The perfect driving holiday needs some essential ingredients: an off-the-beaten-path destination and a comfortable, capable long-distance runner. So, we took the Elite i20 off to Guhagar in coastal Maharashtra on a weekday.
Weekend getaways. The words have a magical ring to them. Families, bunch of friends, college students, lovers, absolutely everyone loves weekend getaways. Which is precisely why sometimes, you need a “weekday getaway” instead. Most of the popular tourist spots near big cities like Mumbai are easily accessible and hence, on everybody’s favourite weekends, are choc-a-bloc with all sorts of people. Not to mention the kilometres-long traffic jams leading up to these holiday destinations. So, to avoid the pain and suffering involved with driving out of Mumbai on a Friday or a Saturday, we decided to leave on a Thursday and return before the weekend madness started. And to add to caution, we picked a place which would be off the regular tourist’s radar – Guhagar, about 300km of leisurely driving away from Mumbai.
Now came the question of which vehicle to pick for said drive. Something that’s compact, peppy, comfy, and packs in the essentials to make long stretches behind the wheel entertaining. Hyundai’s i20 came right off the top of our heads, the decent fuel economy providing brownie points. The audio system is quite good, entertainment would be taken care of and the 1.4-litre diesel burner would be good to wring out on the bit of NH66 we’d traverse on the way. This alternate road to Goa is reputed for its curves, any driver’s delight.
This story is from the October 2016 edition of BBC TopGear India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2016 edition of BBC TopGear India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Porsche Ice Experience
It's a game best played on ice with the Porsche 911 Dakar
Mercedes-Benz EQS 580
WHY IT'S HERE To prove that Mercedes-Benz is the luxe king, irrespective of what's plonked under the hood or below the cabin.
F.A.T. CAMP
Take one Goodwood Festival of Speed, shrink it down, add skis and thermal underwear... you've got a recipe for an unforgettable day
ALL Stree DOWNHILL FROM HERE
The Challenger is dead, for now. Will the muscle car survive? We couldn't leave California without a 1,300bhp grudge match
A HIGHER POWER
They're the gnarliest, toughest Porsche 911s of modern times - and they're called Doris and Edith. Altitude does funny things to your brain...
VILLAGE OF THE DAMO
What do you get when you cross an R5 Turbo with a Suzuki Jimny? This is the company that decided to find out
CINQ OR SWIM?
The reborn Renault 5 concept promised much - does the full production version live up to the hype? Say bonjour to the EV supermini with proper Gallic flair
THE TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE FT. CITROEN C3 AIRCROSS
The Peppy 7-seater that Helped Me Break the Ice and Make New Friends
FUEL THRIFT
Experiments On The Atal Setu
BEYOND THE "BADGE
A Symphony of Engineering