Clocked 11K km on my Verna: Road trip, service update & 9 observations

I must say, this road trip was an eye-opener for me. I'm more than happy with my decision to buy the Hyundai Verna in its petrol, manual avatar.

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Current odometer reading : 11495 km

It has been 4 months with the Verna and I have crossed the 10k kms milestone in 118 days. If you're wondering how I did that, I undertook a 15-day/6407.9 kms road trip with my parents (travelogue coming shortly).

I must say this road trip was an eye-opener for me that showed me what the Verna was truly capable of. I was more than happy with my decision to buy the Verna in its petrol/manual avatar. The cruise control was a boon, the AC kept us supremely comfortable and the suspension and seats proved their worth as none of us experienced fatigue or any kind of back pain. The boot space was more than enough to gobble the massive luggage.

We drove through Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab covering a total of 6407.9 kms (round-trip from Chennai). I was the solo driver and did about 110 hrs behind the wheel in 15 days. The Verna returned an overall calculated mileage of 16.40 km/l.

Second service @ 11467 km

Once we were back from the road trip the first action item was to get the Verna serviced. Appointment was booked and I landed at the V3 service center in OMR at 9:15 AM. The number of cars at Hyundai workshops is crazy. I was attended to and the job card was raised by 9:45 AM. The engine oil, oil filter, air filter and AC filter were replaced. Brakes cleaned, fluids checked, OBD scan done and the car was taken for washing and I received the car back at 5:35 PM. The total bill was ₹ 2809.

Other observations

1. The engine has opened up nicely post 6k kms. Earlier the engine used to feel hesitant to accelerate, she now does it eagerly.
2. The stock music system is really good and more than adequate for me. I am not an audiophile but I do hate when my music sounds bad, which is not the case in the Verna.
3. The suspension is supremely comfortable over undulations and at the same time very taut on the highway giving you all the confidence you need.
4. The steering is very communicative and the car goes where you want it to. The stock Bridgestones did a good job of sticking to the road.
5. The boot lip is pretty high and trust me, I got quite the workout lifting all those suitcases for 15 days daily to prevent the bumper from getting scratched while loading/unloading them from the boot.
6. The 45-liter fuel tank provides a healthy 700km range on the highway. I typically kept refueling every 500-600kms.
7. Had plenty of emergency braking situations especially in Madhya Pradesh, courtesy of the cows. The brakes are very good and enough for my driving style (typically maintain between 90-110kmph).
8. The high beam and fog lights in stock form are average at best. Especially when you have opposite traffic blinding you.
9. I have driven this route last year in my EcoSport and I was most anxious about the potholes and massive speed breakers enroute. However, with hardly any babying around the Verna managed everything in her stride without bottoming out even once. I even flew over a couple of speed breakers in the night at 70-80kmph (typically hidden speed breakers without any warning) and yet she just flew over them and kept us calm.

I keep discovering something new as I keep driving the Verna more. Will keep you guys posted. Until then wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

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