The real turning point in my automotive journey came when my father decided to buy me a car during my second year of post-graduation
BHPian adithya.m.bhat recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Background : Me, my vehicles, its usage
Iâd describe myself as a simple person with fewer wants and a deep love for driving. My father worked in a bank, which meant we moved cities every 2â3 years. That nomadic lifestyle shaped me early on. During my engineering days, I spent most of my time glued to computer games like Dota, NFS Most Wanted, and Call of Duty, and my evenings were usually reserved for basketball. Studies were never a challengeâI consistently ranked in the top 10% of my batch. The college and hostel were located in a forested area, and there wasnât much else to do, so I guess that helped!
My father taught me to drive early, which made it easy for me to get my license while still in engineering. After graduation, I pursued my Masterâs in Automotive Engineering in Bangalore, from a reputed institute. Getting placed was a bit tough, as most companies preferred fresh graduates, but I managed to land a year-long internship at Bosch through an open campus drive.
Life With My Swift
The real turning point in my automotive journey came when my father decided to buy me a car during my second year of post-graduation. After extensive online research, I chose a white Maruti Swift VXi, which I picked up from a Maruti True Value dealer with just ~16k km on the odometer. In the four years that followed, I clocked over 1 lakh km, including a memorable solo trip from Bangalore to Mumbai, Ajanta, Ellora, and back.
Swift during one of the many trips
Since the car was bought outright and I had few other expenses, most of my salary went straight into fuel. Weekend drives became my therapyâsometimes planned, sometimes completely spontaneous. There were many evenings I left the office with no destination, just a direction in mind. These drives offered a kind of solace that nothing else could. My time with the Swift included two accidentsâone major on the outskirts of Ahmedabad (which Iâm lucky to have survived), and another minor but still serious. That little car taught me more about life and driving than anything else ever has. I finally parted ways with it in 2018 when it was time to upgrade.
Enter my next ride: the Maruti Suzuki Baleno RS
Back then, I wanted something a bit more spacious, slightly more powerful than the Swift, and still easy on the pocket. The three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine checked all the boxes. Since I was already a Maruti customer, the decision was straightforward. I still fondly remember my multiple visits to the Sarjapur NEXA showroom. While many things couldâve been done over the phone, I used every excuse to go see the car in person and soak in every detail. The sales advisor and the entire NEXA staff made the whole experience truly memorable. In the first year of ownership, I clocked around 35,000 km, thanks to that ânew car excitement.â After that, life happenedâmarriage, followed shortly by COVID. Naturally, driving took a backseat for a couple of years.
The Shift To EVs
Meanwhile, my father bought a Hyundai Ioniq 5, and that car opened up a new world. The performance and refinement of the EV were simply leagues ahead of any ICE. After experiencing it over 30,000 km, I was convinced: my next car had to be electric. The only condition? It had to offer a real-world range of 400+ km, so I could do my usual BangaloreâMangalore runs without charging stops.
At the time of parting, my Baleno RS stood at 1.09 lakh km, on its second set of tires, still in great shape. I absolutely loved its compact form factor and the turbo-petrol punch. But with everything considered, it was time to start a new chapter.
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