[jkrkrish]

1500KM, 5 day Road Trip, Kia Sonet Turbo imt, Hampi-Gokarna-Chikmangalur

Car: Kia Sonet HTX Turbo imt.

Travellers: Myself, my other half and two adult children.

Travel Plan: A round trip Bangalore-Hampi-Gokarna-Chikmangalur-Bangalore, 5 days, 27th Nov-1st Dec 21

Our 9 month old Kia Sonet HTX Turbo imt, purchased in Feb 2010, was showing 3200KM on Odo, thanks two long distance (!!) trips; the first one was a Bangalore-Mysore-Kushal Nagar-Madikeri-Bangalore trip driving nearly 700KM during April 2020 before the first free service & the second was a Bangalore-Ooty-Coimbatore-Bangalore trip driving another 600KM in April 2021, before the second free service. Other than these, my regular daily travel was 4.6km + 4.6km up and down between my residence and office. And with the presence of my 17year old Santro Xing, which needed to be kept alive/oiled with few drives in between, the monthly regular use of Sonet stood around 150km per month.
With Covid-19 fears lessening (before O-micron made news) and with daughter's semester exam break starting, we planned a road trip Bangalore-Hampi-Gokarana -Chikmangalur- Bangalore (27thNov-1stDec 2021). Arrived at a fair-idea of the routes to be taken, places to stay and eateries for food, after few days search Team-BHP postings and google search. Like most from the younger generation, both my children were fond of exploring places and cuisine.

Day-1: Bangalore-Hampi, 345KM, NH48 & NH50, Stay in Hampi (at Little Banana Home Stay)

Started from home at 5.15AM and in good 30minutes reached the Tumkur Road Junction. The junction near Gorkantepalya was a madhouse with nobody bothering about traffic signal, and it took another 45 minutes to cross this signal and the next one 50 metres ahead. But, remained cheerful and didn't allow it to dampen my spirits. We sped along the NH48.

Stopped for breakfast at 8.00AM at Kamat Upachar. Had Masala Dosa & Vada. The food was just okay, and we arrived at the conclusion that the cook needed training in making proper dosa batter. I would suggest, better to avoid this restaurant, and the food at Shri Ratnam, Dobbaspet was way better, where we had stopped for breakfast on an earlier trip to Shivagange.

The drive to Hospet, through NH48 & NH50 was a pleasure, except for a short stretch of pot-holed road near Tumkur. We could maintain two ranges of speeds 80-100km/hr and 100-120km/hr. The long stretch of windmills over the small cliffs on the sides of highway was picturesque.

Photo: on Highway near Chitradurga


Just before reaching Hospet, I started glancing towards the left hand side. A huge waterbody where the other side/bank was not visible. It was the Tungabhadra reservoir, blue water as far as we look. Stopped there, and spent around 10 minutes soaking in the atmosphere.

Reached Little Banana Home Stay, at 12.30PM, which is around 3kms from Hampi Site. The homestay was in the middle of a Banana plantation, designed to have a rustic look, with bamboos covered over the front. The room, beds, and washrooms were clean, with a good grass-lawn in the front. The cost of accommodation was Rs 2500/-. The host Devaraj and his wife were friendly, and helpful.

Photo: at Little Banana Homestay, Hampi



After freshening up, drove to the Hampi site, visited the Virupaksha Temple and the adjoining area. Hired a guide to explain the History. It was really moving to see these 14th century structures/ruins of Vijayanagara empire, with a history maybe dating back to 10th century.

For lunch went to the nearby Mango Tree Restaurant adjacent to Virupaksha temple, as per plan. A nice set-up and good food. Relished Hummus, Pita & Falafel, and Paneer-Vegetable Sizzler, whereas the south Indian meal was okay.

Photo: at Mango Tree Restaurant



Post lunch, went to the Vijaya Vittala temple site. The temple, the old bazaar and the pond in front of the bazaar were reasonably well maintained by ASI, the old bazaar indicating a thriving trade this empire had during those times. The guide explained the details architecture inside the temple, and later we went to the riverbank behind the temple, and spent time cooling our legs.

Photo: near Vijaya Vittala temple - Tungabhadra river


Reached back to the homestay around 7.00PM in the evening and had coffee. At that point, the Sonet was displaying a distance of 380KM for the day's travel, and a FE of 15.3KM. Relaxed till 8.00PM, also playing with puppy named Max, in the homestay. The homestay does not offer food for the stayers, unless informed in advance.

There is a restaurant, Happy Hampi Cafe, 100 yards from road in front of the homestay. The cafe decor was good, and the food was tasty. Had soup, Roti with Gravy, Noodles, Pizza, all of them tasting good.

Photo: at Happy Hampi Cafe


Walked back to homestay, had a good sleep. After morning coffee and lazing around a bit at the homestay, said bye to Hampi. Had a breakfast of masala dosa and poori at an eatery on the Hospet main road, and started at 10.00AM for the next destination.

Decided that, we will come for another 2 /3 day stay for Hampi and Tungabadra. They deserve better.

Day-2: Hampi-Gokarna, 320KM, NH67 & NH52, Stay in Gokarna- Kudle Beach (Hotel Gokarna International)

Started at 10.00AM from Hospet. Though there is another route to Gokarna through Shimoga, we preferred to take the via-Hubli Road, assuming better road conditions. Drove through Koppal, Gadag, Hubli-bypass, Yellapur to reach Gokarna.

The drive till Hubli was smooth, with reasonably good road conditions, and with many new flyovers constructed (the googlemap kept on guiding us along the service road below the flyover), with half the width of the bridge being used by the local farmers to drying their corn/jowar and for stacking the filled grain bags.

Stopped at Yellapur to take 10minutes of rest, withdrew money from ATM, decided to skip lunch and had some of the snacks which we brought from Bangalore. From there, it was a long stretch of beautiful, shadowed, and well maintained road with forest/trees (was it teak or badam?) on both sides.

Photo: road from Yellapur to Gokarana


Somewhere on this beautiful road, saw a diversion pointing to Gokarna, and seeing many vehicles going along in that direction, changed the planned main road, and followed them. It was a wrong a decision, the road was pot-holed, hairpin bends where road-slip must have occurred earlier but now dusty and rough.

Reached Gokarna and Kudle beach around 5.00PM. Parked the car in a paid-parking, and moved with the luggage downhill to Hotel Gokarna International. Took a room with balcony, overlooking the beach and checked-in. Though, it is one of the good hotels on Kudle beachfront, a could see a renovation was due. The sun was going down, and I went into the beach and sea, while the rest of the family went to eat some food. With the rest of the family joining soon, played and relaxed and in the water for the rest of the evening till 8.30PM.

Went back to the room, washed and went for dinner to an adjacent beach shack, Sunset café, for an early dinner. Food tasted good. I could see that, the majority of the tourists who stay in Kudle beach are youngsters and students, and many of them were inebriated. Walked around the beach for sometime, and went to bed early.

Photo: Dinner at Sunset café, Kudle Beach


Day-3: Gokarna - Mirjan Fort- Gokarna- Stay in Gokarna- Main Beach (Deva Samudhra Beach Stay)

The Kudle beach looked wonderful early in the morning, with a silent sea. Got inside the water at 7.00AM. I leaned a very basic of swimming that day. How to float, my two children taught me. It was relaxing. After spending two hours in the beach, and having played to out heart’s content, went to the room, washed, changed and went for breakfast to another beach shack Sea View Cafe. A lazy morning breakfast with an idyllic view of sea, was something I had always longed for. The food tasted great, probably because we were very hungry after spending 2 hrs in the water. In the bright sunlight I could see, the tables were not well cleaned, and there were always one or two dogs sleeping on the sand adjacent to the tables inside the restaurant. This is true of most shacks in the Kudle beach.

Photo: Kudle Beach in the morning


Photo: Breakfast at Sea View cafe, Kudle Beach


The sight of Kudle-beach from the top of the hill was awesome. Having read some good reviews about Mirjan fort, we decided to pay a visit to the fort which was 20KM away. The front facade of the fort looks intact, and nothing worth seeing inside the it, with grass growing all-over, poorly maintained, and my son suspected snake movement in the nearby dry grass.

Photo: Kudle Beach from the Hill-top


Photo: at Mirjan Fort, Gokarna


Went back to Gokarna, and reached Deva Samudra Beach Stay, in the main beach. The resort had its own parking. The room, bed and bathroom were clean. It was sunny and hot outside. Stayed inside the room, till 1.30PM, and then went for lunch to a beachside restaurant CheZ Christophie Gokarna, run by few French nationals. The ambience was good and the food was to our liking. The pasta, made from their own handmade pasta was bit hard and not al-dente. Their French onion soup and sandwiches seem to be popular.

Photo: at Deva Samudra Beach Stay, Gokarna


Photo: at CheZ Christophie Gokarna



Walked back to the room, and stayed inside till 5.30PM, and went to the beach. The beach was virtually empty. Few families with small children started coming out, playing with their kids, making sand castles, but not ready wet the legs above their knee. The majority of people who prefer to come and stay in this beach are families with small children. Unlike the calm Kudle beach, the sea here had larger waves, with a gaurd warning, whenever we ventured too far.

Photo: at main beach, Gokarna


Had dinner at a nearby beach restaurant, Sunset Café. The pizza and sandwiches tasted okay, while the prawn curry with Naan was very tasty. Walked around at the beach front till 10.00PM, went to sleep. Morning, again went to the beach to play in the sea, and reluctant to come out. We knew, we may not get to travel to another beach maybe for another 6 months.

Photo: at Sunset Café, Main Beach, Gokarna


Day-4: Gokarna-Murudeshwar-Chikmangalur, NH66 & Chikmangalur- Shrigeri Road, Stay in Chikmangalur (stay at Chikkamane Homestay).

Post breakfast in the restaurant attached to Devasamudhra Beach Stay, we started at 10.30AM from the main beach, drove through NH45, and reached Murudeshwar at 12.00 Noon. Looked at Shiva statue from top of the front Gopuram. And went inside the temple, and went around the statue and the area around it. It looked more like a business set-up of the RNS group, rather than a significant religious place.

Had lunch at Naik Fishland, which was 500 metres in front of the temple. The food tasted okay, but the spices on the fish and the curry tasting different from what you eat in Bangalore eateries.

Photo: at Naik Fishland, Murudeshwar



Started at 1.30PM from Murudeshwar and drove through Honnavar, the sea visible on the right side often, and took the diversion for Chikmangalur. Stopped just before the start of the hill route and hairpin bends, to relax for 15 minutes before starting on the hair-pin bends ahead. The Sonet managed them smoothly. Though, I felt, if I am changing to 1st gear at the start of the bend, the gear was falling to 4th gear position, instead of 1st gear. I was repeated warned and made to remember by my wife, an essential driving lesson; sound the horn well before every hair-pin to avoid jamming with vehicle travelling down-hill at the bend. Had tough time twice.

Reached the Chikkamane Homestay around 7.00PM, which was around 5KM away from Chikmangalur town. Though it was not a typical coffee estate bungalow, it was in the outskirts adjacent to a lake. We had asked for a room with 4 beds (2 double beds), and the room and the balcony had nice view of the swimming pool below and a large lake behind the building. The rooms, bed and bath were clean, the building constructed with solid-looking pillars and good quality wood. But, the shabby maintenance staff seemed to be very casual in handling the guests. There was no personal touch, which we had seen in other homestays. The accommodation cost was Rs3000/-. Tired from the long drive, ordered food on Swiggy, biryani, for dinner. Had a good night’s sleep.

Day-5: Chikmangalur- Baba Budanagairi - Chikmangalur - Bangalore, NH75.

Breakfast at Chikkamane Homestay, which was a kind rice-bath/ kichidi with pickle, though not very inviting for my children, was surprisingly very tasty and homely. Some parting shots, of this home stay.

Photo: at Chikkamane Homestay, Chikmangalur



Started at 9.00AM from the homestay, drove through the nice winding roads with beautiful views of the hills of Chikmangalur, till a place called Galikere (!). Some stunning views of the hills.

Photo: at Chikmangalur & me and my Sonet




Beyond this place some travellers prefer to hire jeeps to reach Bababudanagiri. Took the Sonet all the way upto the final destination, Bababudanagiri. It was fun (!) to ride the Sonet over the rough, rocky road. The high ground clearance and the pull of the turbo-engine helped. On the way to the top, stopped at few places to look at two beautiful ponds /water-bodies. Could see the beautiful neela-kuringi flowers. Though, my native place Nilgiris got its name from these flowers, this was the first time I got to see these famed wild flowers live.

Photo: on the way to Bababudanagiri




The beautiful views from the top of the hill (the adjacent hills and the manicured valley below with a resort) were playing hide and seek with mists being blown away at a very fast pace, and a booming sound(!). Some views.

Photo: at Bababudanagiri



Travelled back to Chikmangalur town, went to the Coffee Centre/ Museum, spent 45minutes there looking at the posters, a video and coffee making equipments. Had authentic (!) north Karnataka meal with Akki-roti and Jowar-roti at Hotel Malnad Paradise.

Started from Chikmangalur at 2.00PM, and drove-on continuously eager reach home/Bangalore, except for a coffee beak. Reached C.V.Raman Nagar, Bangalore around a 7.30PM. On the way to our house, bought packets of milk and curd. For dinner that day, it was curd-rice and pickle, and it tasted heavenly. Was it the most comforting food I had in the entire week?

Finally regarding the mileage and the Car.

For most of the trip, the AC was on, temperature kept at 21C, the fan speed at second level. Whenever, we were tempted to open the windows, the wind speed/sound was too much a disturbance.

The best mileage I could get was around 15.3KM/L for the Bangalore-Hampi drive. For all the other sectors, Hampi-Gokarna, Gokarana-Chikmangalur, Chikmangalur-Bangalore the mileage hovered around 14KM/L. However, I have observed, within Bangalore city, where I have drive at a sedate speed of 30-50km/hr, sometime I used get a of FE 14-15 km/L. I have heard that, the Sonet Turbo imt car has been tuned/ optimized for better FE when driven at 30-50km/hr speed. Is this possible!!!.

Overall, Kia Sonet HTX Turbo imt ride was very comfortable, AC very effective, sound system pleasing, spacious enough, was able to manoeuvre pot-holes and rocks comfortably. My left knee is thankful to the ‘imt’, though by habit I tend press down my left feet now and then on an imaginary clutch pedal, whenever I needed to change the gear.

The typical problems that I have faced in Sonet Turbo imt; (i)the need to shift down the gear to accelerate/overtake, (ii)the difficulty in reaching the middle part of the steering wheel with thump to sound the horn. Whenever, I tried to downshift to 1st gear on the hairpin bends, the gear was falling onto the 4th gear slot. Was it because, the steering wheel is already bent/turned, I was not sure. However, if I shift to the 1st gear well before the hairpin bend, things are fine, except for the increased sound of turbo at high rpm.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[Excommunicado]

*Upgrade to BHPian* (25 posts completed as Newbie)

Just like that episode in DBZ where Vegeta transforms into a Super Saiyan for the first time which was titled- 'Upgrade to Super Saiyan'

Congrats Mr. Jkrkrish sir on completing this wonderful 1500 km road trip. This one will go straight into your as well as your family's core memory. I have one suggestion though, kindly refrain from posting pictures of the sumptuous and yummy food items because this is winter season and everyone is 24x7 hungry. One look at them activates the hunger center in hypothalamus.

Anyways, have fun and drive safe. Also, Sonet is in my book the best looking car in its segment. Great choice!

[cule1899_bhp]

Thank you for sharing this detailed travelogue.
It's the first time I'm coming across a review of an IMT from an owner's perspective, thanks for adding your thoughts on that.
Wishing you many more happy miles!

[Sandgrains28]

The typical problems that I have faced in Sonet Turbo imt; (i)the need to shift down the gear to accelerate/overtake, (ii)the difficulty in reaching the middle part of the steering wheel with thump to sound the horn. Whenever, I tried to downshift to 1st gear on the hairpin bends, the gear was falling onto the 4th gear slot. Was it because, the steering wheel is already bent/turned, I was not sure. However, if I shift to the 1st gear well before the hairpin bend, things are fine, except for the increased sound of turbo at high rpm.[/quote]

That's a wonderfully detailed description. Congrats on having a great trip!

I have a Sonet 1.0 Turbo iMT too and have made a 2200 km roundtrip from Hyderabad to Kerala via Bangalore. Agree with you on it being better to downshift while overtaking, unless you hold the revs above 3000 rpm or so.

However, I'm not sure why you were having problems with the gear slotting into 4th when you didn't intend it to. Was it 4th or 3rd, since 3rd is parallel to 1st and you might have been inadvertently selecting 3rd? The only possibility I can think of is that because of you holding higher revs, the iMT was wrongly sensing that you were trying to shift to a higher gear. Worth getting it looked into. We took the Sathyamangalam route from Bangalore to Kochi and the car did really well on the hairpin bends of Dhimbam Ghat. Shifts were precise and it handled the gradients easily.

Also, on the mileage, I couldn't get it beyond 16 either, despite the really long highway run. On the other hand, in the city it does hit 13-14 kmpl easily in moderate traffic.

Do keep us posted if you have further updates on the gear shift issue.

[jkrkrish]

Originally Posted by Sandgrains28

However, I'm not sure why you were having problems with the gear slotting into 4th when you didn't intend it to. Was it 4th or 3rd, since 3rd is parallel to 1st and you might have been inadvertently selecting 3rd? The only possibility I can think of is that because of you holding higher revs, the iMT was wrongly sensing that you were trying to shift to a higher gear. Worth getting it looked into.

Thanks for this post.
I thought about this. This happened, when I was trying to downshift at the tip of the hairpin bend with the steering wheel rotated almost one turn I guess (!) & the engine is at higher revive, more than 3000rpm.
I feel, if the steering wheel is bent too much, the gear lever doesn't move into the slot you aim, and goes to the adjacent slot. I will keep an eye on this.

[RaviKBobba]

Happy to read about your long trip details. Even I did a recent outing to Hampi (October 2021) for 2N/3D & it is definitely a worthy place.

Recommend your family to visit again & spend quality time to cover the major sites & ruins within Hampi.

[kvsriki]

Originally Posted by jkrkrish

1500KM, 5 day Road Trip, Kia Sonet Turbo imt, Hampi-Gokarna-Chikmangalur

Great travelogue, I will add this route to my list

Originally Posted by jkrkrish

The typical problems that I have faced in Sonet Turbo imt; (i)the need to shift down the gear to accelerate/overtake

Originally Posted by Sandgrains28

Agree with you on it being better to downshift while overtaking, unless you hold the revs above 3000 rpm or so.

Is this due to turbo lag or is it because there is not enough power in reserve when there is a need for quick acceleration?
During my test drives, I didn't feel that there is too much of turbo lag, but I felt that the engine had enough power to quickly accelerate when required.

[Sandgrains28]

Originally Posted by kvsriki

Great travelogue, I will add this route to my list




Is this due to turbo lag or is it because there is not enough power in reserve when there is a need for quick acceleration?
During my test drives, I didn't feel that there is too much of turbo lag, but I felt that the engine had enough power to quickly accelerate when required.

I've hardly felt any turbo lag with the Sonet so far. It's just that the revs don't climb as quickly as you want in the 5th and 6th gears during a quick overtake. Pretty much the same as in a NA engine.

[jkrkrish]

Originally Posted by kvsriki

Is this due to turbo lag or is it because there is not enough power in reserve when there is a need for quick acceleration?.

I too agree with Sandgrains. At 4th and 5th gear, pushing the pedal doesn't give a quick in increase in the revive/rpm, leading to an uneasy feeling when trying to overtake.