[siddheshb]

Thanks GTO, Samurai, Devdath... yes, I need to curb my need for the splash

By the way, this was not sea water, this was at the mouth of a mini fresh water rivulet that meets the beach at that point.

And yes, I spent an hour washing up after every beach drive! But I do need to get a pressure wash done today!

[throttleking]

Originally Posted by GTO

Siddhesh, some truly amazing pictures. Be warned though; driving through water makes for amazing pics, but can destroy your vehicle. The starter and alternator, especially, hate water and don't even get me started on what'll happen if your air intake were to take in some. I don't even drive my SWB Jeep through water.

In addition to that wearing seat belts is eually important.

[siddheshb]

Samara had picked up a persistent and niggling sound (which seemed to come from its bonnet or glove box) after our last weekend trip, and I finally took it to Planet Ford in Pune for a check up today. I was hoping it would be something like a lose screw in the glovebox, because I really didn't want to have to give it for a complete pat-down in the garage, nor could I imagine having to live with the noise. Parag, the engineer who attended Samara in the Quick Service Bay was amazingly committed to the cause, spent more than an hour with me, patiently eliminating possibilities, came with us for a couple of test drives, until he finally isolated and fixed the problem - a lose screw deep under the air filter box.

And the best part, they didn't charge me. It's never about the money, of course, but when a service engineer understands the importance of getting a small niggle fixed for a customer, no matter how long it takes, irrespective of the "ROI", that's great customer service!

[superboy44]

amazing videos and pics man,
you really are putting your endy to its proper use
it sure has an amazing road presence though now its more subdued compared to the previous avatar.

even my cousin brother got the 2.5L 4X2 just a month back, it is brilliant to drive and really is pretty eager off the block.

loved your recipe for donuts but i would strongly suggest you guys to wear seat-belts, also in that video a child was sitting in the front seat, i feel that should be avoided in a car equipped with airbags.

[DSC.CUSTOMS]

Super Videos !
What camera was used ?

[siddheshb]

@superboy44, you are right, it was wrong to have a kid on the front seat, or to drive without seatbelts, something we have consciously started avoiding now! When we started out having fun on the beach, the wide open spaces kinda made us believe we couldn't possibly have a crash.

@DSC.Customs, its a Sony HDR-XR550, nothing too fancy, but for those who love specs, here's something to chew on: Full HD 1080 (AVCHD), 12 MP Wide Angle Still Camera, Night Shot, Steady Shot, 240 GB HDD, 23 h recording time on max HD, 60 h for standard video.

[narchennai]

Lovely videos and you make me more inclined towards owning one next year. It must have been a fantastic experience for your family.

Does this SUv have RHD stalk controls?

[siddheshb]

@narchennai. I am sorry I did not get your question, but if you meant to ask if the light controls and the wiper controls are placed "opposite" to that on the Fiesta, then yes, it is.

[vb-saan]

Hi Siddhesh, just finished reading your Endy experience (perfect for a Monday morning) !
Never been an Endy fan but after reading through your thread, started liking it

I want to check with you - how is the middle row treating the passengers with its 50:50 split seat? Is it comfortable for the middle row passenger, or just managable?

Thank you!

[siddheshb]

@vb-san, frankly, I have never sat there more than a few minutes, but I have had a full load - up to 4 passengers in the middle row, and 3 in the back, for many hundreds of KMs. In fact, just this weekend, we did 600 km with 3 people in the middle row. Not the best experience for the guy in the middle, but not too bad either. The only issue is when you have too much of body roll on ghats, the guy in the middle necessarily ends up using the side passengers for support

[siddheshb]

Check my post on my weekend trip to Bhandardhara and Shrirampur

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...hrirampur.html

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

@vb-san, frankly, I have never sat there more than a few minutes, but I have had a full load - up to 4 passengers in the middle row, and 3 in the back, for many hundreds of KMs. In fact, just this weekend, we did 600 km with 3 people in the middle row. Not the best experience for the guy in the middle, but not too bad either. The only issue is when you have too much of body roll on ghats, the guy in the middle necessarily ends up using the side passengers for support

Thanks Siddhesh for the response. 600kms is more than enough to gauge the comfort of the middle seat. And a bit of tossing around the ghats is ok I guess - a small trade-off for the space offered .

And read through the travel post. Awesome indeed (except for 25K per night cottage rental!)

This is the best (or one of the best) part of having a spacious car like the Endy - Family outing will become a regular norm.

[Paco]

Originally Posted by HillBilly

Attachment 347146

Mobile phone support is really extensive, providing audio as well as SMS interface. Ability to receive and make calls, access phone book, create/send and receive messages on the go is extremely convenient. Once hooked, you can also use the phone's memory to access and play audio on the car's speeakers.

What phone are you using? I cannot access the SMS function with my Sony Ericsson P1i

Attachment 347144

And finally, here's the in-dash Sat Nav from MapMyIndia. I used the in-car unit before, so this was welcome. Does seem to have issues catching the satellites sometimes on cold start, but otherwise works perfectly fine. I do wonder how they will support map upgrades. I couldn't figure it out.
[/quote]

I upgraded to version 4.0 of the maps for free. Its comes on a standard SD card fitted in a black box hidden under the carpet of the front passenger's seat.[/quote]

I can't wait to take a look at the Black Box. Where did you download the 4.0 version from?

[siddheshb]

Here's the latest masti from Samara, a nice big splash at the beach in Dapoli... I think she looks pretty sexy with the lights on

YouTube - 20110312185710

[siddheshb]

Here's a video grab