8200kms update:
Its been a while since I shared my experience about the TJet. I have completed my first service at 5000kms and my jet has been going strong all the while so far. It has also been doing some good highway spins since April. The sore-thumb only is only the rising fuel costs (my movement from Diesel to Petrol..)
First service bill was zero and there has been no issues whatsover with my Jet. Highway mileage has settled at 14-15 (100-120kms/hr) and 10-11 (at consistent speeds above 150). City mileage has been 9-10km/lt with moderate to heavy foot. Trust me, this car cannot be driven slow. I have left trying to be light footed in my jet. Everytime I take the Jet, I drive it the way thinking I own one of the Oil wells.
Last month it was decided to take it for yet another long spin, but this time to "Gods own country".. Yes, I mean to Kerala - Munnar. Before finalizing, a full one week was spent contemplating the place to be visited and finally Munnar was nailed down by three of my friends.
Once the place was finalized, quickly we made the bookings and the enroute was decided as Karur and Madurai uphill and down hill. So here it goes..
The day arrived (20th may) and we were supposed to start by 5 in the evening.. but as usual our office work kept all of us busy until 7PM and finally we left Chennai by 7PM.
20th may:
The Punto’s were full on fuel and mine was hungry and had to feed her a tankful of petrol on the way at Guduvanchery. Initially we decided to stop at one of the motels near Villupuram but everybody felt hungry (after all we also needed fuel to run) and we stopped at Dhindivanam “Aryas” hotel and had a stomach full of food.
Then we started the drive towards Karur.. We were maintaining speeds upto a max of 120 and by 12 am we were at Perambalur. There was consistent traffic which slowed us until Perambalur. We took a short break and started towards Karur.
21st may:
The clock was inching towards the morning and we had still a long way to travel towards Karur and the real pain were the bad roads from Musiri till Karur. For those who are travelling in the near future to Munnar -- avoid the Karur route for atleast a few months. But the enroute looked scenic eventhough it was dark. As the clock inched towards the morning, we really lost patience and our speedo’s were consistently witnessing 150+ wherever there was an opportunity.
By 4AM we reached Karur and checked into “Perry’s Lodge” for a quick stay. It was a decent place for a transit stay. Could have been better though..We had the morning breakfast by 10am and left Karur by 11am!!! the original plan was to leave by 5am. We were running 6 hrs late! From Karur the roads were good and the first half of the ghats sections was again bad. The roads were too narrow and we had to drive real slow and careful.
We took a short break in the ghats section and from there, I lost patience since the clock was already near 3PM. I started unleashing the beast within my jet and started to inch beyond 80km/hr in the ghats..sometimes even 100s. Thanks to the brilliant handling.. never my jet was out of the line and it exhibited absolute composure.
it was real.. real fun to drive the jet at good speeds in the ghats.
Reached Munnar by 6PM and proceeded towards Pothamedu to check in at Tea Valley resorts. Oh man, enroute to Tea vally needs some expertise to drive. The approach road (or better to be described as "no raod") was too narrow and it added to the final thrill in the ride. I mean real thrill. Once has to drive there to experience it. The resort was super cool and we just crashed by 10PM in the night since it was a tiring day driving all along through some of the worst stretches near Karur and initial ghats section and the final drive to resort. I would recommend “TEA VALLEY” to anyone since it had amazing views and out of the city’s buzz. In one word, the resort was very good including the food.
The Jet was a blast to drive with the avg. fuel eff. near 10km/lt including the Ghats with some real pedal to metal drive.
22nd may:
We decided not to take our cars for venturing out in Munnar and hired a Tavera. Th main reason was the approach road the pain in parking at any place in Munnar. The granny (Tavera) arrived with 2lakh Km on the odo but she behaved and looked as a 18 yr old! I couldnt believe when we saw the ODO with a 2lak reading. We spent all day enjoying the weather and sight seeing. Did some elephant and horse ride and had some good fun together..
23 may:
We started by 11.30AM in the morning and this time I was literally ripping my Jet (frequent visits to 100km/hr) and did the entire ghats of close to 75kms within 2.5hrs including three 15 min breaks. So the actual time was 1 hr 45 mins to cover 75kms of ghats. The roads were excellent in the ghats section towards Madurai except for a "very" winding nature. I felt this had some serious turns compared to kodai and ooty or any other ghats I have experienced so far.
Reached Theni by 2PM and completed the lunch in Aryaas. The food was yummy and our tummies were full.
I checked my Avg consumption it was 9.1km/lt. I was OK since I taxed the car to its limits. Again absolute calmness and composure even at 80/90kmhr in the ghats. I did not have to slow down at all. It never, not even once, went out of its line.
Brilliant handling and dynamics. I simply loved it.
Started by 3Pm from Theni and reached Madurai by 4:45pm (75km single road which was good). By 5:30 we were in the outskirts of Madurai and after a tea, proceeded towards the longer part of the travel (Madurai-Chennai of 437kms).
Did frequent 180/190s and reached Villupuram by 7:50Pm (2 hrs 20 mins from Madurai). Had dinner at Arya nivas and proceeded towards Chennai, this time under 120 since my Avg consumption dropped to 10km/lt in the Madurai-Villupuram stretch.. However has some friendly fun with a Laura TDI and an Accord until the Laura pulled over after Chengalpat Toll plaza.
There was a huge traffic jam near Perungulathur and had to almost wait 1 hr before reaching home by 11:30. So it was exactly a 12 hr drive with some super fun with my Jet. It all ended well finally. Enjoyed every bit of my T-Jet. Eyeing Rajastan for the next trip in the Jet by September.
Photos to follow..
Regards,
Sathya