Q.In search of nirvana with the Maruti Suzuki S-Cross

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/20"]NikilSJ[/URL] Very nice article. Very neatly laid out. Made me travel with you in virtual. Now I'm being tempted to visit that place.

Simply Superb, Enjoyed reading it. I felt like I visited the place at the end. First 2 paragraphs reminded me the person I was during college days, a silent guy who loved privacy, a party-hater.

It’s New Year’s eve and everyone’s out partying while I’m cleaning my house. At this point you may wonder what the hell is wrong with this guy, such a party pooper! Well, the truth is I’m not much of a party person. If you ever spot in me one, you’d recognise me as the silent spectator sitting at a corner, giving judgemental stares at everyone and castigate friends for inviting me. Also, the fact that I believe parties are where you pretend hard to have a good time, when making a conversation is sheer torture and New Year’s eve is the epitome of parties So while I started scrubbing the floor and the world was getting ready to celebrate the end of the year, I received a phone call from Motu Sid, one of the handful of people I know in Delhi, asking if I wanted to go on a road trip to Kasol and Malana in search of the best green stuff money could buy. I got up on my feet at once and accepted the offer. After all what better way to start the new year with a road trip, right! Two hours before midnight, Motu Sid and his roommate Shebin arrived. They had picked up another guy on the way whom I hadn’t met till then. While I packed my stuff and Motu Sid kept munching on some brownie, Shebin said we should go to church for New Year’s eve mass. We all nodded and soon we were on our way to Saket. The mass turned out to be a damp squib as the choir was singing carols in Hindi mixed with Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil! As we headed back, Deepak suggested we get some Old Monk and celebrate New Year’s eve at home. With drinking and greetings and numerous phone calls done, we decided to call it a day so that we could start early the next morning. The next day, we set off at 7am. Motu and me in his trusty old Zen and Shebin and Deepak on a KTM 390 Duke and a TVS Apache 180 RTR. We crossed Delhi pretty early as the roads were pretty empty. Soon enough, the Zen found its groove and we were way ahead of the other two on their bikes. As we were nearing Pathankot, disaster struck. I got a call from Shebin saying that Deepak fell off his bike while going through a set of rumble strips. We quickly turned back and headed in their direction. Shebin sent us their location on Google Maps and we traced them to Phalwan Dhaba near Murthal in no time. We saw the two of them at a petrol station nearby sipping coffee. At this point, I assumed these two were just kidding about the accident so that we would turn back and meet them so that we could have breakfast. But on reaching there, I could see that Deepak was a little shaken and the Apache was missing its rear brake lever and the left side footpeg. Thankfully, Deepak didn’t suffer any serious injuries thanks to the Alpinestar jacket he was wearing. Having drunk enough coffee to keep us up for a week, we limped onwards to a bike repair shop. Unfortunately, the mechanic didn’t have any spare so we had to drive into a small town and get a new set of brake lever and footpegs. As the mechanics started pounding on the bike trying to fix it, we started contemplating if it would be safe or sensible to continue our journey. Two hours later and after much pondering and arguing, we decided to head back home. We turned back and headed home. Deepak was clearly disappointed and started blaming himself for falling off the bike and spoiling the trip. No matter how much we tried telling him it was not his fault, his face was sullen and looked sadder than ever. We reached Delhi and then belted down good food and headed home. So much for a bright start to the year, uh! That night, as we smoked, we decided we couldn’t let a small incident like that stop us. So all of us unanimously decided we had to get back on the road the next day. With the destination set for Jaipur, we went off to sleep hoping nothing would go wrong the next day. [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4868[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4869[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4871[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] [CENTER]The rodeos on their bike negotiate truck traffic on the Delhi-Jaipur highway[/CENTER] The road to Jaipur from Gurgaon isn’t something to write home about. As soon as you exit Gurgaon, you only see big industrial complexes interspersed with mustard fields on the way. Thankfully, Shebin knew a spot where we could break the monotony and relax for some time. The place was pretty stunning with a dam like structure on the right and empty open fields on the other. We sat there for an hour or so and resumed our journey refreshed and recharged. Within a couple of hours we were on the outskirts on Jaipur. We decided to the pink city a miss and head straight for Nahargargh Fort. The fort, built in 1734 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II overlooks the city of Jaipur. Nahargarh, which means ‘adobe of Tigers’ along with Amer Fort and Jaigavh Fort once served as a ring of defence for the Pink City. [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4872[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] The road up to the fort is a set of smooth tarmac with narrow twists and turns which could be a perfect hill climb course if not for the traffic. Shebin was way ahead of us in the Duke and reached the fort and got us the tickets. Inside the fort, I managed to get a couple of good shots of Jaipur from the fort. Since I was the only one not driving or riding, I sat back and had a couple of cold ones while the others belted down some good food. Soon, a bunch of college kids sat on the table next to us and started blaring out some utterly hideous tracks from the loudest set of bluetooth speakers I have ever seen. Some families, who were trying to have a good evening, requested these idiots to turn down the volume repeatedly. As their attempts failed, people started slowly vacating the place. What is it with you college kids and your EDM music? I just don’t get it. Anyway, the light was fading and we weren’t planning on staying back in Jaipur, so we packed up and left. The journey back was swift but all of it was a blur for me for obvious reasons. We reached Gurgaon in no time and quickly went off to sleep as all of us had to go to work the next day. [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4873[/ATTACH] Deepak playing around with my filter set[/CENTER] With the trip to Kasol-Malana becoming a distant dream again, all of us got caught up with work and I thought that trip was meant to be jinxed. A couple of days later, I went to Motu and Shebin’s home for a small party. We needed more green stuff, and if you are from Delhi you’ll know how exorbitant the stuff is here. Soon, Motu, Shebin and me were huddled together and made plans of attempting the trip again. After a quick glance at the calendar, we decided to do the trip again around the Republic Day extended weekend. A good week and a half before the trip, we started getting quite a lot of cars for testing. Of the cars we received, the Suzuki S-Cross 1.6 Alpha with the 1.6-litre Multijet diesel engine was the one that impressed me the most. The folks testing the cars had the S-Cross for more than a week and Maruti Suzuki was kind enough to let us keep it for some more time. [USER="42"]CorsaVeloce[/USER] took the car one weekend was really impressed with it. Moto and me asked [USER="6"]Roshun[/USER] if we could take it out next weekend for the trip. after making a few calls to Maruti, [USER="6"]Roshun[/USER] let us take it for the trip provided we came back with a ton of pictures of the trip. [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4874[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4875[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4877[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4878[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4879[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4880[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] We got the car on Friday and took it out for a spin. The S-Cross’ 1.6-litre engine has quite a lot of torque under the hood and Motu was grinning all the way home. We finished packing quickly and decided we’ll leave by 2.30 early in the morning. Motu managed to catch some sleep while Shebin and I smoked what was left in the tin box where he used to store his stuff. At 3.30am, we woke Motu up. He jumped up and was all set to wring the life out of the S-Cross. But that was not to be as it got all foggy outside. We could barely see anything on the road with visibility being around a few metres. Thankfully, with the S-Cross’ HID units and coupled with the fog lights we managed to cross Delhi and get on the highway towards Chandigarh. [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4881[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4882[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] Progress was slow and I was getting bored. I connected my phone to the aux-in and started playing a couple of songs. However, that only made things worse. Soon, all three of us were sleepy and stopped at Mayur Dhaba outside God knows where. After a couple of cups of chai, we started off again. This time we managed to catch a bunch of cars and buses heading towards Chandigarh. Motu managed to stick to the tail of a Haryana….bus that was zipping past every other moving thing on the road. It was almost as if the bus driver knew the road like the back of his hand. Soon, others started following us and we managed to cover quite a distance without any incidents in the fog. As one bus turned off into one small town after the other, we waited for the next one to overtake us so that we could latch onto it and make some progress. This proved successful and we reached Chandigarh around 9am. [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4883[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4884[/ATTACH] [/CENTER] Soon the fog started clearing and we thought progress would be quick now. As Motu slipped in to the back seat for a quick nap, Shebin took the wheel and I played guide as the fog didn’t totally clear out. Out on the highway, we hit patches of fog here and there and that slowed us down considerably. But we were in no hurry, so we maintained a consistent speed. That and the cool temperature outside aided the S-Cross’ fuel efficiency. At one point the car was returning a very respectable 21kmpl! [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4885[/ATTACH] An exhausted Motu takes a nap in the back seat of the S-Cross. The premium crossover by Maruti Suzuki was really spacious and kept us cocooned in its cabin[/CENTER] The drive up from Chandigarh to Kasol went by in a blur and we didn’t face any issues with the car as well. The rear seats were so comfortable that I later snuck in and had a nap myself. Soon we started the climb and all three of us were getting a bit drowsy. After a couple of cups of chai and plate of Maggi at a local dhaba, we continued forward. As we were nearing Kasol I got my first sight of snow capped mountains. We reached Kasol around 8pm and headed to straight to our hotel. After settling in, we decided to walk around Kasol and have some steaming plates of Momo’s. Unfortunately, the only place open at 9pm had only veg momos. After belting a couple of plates down, we headed to the nearest store to stock up on some 'beverage' for the next days trek up to Malana. We were so knackered when we reached the room that we opened the bottle and took a couple of swigs before dozing off. The next day, Motu, Shebin and I vacated our rooms and hit the road to Malana around 10 in the morning. [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4886[/ATTACH] A bunch of bikers outside a McDonalds close Chandigarh[/CENTER] The drive up to Malana was a very treacherous one. First, we had to cross this private property owned by Malana Power Corporation Limited (MPCL). As we approached the main gate, two security guards approached us and made us sign an indemnity bond. Soon, we started the hard climb to Malana Valley. We stopped at a couple of places to just let our bodies settle in to the high altitude. Within an hour, we reached the valley. The road ahead was covered with black ice so we couldn’t go any further. After parking the S-Cross at a safe spot, we started the 3km trek up to the village. The trek up was steep and littered with black ice. It was quite a task spotting them and I lost traction a couple of times. Even before we reached the halfway mark, Motu and me were sweating and panting. We felt so foolish wearing heavy jackets on this trek as it just weighed us down. After quite a bit of struggle, we finally reached the village. The trek had taken almost an hour. [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4887[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4888[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4889[/ATTACH] A highway man's best friend - Maruti Suzuki and Coca Cola! [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4890[/ATTACH] Dust to glory: the S-Cross has a very firm yet supple ride. Couple that with the awesome torque and you get a car that can give a BMW 3 Series a run for its money [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4891[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4893[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4894[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4895[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4896[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4897[/ATTACH] Ringo Star behind the wheel! [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4898[/ATTACH] Mandi town en route Kasol [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4899[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4900[/ATTACH] The climb up to Kasol with a full moon for company [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4901[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4902[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4904[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4906[/ATTACH] The S-Cross in its element [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4907[/ATTACH] The gorgeous Parvati Valley [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4908[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4909[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4911[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4912[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4913[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4914[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4915[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4916[/ATTACH] Black ice on the road made driving a bit tricky, but the S-Cross handled it in its stride [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4917[/ATTACH] Distant view of Malana village, the oldest republic in the world! [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4918[/ATTACH] Crystal clear glacial water under a bridge en route Malana village [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4919[/ATTACH] My first view of snow capped peaks [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4920[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]n4921[/ATTACH] Half way through the trek. This shot was taken at with a focal length of 135mm. The S-Cross is at the centre of the frame[/CENTER] As we entered the village, two boys sprang out of nowhere and offered us some Malana cream. They took us to a terrace and lit up a chillum. I was still panting and sweating from the trek but didn’t want to refuse their offer. I took a hit of the cream and got spellbound by the beauty of Malana and its people. Legend has it that the people of Malana are descendants of Greek soldiers of Alexander the Great’s army. The village administration is believed to be the oldest democracy in the world. While Malana and its people have always maintained their culture and lifestyle and take great pride in it, some signs of modernisation was visible thanks to the increasing number of people visiting the village every year. Sheen, who’d been to Malana before told Motu and me that we shouldn’t touch anyone or any walls or houses intentionally as the Malani people consider all non-malani people inferior. In case of contact, a Malani has to go wash themselves and sacrifice an animal to be pure again. Soon, a couple of people came and tried selling some Malana cream to Shebin and me. At this point, I just couldn't wait to get back in the S-Cross’ comfortable interiors and doze off. We left Malana, around 3.30pm. The plan was to head back to Kasol and stay there a night and then head back to Gurgaon. But Motu had other plans. He was keen on watching the R-Day parade the next day on TV and suggested we head back. So instead of turning right for Kasol, we turned left and started the long journey back home. Thankfully, there wasn’t much fog on the return trip so progress was quite rapid. After some time around 9, Shebin slipped into the rear seat and dozed off. On the drive back, Motu did light work of the hill sections and soon we reached the plains and were past Chandigarh as well. Soon after, at a checkpost, cops stopped our car for random security checks ahead of R-Day. After convincing them that Motu was a journalist in Delhi and I had come from Kerala to visit Malani (liar, liar!), the cops let us go. We reached Gurgaon at 3am on the 26th of January. The S-Cross performed beautifully during this trip and I started falling in love with the car. The S-Cross had a firm yet supple ride and none of us felt exhausted after that marathon drive. The spacious cabin was a boon on the highway as one person could always tuck themselves away in the back seat for a quick nap. The S-Cross delivered an overall fuel efficient figure of 21kmpl, which is quite impressive for a car that size. It was in fact more efficient than the 1.3-litre diesel engine. The S-Cross so impressive that Shebin told me to ask Maruti Suzuki to let us know when they were planning to sell the media car away. [U][B]Pros of the S-Cross[/B][/U] [LIST] [*]1.6-litre DDiS engine a gem of a motor [*]Impressive on-road behaviour [*]Spacious cabin [*]Excellent fuel efficiency [*]Touchscreen infotainment system with Car Play integration [*]Cavernous boot [*]Lots of cubby holes for storing small knick knacks [*]Big bottle holders. [*]Armrest for the front and rear passengers [*]Auto folding mirrors [*]Auto dimming rear view mirror [/LIST] [U][B]Cons of the S-Cross[/B][/U] [LIST] [*]Doesn’t get rear AC vents. Even the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz has them. [*]Backrest of the rear seat a bit upright for my liking [*]Rear seat lacks under thigh support [*]Rear parcel tray started rattling after the drive in the hills [*]Lot of wind noise [*]Windows shut with a loud thud. No anti-pinch and one touch winding windows for passengers [*]Tyre profile could have been better [*]Standard JK Tyre (Elanzo) struggled to cope with the gargantuan torque [*]Lack of all-wheel drive [/LIST]