[AutoConsultant]

Originally Posted by rony.mandal

Wonderful thread sir! Your wheels look classy and cool especially with the RJ backdrops!

Quick question: are the windows tinted from factory or are you using any 3M garware sun films? Or sunshades on the glasses?

Whatever they are they look very good indeed!

Hey, just saw your post. I am just using the netted sunshades available in the market. Yes the sun protection is decent but the fit is not, the rear door one keeps coming out whenever you open that door.

[AutoConsultant]

Work from Mountains - Trip to Manali

About the Trip
As the cases started coming down and restrictions started to ease up a little, my wife and I planned to have a semi-WFH trip along with my friend and his wife. We had planned to leave on 19th June, stay overnight at Chandigarh and reach Manali on 20th. We spent the entire week there and come back directly to Delhi on 27th.

A. Chandigarh
We had booked Holiday Inn Panchkula assuming that it should be good and safe given that it is a five star. However, the service was pathetic. We had to wait for more than an hour to get our rooms despite arriving after the check-in time. Some customers got their check-in done as late as 5pm. I wanted to give them the benefit of doubt given that they would be reopening after a long time and staff might be short but didn’t see any such issues, it was plain lack of management. In the evening we went to Nik Bakers for dinner as we had loved this place when we used to visit Chandigarh about 4-5 years back. They were also a little overwhelmed by the crowd but the food was decent.

B. Manali

Route - We left around 9 AM for Manali. The roads were excellent with a few bad patches in between. We took the Chandigarh – Bilaspur – Mandi – Kamand – Bajaura – Kullu – Manali route. The Mandi to Bajaura route was an alternate to the main highway and was much narrower but the roads were brilliant. I had a lot of fun driving on those twisty roads.

Accommodation – We had booked an AirBnB managed by a wing of FabHotels called HomePlus. They have a wide variety of listings on AirBnB with amazing photos. When we reached the place we had booked (HomePlus Turquoise 3 BHK) it was slightly different from the photos. It was primarily a 2BHK with one large room having views and everything and the other room was smelling and was missing a window. We talked to the caretaker, complained to Fabhotels and asked for a refund on the initial deposit. On the side, my friend was talking to another HomePlus property which we had earlier considered and this time we were coordinating directly with the manager, cutting out AirBnB’s and Fabhotels’ commissions. We got a decent deal there for an apartment with 2 bedrooms, one living room and kitchen. This was a hotel-cum-BnB arrangement and was brilliantly maintained. Our package included buffet breakfast which also had a good spread of variety with excellent quality.




Outside view of the appartment


Living room


Bedroom




View from the rooms


View from the rooms


View from the location


View from the location

Trips around Manali –
Jogini Waterfalls – On Wednesday early morning we went for a short trek to Jogini waterfalls starting near Vashisht Temple. It was a half an hour trek to the base of the waterfall and as it was early morning it was quite peaceful with only a handful of people around


Jogini Waterfall

Rohtang Pass – As non-HP cars are not allowed to the pass now, we hired an Innova to take us to the Pass. The route from Manali to Rohtang pass was quite scenic and it was beautiful at the top as well. It was a little crowded, so we tried to find an ice-covered slope which was less crowded. It also started raining and the droplets turned into ice so we had these small particles being pushed into out face by the strong winds. I don’t know whether I can call it a snowfall or not but it was quite enjoyable. We asked our driver to take the other route while returning which would make us pass through the Atal Tunnel and then enter Manali. This route was one-way and you could only go down from Rohtang Pass and can’t come up. With very few cars around and a different landscape, this journey was also very pleasant. We passed through the Atal Tunnel as well – looks quite modern, comparable to tunnels of more developed countries like Norway, strict speed limits and escape routes.





Kasol – A short day trip planned with my wife and I only. The Kasol to Manali route is also quite scenic and well made. We went to the Evergreen café to grab a quick bite and then sat on the riverside of the Parvati river during the evening. Also made a short trip to the Manikarn gurudwara and came back to Manali by 9.



Manali Cafes – Visited Café 1947 and Café Black Pearl – both riverside places with nice ambience and decent food.

About the Car
This was the first (of many) mountain trip for my City and I was excited to see how it tackles the slopes as well as bad patches of roads. All-in-all I would say it did not disappoint.

Space – The boot is simply massive! We were able to keep 4 medium sized suitcases, one small carton and one small bag relatively easily.

Ride and Comfort – It was the first time I was sitting on the rear seats on a long drive. The seats are very supportive with acres of legroom. The suspension setup is also on the softer side which absorbs most of the smaller bumps. The rear air-con vents also have a decent air throw and actually do their work well. The rear armrest should have been a little higher though, it does not have a horizontal locking mechanism and rests on the seat. Rear headrests’ position is also good but should have been adjustable for a car of this segment. The Front seats are best in class and I prefer them as compared to the rear seats (my wife feels otherwise).

Drive – On straight highways there was never any instance when you wanted more and the engine couldn’t deliver. The stability at speeds 100-110 was also quite good. However, with 4 people and their luggage, the drive on the hilly roads was a bit more demanding, needing a lot of downshifts. Although the car was mostly being driven in 2nd or 3rd gear, we had to put it into 1st for several steep slopes. The steering is very responsive and accurate and instills you with confidence on these narrow hilly roads where precision is important. Also, the car did sit slightly lower than usual due to max load but faced GC issues only on a couple of occasions on under construction roads. The return drive was 13 hour long but they just flew by due to the excellent front seats.

I specially want to mention my trip from Kasol to Manali. The weather was pleasant, there were only 2 people in the car with no luggage, no need of AC – Sunroof down and the car was simply flying! Thoroughly enjoyed all the curves and overtakes on the route.

Fuel Economy - Indicated around 13.5 kmpl on the instrument cluster for a total round trip of 1455 km. Manual calculations gave the figure of 13.1. I feel these are pretty decent given a large chunk of drive was on hilly roads with full load of 4 passengers and their luggage.














Thanks for reading!

[AutoConsultant]

Forgot about one point - experienced Hill Assist for the first time! The car stays at its place on a slope for about 3-4 sec after you release the brake so that you can quickly change into a lower gear. I used to think it is a gimmicky feature but found it quite useful once you get used to it.

[vredesbyrd]

That's quite an experience for WFH. 1.5 N.A. must be fun on the hills. But forgive my lack of knowledge, why aren't non-HP cars not allowed bto Rohtang? That's illegal.

[AutoConsultant]

Originally Posted by vredesbyrd

That's quite an experience for WFH. 1.5 N.A. must be fun on the hills. But forgive my lack of knowledge, why aren't non-HP cars not allowed bto Rohtang? That's illegal.

Now that we have an alternate route to cross the Rohtang Pass (Atal Tunnel), they are trying to restrict traffic and keep pollution levels in check. I think there is a per day limit also on the number of vehicles as well by NGT (800 petrol and 400 diesel).

I was also a little agitated by this but these roads and passes are essentially built for the army and tourism is just a by-product. So it's fine if they want to control the movement of people and boost the local economy.

[gulerianeeraj]

Amazing write up and one hell of a WFH
1. You should try treehouse cottages before Manali. That is one experience one should never miss out on. They’re located near Katrain and Naggar area. Though I’m sure considering the heavy tourist inflow bookings are going to be a little tricky.

2. If you’re a fish lover you must Himalayan Rainbow trout. There are numerous fish farms along Kullu Manali road. There is one undertaken by Govt fisheries department near Patlikuhal.

3. Though there are numerous treks in and around Manali you can actually hire a veh (preferably Gypsey or Sumo) and try Hamta Pass trek. It is unexplored and one good place to be away from the bling bang of Manali.

4. Last point are Questions
a. What about Ground clearance? Did your vehicle scrapped underbelly anywhere?
b. What is the status of the road being constructed from Mandi to Kullu (Due to which you had to take a detour). Are vehicles allowed to move?

[AutoConsultant]

Originally Posted by gulerianeeraj

Amazing write up and one hell of a WFH
1. You should try treehouse cottages............

1. Thanks, will consider such a place next time. This time we wanted a more apartment type of thing with a kitchen and decent internet connectivity for work
2. Not much of a fish person
3. Yes we did consider it but couldn't find time in our schedule. I have been to the Khirganga trek a couple of years back and wanted to something similar this time also
4. a. It did, a couple of times I think on some under construction roads but was more of a touch than a shunt and that too because of the load (4 people plus luggage)
b. We took the detour completely by chance courtesy Google maps but after coming back via the main highway, we felt the detour was much better simply because it had fully constructed roads. Large parts of the main highway are still under construction so the road is broken at a lot of stretches and dirt flying everywhere. No restriction on traffic movement though