BMW X5 xDrive30d

One of the days when I went to Navnit Motors, they mentioned that they have a demo X5 car that they are planning to sell. I had always felt that many of my trips would be safer and better with a four-wheel-drive system. After some negotiation and bargaining, I decided to bite the bullet and ended up buying the car which was a 2012 manufactured BMW X5 xDrive30d E70 model. I bought the car in December 2014.
Following is the specification of the car.

BMW X5 xDrive30d E70 by vavasthi on Scribd

Driving this car around was the most fun that I had till today. It was a companion on multiple trips that I did over the next four-plus years and it took us to places that I always wanted to visit. Here are some of the trips.

1. Christmas 2014, Hyderabad, Konaseema, Puri, Bhubaneswar
2. Druk Diaries: An experience of a lifetime
3. Diwali 2015, Bengaluru to Bhopal and Back
4. Christmas 2015: AIM 2015
5. Summer 2016
6. Long weekend in Kabini
7. Chikmaglur and back -- September 2016
8. Christmas 2016
9. Summer 2017 -- Back to the nature
10. Ladakh 2017
11. Quick Trip to IIM Indore
12. Christmas 2017, Madhya Pradesh, Jal Mahotsav
13. Summer 2018
14. Summer 2019
15. Sriharikota PSLV-C46 launch carrying RISAT-2B

After multiple trips and over 135,000 kilometers on the odometer, it is time to bid the car adieu. Although in its prior life it was a demo car and had taken a beating, which resulted in some of the repairs that I had to do later on, it served us well. We never felt that we were unsafe in the car.

BMW X1 SDrive20d EfficientDynamics Edition

I had never even bothered to look around at luxury cars. My favorite manufacturers were Honda and Toyota. 2012 was the year when Honda somehow decided that in India they wanted to become a small car company. They withdrew CRV from the market, primarily because of Diesel pricing issue and them having no proper diesel engine.
I had decided to upgrade from Honda CIVIC. As I had made some long trips, I was becoming more aware of safety concerns with the cars. I test drove Toyota Fortuner and found it very coarse to drive. Did not get the finesse of a luxury car while driving. I test drove VW Passat but found the drive uninspiring. It was a great car for a passenger but for a driver, it was no fun.
Around this time I also became more certain that my next car must have dynamic traction control. As I started looking around cars with DTS, there were not many options and very quickly pricing reached the luxury cars territory.
As I was looking around different cars, one weekend I landed up at Audi and  BMW showroom. I test drove Audi A4 & Audi Q3. The drives were not very inspiring. The cars were loaded with electronics and comforts but the basic components like steering and transmission did not feel like what it should have felt. BMW was clearly a different story. As I took the newly launched 3-Series on the NICE road, it was immediately fun to drive the car. But as I drove it, I realized every time I took it somewhere in India, I would have to worry about how good roads are. The ground clearance was clearly an issue. At this time the advisors at the showroom suggested that since new X1 is around the corner, they have an X1 on which they were offering a decent discount.
On driving X1, it felt like a car with all the benefits of a 3-series without the issues related to ground clearance. This led to the ownership of BMW X1. Following is the specification of the car that I purchased on 28-September-2012.

Specifications BMW X1 SDrive20d EfficientDynamics Edition 09 2011 by vavasthi on Scribd

This car was our companion on multiple trips. Some of the trips are as below.

1. Bengaluru -> Kodaikanal -> Munnar -> Thekkady -> Ooty -> Bengaluru, Continued here, here and here.
2. Seven Jyotirlings and other stuff, 14 days
3. Christmas 2013, Rajasthan Road Trip
4. Hampi Trip 2014
5. Short excursion to Hesaraghatta

Here are some of the pictures of the vehicle over the years.

Honda CIVIC 1.8 V AT

On 17 July 2007, I traded in my Honda City to Honda CIVIC. I also had my first experience with a decent automatic transmission and I immediately decided that I need to go for that. Unlike CVT transmissions common in Honda cars in India, this had a proper six-speed transmission and did not feel like you were driving a Kinetic Honda.

Here are the specifications for the car. For its time, it was a great car to own and drive. One of the first cars in Indian market to have paddle shifters.

ARAI Mileage	13.9 kmpl	Fuel Type	Petrol
City Mileage	8.4 kmpl	Mileage (ARAI)	13.9
Fuel Type	Petrol	Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)	50
Engine Displacement (cc)	1799	Emission Norm Compliance	BSIII
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	130.2bhp@6300rpm	Top Speed (Kmph)	195km/hr
Max Torque (nm@rpm)	171.6Nm@4300rpm	Front Suspension	McPherson Strut, Coil Spring With Torsion Bar
Seating Capacity	5	Rear Suspension	Double Wishbone, Coil Spring With Torsion Bar
TransmissionType	Automatic	Steering Type	Power
Boot Space (Litres)	405	Steering Column	Tilt & Telescopic
Fuel Tank Capacity	50	Steering Gear Type	Collapsible, Power Assisted
Body Type	Sedan	Turning Radius (Metres)	5.4meters
Multi-function Steering Wheel		Front Brake Type	Ventilated Disc
Power Adjustable Exterior Rear View Mirror		Rear Brake Type	Disc
Automatic Climate Control		Acceleration	9.6 Seconds
Anti Lock Braking System		Acceleration (0-100 kmph)	9.6 Seconds
Alloy Wheels		Length (mm)	4545
Fog Lights - Front		Width (mm)	1750
Power Windows Rear		Height (mm)	1450
Power Windows Front		Boot Space (Litres)	405
Passenger Airbag		Seating Capacity	5
Driver Airbag		Ground Clearance Unladen (mm)	170
Power Steering		Wheel Base (mm)	2700
Engine Type	i-VTEC	Kerb Weight (Kg)	1240
Displacement (cc)	1799	No of Doors	4
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	130.2bhp@6300rpm	Power Steering
Max Torque (nm@rpm)	171.6Nm@4300rpm	Power Windows-Front
No. of cylinder	4	Power Windows-Rear
Valves Per Cylinder	4	Air Conditioner
Valve Configuration	SOHC	Heater
Fuel Supply System	PGM-FI	Adjustable Steering
Bore X Stroke	81 X 87.3 mm	Automatic Climate Control
Compression Ratio	10.5:1	Air Quality Control
Turbo Charger		Remote Trunk Opener
Super Charge		Remote Fuel Lid Opener
TransmissionType	Automatic	Low Fuel Warning Light
Gear Box	5 Speed	Accessory Power Outlet
Drive Type	FWD	Vanity Mirror
Outside Rear View Mirror Turn Indicators		Rear Reading Lamp
Intergrated Antenna		Rear Seat Headrest
Tyre Size	195/65 R15	Rear Seat Centre Arm Rest
Tyre Type	Tubeless,Radial	Height Adjustable Front Seat Belts
Anti-Lock Braking System		Cup Holders-Front
Engine Immobilizer		Cup Holders-Rear
Centrally Mounted Fuel Tank		Seat Lumbar Support

This was an eventful car in our life. First time in our life, somebody rearended us and just drove off. 

 

We had an interesting trip to Wayanad in the car.

I drove the car for around 5 years and handed it over to my wife in October 2012.

The car stayed with us till 2018 when we transferred it our extended family. It was a real workhorse.

My Second Car -- Honda City 1.5 GXI

On 12-February-2004, I traded in my old Honda City with the new model that was launched. It was the new tall boyish design of the car that Honda launched. Given the fact that at that time I was mostly driving within cities, the improved mileage was a big selling feature of the car. As usual, there are no real pictures of the car with me, but it looked something like below.

The detailed specifications of cars are as follows.

ARAI Mileage	12.8 kmpl	Steering Type	Power
City Mileage	8.8 kmpl	Seating Capacity	5
Fuel Type	Petrol	Kerb Weight (Kg)	1085
Engine Displacement (cc)	1493	No of Doors	4
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	100 bhp @ 6500 rpm	Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)	42
Max Torque (nm@rpm)	13.1 kgm @ 4600 rpm	Power Steering
Seating Capacity	5	Power Windows-Front
TransmissionType	Manual	Power Windows-Rear
Fuel Tank Capacity	42	Automatic Climate Control
Body Type	Sedan	Air Quality Control
Engine Type	In-Line Engine	Remote Trunk Opener
Displacement (cc)	1493	Remote Fuel Lid Opener
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	100 bhp @ 6500 rpm	Low Fuel Warning Light
Max Torque (nm@rpm)	13.1 kgm @ 4600 rpm	Accessory Power Outlet
No. of cylinder	4	Trunk Light
Valves Per Cylinder	4	Vanity Mirror
Turbo Charger		Rear Reading Lamp
Super Charge		Rear Seat Headrest
TransmissionType	Manual	Height Adjustable Front Seat Belts
Fuel & Performance		Cup Holders-Front
Fuel Type	Petrol	Tyre Size	175/65 R14
Mileage (ARAI)	12.8	Tyre Type	Tubeless,Radial

This car was used for city driving for approximately three years and few months and then traded in for a Honda CIVIC.

My first car -- Honda City EXi

I bought this car in November 1997, for the salary that I was earning the car was clearly out of my budget at that time. But I just liked the car. I bought the car from Whitefield Honda and I never even visited the showroom to buy the car. This was the car that was delivered to my office by the dealer.
The cameras were not very common at that time, I certainly did not have mobile phones and even if I had them, the mobile phone did not have any cameras then.
I do not have any picture of the car, so here is a picture flicked from the internet of the car. The car looked like this.

The car's specifications were as below.

ARAI Mileage	11.7 kmpl	Steering Type	Power
City Mileage	9.0 kmpl	Steering Gear Type	Power assisted rack & pinion
Fuel Type	Petrol	Front Brake Type	Ventilated Disc
Engine Displacement (cc)	1343	Rear Brake Type	Drum
Max Power (bhp@rpm)	100 bhp @ 6500 rpm	Length (mm)	4270
Max Torque (nm@rpm)	11.3 kgm @ 4700 rpm	Width (mm)	1690
Seating Capacity	5	Height (mm)	1395
TransmissionType	Manual	Seating Capacity	5
Fuel Tank Capacity	45	Ground Clearance Unladen (mm)	170
Body Type	Sedan	Wheel Base (mm)	2500
No. of cylinder	4	Front Tread (mm)	1450
Valves Per Cylinder	4	Rear Tread (mm)	1455
TransmissionType	Manual	Kerb Weight (Kg)	965
Gear Box	5 Speed	No of Doors	4
Drive Type	FWD	Tyre Size	175/70 R13
Fuel Type	Petrol	Tyre Type	Tubeless,Radial
Fuel Tank Capacity (Litres)	45	Wheel Size	13 x 5J
Front Suspension	McPherson strut with stabilizer bar
Rear Suspension	Independent strut , Trapezoid link

This was the time I had just graduated to a using a car as my only means of transport. I was not a confident driver and the car was pretty much used to driving within the city. I did make few long trip but these were mostly short distances, more like Bangalore to Mysore.
I finally sold this car on 12-February-2004.