[Slush_Traveller]

I have done 2500 kms in 5 days in my swift dzire zdi from Mumbai to dwaraka gujarat and back and no one complained about any back pain or anything else.

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

a SUV is best for me. A sedan might suit you more based on your needs.

Originally Posted by Sheel

........
Interestingly, the fastest time in which I managed to cover this distance was in a 2WD Scorpio.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

+1 to this. The biggest advantage of a high seating position,

I would never dream of doing a Delhi-Kolkata in a sedan.

Hi

Traveling long distance in a SUV gives me a confidence,
confidence to take on
1. unknown roads,
2.pot-holes
3. unruly trucker drivers & tractors
4. Overtaking (You get side more often in SUV than a Sedan)

and many others

But does it mean SUV is more comfortable than Sedan- Debatable.
From Drivers perspective, the comfort is not the seating or the car suspension, its the ease with which you can eat the KM on the odometer.

From passenger perspective, its pure comfort, which is not available in any SUV including the X1s or similar.

I think its trade-off.
For example -Innova or Duster is a good Trade-off

[S_U_N]

I read the last few pages of this thread and realized that I gained pretty much nothing from it.
The only conclusions were:
1. Innova is noisy
2. Safari has excellent seats.
3. SUV's are good for the unexpected road undulations/ bumps

Everyone has different cars in their list and there is no 'one size fits all'.
Also some of us have experience with just one or two cars and hence not qualified to offer any informed opinion.

I think the physical fitness of the individual is more important that the car, unless the ergonomics are really messed up.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by Slush_Traveller

I have done 2500 kms in 5 days in my swift dzire zdi from Mumbai to dwaraka gujarat and back and no one complained about any back pain or anything else.

What were the ages of the occupants?

I have done 1500 km in 2 days - with myself and wife both on the near side of 40+, children - aged 5 and 9, and an Octagenarian parent.
There were no complaints - but that was on an Innova.

[Slush_Traveller]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

What were the ages of the occupants?
.

I and my wife late 20's
My mom and dad in late 40' s amd early 50's.
The rear seat of dezire is very comfortable with good thigh and back support.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

But does it mean SUV is more comfortable than Sedan- Debatable.
From Drivers perspective, the comfort is not the seating or the car suspension, its the ease with which you can eat the KM on the odometer.

The thread primarily focuses on driver's comfort level.

From passenger perspective, its pure comfort, which is not available in any SUV including the X1s or similar.

I think its trade-off.
For example -Innova or Duster is a good Trade-off

Budget SUV's? Try the 4WD Scorpio with captain seats in the middle, Innova's V variant with captain seats. Storme. Though, I must mention, after a stint in the Innova or Scorpio's front seats, I find some support lacking in the Safari/Storme's seats. They appear short or something. Not as comfortable as these.

And frankly, comfort level varies from person to person. And yes, one size doesn't fit all.

This thread primarily raised issue on driver's comfort/fatigue level and I commented As a driver, I prefer what I said.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I read the last few pages of this thread and realized that I gained pretty much nothing from it.
The only conclusions were:
1. Innova is noisy
2. Safari has excellent seats.
3. SUV's are good for the unexpected road undulations/ bumps

Because that is what it is. A typical highway drive (if you do a lot of mile munching) involves these scenarios. I think a SUV will feel at home. You come across a lot of unexpected situations on Indian highways. Leave your Pune, Bombay, Hyderabad, Madras, Bangalore, Delhi, Chandigarh popular routes. Drive across the length & breadth and you will come across many unforeseen circumstances.

I must mention that if my commute/drive involved any of these popular, good tarmac-ed routes, I would prefer a Jetta over a Storme.

Everyone has different cars in their list and there is no 'one size fits all'.
Also some of us have experience with just one or two cars and hence not qualified to offer any informed opinion.

Right. Experience on many cars for a significant number of kilometers will let out the verdict. A one or two car sample size is too small to comment upon.

I think the physical fitness of the individual is more important that the car, unless the ergonomics are really messed up.

That is true, but what I said is most marathon drives & extensive travelogues involve SUV and for a good reason.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Hi

Traveling long distance in a SUV gives me a confidence,
confidence to take on
1. unknown roads,
2.pot-holes
3. unruly trucker drivers & tractors
4. Overtaking (You get side more often in SUV than a Sedan)

Both point 1 and point 2 are the same since when talking about confidence in taking unknown roads in an SUV, one only talks about bad roads or pot holes. As I have stated before, unexpected situations pertaining to people crossing the road or coming on the wrong side, are better dodged in a sedan. So yes SUVs handle bad roads well.

Not sure what you mean by point 3.

As for point 4, yes in the city I admit SUVs are given the right of way at all times. However, I have noticed that even us unruly Indians, tend to become better road users on the highway and I've had several SUVs, trucks and hatchbacks give me way when I'm in a sedan (whether it is an old Ford Fiesta or my snazzy looking Kizashi). They tend to know you're going a lot faster and a flash of lights is the most it takes for them to get out of the way.

Originally Posted by Wanderers

But does it mean SUV is more comfortable than Sedan- Debatable.

Yup. I truly thought sedans were the more capable cars but a lot of others seem to think otherwise and I'm quite convinced about their opinions as well.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I think the physical fitness of the individual is more important that the car, unless the ergonomics are really messed up.

Absolutely right. When I hear people saying they want an SUV because of better ingress and egress, I ask them seriously, is it that hard to do effectively one sit-up for each journey you make?

[sathbhai]

I currently own and drive the Scorpio S10.

The trips that I've done in my beast:
* Ahmedabad - Goa - Ahmedabad
* Ahmedabad - Chennai (via Bangalore) - Ahmedabad
* Ahmedabad - Chennai (via Hyderabad) - Ahmedabad
* Ahmedabad - Jaisalmer - Bikaner - Jaipur - Ahmedabad
* Ahmedabad - Pune - Ahmedabad (multiple trips)
* Ahmedabad - Mumbai - Ahmedabad (multiple trips)
* Ahmedabad - Udaipur - Ahmedabad (multiple trips)

The best features that I have experienced are as under:
* High seat (being an SUV) gives better visibility and confidence on the roads.
* Hand rest on driver seat (for left arm) is a major plus point. I used to drive an Indigo CS before. Lack of an arm rest was a major sore point.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by sathbhai

The best features that I have experienced are as under:
* High seat (being an SUV) gives better visibility and confidence on the roads.
* Hand rest on driver seat (for left arm) is a major plus point. I used to drive an Indigo CS before. Lack of an arm rest was a major sore point.

Oddly the same point that gives you confidence took away my confidence when I drove a Scorpio M-Hawk few years back The high center of gravity is extremely evident and the sheer amount of squatting under acceleration, rolling while cornering, shifting from side to side when changing lanes, and diving under braking, was all very unnerving to me.

[sathbhai]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Oddly the same point that gives you confidence took away my confidence when I drove a Scorpio M-Hawk few years back The high center of gravity is extremely evident and the sheer amount of squatting under acceleration, rolling while cornering, shifting from side to side when changing lanes, and diving under braking, was all very unnerving to me.

The new Scorpios have a different frame and a pretty good anti-roll system. Cornering feels pretty safe and easy on my S10.

[GRAND23]

I haven't driven much of old cars. Hence my pick is with recent cars.
1. Honda BRV - I like the ergonomics of the car. Comfortable in long drives. Driven multiple times, loved the car handling and found co-passengers are happy.
2. Ertiga - Though not comfortable for seven seater, push the middle row back and use as 5 seater. It's damn comfortable. The infamous DDIS gives excellent ride too.
3. Innova - As many previous threads, it's a comfortable cruiser.
4. Vento TDI - I personally liked this car behavior in highway. Not as roomier as honda city but driving dynamics keep you thrilled.
5. Honda City - I am fan of this car. Comfortable and spacious seats keep you happy. The legendary 1.5 keeps you smiling in highways. Apart from low end torque and ground clearance I don't have any complaints.

[NFS2024]

My experience of having driven some of the vehicles over long journeys on the highways (meaning 500+ kms one way, good tarmac, bad tarmac, Ghats etc.) include Swift, Grand i10, Punto, Creta, Innova. I have done 500+ kms one way drive in all these vehicles.

Its very easy to drive fast and efficiently in Hatchbacks and Sedans and cover good ground on the highways.

But what is needed on long journeys is a sense of space, which most of the hatchbacks or sedans cannot give. This is where SUVs and MUVs score and they appear to be more comfortable.

If its just me driving or with one more person, then it can be done easily in a hatchback or a sedan. But the moment the number of passengers increase, the equation changes and you would need an SUV or a MUV to do the journey in comfort for all.

[gkrishk]

Comfort also depends on maintaining a steady progress at a steady speed. The Kerala highways are chock-a-block with all types of vehicles, all running at differrent speeds so inevitably one ends up accelerating and braking every few seconds. This results in extreme fatigue if you have to spend more than an hour at the wheel.

[shajufx]

My long drives so far. Its personal views based on the mentioned trips, might vary bigtime for other routes, persons, conditions etc.

1. Porsche 911 in 2003 (Muscat to Dubai and back same day) Super fast, tiring, distance was not felt but my back was in pain after returning.
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII in 2004 (Muscat to Dubai and back same day) Comfortable but again my back was in pain after the trip.
3. Wagon R in 2008 (BLR to Cochin and back) Very tiring, entire body had aches next day, decided I will never try such a car for long drives ever !
4. Skoda Octavia in 2009 (BLR to Cochin and back) Very comfortable, fresh throughout the journey, never felt the distance.
5. Toyota Innova in 2010 (BLR to Coorg and back) very comfortable, fresh throughout the journey, mildly felt the distance.
6. Ford Fiesta in 2011 (BLR to Cochin and back, Multiple Highway Runs) Very comfortable, no tired feeling, no aches, always felt want to drive more.
7. Scorpio in 2012 (BLR to Kaas - Pune and back) Average ride quality, tired feeling, distance is terribly felt, body aches after the trip.
8. Range Rover in 2013 (Muscat to Sohar and back) Feels like a king on the highway, never feels the distance but feel tired after the trip.
9. Porsche Cayenne Turbo in 2014 (Muscat to Sohar and back) Goes like a rocket, never feels the distance nor noise, no tired feeling, wish the roads never ended.
10. All New Ford Figo in 2015 (BLR to Vythiri and back) Mightily surprised with the comfort levels, never felt tired, no body aches, distance felt many times.
11. BMW X1 in 2016 (BLR to Cochin, Kottayam, Alleppey and back) Powerful, feels comfortable throughout, no body aches, distance is never felt, but road noise is a big negative due to its RFTs.

I hope I have done justice to my personal views on what I have experienced till date. As a summary, I would pick Innova if I have a driver, X1 if I am driving myself

[Ragavsr]

Have done Trivandrum to Chennai in a single day through Kanyakumari and Madurai. Started at 6AM and reached home in Chennai by 830 PM.

Have done Chennai- Valparai, Chennai - Ooty, Wayanad - Chennai, Mantralayam - Chennai as well in a single day.