[sweetvar26]

Originally Posted by d_payne

I am fully in agreement with @karanddd, all the points he makes are valid and my source is simply 15+ years of driving the length and breadth of this country. I started with a good old Cedia back in the day, upgraded to an Accord, C Class, Mini JCW, and now an S5. Sadly though my learning as I turn 40 is that the road matters far far more than the car for a good drive. We just don't have any decent stretch of road devoid of all the traffic that Karan has mentioned, it's not other vehicles but pedestrians, cyclists, and animals that are always a turn away from you. And if that's not bad enough, the road quality is utter trash.

Driving a performance car in an Indian city is an exercise in patience. I've had my fill of great drives internationally (including the Col De Turini and the canyons), and none of the so called great roads to drive in the world are even present here. The best roads to drive our cars hard (not necessarily fast) and have fun on are the highways and expressways which are sterile commuter roads by design.

The closest to a properly great road to drive in India are all hidden away in the high mountain passes, and even those are filled with trucker traffic today - I was stuck in a jam on baralacha la last year for the first time!

My opinion of my country's roads is not a negative one, it's just a pragmatic view. We are a brilliant country to travel around in, but to drive for the pure sake of driving is not something India is particularly good at. FWIW, pure sake of driving = reaching the limit in a few gears, hugging a few curves, maybe even fancying a proper hairpin turn, and just having fun driving irrespective of the landscape.

There's a definite difference between going for a drive, and driving to a place. We can do a lot of the latter here, very little of the former.

Originally Posted by androdev

I agree. Urban roads are a disaster. One needs to spend at least 1hr of sh*** roads and traffic just to get out of the city. The really good stretches open up after 2 hrs of driving. This is not worth the trouble if you just want to go for a spirited drive for a couple of hours on a Sunday morning.

I don't have POV videos but I can think of many routes in the south where one can enjoy a good drive in a sports car (obviously not a Sunday brunch drive but can be part of a nice holiday trip).

1. The roads before entering western ghats from the eastern side. Amazing greenery with gentle sweeping curves. Many fantastic roads. (kushalnagar to Bekal, Shimoga to Honnavar, etc.)
2. Coffee estates of Coorg region
3. Lot of rural Tamil Nadu roads. Quality of TN roads is fantastic. Coast line, Dhanushkodi, Pamban bridge, etc. offer great roads.
4. Hampi interiors during paddy season with amazing backdrop of boulders.
5. Kerala backwaters, tea estates, etc. but KL traffic density is too high and very unsafe bus drivers.

The problem is neither with the roads nor destinations. Most people who can afford these cars in India tend to be very busy making money and driving is not their #1 priority. In general, as a society, we are expected to serve the family and not pursue selfish hobbies. Do not underestimate this aspect. In the US, you will find Ferrari and other exotic owners being active on internet car forums, doing DIYs and in general pursuing driving as a serious hobby like the modded Polo owners in our country. They are everyday people doing everyday things. The demographic in India is very different. Even if they buy Urus, they are not going to do road trips.

I am neither suggesting we have roads as good as the developed countries nor it's easy to own these cars. I am just saying, if you have the money and time, India has roads and destinations fabulous enough to justify a purchase.

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I was reading this thread few weeks ago and I have some opinions based on these two posts from my recent experience and I have to agree with both of you.

I'm 37 years old, from Hyderabad and I currently drive an M340i for my road trips over the other cars we have. I've driven on NH 65 at least 10 times and the NH44 at least 5 times over the past couple of years. Both these highways are very well laid out but not necessarily beautiful across the stretch as they are mostly for commuting.

My wife and I made some last minute plans last week and decided to take off from work for a week and make a trip out of it. Due to the uncertainty of the bathroom situation on the highways, she decided to fly to Coonoor while I decided to drive solo. It was about 1000 kms to get there, Hyd - Bangalore - Mysuru - Bandipur Forest - Ooty - Coonoor. Obviously, the highway part is the boring one and I did that all the way to Mysuru. There are stretching on the NH44 that are quite scenic, especially as you get to the Penukonda area (Kia Plant). You get nice backdrop of hills and rocks which are beautiful, but the highway still lacks the soul for driving, you'll be constantly cruising at 100 and I left the cruise control on for hours over the entire stretch between Hyderabad - Bangalore - Mysuru. Things get interesting once you cross Mysuru and towards Ooty where you'll have to go through the beautiful Bandipur forest. It's a well laid out road with views of peacocks, deers, elephants to name a few. As I was getting closer to exit the forest is where the trouble started, the first 850 kms of the trip took about 10 hours while the last 100 kms took a little more than 6 hours. It's the tourist season in Ooty regarding which I should have researched a bit before the trip, so I would have known what I was getting into. The beautiful drive with twists and turns between the pine trees was spoiled by the bumper to bumper traffic for hours and I was sitting alone in the car thinking what a bad call this was.

Once I reached Coonoor, made a few local drives early in the morning, out by 5/5:30 and back by 8:30/9 before the traffic picks up. These were some of the best roads I've driven in South India, well laid out, scenic and you will have the time of your life. Same goes with my drive down the hills to Coimbatore via Kotagiri, start early, beat the traffic and the next two hours of drive from Ooty towards Coimbatore until you're down, is a driver's paradise. Obviously, my way back from Coimbatore to Hyderabad which is another 1000 kms is pretty much NH44 all the way and you know the drill. Yes, there are areas on the highway near Salem and few other towns that are scenic but it's still a four-lane highway that is supposed to get you to your destination in the least amount of time.

After I got home over the weekend, I was telling my wife how we have to go back again but perhaps pick the offseason so we don't have to deal or worry about the traffic nightmares. I do want to go back there this winter towards the end of the year. The area, those well maintained roads, the twists and turns are something any driving enthusiast in India should experience.

However, this stretch worked with the M340i with only one scrape, there was a bump I had to maneuver, though I angled the car and was driving at less than 5 kmph, I still scraped mildly. I'm playing with the idea of purchasing an M2 this year and I was thinking during my drive there, I don't think I can bring that car to these roads where some of the speed bumps will be harder to clear as the M2 sits around 10mm lower than the M340i.

My experience to Coorg was a little different, in the area the main highway to Madikeri was great and gave us similar vibe but that didn't last for long. The local roads to resorts etc weren't as great with bad maintenance and lot of patches.

So, to sum up my post, I think we do have some nice routes that are scenic and lovely to drive as well, however, getting to these areas might be an issue which will take time and effort. If you are willing to put that time and energy into it, yes you can make a great trip out of it. It's not an hour or two Sunday morning coffee runs or a drive with friends, well unless you live in the areas of these roads.

On another note, like @d_payne mentioned, maybe we should make a thread that lists out some of the great roads to drive in the country, the bumps on the road which low slung car drivers need to be aware of and the means to get there which is equally important.

Here's a short video from the trip.

https://youtu.be/xn04MH3UdrY

[veyron_head]

I am not the target market for porsche but the lack of market knowledge of C level execs in such companies is astonishing. I mean, If they spoke to just a couple of their own employees in the country they would know middle class doesn't buy porsches in India. Reminds me of how Citreon is shooting its own foot because of the same lack of market knowledge/prejudiced opinion on how they think we live.

[vredesbyrd]

XL size helping of OT:

Originally Posted by karanddd

Edit: If you have seen such a POV video, please do share.

Well, you asked so I delivered a few videos from my channel (wow, what a shameless segue).

Mangalore to Manipal stretch
The roads are mostly nice (except a few patches here and there) and very little traffic if you time it right (as long as you don't get a local bus in your way). This is some fast but technical driving:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRd7dFHQfoE

Agumbe Ghat hill climb
Again, you should do it early morning because once the traffic starts piling up, it's ruined. Plus, the section for reaching the ghat (before Hebri) is spine torture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpIHa1Bix1g&t=428s

Speaking of Hebri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=339sTVTkuCQ

Within Manipal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VekItYrOjjU

Basically, if you want relatively nice roads with less traffic, go to Manipal and get lost. You won't regret it.
There are places like this in India and I am working on a library of such locations. Only time will tell what kind of treasures I uncover.

If I had a Cayenne, you bet that the first place I'd drive to would be Manipal.