The BMW 330Li delivered a class-leading mileage of 19.5 km/l in one stretch. A similar drive in my BMW 320d returned a fuel economy of 23.1 km/l.
BHPian Kelly66 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
5 Kerala temple visits in my Grey Hulk (330Li)
Since some Kerala temple visits were pending for long, we decided to camp in Coimbatore and cover them over a period of 2 weeks in Mar’25 and travelled 2000 kms in total.
(Note: Since phones were not allowed inside the temples some photos are courtesy Internet and some details about the temples are from Wiki)
Temples Visited:
- Triprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple, Triprayar
- Varaa Maorty Temple, Panniyur
- Meenkulathi Bhagavathy Temple, Pallasena
- Guruvayur shree krishna temple, guruvayur
- Chottaanikara Devi Temple, Chottaanikara
Triprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple (135 km from Coimbatore)
About the deity and the temple:
Thriprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple is situated in Triprayar in Thrissur district of Kerala. The deity is Rama, with four arms bearing a conch, a discus, a bow, and a garland. During our visit, the idol was bedecked with full of flowers so the arms were not visible clearly. Rama is the presiding deity of Arattupuzha Pooram. Along with Rama, there are shrines for Shiva as Dakshinamoorthy, Ganesha, Ayappan and Krishnan, Hanuman, Murugan, Chathan and Serpent Gods.
The temple is situated on the bank of the Canoli Canal, which connects Kozhikode and Kodungallur.
We started at 3 pm and drove down to Triprayar Shree Ramaswami Temple from Coimbatore on March 14th and reached around 6.15 pm.
CBE to Triprayar:
Redtiger F77 dashcam captures Kuthiran Tunnel from Rear cam (near Thrissur)
Night view of Kuthiran Tunnel on the way back from Thriprayar
Triprayar to CBE:
SRI VARAHA MOORTHY TEMPLE, Panniyur 20/3/25 (129 km from coimbatore)
About the deity and the temple:
The Panniyur Sri Varahamoorthy Temple is an ancient Hindu temple situated at Kumbidi, Pattambi taluk, Palakkad. The temple is believed to be the first temple in Kerala consecrated by Parasurama. The temple is dedicated to Varaha, the third avatar of Vishnu, who is positioned with Goddess Bhoomi.
Grey Hulk taking some rest:
Wide angle rear view from F77:
Since we had to do an early morning pooja we started at 5.30 am from Coimbatore, took a couple of breaks and reached at 8.30 am. While the distance is only 129 km, the leg from Ottapalam to Panniyur (43 km) has narrow roads and took us around 1 hr 20m.
CBE to Panniyur:
Early morning highway drive
Pattambi Bridge (near shoranur) over bharatapuzha
Grey Hulk delivered a class-leading 19.5 Kmpl in one stretch from Chettipalayam to Palakkad-Ponnani Road of 67 km @ 62 kmph. A similar drive on my 320d gave 23.1 kmpl (diff of 3.6 kmpl).
When we approached the temple we saw a sign board saying “Guruvayur 40 km”. Since we were anyway planning a visit to Guruvayur we decided to combine it with this trip since we had started early in the morning.
Guruvayur Krishnan Temple, Guruvayur – 20/3/25
(40 km from Panniyoor and 143 km from Gurvayur to Coimbatore)
About the deity and the temple:
Guruvayur Temple is dedicated to Guruvayurappan (four-armed form of the Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala and it is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikunta (Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth).
We reached around 12.45 pm and we missed the cut-off for 1.30 pm darshan. Security guy said we can pay Rs.1000/- per head and get a quick darshan without any queue. When we were about the take the special ticket one tout (staff of the temple) said he can arrange through staff quota at half the cost. So we took a chance and saved some money.
Guruvayur to palakkad:
Palakkad to Coimbatore: (MyBMW app didn’t allow merging these 2 trips for some reason)
Meenkulathi Bhagavathy Temple, Pallasena – 28/3/25 (81 km from Coimbatore)
About the deity and the temple:
Meenkulathi Bhagavathi is our family deity. Meenkulathikkavu is the oldest temple in Pallasena. The temple contains several idols and statues of fish, as the goddess is often connected with marine life.
The present Meenakshi temple and the adjacent temple tank were constructed over a period of four centuries. They conduct Navarathri, Pongal and Bhairava festivals.
Temple tank with Fish (Meenkulam)
Coimbatore to Palasena:
Palasena to Coimbatore (GMaps showed a different route on the return which saved a lot of time and distance):
Grey Hulk takes a break at A2B:
Chottaanikara Devi Temple, Chottaanikara – 29/3/25, 30/3/25 (189 km from Coimbatore)
About the deity and the temple:
The Chottanikkara Devi Temple is a temple dedicated to the Hindu mother goddess Bhagavati Lakshmi. She is believed to be residing in Chottanikkara (Mahalakshmi) along with her Husband Maha Vishnu. The main deity is also considered as Lakshmi Narayana according to the temple legend. The temple is located at Chottanikkara, a southern suburb of the city of Kochi and is one of the most popular temples in the state. The temple is known for conducting exorcisms.
Sree Mahamaya Bhagavati is one of the most popular deities in Kerala and the supreme mother goddess in Hinduism. Chottanikkara Devi (Melekavu Bhagavathi) is worshipped at the temple, in three different forms: as Mahasaraswati in the morning, draped in white; Mahalakshmi in noon, draped in crimson; and as Mahakali in the evening, decked in blue. Devotees chant “Amme Narayana, Devi Narayana, Lakshmi Narayana, Bhadre Narayana” in this temple.
Goddess ‘Keezhkkaavu bhagavathi’ is believed to be Bhadrakali, in her fierce form or Ugra form. The Melkaavu deity of Devi is believed to be a swayambu deity which means it’s self-manifested and not sculpted. Hence the Devi’s vigraham in this temple appears to be in ‘rock’ form which resembles a texture like rudraksha and now it’s covered by a Bronze plate, which is sculpted with Devi’s Roopam. There’s another small black-coloured stone deity found beside the Devi’s vigraham which is believed to be a manifestation of Vishnu. Hence the presiding deity of the Rudraksha rock is believed to be Goddess Lakshmi.
Wereched Thottanikara Around 5.30 PM, Checked into a hotel askoka inn near near and wrong to the temple around 6.45 pm for the event at Melkaavu and also out to keep going to Keezhkkavu bhagavathhi temple for the most important for the most important which started around 9 pm and wrong on till 9.45 pm.
Coimbatore to chottanika:
Next day we Again, Morning Darshan at 6.15 am in both Melkavu and Keezhkkavu offered Some Pushpanjalis and Left chottaanikara at around 9 am.
View of sunrise from the temple:
Chitrapuzha bridge over chitrapuzha river, kakkanad (Tip: I fed the GPS coordinates in Google Maps since I didn’t know the name of the bridge)
Aluva fly over:
Our regular A2B joint when we visit Kerala (around 25 km from Coimbatore). Saw a black XEV 9e getting charged.
Chottanika to coimbatore:
Summary of Kms travelled in Grey Hulk:
I always prefer Coasting on Highways and keep shifting to S or M mode for engine braking and quick acceleration. It’s easier this way since I don’t have to look down to switch modes. After getting used to Eco Pro mode (I do a lot of Pulse & Guide) Comfort or Sport Mode feels restrained especially while Gliding because of the engine braking. I don’t hypermile, but somehow that free movement at idle while coasting has made it difficult for me to drive in any other mode, other than during steep inclines or during clear stretches in Sport Mode to experience the raw power. Readings below are in Eco Pro Individual with AC in Comfort Mode.
As mentioned earlier, showing kmpl without kmph is meaningless, preferably in similar driving conditions, notwithstanding driving style.
- Bangalore to Coimbatore – 368 kms @56.6 kmph —> 15.5 kmpl (320d equivalent was 22.5 kmpl) – 3 people plus luggage
- Coimbatore to Triprayar and back – 276 kms @ 47.5 kmph —> 13.9 kmpl (320d equivalent was 20.2 kmpl) – 5 people
- Coimbatore to Varaha Moorthy Temple to Guruvayur to Coimbatore – 312 km @ 44.6 kmph —> 14.1 kmpl (320d equivalent was 18.8 kmpl) – 4 people
- Coimbatore to Meenkulathi Bhagavathy Temple – 145 km @ 44.9 kmph —> 13.8 kmpl (320d equivalent was 18.8 kmpl) – 4 people
- COIMBATORE TO COIMBATORE – 381 km @ 46.4 kmph —> 13.9 kmpl (320d equivalent was 20.7 kmpl) – 4 people plus luggage
- Coimbatore to Bangalore – 367 kms @54.4 kmph —> 15.6 kmpl (320d equivalent was 20.7 kmpl) – 3 people plus luggage
A parting shot of Grey Hulk – Heat in Coimbatore in March was touching 39.5 deg Celsius
Thanks for reading.
Cheers!
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