There should be a purpose why freeway resort signages are nearly at all times crimson. Is it as a result of crimson is just consideration grabbing? Or, maybe, as a result of the human thoughts has been programmed over years to achieve for the brake pedal on seeing a crimson gentle approaching? Regardless of the reply could also be, it wasn’t going to work tonight. We’d been on the highway for a shade beneath 18 hours now, however the promise of a greasy meal and an ample mattress wasn’t going to lure us into pulling over. There was no actual agenda readily available. I simply occurred to be driving our Hyundai Venue long-term check automotive on a relatively good highway and will discover no purpose compelling sufficient to interrupt the happenings. So we drove on.
For its measurement, the Venue can gobble up a severe quantity of bags, which made our shoots immensely handy.
(S)trapped within the seat beside me, and conveniently asleep, was Pravin, who had filmed the Nice India Drive in Kerala that we had been coming back from. Conveniently, as a result of you may’t be hungry in the event you aren’t awake, and that meant I may maintain driving with out having to tug over. It definitely helped that our Hyundai Venue’s turbo-petrol engine was very quiet and that the delightfully clean gearshifts offered no disturbance to his elaborate nap. From a consolation perspective, these are comparatively small and considerably passive elements as in comparison with, say, nice seats and ample leg room. On a day resembling this one, nevertheless, having traversed three states and with the day’s driving distance turning right into a four-digit determine, particulars like these make a pronounced distinction. We had been nonetheless a few hours from house, and it was a cushty truth.
SIT EASY: Actually good entrance seats for lengthy driving days. Wonderful again and thigh help.
The selection of driving to Kerala hadn’t precisely been my very own – I used to be to trip a motorbike, as an alternative – however as luck would have it, our Venue one way or the other squeezed into my itinerary. Pravin and his worldly belongings (primarily a ton of filming tools, aside from his suspicious penchant for camouflage clothes) selected to tag alongside. My dejection was brief lived, although, and as we effortlessly swept up the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the Venue got here by as easy and nearly too good to be true, particularly contemplating it had, at that time, clocked round 14,000km of rigorous use with us. Maybe it was having fun with its first escape from town; Nikhil by no means managed greater than a 200km round-trip with it (courtesy the lockdown) and a potential 3,000km highway journey absolutely was one thing to be cheerful about.
THE BRIGHT SIDE: Improbable projector headlights make evening drives completely protected.
That the Venue feels at house cruising down the freeway is sort of an understatement. With barely any site visitors, staying on the velocity restrict took hardly any effort and it helped that the Venue has a sixth gear, which retains the revs low at cruising velocity. Having mentioned that, downshifting for overtakes will not be elective. This may get a bit tedious over a really lengthy drive. Though, to be honest, the three-cylinder motor already has an excessive amount of to ship on – a 120hp output, refinement and fuel-efficiency, to call a number of – so mildly inconvenient freeway driveability will not be a deal-breaker as such.
One did want for a bigger gas tank, although, as a result of the 45-litre capability of the Venue referred to as for a gas cease each 450km or so. Whereas our Venue is fairly fuel-efficient, returning between 10-12kpl within the metropolis and between 16-18kpl at a sustained 80kph between Mumbai and Pune, my extra heavy-footed and longer stint noticed it return round 13kpl, which continues to be very considerable for a fast turbo-petrol.
VIBE CHECK: Parcel shelf developed a constant vibration regardless of all mounts in place.
In Kerala, the place the slender roads slowed down the tempo drastically, a number of different niggles turned evident. Now, our Venue, having arrived with 5,000km on the odo, has held up fairly properly however one can’t assist discover a little bit of softness that has crept into the physique and suspension. Fortunately, there aren’t any rattles and squeaks besides from a constant vibration from the parcel tray, which you’ll considerably distract your self from with good music. A larger inconvenience got here within the type of the roof-mounted microphone going kaput, which made telephone conversations on the transfer fairly irritating (for these calling; I discovered it hilarious). Nevertheless, I’d prefer to assume it’s a small and cheap repair as a result of connectivity is a giant deal within the automobiles of at this time, and I hope different Venue house owners haven’t confronted this subject.
MIC DROP: Defunct microphone stored some Android features and calls at bay.
With 17,835km on the odo, the final 3,000km of which got here from the drive to Kerala and again, it was time for the Venue to be reunited with Hyundai. It has served us exceptionally properly, being simple to drive, with its gentle steering and nice visibility, and its spirited engine and dynamics absolutely made it an pleasing each day driver as properly. Evidently, highway journeys in its absence will probably be quite a bit nicer – for co-drivers, that’s.
Additionally see:
Hyundai Venue long run evaluate, first report
Hyundai Venue lengthy time period evaluate, second report
