[adityaprasoon]

I had always wanted to do a road trip covering the expanse of this country but didn't know I would do it with a short planning.
This all started when a friend of mine began planning to buy a car. The shortlisting, test drives, comparisons and finalizing deserves another thread of it's own as it was quite a long process. Skipping all that for now, he finally purchased Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Zeta Petrol.
He wanted to get a bharat series registration but during our visits to several showrooms of different companies in Bangalore we learnt that RTOs in Karnataka are not giving BH number to employees of private companies. Relevent discussion - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...employees.html

So after talking to some people in his hometown of Raebareli, UP he found out that not only can he get BH registration but the waiting time for his preferred variant was also very less there. Almost instantly we decided to do it. We were three friends going to do a ~2k km long road trip to bring the car from Raebareli to Bangalore with a month's notice. It was decided that we will let the car get it's first servicing (which is due in 30 days) and then bring it to Bangalore. With some effort we were able to get leaves approved and began planning.

From Google Maps
Total distance - 1850 kms
Expected driving time - 35 Hrs

We were going to go through six states: UP - MP - Maharashtra - Telangana - Andhra - Karnataka. The route we decided to take is straight forward: Raebareli - Prayagraj - Rewa - Jabalpur - Nagpur - Hyderabad - Bangalore. There is some information about this route in https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...bangalore.html (Route from Lucknow to Bangalore). We plannedto do the journey over 3 days. Our night halt was going to be in Nagpur and Anantapur. Bangalore is ~200kms from Anantapur and we planned to do it leisurely on the third day.
Our tight schedule prevented us from deviating for site-seeing along the way nevertheless I was excited to go though a variety of landscapes in a short duration of 3 days..

On 19th May we flew to Lucknow from Bangalore. Raebareli is 1.5 Hrs drive from there. We reached Raebareli in late afternoon. We spend the rest of the day checking out the city and having some much missed north Indian snacks. In the evening we took the Grand Vitara for a small spin and then slept with alarm set for 4AM. We wanted to leave early to beat the morning traffic in Prayagraj.

Day 1 Leg 1 - Raebareli to Prayagraj

Distance - 121 kms
Time of travel - 0530 Hrs
Expected time - 2 hrs 40 mins
Actual time taken - 2 hrs 40 mins
Route - Raebareli - Unchahar - Manikpur - Kunda - Phaphamau - Prayagraj


The road is quite good but it's two lane single carriageway all the way and it passes though many small towns. Safe speed is below 80 kmph so it takes more than 2.5 hours.

Some pictures -
Somewhere enroute to Prayagraj


Crossing Ganga before entering Pryagraj


We took a 50 mins break at Prayagraj as my friend had to visit some relatives. We had a light breakfast and left sharp at 9AM. Our next stop was going to be at Jabalpur.

Day 1 Leg 2 - Prayagraj to Jabalpur

Distance - 365 kms
Time of travel - 0900 Hrs
Expected time - 6 hrs 50 mins
Actual time taken - 6 Hrs 40 mins with lunch halt.
Route - Prayagraj - Reva - Katni - Jabalpur, (NH 30)


We had initially planned to stop at Jabalpur but around noon we got hungry and stopped at a dhaba after crossing reva.

Some pictures -

Crossing Yamuna over Hanging Bridge, while leaving Prayagraj


View of Yamuna from the bridge


Wide and desolate road after entering MP


Landscape changed from the plains to first sight of plateu


Stopped at a roadside dhaba. We insisted to eat on the cot for some authentic feel . Food was good.


Grand Vitara resting as we had our lunch. It was difficult to find shade with very few trees beside the highway.


Front view


Soon we were over concrete roads. Concrete road continued for most of highway in MP. The tyre noise increase on these roads but the Grand Vitara is noticeably quiet in the inside.


It was a bright sunny day and sunglass was a must to prevent eye strain


Most of eastern MP is thinly populated


We found a small stretch of green land almost like an oasis in a desert


There are many places of site seeing along the way but we could not visit any as we wanted to reach Nagpur before dusk. Kajuraho is around 170kms west of Rewa and near Jabalpur is Bedaghat, famous for Narmada passing though it's marble rocks.

Day 1 Leg 3 - Jabalpur to Nagpur

Distance - 272 kms
Time of travel - 1500 Hrs
Expected time - 5 hrs
Actual time taken - ~4 hrs
Route - Jabalpur - Seoni - Mansar - Nagpur



Crossed the Pench National Park.


Barrier is erected on both side of the road, supposedly to keep animals away from the highway. Some monkeys were seen sitting on the fence.


We reached Nagpur just when the sun was going down. It was a long day. We started looking for a hotel.


We bypassed Nagpur and found an OYO just on the outskirts. It was right by the highway. It was almost 7PM and we decided to call it a day.


The hotel was in the middle of nowhere. But it had covered parking and after a long day all we needed was a cold shower and an AC room. Booked two rooms for a total of Rs 1800.


After we settled in the hotel we started to look for some place to eat. We thought we would have to go inside Nagpur city but surprisingly found a restaurant nearby in google maps. It was called Hungry House Garden Restaurant and hungry we were.

Didn't click many pictures in the restaurant but it was a really well put together outdoor dining. Apparently Nagpur people come for a drive and have dinner here.

[adityaprasoon]

Day 2 Leg 1 - Nagpur to Hyderabad

Distance - 501 Kms
Time of travel - 0543 Hrs
Expected time - 9 Hrs 30 Mins
Actual time taken - ~8Hrs
Route - Nagpur - Adilabad - Brahmanpalle - Chegunta - Hyderabad


Soon after leaving Nagpur we saw some large black rocks. The variety of landscape in India in indeed remarkable.


After an hour we filled the tank and took a short break.


The flora changed from what we were seeing in MP. From bushy small leaves shrubs we were now in land of green and colorful gulmohars .


More gulmohars of various color flowers.






In the thread about Lucknow-Bangalore route (Route from Lucknow to Bangalore) there is mention of bad road patches after Nagpur but we did not find any. We did find many patches of repair work, seems like repair work was done recently. There were some sections with minor undulations but it was manageable for the softer suspension of the Grand Vitara.

We reached Hyderabad a lot earlier than we had thought. We thought of going to the city and have some delicacies but instead decided to cover longer distance the same day. We had to attend work the next day after all.

We bypassed Hyderabad using the Nehru Outer Ring Road. It is a 8 lane fantastic ring road. We drove on it for about 60 kms to completely bypass the city. Unlike the ring road of Bangalore this felt like an actual OUTER ring road.

Nehru ring road, Hyderabad - actually saves time.


Fantastic 8 lane ring road. There were various entries and exits. Appeared well planned.


As we were driving over the ring road we witnessed several large constructions. Apparently residential. For a while the three of us compared it with the ORR of Bangalore and contemplated moving to Hyderabad

We were hungry and could not find anything to several kms after exiting Hyderabad. Finally found a place and as soon as we alighted the car, we were greeted by the burning sun. We quickly dropped the idea of moving to Hyderabad and started praising Bangalore weather.

Day 2 Leg 2 - Hyderabad to Anantapur

Distance - 407 kms
Time of travel - 1340 Hrs
Expected time - 6 Hrs 40 mins
Actual time taken - ~5 Hrs
Route - Hyderabad - Pebbair - Kurnool - Gooty - Anantapur


Fortunately there was some short drizzle soon and the weather calmed a bit.




However the rain was short lived and clear skies returned. We were on our way to Anantapur.


We had initially planned to stay at Anantapur and leave at dawn to make it to Bangalore in time to attend office. But the roads were good and we were able to sustain good triple digit speed.


We decided not to stop at Anantapur and instead reach Bangalore the same day. Bangalore is about 200 kms from Anantapur and we estimated we would reach home well before midnight. I usually play John Denver's Country Roads on the last stretch of every return road trip. So that's what we did and set out for home.

Day 2 Leg 3 (What was supposed to be Day 3) - Anantapur to Bangalore

Distance - 203 kms
Time of travel - 1900 Hrs
Expected time - 3 hrs 30 mins
Actual time taken - 3 hrs 30 mins
Route - Anantapur - Penukonda - Chikkaballapur - Devanahalli - Bangalore


It started raining soon after we crossed Anantapur. The sky got lit up several times by lightening.


Crossed KIA's plant in Andhra Pradesh.


Thunder and lightening continued till we reach home.


Finally we crossed Devanahalli and entered Bangalore. We were greeted by traffic jam right from the toll booth near airport. We were home before midnight as we had estimated.

This is the longest road trip that I have done in a span of 2 days. Good company, good roads and good music made the trip really enjoyable and in the end I was left wanting for more. I would have gone on for one more day.

[adityaprasoon]

I would like to add few thoughts on the Grand Vitara. This is not a review by any means but a first impression after spending 2 days and nearly 2000 kms in one.

Engine
We drove in the smart hybrid variant which has Maruti's trusted 1.5 litre NA engine. (The strong hybrid variant has Toyota's 3 cylinder engine). The engine is well refined. I was apprehensive of the performance as Grand Vitara is much bigger than Breeza/S-Cross/Ertiga/XL6, the other cars which have the same engine. But engine performance was adequate for indian road conditions. It won't win you drag races but can comfortably cruise at 100-120 kmph on highways while staying quiet and vibration free. In city too it is not too bad and I was able to get around mostly in 3rd gear.

Mileage
We consistently got 15-16 km/litre on the highway runs(full tank to full tank). The instrument console showed usually 1km/litre more than what we actually got. We drove mostly in 100-120 kmph range. This was with 3 people, almost full boot and AC running all the way.

Braking
I was impressed by the braking. 4 disk brakes do translate in an above average braking in this big sized car.

Suspension
It has soft suspension setup and as a result the car has it's fair share of body roll. But on the flip side it is comfortable and evens out any undulations on straight highways. The experience on ghats may be different.

Seat comfort
I found the front seats more comfortable that the back ones. The cushioning is adequate and none of us felt any body pain during or after the journey.

ICE system and speakers
I have heard the speakers in Harrier. Though this doesn't compare to that but if you are not an audiophile you can live with the speakers without it bothering you. ICE was much better than what's offered in lesser priced Marutis. The tough response is good and the UI is laid out well. Our car had wireless android auto and apple carplay. It worked very well without any issues during the whole journey.

ASIDE - I always missed wireless android auto in my car but during this trip I realized that it can only be useful on short drives. The phone battery drains quickly while using the wireless android auto and I had to keep it plugged in anyway.

Legroom, headroom and boot space
Though the car looks a lot bigger from outside the space inside is just sufficient. It is not cramped anywhere and compares with the competition (Creta/Seltos/Kushaq/Taigun). Head room is sufficient for 6 feet people in the non sunroof variant. Boot space is also adequate but rear seats can be folded in 60:40 configuration for larger needs.
The driver footwell is very well designed with the 3 pedals sufficiently spaced and a proper wide foot rest.

Headlights
I did not find the high beam adequate. It was difficult to see in the rainy night and the white LEDs showed it's weakness.
There is no fog lamp neither on the front nor at the back. Perhaps the lower positioned headlamp eliminates the need of dedicated fog lamp but I was not impressed by the over all performance.

AC
AC does it's job well and with the rear vents it can cool the cabin quickly.

Visibility, Driving Position
The visibility is good overall. Windows are big and the inside feels airy. The driver seat gives good view of the road ahead. The bonnet is visible if it matters to you. The steering is adjustable for reach and rake.

NVH
The 4 cylinder engine is refined and the inside is well insulated. On good tarmac roads you hardly hear noise from outside.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing.

[Truck_Monk]

Such an awesome travelogue brother. Your Grand Vit look too dashing and now I am also getting excited to have such kind of road trip.

Cheers Mate.

[raptor_diwan]

Originally Posted by adityaprasoon

Stopped at a roadside dhaba. We insisted to eat on the cot for some authentic feel . Food was good.
Attachment 2457627

What a wonderful travelogue! This image brings back memories of when I enjoyed a meal at a roadside dhaba just like this. The food there was truly exceptional, far surpassing the taste of even a 5-star hotel. Such experiences truly make for unforgettable moments.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by adityaprasoon

On 19th May we flew to Lucknow from Bangalore. Raebareli is 1.5 Hrs drive from there. We reached Raebareli in late afternoon. We spend the rest of the day checking out the city and having some much missed north Indian snacks. In the evening we took the Grand Vitara for a small spin and then slept with alarm set for 4AM. We wanted to leave early to beat the morning traffic in Prayagraj.

Great trip! Sure you enjoyed the drive. Roads are also good now in this route throughout.

It is always nice to drive across from North to south.

I also drove from Lucknow to Mysore and Kannur/Payyanur (Kerala) on 15 May 2023. Though I always took the Kanpur-Jhansi-Sagar-Lakhnadon route to Nagpur in the past, this time I chose the route you have taken. That is, via Raibareilly - Allahabad - Naini Bridge - Rewa - Jabalpur.

Journey across is an exciting way of knowing the country, its villages, people and different cultures, customs, habits. In whichever mode of moving it is, except by air.

It was most scenic from Maihar to Katni, Jabalpur to Lakhnadon and much later through Coorg, of course. In fact, after Jabalpur, places appeared to be green somewhat, despite extreme summer. Have my return drive too, but again with a longish break in Hyderabad.

[VaibhaoT]

Thanks for the quick summary. I am also in the same boat. I am contemplating to register in Maharashtra with BH series and use it in BLR.

Originally Posted by adityaprasoon

Mileage
We consistently got 15-16 km/litre on the highway runs(full tank to full tank). The instrument console showed usually 1km/litre more than what we actually got. We drove mostly in 100-120 kmph range. This was with 3 people, almost full boot and AC running all the way.

Will it be possible for you to share some FE number of this variant for BLR traffic?

[adityaprasoon]

Originally Posted by VaibhaoT

Will it be possible for you to share some FE number of this variant for BLR traffic?

Can't be very certain as the car has been driven infrequently in Bangalore. In moderate traffic the mid shows around 16. I guess you can expect 15 actual FE.
However it is yet to be driven in the worst of Bangalore traffic.

[ottocycle]

Great travelogue.

I recently travelled on the most the stretch and stayed in Nagpur. It was hard to find good reasonably priced hotels in Nagpur. Most hotels didn't have parking in the same building. I am marking the location of restaurant and the hotel you stayed as an option for me.

By any chance, do you remember the Dhaba / google map location? (may be the picture will have GPS tag that will reveal the location). I want to save that too.

Thanks,

[finneyp]

Nice travelogue! Any reasons for not taking the Lucknow - Jhansi - Sagar - Nagpur route?

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Nice travelogue! Any reasons for not taking the Lucknow - Jhansi - Sagar - Nagpur route?

Although the question is not to me, let me compare the routes. Both the routes are equally good now. The Allahabad route is 80 kms shorter and therefore more logical to take these days.

Though the Raibareilly - Allahabad section, the Rewa bypass and the Katni bypass are undivided carriageway, they don't cause much difficulty to traverse. Except the Katni bypass, one gets good roads. Katni bypass is undergoing expansion work.

[Mach_1590]

This is one amazing road trip! There is one thing about travelling on the road, you can't get enough of it. Driving through the country with good music and see the landscape pass by is one of the best feelings. Even I am back from a relatively shorter road trip of ~1000 kms. One thing which I noticed is, earlier, I used to cover 800 kms and call it a day, now with vastly improved quality of roads, 1000 kms in a day can be done with comfort.

[Nightmare]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

Although the question is not to me, let me compare the routes. Both the routes are equally good now. The Allahabad route is 80 kms shorter and therefore more logical to take these days.

Though the Raibareilly - Allahabad section, the Rewa bypass and the Katni bypass are undivided carriageway, they don't cause much difficulty to traverse. Except the Katni bypass, one gets good roads. Katni bypass is undergoing expansion work.

Will your answer remain same for someone travelling from Lucknow? Will Rewa-Jabalpur route still get preference over Jhansi-Sagar route? Thanks.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by Nightmare

Will your answer remain same for someone travelling from Lucknow? Will Rewa-Jabalpur route still get preference over Jhansi-Sagar route? Thanks.

Both the routes are equally good. Both have their own issues too. So, it basically comes down to personal preference now.

I travelled from Lucknow to Hyderabad only. Once in late March via Jhansi - Sagar, and once in May via Allahabad - Rewa - Jabalpur. I was a little bored with the former, since I have been taking the Sagar route over the last ten years now.