Here are some photographs clicked during the trip:





























































Trip updates concluded.

[S_U_N]

Great trip!

The XUV in indeed a no-nonsense reliable workhorse. I cannot imagine why people pay more than twice for a Fortuner.

BTW: Why is diesel so expensive in Gujarat? Last year, when I filled up petrol in Baroda, it was cheaper by around 3-5 Rs. compared to Maharashtra.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

Great trip!

Thanks for the appreciation, S_U_N.

The XUV in indeed a no-nonsense reliable workhorse.

That's why XUV 500 is selling like hot cakes in that segment.

Why is diesel so expensive in Gujarat? Last year, when I filled up petrol in Baroda, it was cheaper by around 3-5 Rs. compared to Maharashtra.

Even now, diesel is costlier in MH [₹ 66+/litre in Konduskar's BP pump at Kolhapur NH 4 bypass] than GJ [₹ 65.65/litre in BP COCOO, Luvara, Bharuch]. That's why, Purple Cheetah had tankful in KA avoiding MH! I find too much of price variation in petrol pricing in different states/UT than diesel's, perhaps attributable to the tax rates of petrol vis-a-vis diesel.

[Seran Manian]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Here are some photographs clicked during the trip:

Trip updates concluded.

Beautiful pictures. Pictures of Amritsar brought back y memories of 1981-83 when I was working in Punjab.

Bench Shot(?) of Golden Temple's view at night was great (Except for the 2 Sardharjis in the picture being a spoil sport with out their knowledge - I mean the shake ).

I cannot forget the quality of food I enjoyed in Punjab during my stay. Simply superb. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[CliffHanger]

Wow.. Amazing pics..

Sir, how is the in-cabin noise compared to the Linea?

Originally Posted by Seran Manian

Bench Shot(?) of Golden Temple's view at night was great

That photograph was clicked by my son using tripod. Thanks for the appreciation and kind words, Seran Manian.

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Sir, how is the in-cabin noise compared to the Linea?

Cabin is well insulated, far better than my erstwhile Linea. In the beginning, I thought the horns were weak and had wrongly mentioned in my opening post # 1 of this thread as follows:

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

[*]Not so powerful horns. My Thunderbird 500 has better horns. My Purple Cheetah just meows, as Cheetahs cannot roar!

Later, I realized that the horns are powerful and more than adequate, when I honked with the window glass lowered. I take this opportunity to correct my wrong statement: the horns are powerful and more than adequate; if the horn could not be heard inside the cabin, it is due to the fact that it is well insulated!

Thanks for the compliments, CliffHanger.

We thanked Purple Cheetah and Black Bull for giving us trouble-free trips and prayed for the same in the future on the occasion of Ayudha Puja.

[vgsr]

Absolutely fascinated to read your posts. One of the reasons I retired early from my work was to do these kind of trips . I bought a Captiva LTZ, with AWD for the purpose, four years back. But apart from driving to Mumbai. Goa. Pune and numerous trips to Hyderabad and Chennai and Ooty, i have not managed a fraction of what you have been doing, mainly due to my business interests . You writeup is an inspiration and I am now determined to make up for lost time .
I have been toying with the idea of giving up my Captiva, which has clocked 66000 kms on the odometer, for an Indian SUV, mainly due to dealer issues and maintenance costs. I did check out the Duster last week. While the drive was good, the overall package left me unimpressed. After reading your posts , I will be testing out the XUV this week, and it looks like you have made another convert .

Originally Posted by vgsr

Absolutely fascinated to read your posts.

Thank you so much for the nice words, vgsr.

One of the reasons I retired early from my work was to do these kind of trips .

Before I availed of voluntary retirement from the service in 2008 mainly due to attractive golden handshake package and far more attractive pension, my drives used to be within south India, covering ~1,500 km in not more than 3 days of leave with preceding and/or following weekends by my MS Omni and Versa. After I bought Linea 1.4 FIRE petrol in 2009, things have changed for better. I started driving beyond south India, covering ~7,000 km in 16-20 days!

I did check out the Duster last week. While the drive was good, the overall package left me unimpressed.

Yes, ditto here. I too test-drove Duster before buying XUV 500. Duster did not pass the test as it did not tick my list of essential Linea features plus cruise control.

After reading your posts , I will be testing out the XUV this week, and it looks like you have made another convert .

I am fully satisfied with XUV 500 especially after the HP trip. Where my erstwhile Linea struggled and bottom-scraped, XUV 500 passed with distinction! I wish you all the best for your next buy.

I had not provided new toiletries for Purple Cheetah even after 9 months of owning it. So, I ordered a 3M car care kit from autofresh.in on 28 Sep 2014 costing ₹ 1,668.42 and got it delivered yesterday evening after 9 days. Purple Cheetah is very happy to receive it.

[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

The FE is marginally higher at 13.98 kmpl due to correction. Sorry for the goof up.

Raviji thanks for providing such comprehensive data on your 7000km journey. I don't know if you had the opportunity to read my post here.

Over the last 3000 odd kms I have been using a fuel additive, that over almost 2000 kms of highway driving has jumped my highway FE from 13.9 to 15.6, a 12% increase. That kind of an increase would have saved you over Rs 4200/- on your diesel bill. Quite a substantial amount you would agree .

Appreciate your thoughts on the matter.

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse

Raviji thanks for providing such comprehensive data on your 7000km journey.

Thanks for the appreciation, Heavy Horse.

I don't know if you had the opportunity to read my post here.

I am unable to open the link provided. If you refer to your following post, yes, I did go through that:

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse

My Experiments with ADON-D on my XUV 500 W8

That kind of an increase would have saved you over Rs 4200/- on your diesel bill.

Notwithstanding the savings of the fuel, one does not know how these additives would act on the engine and whether they are good or bad in the long run. Many manufacturers including Mahindra and Fiat warn their customers against usage of any additives in the fuel other than the specified ones. So, I follow the manufacturer's advice and don't use additives in my cars.

[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Notwithstanding the savings of the fuel, one does not know how these additives would act on the engine and whether they are good or bad in the long run. Many manufacturers including Mahindra and Fiat warn their customers against usage of any additives in the fuel other than the specified ones. So, I follow the manufacturer's advice and don't use additives in my cars.

Very true. That's the conservative approach that most of us follow.
However, what prompted me to use this product is the pedigree since it is from TOTAL France. Additionally this product has been tried in India by Tata Motors. IIT Madras, PCRA and ironically enough by M&M.

You can check it out here

Today, Purple Cheetah gets the company of new Draper Chrome-Vanadium tools costing ₹ 9,359.37. The details are here. I wish the tools remain unused!

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Today, Purple Cheetah gets the company of new Draper Chrome-Vanadium tools costing ₹ 9,359.37. The details are here. I wish the tools remain unused!
]

Ravi Sir, if I recollect it correctly, you had ordered these set of tools from Amazon almost 2 months back, to be delivered to your daughter's place in France. I too wish these tools remain as sparkling as ever and you won't ever have to use them on your XUV.