Dear BHPians, please accept my apologies in not keeping you informed about the XUV7OO experiences for the last couple of months. It's been a hectic pace, with a new job, new location and same wife. My daily commute of 40 km, came down to 40 km per week and now stands at a healthy 40km per month ! The kids get dropped in a much more expensive vehicle - The school bus, which had relieved of the designated driver status to some extent. Further the traffic scene on Avinashi Road in Coimbatore, convinced the almighty, rather grudgingly though, to relieve me of the bonded-labour-driver category. Coimbatore weather does help in easing the passenger mood and the 2-wheeler drive in general with a pleasant breeze almost every day. More on weather in a little bit. But first things first. The traffic situation in coimbatore and general driving dynamics, which I find interesting.
Peak hour traffic is akin to Chennai road traffic, but no where close to Bangalore I guess. But it sucks to be competing with a snail, even more so when you are loosing the race. And so the Almighty who sees and reacts to things in slow motion, is petrified that the traffic movement is only slightly better than ultra slow motion and it was agreed that we shall use the 2 wheeler to carry as many bodies as possible for short commutes and take the Red Rage only when absolutely warranted - like when it's raining or when the sun is beating down. which by the way happens simultaneously almost every day.
- First time in my "India Life", I experienced drivers stop and allow/gesture you to cross.
- Almost all cars are white. Red Rage is only RED XUV700 in the whole of Coimbatore. Atleast I haven't seen one in the wild, which makes dumping bodies a little more trickier.
- Most cars are driven sedately, with proper indicators while changing lanes (if there's any) and no hard acceleration, deceleration, no suicide runs. Perhaps its to do with the number of females drivers on road. Makes the roads a little less road ragy.
- And two wheelers - Whats with these people looking to the left and right while turning. Wearing helmets and still looking at rear-view mirrors and most importantly, not sitting on to the horn. I barely get honked at, both from cars and two wheelers and the roads are generally a lot less noisier. These guys must be made from a different mold.
- While the traffic situation has changed drastically in the last 20 years, since I moved out, it's nice to be back, especially after spending a few months in a hell-hole called "Trichy".
- During night the number of vehicles on high beam in city limits is a lot less.
- I hardly get to see car windshields plastered with the names of family, extended family along with Aadhaar Card, PAN Card details, their religious, political and entertainment affinity. Heck not even the dealer names are there in any of the cars.
- The number of Jeep Cherokee is much more than what I saw in any part of USA.
- Jaguars and Mercedes are self driven, Only the maybachs and ghosts are chauffeured around.
- In any part of India, in order to qualify to be a taxi driver, I think you need to pass the a**H**e certification and Coimbatore Taxis are no exception.
With the vehicle resting for most of the time, tyre pressure is dropping everyday and once a week, I have to top up air. Not the case when I used rot drive this around extensively.
The Arabian Sea is lot closer, which warrants the Red Rage to experience some Arabian Sea breeze. And here is a short.
Will try to write a detailed travelogue in the next few days/weeks.
The Red Rage has been to Kolli Hills, which was a bullet run and so no photos are videos. The nearer hill station is becoming us for sometime now. Hopefully when the rains let up a bit, we may venture up.
However Kerala was a revelation. Storm water drains are used for storm water draining and not toilet draining. Roads and roads everywhere, even the tiniest coastal hamlet had a pukka tar road, albeit all smaller roads. Will try to include someone when I write the travelogue.
And on the vehicle handling and performance - This vehicle doesn't cease to amaze me. Highways, hills, monsoon you throw anything at it, will handle. Except of course mud and slush. I'll try to post a video of the XUVs weak point, where it struggles a wee bit, as compared to MG Hector or a Safari. While mine is not a AWD, I would expect some traction in conditions where a Hector performed a little better.
Nowadays Alexa doesn't work most of the times. I think she got pissed with my kids constantly telling her to self destruct.
There's this weird nose - I call it the surround sound. Sometimes it comes from the driver side A pillar, next passenger side and then back and comes a full circle. Doesn't comeuppance during city runs and comes up during highway runs and that too on random accessions. I suspect its to do something with the tweeter. But since I'm not abler to reproduce it consistently, leaving it aside for now.
Other than that no rattles, no leakages, no mechanical problems. Suspension, braking and general handling has remained consistent.
On the cosmetic part , the seats are extremely challenging to maintain and is already showing dust/dirt accumulation. I tried cleaning it a couple of times and it was like washing an elephant. My hands were tired. So I guess I would have to give it to a detailing centre for just the seats cleaning. Any recommendations for a detailing centre. Btw I do my own wash routine for the outside of the car and is not holding up good with no major swirl marks till date.
It also helps now that the car has a cover car park and is almost always under wraps.
And so the pleasure of owning and driving the XUV continues.
I'll find time over this weekend to test drive the Scorpio N and report my findings/comparison.