[adeshgunjan]

Heaven and Hell: 2000+ kms Mumbai-Udaipur-Mumbai road trip in my one month old XUV700 AX7L D AWD
(Apologies in advance for the long post)


We go to Udaipur to celebrate Diwali with my parents every year, by flight. This time I was itching do it by road in my newly acquired XUV700. The farthest it had been to till now was Mulshi, ahead of Lonavala. So it was now time to test its reputation as a mile muncher and that’s the exact reason I choose this car. My son, now 6 I thought, was kind of more patient and ready for longer road trips and this car would be the perfect steed.

Since this was the first time for a longish trip, we decided to break it into two parts. Mumbai to Vadodara with an overnight stay and Vadodara to Udaipur the next day, same configuration for the return journey. We thought it would be nice and relaxing to do it this way as we wanted it to be more enjoyable and less hectic.

The Hell

We had decided to leave our home in Chembur at 6:30 am sharp, so we loaded the bigger bags a night before. 6:30 am I turned the ignition on and we were ready to go. I checked the map and it showed estimated travel time to be 9 hours 30 minutes, via Eastern Express Highway, Ghodbunder Road. Now, I was aware of the condition of the roads on NH48 and was kind of prepared to spend that extra bit of time in traffic and slow speeds, estimating that with the breaks the travel time may go upto 10 and half hours or if we are lucky may reduce a bit, so we may reach our hotel by 5 ish in the evening.

All the estimates went for a toss the moment we touched Ghodbunder road. The entire stretch was jammed and full of trucks and giant containers, and cars as well. It was literally bumper to bumper the entire stretch with cars trying to wriggle out of it through service roads. Once we crossed that stretch, we found a bit of relief on the Ghodbunder ghats as the traffic was fairly fast moving. We were glad that the worst was behind us. But we were so wrong; little did we know that the ordeal was going to get much more harrowing. NH48 is completely in disarray with concretization happening entire way along till about 100 kms from Mumbai. Scores and scores of trucks have blocked all the lanes and there is no way out. The jam was so bad that all the vehicles had switched off the engines and were simply waiting for more than 20-25 mins at a time. And this was happening every 15 mins or so. There was absolutely no authority manning, controlling the traffic and we were left on our own to find our own way out of the massive jam lasting several kms. A truck driver in our lane thought this will not open anytime soon and decided to take a nap, so when the lane cleared ahead, we were still stuck behind him till someone realised and woke him up. My 6 year old, whom I had so confidently convinced that this is going to be so much more fun than taking a flight was now continuously taunting me. I don’t blame him though. We took 7 hours to cover 60 kms. Once we crossed Manor, the traffic cleared up and we could do highway speeds. We were to have breakfast at the popular joint Ahura in Dahanu, instead we had lunch there at 2:30pm. If you remember, my estimate was to reach hotel in Vadodara at 5 ish, we managed to reach Surat at 6:30 pm. There was still 4 hours to go. We took a short coffee and snack break at McDonalds Surat and decided to carry on till the hotel non-stop. Here I was, sure that I would not drive on the highway at night considering the safety factor and now I had to cover 160 kms pure highway stretch. I was not sure what to expect but I was determined to get to our destination, with the caffeine kick I had just got. We encountered quite a bit of truck traffic with some mini congestions, but from what we had been through, this was a cake walk. We reached our hotel at 10.15 pm. I had now driven for a good 16 hours. Totally exhausted, we just ordered room service and crashed.

Traffic Situation

The Heaven

Stuck in the worst traffic jam of my life, my car was like a place of Zen. Even with so much going on around us, with so much anxiety about when this will end and whether it makes sense to carry on, the car had calming effect. With it spacious, comfortable interiors and well insulated cabin, we were cut off from the chaos outside. We were kind of enjoying being inside the car, listening to music or simply making conversations. Passing time became easier.

Once we were out of the jam, I felt as if the car understood how important it was to catch up on the miles. Every overtake, every empty space, as I pushed to make it, the car pushed more. It was like a continuous flow of energy on the highways in perfect sync. It was as if me and my car were both in the zone, if you know what I mean. We kept on munching miles, sure footed, nimble and with full force.

I deliberately did not mention the latter half of the journey as that is part of the heaven bit. Once we reached Bharuch the map took us through the town to go to the other end, from where we could enter the famous National Expressway 4. Wading through the Diwali shoppers within the town, we took the ramp to the NE4, Bharuch to Vadodara expressway, where my car said, “You chill bro, I got this”. I activated the Adaptive cruise control, set it to 115 kmph (NE4 speed limit is 120kmph) and to my hands and feet off the controls. With almost close to nil traffic, the car practically drove itself for the entire 87 km stretch with just gentle nudges to the steering at regular intervals. I was in awe of the car just going about its business. Not once did I feel insecure, and the car was super stable and pliant at that speed. The headlamps along with boosters were piercing through the pitch-dark expressway. The reflectors all along the road made it look like a runway. It was a huge breather for my limbs which were now starting to get sore. It certainly did feel like heaven, also the fact that even after being on the road for around 16 hours, I was still not as fatigued, I could have probably done a 100 kms more in this car from that point.

The next day we thought we will take it easy and start our journey to Udaipur after having a proper breakfast and some loitering around the property. We checked out of the hotel at 10 am. This journey was in complete contrast. Outstanding roads, fast moving traffic, and breathtaking sceneries. It was how we had imagined our entire road trip to be. Once we entered Rajasthan, the highway got more windy with ghat sections. XUV700 was at home here. Body roll on windy roads? No problem. Elevations of the ghats? No problem. It was a joke for the engine. We reached Udaipur in 5 hours.

Night drive on the NE4


Smooth and scenic Rajasthan roads!


Back to Hell

The return journey was of similar nature, but instead of 16 hours we took 13 from Vadodara to Mumbai. Same stretch, same issues. It is such a pity that when you are undertaking such a massive transformation, atleast keep in mind the plight of the present travellers. It is not that difficult to create proper diversions and manage traffic through personnels. But one needs the will to do it. Gujarat too has roadwork going on in parts, but they have much better managed traffic.

In conclusion, this was a trip which had everything. But this car has given us the confidence to undertake many more road trips and happy memories.

Other observations of XUV700

When stuck in traffic, I was worried about the DPF choke alert. If it occurs, I would not be able to drive above 60 kmph ofcourse and there was literally no place to park the car to do regen. Luckily, it did not show up. Infact, funnily, it showed up the next day after I reached Udaipur after a high speed 350 km drive from Vadodara. But it went away after I drove it for 3-4 kms.

The super light steering is a boon. We went through pretty tight lanes within towns, it was quite easy to get through despite the size.

Headlamps are perfect for highway drives. They light up the road.

ADAS with adaptive cruise control a fantastic feature, but only useful on expressways with straight path. The car doesn’t slow down on bends.

We did a Bhilwara to Udaipur (165 kms) drive with all rows up, 8 people and 2 medium size trolley bags. The car did not break a sweat. Infact I touched 140 kmph for a bit, just to try. The driver seat could have done with a little more thigh support, not a deal breaker though.

There was hardly any fatigue even after hours of driving. Just my right knee started to get jammed due to too much time in the out position. Couple of stretches and bends, it was back to normal. Suspension glides through fairly bad patches, sharper potholes and cuts can be felt quite a bit at high speeds. Boot after folding the back row has a bit of a slope on the floor, annoying when you are trying to adjust the bags and they tend to slide. Lane keep assist beeps get annoying when you are manoeuvring at high speeds through trucks non chalantly driving along all the lanes. I wished there was a hotkey to disable when not needed.

Cabin insulation and acoustic windshield play a big part in reducing fatigue.
Sun shades for windows is a must on long trips, lot of sunlight gets through.
The stock Goodyear Efficientgrip tyres are quite impressive and they are quiet.
The beast rages from 20-80, you need to be more careful.

Some car shots!






In conclusion, pretty happy we took this trip and quite satisfied to do it in this car. Thank you so much for reading through and apologies once again for the long post.

Cheers friends!

[Tony2298]

Liked reading your travelogue, previous year around similar timeline I too undertook a long journey from Pune to Vadodara and covered places like Statue of Unity, Anand, Ahmedabad and Surat. Taking the same NH48 was somehow much more relaxing that time, yes there was a bit of heavy truck traffic just around outside of Mumbai, but once we crossed Palghar, it was smooth sailing again for the rest of journey and especially once we crossed MH-GJ border, the roads turned into runway, not exaggerating, long smooth stretches of black tarmac without any cracks or undulations made the journey very exhilarating! https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...nity-more.html (Road-Trip to Gujarat in a Tucson | Exploring Statue of Unity & more)

Even recently I took a trip to Mysore https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ai-tucson.html (Road-trip from Poona to Mysore in a Hyundai Tucson) and here too I avoided NH48, and used the NH65/NH50 instead to cross MH-KA border and it was around Chitradurga that I joined NH48 for rest of the journey but man the same NH48 was so smooth here without any potholes and few minor diversions only as compared to abomination in the name of highway we get in MH, especially the Satara-Kagal section which is maintained by MSRDC who have the courage of displaying the same proudly with large boards after giving us such atrocious highways, they've completed widening some of the sections there and man it's so bad, so many dips and poorly levelled surfaces and abrupt narrowing of lanes makes you question about MSRDCs skill of road making,

Don't want to make this post a rant but just vented out my disappointed of seeing the condition of highways of richest state of India.

Anyways wish you even more long trips with your beloved XUV700 in the future!

Thanks
Tony

[VJ05]

NH 48 is a royal mess. I did Pune to Surat last week, completed the journey in 10.5 hours which was fine considering it was a weekday however roads till MH-GJ border are in pathetic condition. During the return leg on weekend it took >16 hours with heavy traffic faced before the Ghodbunder road and in Expressway.

Did Pune - Goa in October, till Kolhapur roads were pathetic and too many diversions. Don't know when MH roads will improve.

[royalbeat]

We do Mumbai-Chandigarh-Mumbai road trip every year for Diwali. Primarily it is because of our dog who comes along with us and loves every bit of this travel and her stay in Chandigarh. NH48 from Mumbai till Vadodara has always been the worst section of this entire drive and now the recent constructions have made it even worse (if at all that was possible). We were luckier than you it seems. It took us 10 hours to reach Vadodara this year against the usual 7-8 hours and we were cursing the authorities throughout the journey.
I have been itching to get XUV 700 but have got mixed reviews on build quality, particularly rattling issues. How has your experience been so far on this front?

[KK2001]

Hearty Congratulations on the XUV700. It is truly one of the best packages out there. Although, our roads seem to be in the worst condition. I do Mumbai Kerala Mumbai every year, and the last time I went was back in June. NH48, all the way from Pune till Belgaum, has got multiple diversions, with road works all over the place. Wonder when will the condition improve?

[ViRaSh]

The glaring difference in the quality of roads between Gujarat and it's neighbouring states has been a point of discussion in almost all of my family meets after we reach their by road. The only exception to this has been Rajasthan.

This a running gag in our family that you know you've crossed the Gujarat border when the roads start to be felt in the cabin. MP has shown a significant improvement in the quality of roads in previous 7-8 years. We did a 1200km Vadodara - Bhopal - Vadodara roundtrip in diwali. The MP-GUj border nearly lies at the midpoint of the total distance. However out of the 9 hours on road we only took just 3 hours to reach MP during both to and fro trip.

Maharashtra has shown no improvement that we prefer reaching nagpur via MP nowadays instead of the direct route via Dhule Jalgaon. The sole exception is the Samruddhi mahamarg which is top quality at the moment. However if it's upkeep and maintenance will be similar to the Mumbai Pune expressway then it's a shame to see a infrastructural marvel go to waste.

All things aside, wish you many more happy miles on your new XUV700.

[Dieseltuned]

My parents had a similar experience couple of weeks back. They took 12 hours to reach Bharuch. NH48 is a huge mess and I don’t know who allowed this royal mess considering how crucial this highway is. People in My family are pissed as this stretch was a Makkhan tar road and there was no need to concretize this.

[adeshgunjan]

Originally Posted by royalbeat

I have been itching to get XUV 700 but have got mixed reviews on build quality, particularly rattling issues. How has your experience been so far on this front?

I don't think I would be able to comment on these on long term basis as I have had the car for a little over 2 months. Did not encounter any rattling issues as such but yes the brakes are noisy at slower speeds, there is a certain sound from the suspension which all have encountered (I don't even notice it anymore) and there is the football in the boot phenomenon which for my diesel is supposedly the DEF tank, again, doesn't bother me much.
As for your dilemma, if it helps, the overall package is amazing. The engine, the handling, the steering the interiors and the features in this price range. It is quite a capable car.

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

My parents had a similar experience couple of weeks back. They took 12 hours to reach Bharuch. NH48 is a huge mess and I don’t know who allowed this royal mess considering how crucial this highway is. People in My family are pissed as this stretch was a Makkhan tar road and there was no need to concretize this.

Precisely, I had never done it by road before but always used to hear stories of how good the road is and how easy it is to reach Udaipur from Mumbai now in 12 hours because of the Maska roads. Its totally a different story now.

[AKSO]

The road conditions all over Maharashtra are in terrible condition. I can't remember a time when there was a good stretch of road for a considerable period of time. In some parts, the newly laid concrete roads are spondylitis inducing traps.

[sumobom4]

It was fun reading the travelogue, especially since I am planning on a similar trip to Udaipur/Jaipur in December. Would it make better sense, do you think to go via Nashik or Wada and join NH48 at Manor? Also, which would be a better overnight stopping point in Gujarat?

[adeshgunjan]

Originally Posted by sumobom4

It was fun reading the travelogue, especially since I am planning on a similar trip to Udaipur/Jaipur in December. Would it make better sense, do you think to go via Nashik or Wada and join NH48 at Manor? Also, which would be a better overnight stopping point in Gujarat?

Thanks! I would not know if it would be better because I have not taken that route. Although I am sure the traffic situation will be much better there but then for time saved it would not make a difference. This was the reason I decided to carry on with the NH48 route and was prepared for that extra 3-4 hour delay.

For overnight stopping point, it would depend on how much you would want to drive in a day. We chose Vadodara because it had good hotel options and we had planned to do a bit of sight seeing. You can also do Ahmedabad provided you plan to drive that much from Mumbai. Ahmedabad to Udaipur is hardly 3.5-4 hours. If it makes sense to you, I would suggest not to pre book a hotel and rather go with the flow. Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Ahmedabad are all quite close to each other and are major towns with good stay options. You can decide that time based on your fatigue level or the time of the day due to traffic.

Have a great trip!

[sumobom4]

Originally Posted by adeshgunjan

Thanks! I would not know if it would be better because I have not taken that route. Although I am sure the traffic situation will be much better there but then for time saved it would not make a difference. This was the reason I decided to carry on with the NH48 route and was prepared for that extra 3-4 hour delay.

For overnight stopping point, it would depend on how much you would want to drive in a day. We chose Vadodara because it had good hotel options and we had planned to do a bit of sight seeing. You can also do Ahmedabad provided you plan to drive that much from Mumbai. Ahmedabad to Udaipur is hardly 3.5-4 hours. If it makes sense to you, I would suggest not to pre book a hotel and rather go with the flow. Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Ahmedabad are all quite close to each other and are major towns with good stay options. You can decide that time based on your fatigue level or the time of the day due to traffic.

Have a great trip!

I like the idea of deciding at the last minute where to stay. But will rooms be available In a good hotel considering it’s December?

[adeshgunjan]

Originally Posted by sumobom4

I like the idea of deciding at the last minute where to stay. But will rooms be available In a good hotel considering it’s December?

I am sure, unless you are fussy about staying in a particular one, then rather book. In any case, I don't think any of these towns are sought after locations for December/New Year.

[megazoid]

Completely understand what you went through. It is the most disheartening thing to wake up for a drive and see the complete mess around and to be fair quite an avoidable mess. Our construction zones work with the assumption that until they are finished, all rules and conveniences take a backseat. The transport objective of moving man and goods simply comes to a standstill. This is true all across the country but perhaps more so in Mumbai with a very high density of trucks getting in and out of the city. Less said of Bangalore and its exits, the better. I cant imagine how you managed to keep your cool having done 60kms in 7 hours. Never heard anything so bad!

Atleast the rest of the world in your drive turned out pretty ok. Nice read!