BHPian oldcontessafan recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Background (2011) : I learnt driving on a pocket rocket!Back in 2011, freshly minted out of college, I joined a PSU. As was the norm then, most freshers posted in remote locations got a beater secondhand car immediately after joining to milk the extra fuel allowance that came with owning one. I went straight to a Maruti True Value showroom and asked them to show cars under 1 Lakh. Most of the resale stock was Ritz, Swift and Dzire which were priced at least 2-3x my budget. One of the salesmen quietly took me towards back of their stockyard for one ‘last piece’ car which might be available for less than a lakh. Also tagged along with me was a local mechanic to help me assess the condition of the car. The car was an Alto – completely covered in dust and leaves with some cladding missing on the side as well. I was not too enthused by the car but decided to try nevertheless. The car started without a fuss and gave a gentle purr. AC was working fine, stereo player, wipers, and powered windows as well. I left rest of the checks to be done by the local mechanic who gave a thumbs up after some time. Finally, while the mechanic was driving the car back to township, he revealed the car I bought under 90K was an Alto VXi 1.1 – a sort of rare find in secondhand market. The first time I took out the grey bird out of my garage, I ran it straight to a gutter in front. I had to call a few colleagues to help pull it back. Learning to drive is quite easy if you are in a township, but with the kind of pull this one provided with a light tap, I was always on the edge for the first few months. The next few years I took the grey bird to every jungle, dam, river, and town nearby. Few of my colleagues bought the new sub-4m swift during this time but no car came close to the kind of performance my pocket rocket gave. Fast forward to 2015: : I had to leave my job for pursuing higher studies and had to let go of the car. Sold it to a senior who was also learning to drive the car, and it felt as if the car had been built to serve this very purpose – to convert people who see cars as just transport to absolute passionate petrol heads. Bought a proper hatchback next – Hyundai Elite i20 – which still does the job perfectly till today however the itch for a new car started when covid brought down prices abysmally. Job changes postponed the decision to 2024 when I started test driving cars with a real intent to lock one for good. Cars tested: XUV700, Jeep Compass, Creta, Tucson, Tiguan. Last 2 were aspirational options, which thankfully got shot down by some missing value propositions. Although I am a big fan of Hyundai and their service, Creta didn’t cut it for 2 reasons – 1. Lack of adequate safety and peace of mind 2. Too common on roads Jeep felt cramped and was ruled out by family quite quickly. Between XUV700 and Harrier, the former was quite close to being the one – refined engine, adequate features, and arguably better service than Tata. However, the heart ruled over mind and the beautiful muscular design of Harrier swayed me over the MPV-ish looks of the XUV700. Here are some pictures after a PPF: ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————— 10 months later: I have clocked a decent 9000 KM on the Odo and recently completed a 1800KM trip to Goa and Mangalore. Absolute stunner of a machine that brings me a smile the moment I touch the highways. Beautifully tuned suspension means 500+ KM in a day is a breeze not just for me but for my wife and toddler as well. Here’s to many more memories with my Grey Steed! Check outBHPian commentsfor more insights and information.
