[pranav_mankad]

So I could do it at last ! I mean I was dying to take Nano to highway since the day it arrived. However, Speed restrictions during first 1000 k.m., busy schedule and the most important - family's strong opposition to do so, had made it quite difficult to see it thru. Especially, couple of news of Nano catching fire did not help! But anyway, finally I could manage odds and made up my mind for a quick plunge into highway. Next question was deciding on where to go? I did not have possibility of spending too much time for the drive since I wanted to do this drive during weekday. That translated in going to a place which is no farther than 50-60 kms. I also wanted to make sure that the place where I go has good roads.

Keeping all these aspects in mind, final choice boiled down to Ranjangaon Ganpati. A famous "Ashtavinayak" temple on Ahmednagar Road. It is close to 45 kms from pune. Ahmednagar Road is 4 lane road and is of great quality.

Through this drive, I was especially interested in finding out:
1. Nano's FE on highway.
2. Nano's behavior for the speeds >70 Kmph
3. Car's stability in cross winds.
4. Does it get heated up? Start having issues?
5. How good it is on highway driving - let’s say aspects like overtaking ability etc.

Ok, so here we go...we started in the Morning today @5.30 a.m. I stay in the eastern part of Pune - so getting on Ahmednagar Road was not a problem. I wanted to be as precise as possible for FE. Hence, I had got the tank filled till auto cut off the day before. At the end of drive, I would go back to the same petrol pump and get the tank filled till auto cut off again to calculate the FE. Nano is special - whenever I go to the Petrol Pump ( any ); the person filling the petrol would give a sweet smile to me and will sure ask 2-3 questions about Nano! Nano still does not stop to amaze people around! The admiration that you get is unmatched! Linea's tag line "Admiration Guaranteed!" kind of suites quite well to Nano!

Pune -Ranjangaon stretch in the early morning makes up a fantastic drive. You enjoy more during early morning because multiple small villages that are en-route are still in deep sleep during that time. Hence, you kind of get 'freedom' to drive at good speeds and without interruptions of slow moving traffic. There is a good view of rising sun. Also, you get to see villages slowly 'waking up' to their normal lives. The whole patch is dotted with multiple industries on both sides of roads. MIDC of Ranjangaon and region around houses multiple well known industries.

Nano behaved fantastically on highway. We did not know when it touched 90 Kmph! I slowed down once I noticed that we were going towards other side of 90 kmph. The engine at that speed was not feeling to have gone "out of breath"! It appeared capable of doing more speed. The car did not make any fuss. It remained steady and there was not feeling of 'too much noisy engine' or any sort of vibrations in either steering or otherwise. There was strong cross wind. We realized the same when we rolled windows down. Yes, Nano does feel 'pinch' of strong cross wind. Not that it gets unstable, but while driving you do get the 'feel' that the car is getting a bit challenged by cross wind. I had been driving Maruti Omni and Maruti 800 quite a lot during my teen age. Nano almost feels similar to what these cars feel like on Highways in cross winds.

What surprised me was the fact that overtaking was not a problem with Nano at all! It can provides you with required additional power/acceleration to overtake if you are driving at speed of around 70 -75 Kmph. Of course, you also need to keep in mind the characteristics of the car. But with that as the boundary, it is quite comfortable to drive down on highway. Infact, the SUV like seating and commanding view that you get from driver's seat; gives a great experience. You feel quite in control of the car and enjoy driving steadily.

One area where probably one has to be careful is the breaking. Breaks do not inspire great confidence. I preferred not taking any chances and was making sure that I was always keeping safe distance from the vehicle in front of me.

We reached Ranjangaon pretty quickly. Did 50 kms in 45 mins. We had nice 'darshan' at the mandir. It was very calm and quite. There were only few visitors at these early hours. ( Which was good because due to its religious importance, this madir is quite crowded most of the time). After having a quick cup of tea, we stared back for Pune.

Once in Pune, went straight to the Petrol Pump. Again a sweet smile from the 'Petro wala' and he filled the tank to its auto fill limit. I went back home smiling! We were back at our home in around 2 hours.

I still have taste of the drive lingering in my mind! It was real fun...Nano did prove to its reputation of being 'acceptable' and 'fun to drive' on highways as well. Now Next plan is to take Lunar Beauty to "Ghat!! Hmm...may be drive to Amby valley @ Lonavala....see I have already started planning!

Here is the Log :

Pune - RanjanGaon - Pune
Via Nagar Road
Start Time : 5.30 a.m.
Reached Ranjan Gaon : 6.15 a.m.
Back at Pune : 7.30 a.m.

Toll Plaza : 1
Toll : 43 Rs. ( Forward + Reverse combined )

Total Distance Covered: 108.2 km.
Total Petrol Consumed : 4.91 Liters
FE : 22.03 Km/Liter (Without AC )

Here are some snaps.
1. Fantastic Ahmednagar Road. Note the beautiful Sun Rise.
2. Looking Forward for a great journey!
3. Keep Going!
4. Very less traffic on road.

[pawan_pullarwar]

Nice reivew. How does it behave in gravel/bad roads

[WDM007]

Thanks for such a quick review.
It is indeed a short & sweet travelogue.

[ranjith.rajaram]

@ Pranav - Good write up.

1) Good to hear nano eased at 90 Kmph
2) Good FE : 22.03 Km
3) can you tell me how is the power of the A/C, with A/C on still the engine power is quite ok ?

[MX6]

Aah. Now I see you have another thread started. Report post on the other one to ask Mods delete it altogether.

[pranav_mankad]

Originally Posted by MX6

Aah. Now I see you have another thread started. Report post on the other one to ask Mods delete it altogether.

Thanks for pointing out the copy paste error MX6! I wanted to make the para 'Justified' (Equally aligned to left and right) and wrongly took help of Microsoft Word to do so! I will be careful in future. This second thread was created by Mods - not by me. I have reported the other thread to Mods for deletion.

Originally Posted by ranjith.rajaram

@ Pranav - Good write up.

1) Good to hear nano eased at 90 Kmph
2) Good FE : 22.03 Km
3) can you tell me how is the power of the A/C, with A/C on still the engine power is quite ok ?

Thanks Ranjit! A/C is very powerful in Nano. It brings temperature under contol pretty quickly even during hot summer after noon. There is notable drop in the engine power when you switch A/C ON. Pretty much on the similar lines of what you would expect in a Maruti 800 when you turn AC ON. However, the decrease does not create any bigger issues from drivability point of view. The car can still pull forward quite comfortably. Only in one instance where we were 5 BIG adults seated in the car with AC in full blast ( during a hot summer afternoon); I felt as if car was asking for more power. But in all other conditions; it has coped up well with AC. One other thing that I have noticed is that the FE numbers go down by approx 2 KM per liter.

Originally Posted by WDM007

Thanks for such a quick review.
It is indeed a short & sweet travelogue.

Thanks WDM007! It is kind of mix of travelogue and review of car.

Originally Posted by pawan_pullarwar

Nice reivew. How does it behave in gravel/bad roads

Thanks Pawan! Well, on bad roads you have to slow down. Nano can tackle such roads but it has the tendency to 'throw' you a bit on uneven surface. Kind of hinting at a bit stiff suspensions. ( My assumption - I am no authority in suspension department though! ). But it maintains its stance and you can steer it all right. I had driven Maruti Omni quite a lot during my earliler days and I would tend to compare behavior of Nano on bad roads with that of Omni on bad roads. Both can manage such roads, but you have to take it slowly.

[ranjith.rajaram]

Originally Posted by pranav_mankad

One other thing that I have noticed is that the FE numbers go down by approx 2 KM per liter.

So in city we can expect around 20 KMPL with A/C, I would say thats a very decent number.

Good to know nano's engine power.

[pranav_mankad]

Originally Posted by ranjith.rajaram

So in city we can expect around 20 KMPL with A/C, I would say thats a very decent number.

Good to know nano's engine power.

Not in city Ranjith! You can expect 20 KMPL on highway with AC ON. I have been getting an average of 17 - 18 KMPL with around 25% of A.C for 100% city use in Pune. One can expect around 16 - 16.5 with full A.C. in city.

[ranjith.rajaram]

Originally Posted by pranav_mankad

Not in city Ranjith! You can expect 20 KMPL on highway with AC ON. I have been getting an average of 17 - 18 KMPL with around 25% of A.C for 100% city use in Pune. One can expect around 16 - 16.5 with full A.C. in city.

Still a good number I would say for a car like nano....

Have you put in a alloy wheel or it that a wheel cap.. Looks cute on your car

[pranav_mankad]

Originally Posted by ranjith.rajaram

Still a good number I would say for a car like nano....

Have you put in a alloy wheel or it that a wheel cap.. Looks cute on your car

Yup. I do agree. It is a very good VFM car from Total Cost of Ownership perspective.

I have put in alloy wheels. They are known as 'Y' pattern alloy wheels. I too belive that they gel pretty well with car. In fact, Nano's look - in my view - gets quite positively changed with the right alloys. You can check the following thread out for a clearer picture of alloys and its effect on the overall appearance of car!

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...silver-lx.html

[Vijayraj1890]

Congratulations on the car, the alloys look fantastic. i wonder how it will perform on a hilly road.

[trrk]

Hi,

Originally Posted by Vijayraj1890

i wonder how it will perform on a hilly road.

Take a look:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...nt-agenda.html

[MAS]

Originally Posted by pranav_mankad

Next question was deciding on where to go?

That was a good one.

[pranav_mankad]

Originally Posted by Vijayraj1890

Congratulations on the car, the alloys look fantastic. i wonder how it will perform on a hilly road.

Originally Posted by trrk

Hi,



Take a look:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...nt-agenda.html

Thanks Vijayraj1890! Thanks Trrk for shring the link. I am planniing to take up next drive to Amby valley to experience Nano on hilly roads myself. I will share my experience when it is done.