[RJ2285]

I have been wanting to write a small travelogue for quite sometime now, but was not able to, due to my hectic work schedule. Constantly reading travelogues by distinguished BHPians Dr. AD, graaja and many more inspired me to pen this down. While we have a long road trip planned in the next few months, I thought I should start by writing about our recent Mumbai – Mahabaleshwar trip to celebrate my daughter’s 7th birthday.

Post multiple lock downs, I had managed multiple road trips in the last 17 months, one in September 2020 (Mumbai – Goa – Mumbai) and December 2020 (Mumbai – Mahabaleshwar – Mumbai) in our Honda City i-vtec MT. After splurging generously to buy our german beauty, we continued our road trips in 2021. February 2021 (Mumbai – Mangalore – Goa – Mumbai), August 2021 (Mumbai – Nashik – Mumbai, Sula Vineyards), October 2021 (Mumbai – Goa – Mumbai) and December 2021 (Mumbai – Mangalore – Chikamagalur – Mahabaleshwar – Mumbai) in our beloved BMW X1. Most of our road trips though, have been in Maharashtra and down south, however it is my ultimate dream to go on a driving expedition up North. We have something planned in May 2022 (more on that later).

With the onset of Omicron cases in Mumbai, especially in the first few weeks of January, I thought it would be better to step out of Mumbai city and celebrate my daughter’s birthday in Mahabaleshwar with family friends. On discussing the same with Home minister, the idea got approved and the excitement began.

The next step was to book the resort for our stay. Being Club Mahindra members, we decided to book Club Mahindra Sherwood in Mahabaleshwar for 3 nights. Fortunately, rooms were available and we confirmed our booking. Getting a booking in any of the Club Mahindra properties is a herculean task off late. Irrespective of whether one is a Blue / White / Red or Purple member, one is perpetually kept on their waitlist. I bet, if one plans to start a new thread on this forum discussing Club Mahindra property booking challenges, I can guarantee 1000 posts within couple of days

The Journey:

We started our journey from Mumbai on 6th February at 7am.

Being a Sunday, traffic was light and thanks to empty roads we covered Malad – Kamothe (near the start of Mumbai-Pune Expressway) within 1 hour, which otherwise in peak hour traffic takes 2 hours without a doubt.



Bombay to Pune:

Traffic was light from Malad to Kamothe, lost 10 minutes at the Vashi toll, thanks to cars whose Fastag didn’t work (I always thought Fastag was introduced to reduce traffic at toll booths, maybe I was wrong!), then hit a 10-minute jam heading to the Khalapur toll. We had packed theplas for breakfast and hence did not halt anywhere on the expressway. We made good speed and crossed Pune within 2.5 hours of our start.

Around 10:20am, a little more than 3 and a half hours after we started, we spotted a McDonalds for a 30min snack break. In the name of healthy, they have started offering a small cup of boiled corn. They have managed to do a nice tick in the box to answer, “Do you sell anything healthy?”. In 2022 when so many restaurants have come out with healthy eating options in their menu, McDonalds has the guts to continue selling junk without having to worry of footfalls going down. Coming back to our trip, few clicks:





Fortunately, the road condition was much better than what I had anticipated. I loved driving the X1 throughout( I have captured how the car drove at the end of the travelogue, just incase you want to head there right now). Meanwhile, our family friends started from Hiranandani Estate, Thane at 8am and were tracking approximately 1 hour behind me. The MID showed I had averaged 70 kmph.

After a delicious Peri Peri chicken burger (I know I called their food junk a while back, but I still love it! Period!) and my favorite Americano from McCafe, we set off again.

Roads in Wai towards Mahabaleshwar were not as super smooth as usual, but progress was still rapid. Somewhere on the ghats, I decided to stop and do a small photoshoot:










After Wai towards Mahabaleshwar:















Finally after 6 hours of driving, we reached our destination:

Club Mahindra Sherwood:


The Room:


Outside area:


Thanks to this, I could check my emails, otherwise network at the property was pathetic.


At Mahabaleshwar:

After a sumptous breakfast the next day, we headed towards Mapro Garden. For Bhpians who are not from Mumbai, Mapro garden is one of the popular tourist places to visit in Mahabaleshwar. Mapro is an abbreviation of a famous establishment called Mahabaleshwar Products, making luxurious organic product-based supplies. The destination houses an industrial chocolate facility, an eatery cum bistro, a nursery, and a kids' play zone alongside a retail outlet that sells Mapro items. The cafe serves luscious food made out of natural ingredients sourced locally. They have a collection of indulgences to choose from, including sandwiches and pizzas.

Kids I tell you!


Strawberry cream:


If you ever plan a holiday to Mahabaleshwar, you should visit Mapro garden to taste their exquisite strawberry with whipped cream. Yummylicious!

Our plan in Mahabaleshwar was to chill and soak in the atmosphere while celebrating our daughter's birthday ofcourse. Temperatures late evening would drop to as low as 9 degrees, very chilly for people like us who come from warmer lands. During our stay for 3 nights, we went to Brightland Resort & Spa for Lunch once and also visited Ivy Resort & Spa as they have a big strawberry farm and it has now become a yearly ritual to go there whenever we visit Mahabaleshwar to pack fresh strawberries. They also allow children to pluck strawberries from the farm and my daughter was happily engrossed for 30mins helping them pack for us, also getting a lot of Vitamin D in the process.

Few pics at the property:

Road towards Ivy Park Resort & Spa:


Yes, I did this in in the X1:






All in all, we enjoyed our stay and the drive back from Mahabaleshwar to Mumbai was uneventful. On our way back, we took 1 halt near Panchgani before exiting Mahabaleshwar at the below place since we did not have breakfast at the resort. Thanks to my daughter’s online school.

We halted here:






Most importantly, the X1:

X1 is genuinely fun to drive and a very capable car. I really enjoyed driving it on the twisties, especially the ghat section towards Mahabaleshwar. It is agile and extremely tractable, nimble to handle and fast on the highway too. It is undoubtedly an extremely competent handler. Brakes are effective and the pedal feel / travel is well modulated. Suspension is definitely on the firmer side but I find it nicely balanced between ride and handling. On the highway, this car begs to be pushed hard through corners, but a tyre with 225mm width, I am very cautious and not adventurous. I moved to tubeless over the Run-flat tyres and since then I have a wide on my face, feels like I am driving on carpet.

Engine is silent at idle but a slight diesel clatter can be heard as the RPM builds. As the speed increases, the auto gearbox does a very good job in keeping the engine silent. Slight lag can be felt in the Comfort mode which is well managed by the AISIN gearbox. In Sports mode the engine gets into a beast mode and is always ready to zip through with the slightest throttle input. Coming from a Honda City, Power is more than adequate and readily available at any given point of time. The only fly in the ointment being it is a FWD and not RWD. Some day!

Thank you for reading!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[SILVER-ARROW]

Nice Writeup RJ 2285. Mahabaleshwar is truly a serene place to enjoy the cool weather and unwind oneself with family/friends.

X1 Looks gorgeous in the Mediterranean blue and is defiantly drool-worthy
Wish you many more happy miles in this beauty.

Will be awaiting your travelogue for the May 2022 drive. Untill then keep revving!

[Frusciante]

Nice travelogue. We have a lot in common, lol. For starters, I'm from Kandivali Mumbai (you from Malad), had a Honda City ivetch MT, upgraded my car last year and the X1 was in my final list of contenders but finally went with a Citroen C5. And my first long trip was to Mahabaleshwar. I was staying in the Marriott very close to Club Mahindra. Great pics you got there. I went further up on the Mahabaleshwar-Mumbai route from Mahad because the drive (though steeper) has stunning and very raw hilly views. Got my next big trip to Goa + Gokarna coming up next week. Cheers and happy motoring.

[Sarath_]

Originally Posted by RJ2285

Most importantly, the X1:

X1 is genuinely fun to drive and a very capable car. I really enjoyed driving it on the twisties, especially the ghat section towards Mahabaleshwar. It is agile and extremely tractable, nimble to handle and fast on the highway too. It is undoubtedly an extremely competent handler. Brakes are effective and the pedal feel / travel is well modulated. Suspension is definitely on the firmer side but I find it nicely balanced between ride and handling. On the highway, this car begs to be pushed hard through corners, but a tyre with 225mm width, I am very cautious and not adventurous. I moved to tubeless over the Run-flat tyres and since then I have a wide on my face, feels like I am driving on carpet.

Engine is silent at idle but a slight diesel clatter can be heard as the RPM builds. As the speed increases, the auto gearbox does a very good job in keeping the engine silent. Slight lag can be felt in the Comfort mode which is well managed by the AISIN gearbox. In Sports mode the engine gets into a beast mode and is always ready to zip through with the slightest throttle input. Coming from a Honda City, Power is more than adequate and readily available at any given point of time. The only fly in the ointment being it is a FWD and not RWD. Some day!

Thank you for reading!

Thanks for sharing. It was a wonderful read.

If I may ask, what all steps did you take to get your X1 road ready for the long trip?

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by RJ2285

I thought I should start by writing about our recent Mumbai – Mahabaleshwar trip to celebrate my daughter’s 7th birthday.

Hey RJ. Great write up, super trip and a very happy (belated!!) bday to the little one.

Originally Posted by RJ2285

Post multiple lock downs, I had managed multiple road trips in the last 17 months,
..
Most of our road trips though, have been in Maharashtra and down south, however it is my ultimate dream to go on a driving expedition up North. We have something planned in May 2022 (more on that later).

Can’t wait to hear more about the last one. I am so happy to see you enjoying your X1 to the fullest just like you did with the city. Plant as many kms as you can while you own this. They’re a joy on road trips and do make the most of the BMW. I’ve been to Panchgani thrice in 2022 and now feel like I know the route backwards. We did some beautiful riding in the wider Panchgani area including riding to Tapola lake, to Kaas (not the season, i know but the ride was still lovely) and missed riding back via the windmills which is also highly recommended. The roads are a mixed bag on these routes but are still simply too scenic to miss. Your X1 would have pulled it off easily and the next time you’re going, we should connect and I’ll share the specific routes with you. Sharing just a screen grab for now. The first was a 50km circuit and the second a 175 km circuit which returned via highway but honestly we should have come back via the internal roads via Medha and the windmills instead. We got tempted by newly baked wide sweeping tar roads post Kaas.

Originally Posted by RJ2285

The next step was to book the resort for our stay. Being Club Mahindra members, we decided to book Club Mahindra Sherwood in Mahabaleshwar for 3 nights. Fortunately, rooms were available and we confirmed our booking. Getting a booking in any of the Club Mahindra properties is a herculean task off late.

Please do give Prospect Panchgani a shot the next time. For good reason its become my go to place to stay at Panchgani. Absolutely brilliant to just chill, located at the start itself, excellent food. An image at Prospect below.

Originally Posted by RJ2285

Around 10:20am, a little more than 3 and a half hours after we started, we spotted a McDonalds for a 30min snack break.

Is this the McDonalds just after Khed Shivapur toll plaza (pump next to it is dug up all around and it has a Datta right next to it?)

Originally Posted by RJ2285

Roads in Wai towards Mahabaleshwar were not as super smooth as usual, but progress was still rapid.

Nothing your X1 needs to be concerned about - specially now that its been shod with tubeless.

Originally Posted by RJ2285

The only fly in the ointment being it is a FWD and not RWD. Some day!

I’m sure you can find an RWD in your immediate circuit that is available to you anytime.

[graaja]

Awesome write up. The X1 looks fantastic in this dark shade. It’s great to see that you do lots of road trips and use the cars as they are supposed to be used. Looking forward to many more trips and experiences.

[PapaBravo]

Great Trip Report RJ. Belated Happy Birthday to the lil one.

Your X1 looks lovely with those beautiful backdrops !!

Originally Posted by RJ2285

Yes, I did this in in the X1:

X1 can definitely handle more than that. In the last 1 year, I have driven my X1 in worse roads in the Himalayas & Forests.

PS: I got rid of the RFTs too.

Cheers,
Pawan

[RJ2285]

Originally Posted by PapaBravo

Great Trip Report RJ. Belated Happy Birthday to the lil one.

X1 can definitely handle more than that. In the last 1 year, I have driven my X1 in worse roads in the Himalayas & Forests.

Thank you for the wishes PapaBravo! I have always been very conscious of the limitations of the X1, being a FWD. However your experience gives me the confidence to explore more. Look forward to reading your experiences in the Himalayas & Forests.

Originally Posted by Sarath_

If I may ask, what all steps did you take to get your X1 road ready for the long trip?

To be honest, nothing. The X1 is covered under BSI / BRI and I strictly follow the CBS (Engine Oil change was carried out before the drive). No special preparations. Most importantly, Mahabaleshwar is just 275km from Mumbai and we have done multiple 1000km road trips in the past, hence we did not do anything differently to get the X1 road ready.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Hey RJ. Great write up, super trip and a very happy (belated!!) bday to the little one.

Thank you Mod! Congratulations, on your new role!

Originally Posted by Axe77

I’ve been to Panchgani thrice in 2022 and now feel like I know the route backwards. Your X1 would have pulled it off easily and the next time you’re going, we should connect and I’ll share the specific routes with you.

Sure, will definitely connect and take recommendations. You must have had a surreal experience riding through some picturesque landscapes.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Please do give Prospect Panchgani a shot the next time. For good reason its become my go to place to stay at Panchgani. Absolutely brilliant to just chill, located at the start itself, excellent food.

Certainly. I have heard a lot about this place and will definitely stay there when we plan our next trip to Mahabaleshwar. We had a lot of days accumulated with Club Mahindra and hence, did not research much before heading there. We were loosely toying with the idea of Marriott initially assuming they have opened recently. Eventually, we dropped the idea as soon as our booking got confirmed at Club Mahindra's sherwood property.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Is this the McDonalds just after Khed Shivapur toll plaza (pump next to it is dug up all around and it has a Datta right next to it?)

Correct!

Originally Posted by Axe77

I’m sure you can find an RWD in your immediate circuit that is available to you anytime.

haha. How did I forget that

Originally Posted by graaja

Awesome write up. The X1 looks fantastic in this dark shade. It’s great to see that you do lots of road trips and use the cars as they are supposed to be used. Looking forward to many more trips and experiences.

Thank you Graaja! Your threads have been an inspiration and a great source of learning for me, especially the fitness thread. Loved your Northeast travelogue. Read it twice! Your thread inspires me to drive the X1 across the country and I am now mentally prepared to shed by inhibitions and drive up north. Heck, you stayed in Mirzapur, with the stunning GT, Respect!

Originally Posted by Frusciante

We have a lot in common, lol. For starters, I'm from Kandivali Mumbai (you from Malad), had a Honda City ivtec MT, upgraded my car last year and the X1 was in my final list of contenders but finally went with a Citroen C5. And my first long trip was to Mahabaleshwar. I was staying in the Marriott very close to Club Mahindra. Great pics you got there. Got my next big trip to Goa + Gokarna coming up next week.

Whoa! We really have a lot in common. Citroen C5 is such a beautiful car inside out with an excellent ride quality. Enjoy the car and all the very best for your trip to Gokarna / Goa. We halted at Gokarna on our way to Mangalore in 2021. The drive is scenic and you will enjoy every km of the drive. Look forward to your driving experience and please share a travelogue with loads of pictures so we enthusiasts can drool over your french beauty!

Originally Posted by SILVER-ARROW

Nice Writeup RJ 2285.
X1 Looks gorgeous in the Mediterranean blue. Will be awaiting your travelogue for the May 2022 drive. Untill then keep revving!

Thank you bud! Yes, it does look gorgeous in that shade of blue. May 2022 plan is in the works and will definitely write a long piece on that trip too. Happy Motoring!

[yashg]

Great write up @RJ2285. Another BHPian from Malad here. We had done a Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani trip back in December 2021 in our Ford Aspire. My second Mahabaleshwar trip in Aspire and the longest road trip I have done. It's a really beautiful drive amidst the Sahyadris.

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Attachment 2273937
:

Hi Axe77, I was planning for this route(Kaas- Tapola- Mahabaleshwar ) to be taken on bike. Can a Street Triple handle this or it will be too much of bad roads to enjoy?

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by abhi_tjet

Hi Axe77, I was planning for this route(Kaas- Tapola- Mahabaleshwar ) to be taken on bike. Can a Street Triple handle this or it will be too much of bad roads to enjoy?

It’ll definitely handle it but it does have bad patches that you’ll have to be careful on.

Go for it - its a lovely scenic route.