KSRTC Ambari Utsav vs Dream Class on same route: Worth the extra money?

The roads between Bangalore & Udupi are horrible & I noticed a big difference in the ride quality of both buses.

BHPian maskebail recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I did Bangalore to Udupi in Ambari Utsav and back on the same route in Ambari Dream class and here are my observations comparing the two.

Note: On both journeys, I was on the 2nd row - upper berth - double seat.

• Ambari Utsav does look and feel premium.
• The AC performance is better with multiple vents in Utsav; the vents in dream class get the job done, but the AC blower is very loud in Dream class. When the AC was turned on, it sounded like an aircraft ready to take off. The AC vent in both are the same - you can adjust the direction of the AC blow, but cannot adjust the speed. Both close on their own on a sudden jerk. I expected better vents on Utsav, at least with speed adjustments.
• The cabin lights are bright in Utsav (for some reason there are 2 lights per seat, and both are almost equally bright). The lights in the bus are warm white in color and not very bright so when the bus stops for some stop, it does not wake you up. The lights in dream class were too bright in comparison.
• The curtains were clean on both. The curtains in Utsav are on a channel track that keeps getting stuck everywhere and when the bus breaks suddenly, they slide off on their own. The curtain in dream class is on a rod that was far easy to move around.
• The seats on both were clean and good. The seats in dream class did not have an extra cloth lining, but Utsav did have it. The length of both seats is almost comparable, but I found Utsav seats cramped (I am almost 6ft) due to the extra cushions for the backrest and headrest (with VOLVO badging). These cushions eat up almost 2 inches and I could not stretch my legs comfortably (I found the seat length of dream class good enough and usable).
• The headrest and backrest were useless for me, the cabin is not tall enough to sit comfortably leaning on these cushions. I would have preferred not to have these cushions at all.
• USB ports on Utsav and power sockets on dream class - both worked fine. I would have liked to have one of each on both though just for added convenience.

Ride quality

• Oddly this is where I saw a big difference. The roads between Bangalore and Udupi are horrible currently (Sakleshpura route) and both buses took the exact same route (Bangalore - Sakleshpura - Mangalore - Udupi and back). On the Utsav, I just could not sleep. I felt too much movement inside the cabin throughout the journey, especially after Sakleshpur. In comparison, I could sleep very well in Dream class, yes I did feel some movements around curves, but it was not as bad as what I felt on Utsav.
• On Utsav, I felt almost every speed breaker, bad roads and curves/overtakes; on dream class, the ride was a lot more subtle/stable.

Note: The difference in ride comfort I observed may be due to differences in driver skill/the road may be better on one side of the route / etc. I am just pointing out my personal experience.

Conclusion

I always hated sleeper buses because of body movements(for this journey, I had to take these buses as wifey likes to travel in sleeper class). I just can't sleep when I feel the motion and so I avoided sleeper buses on this route all these years.

With the Utsav launch, I had very high expectations since this was launched as a luxury travel option. But I came out very disappointed with what I saw and observed. I honestly do not know why I would want to pay more for the Utsav class. I personally still like the Airavata fleet of buses as I feel they are far more comfortable (semi-sleeper) with well-sorted dynamics. (low center of gravity because there is no upper berth).

Between Dream class and Utsav, I would not recommend paying up for Utsav as you do not really get anything extra for the price.

Here's what BHPian binaiks had to say about the matter:

Was the Dream Class built by Prakash or MG? The Prakash ones are heavier and might have a slightly better ride quality compared to the Volvo-built Utsav.

Here's what BHPian vigsom had to say about the matter:

Very pointed observations there @maskebail. Thank You! I was always apprehensive about how the ride quality would be in the Mengaluru sector, and your posts confirmed my fears. When I spoke to the pilot at the depot, he did say that for them, this one rode better. But that might be on a regular highway.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.