[Heavy Horse]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

P Cheetah took us from Bangalore to Hampi and back. We stayed at Hyatt Place, Vidyanagar Township, Toranagallu, visited Hampi on 26 Dec 2016 and returned to Bangalore yesterday. We took Anantapur route for both up and down drives.

I'm sure you must have loved it. We visited on Oct 27-28, and thoroughly enjoyed. From Hampi we went to Bangalore via Chitradurga, shortest route suggested by Google Mapa, but the stretch to Chitradurga was horrible. Off course 4 laning work is on in full swing, which is the good part.
How did you decide to avoid this and take the longer route via Ananatpur? Were you aware of the road condition?

P Cheetah brought us safely to Adyar, Chennai at 12 noon. We had left Basaveswara Nagar, Bangalore at 5:40 am today. Dense fog accompanied us all the way to Krishnagiri. We breakfasted at A2B, Arcot bypass between 9 and 10 am.


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Originally Posted by AutoIndian

vow, very nice pictures Ravi Sir. Don't know when I will be lucky enough to visit this historical wonder.

Thanks, AutoIndian. I am sure, you and your family will definitely enjoy a visit to Hampi.

Originally Posted by Heavy Horse

How did you decide to avoid this and take the longer route via Ananatpur? Were you aware of the road condition?

Yes, I got the latest status from Team-BHP and decided to avoid the Chitradurga route, although my dash navigator and my smartphone's NaviMaps recommended it. Secondly, I had to drop my son at the airport. So, I selected the Anantapur route. The road was bad for a couple of km after the turn at Anantapur towards Bellary. While returning, we visited VIMS, Bellary as my daughter wanted to meet her friend. From Bellary, NaviMaps recommended Anantapur route via Rupanagudi SH. This route had a coupla km of bad stretch at KA-AP border. Later, the AP SH was good, but narrow until it joined the NH at Uravakonda.

Reached Bangalore Basaveswara Nagar home at 00:25 am today. We had left Chennai Vadapalani at 5:45 pm yesterday. We had a dinner break for an hour at A2B, Arcot Bypass from 7:45 to 8:45 pm.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Reached Bangalore Basaveswara Nagar home at 00:25 am today. We had left Chennai Vadapalani at 5:45 pm yesterday. We had a dinner break for an hour at A2B, Arcot Bypass from 7:45 to 8:45 pm.

Attachment 1593391

Dear Ravi sir

It is amazing to see you traversing the length and breadth of India in your Purple Cheetah.

Since I frequent the Chennai-Bangalore route (Albeit, till Vaniyambadi), I suggest you to try Hotel Alankar instead of A2B. Hotel Alankar is on the left side when you are going towards Bangalore, just before the famous Ratnagiri Temple.

I have not checked the thread if you have visited this place earlier, but I can say that Alankar is many times better than A2B.

Originally Posted by MAS

I suggest you to try Hotel Alankar instead of A2B.

Thanks for the compliments and excellent suggestion, MAS.

My Bangalore<=>Chennai trips are usually non-stop night drives between 10:30 pm and 4 am. But then, there are exceptions, when my preferences are are overtaken by other's. Last night, I saw many cars parked in front of Hotel Alankar, making me feel that it must be a good alternative to the other famous eateries on that section.

I have not checked the thread if you have visited this place earlier

No, I haven't visited Alankar yet. But, my wife mentioned about it, whenever we drove in front of it.

I can say that Alankar is many times better than A2B.

I will try Alankar, the next time. The main disadvantage with A2B is that I had to drive 2.5 km towards Chennai to take a U turn to get back towards Bangalore, resulting in 5 km increase in the trip distance.

P Cheetah is getting more life-saving tools from UK/France.



Two more tools are in transit from UK to France.

The second and final batch of tools have reached Paris from Germany to UK to France.



Now, I am eagerly waiting for their arrival in Bangalore.

P Cheetah just now returned to its den after participating in a Team-BHP meet at Kamat Upachar, Chikkaballapura.



More photos are here.

Today, I received the 2" x 4' 3M reflective tapes in white, red and yellow colours from amazon.in. Now, P Cheetah wears some of these tapes, not only to enhance its safety, but also to hide the scratches and spots due to insect/stone hits. They also serve as shields to take the future insect/stone hits.

Toys for me and tools for P Cheetah!

Today, my daughter brought these tools from Paris to Bangalore. Bangalore customs staff asked her what were the 'machinery' she brought. She replied that they were car tools being presented to her dad. Then, they let her go.

1. CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger

2. TireTek Tyre Pressure Gauge

3. Draper Tyre Pressure Gauge

4. Heyner Maxxair 230V 500W compressor

5. Heyner Wheel Wrench

6. Heyner LED torchlight [freebie]





Opting for the foreign exchange rate offered by my credit card issuer resulted in my saving ₹ 246 as amazon's and PayPal's offers were costlier.

Here is the FIR on unboxing:









Except TPMS, all others agree on the front right tyre pressure!



Presently, I use VIAIR 85P portable compressor since 2011 and VIAIR digital pressure gauge since 2014. But, I was very keen on buying a portable compressor that runs on 230V mains so that P Cheetah's aging battery need not be overloaded. Similarly, I wanted to buy a good analogue pressure gauge as my digital gauge requires battery replacement and is cumbersome to use, when it comes to checking the pressure of my Thunderbird 500's rear wheel. My search ended at Amazon UK and Heyner, Germany, coinciding with my daughter's official visit to Paris.

P Cheetah brought us to Chennai Royapettah home safely and comfortably at 1:15 pm today. We had left Bangalore Basaveswara Nagar home at 6:15 am today. Breakfasted at A2B, Arcot Bypass. Fog played hide-and-seek upto Krishnagiri.

[Sheel]

Just asking, if you change your ride now, would you go for an XUV AWD or something else? And if you have managed to drive an AWD variant and compare it side by side?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Sheel

Just asking, if you change your ride now, would you go for an XUV AWD or something else?

I don't intend to part company with my P Cheetah atleast for a couple of years. Anyways, I like Jeep and may go for it in future, if a model/variant is available within my budget, subject to many ifs, buts and provideds!

And if you have managed to drive an AWD variant and compare it side by side?

No, I have not driven XUV 500 AWD. While test-riding XUV 500, my first preference was AWD, but it was not available both in Bangalore or Chennai. Year-end discount, plant shut-down, limited availability, etc. forced me to opt for P Cheetah.

We drove to Tindivanam and back to attend a marriage reception. Left Chennai Royapettah home at 3:45 pm yesterday and returned at 00:10 am today. 244 km. Traffic jams were order of the day both in the up and return trips.

I continued my experiment with CTEK battery charger today. P Cheetah's 3 year-old OE battery is in tip-top condition, thanks to the recent two long drives.