazmaan]

Date: 4th Oct 2016
Driving not much just local.

Two safaries were scheduled for the day the 1st one at 6am and 2nd one at 2:30pm

The morning Safari was in Zone 6 and was very ok. I did manage to spot a couple of Jackals.

The Evening Safari was at Zone 2 where I did manage to spot 2 Leopards but they were difficult to click. The leopards were very well camouflaged.

Some pictures from the safari.

My Hotel Tent



Pics from Safari











Spot the Leopard



Fresh Tiger Pug Marks



No Tigers for me on 1st day of Safari.

[tazmaan]

Date : 5th Oct 2016
Driving: Lots of Slushy off road.


Again for this day I had 2 Safaris Scheduled 1st one at 6 am and 2nd one at 2:30pm.

The first safari was at Zone 5 and this is where I managed to get my Tiger sighting.

The place where I used to park my car when on safari.



Pics from Morning Safari













And the 'Star' Male Tiger







This was the morning Safari but the Evening safari was a different story. I got Zone 8 and it had started to rain post lunch. Most of the safaris got canceled since it did not stop raining. The more adventurous ones decided to carry on in the rain and I was one of them.

I had to leave my camera back since it was raining. I drove my car upto the entry point of zone 8 which was a muddy off road trail. I don't have many pics here since I was not carrying my Camera but I do have a couple of videos from my phone which I took on relatively straight patch of off-roading. I wished I could record the whole off-road episode or If I had someone else in the car who could take the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXdS...ature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYcx...ature=youtu.be

[tazmaan]

Date: 6th and 7th October 2016

This was my return Journey. I decided to take a halt at Ahmedabad since I was tired of all the early morning safaris and a straight drive would have been too much.

I had missed seeing the Ranthambore Fort since it was raining yesterday. So i decided to start relatively late at 7:00am, Visit the Ranthambore fort and leave for Ahmedabad. There is not much to write about the return Journey except that I was stuck in a terrible traffic Jam on Udaipur by pass route. I managed to reach Ahmedabad at 6:30 Pm

I reached Mumbai the next day i.e. 7th around 2:30 PM.

Drive to the Fort


Pics at Fuel Pump at Manor





Accident just before entering Mumbai caused a Jam.



End of trip Meter readings








Other Things about the V-cross


1. The V-Cross behaved very well on the highway and is a brilliant cruiser.
2. The power is more than adequate to overtake any slower moving vehicles.
3. Top speed done was 130 Kmph on return journey on Ahmedabad-Baroda Express way.
4. I didn't keep track of the Tolls but they were plenty and certainly time consuming.
5. The V-cross gathers a lot attention and there were other people who would just drive around me on the highway which was getting hazardous after some time.
6. The Average from tank-full method consistently returned around 11 kmpl except when I was in Ranthambore.
7. Rough patches on the road are dispatched without any fuss.
8. Headlights are more than enough for me.
7. There is some wind noise post 120 but nothing major.
8. Braking is very good on the car and confidence inspiring.

[SDP]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Turbanator]

Other Things about the V-cross

nice travelogue, what about infamous jerks? did you felt these, especially after driving at low speed in traffic?

[tazmaan]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

nice travelogue, what about infamous jerks? did you felt these, especially after driving at low speed in traffic?

No I am not aware of any Jerks, only niggle I might say is occasional steering rattle noise (plastic type in cabin) when gliding over rough patches. Also you can feel the road surface on the steering wheel when on rough road. I feel the car transfers all the road feedback to the steering wheel. I will get this checked soon.

[Fullrevs]

Lovely travelogue tazmaan! Hoping to emulate yours since I am planning to get a V-Cross. Confused between the V-Cross and something from the other end of the spectrum.

Is the cover for the back part of Isuzu's accessories or did you get it installed at a third party store? I've heard the Air Conditioner isn't great when left on for long periods of time which may have been the case while you were on the highway covering 100kms + non-stop?!

[eltoro]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

No I am not aware of any Jerks, only niggle I might say is occasional steering rattle noise (plastic type in cabin) when gliding over rough patches. Also you can feel the road surface on the steering wheel when on rough road. I feel the car transfers all the road feedback to the steering wheel. I will get this checked soon.

The official team-bhp review states that the ride is quite bumpy even on city roads and when the vehicle is not loaded due to the leafspring suspension at the rear. I was planning to buy the V-Cross as a replacement for my Scorpio but have decided not to buy because of this observation made in the review and also due to the extreme non-responsiveness and lack of interest on part of the sales folks at JMD Isuzu at Navi Mumbai to sell me the vehicle. If their attitude towards a prospective buyer is such, then I shudder to think how would they treat customers after they buy the vehicle.

[tazmaan]

Originally Posted by eltoro

The official team-bhp review states that the ride is quite bumpy even on city roads and when the vehicle is not loaded due to the leafspring suspension at the rear. I was planning to buy the V-Cross as a replacement for my Scorpio but have decided not to buy because of this observation made in the review and also due to the extreme non-responsiveness and lack of interest on part of the sales folks at JMD Isuzu at Navi Mumbai to sell me the vehicle. If their attitude towards a prospective buyer is such, then I shudder to think how would they treat customers after they buy the vehicle.

I would suggest that you take a test drive first. I have had very good response and support from JMD which included 3 test drives. I found the ride to be tolerable and not a deal breaker, there are many other things which are good.

But if you are looking at a primary vehicle I suggest you look elsewhere because the sheer size of this vehicle makes it impractical for daily use. This is more of a 2nd or 3rd Vehicle which would purely be bought either for a purpose or as a hobby.

[TwistedFaith]

Originally Posted by tazmaan

I would suggest that you take a test drive first. I have had very good response and support from JMD which included 3 test drives. I found the ride to be tolerable and not a deal breaker, there are many other things which are good.

But if you are looking at a primary vehicle I suggest you look elsewhere because the sheer size of this vehicle makes it impractical for daily use. This is more of a 2nd or 3rd Vehicle which would purely be bought either for a purpose or as a hobby.

Have escalated your feedback (@eltoro) to the MD of JMD. Hope you have a better experience if you try again.

If you are using a scorpio - you really don't need to worry about the ride quality. Even unladen I felt this was a far superiour vehicle to drive. Don't take anyone else's word for it - do a TD and judge for yourself.

Given that you are not using a small vehicle at the moment - Scorpio may be a bit smaller but it's no hot hatch - you may not find the size a problem either.

My experience (and this is backed up by other owners too) is that this is our primary vehicle of choice for putting into traffic jams on the way to work... tiny multi level car parks in malls and narrow roads in the local marketplace... no issues so far... we have switched from a Getz, older Fiesta and Honda City respectively. The size was a minor issue on day #1... by day #3 it felt as natural to drive this beast as any other vehicle I have driven.

[TwistedFaith]

@Mods: I am not able to send private messages or even edit my existing messages. Apologies in advance for the double post.
[Edit: Clarification - the rule is that you cannot edit a post more than 30 minutes after posting. My mistake. If this can be merged with the previous post that would be really great]

@eltoro: Can't PM you due to my rank - can you PM me your contact details - someone from JMD should be in touch asap.

From the feedback we got on the group (V-Cross Owners Group) JMD is very highly rated and considered almost on par with Krishna (Chandigarh) in terms of responsiveness and service...

[Shivanshu]

Nice one #tazmaan, nice travelogue. As you have traveled a bit on the D-Max I have few questions regarding it:

1. How do you think this vehicle is for a Primary vehicle for a Person?
2. How do you compare it with Tata Xenon or Mahindra Getaway?
3. How is the back seat in accommodating passengers?
4. Whats the average Service Cost?

Thanks in advance for answering these question.

[tazmaan]

May answers in bold below.

Originally Posted by Shivanshu

Nice one #tazmaan, nice travelogue. As you have traveled a bit on the D-Max I have few questions regarding it:

1. How do you think this vehicle is for a Primary vehicle for a Person?

The vehicle has all the comfort needed and expected from a modern car so it can cater as a primary car. Make sure you have parking at places you frequent like Office/Home

2. How do you compare it with Tata Xenon or Mahindra Getaway?
Not driven either so can't comment. I have only sat in Xenon a couple of times
3. How is the back seat in accommodating passengers?
Back seats are wide and have enough legroom. I find them comfortable, the back rest is a little erect but not as much as Tata Xenon. I intent to sacrifice some legroom for a slightly angled back with cushioning when I install Leather seat covers

4. Whats the average Service Cost?
No service done yet, the first oil change is at 20000 kms

Thanks in advance for answering these question.