A highly enjoyable road trip to Hampi in Karnataka in a Hyundai i20 left us with lasting memories
HYUNDAI IS THE FASTEST growing car brand in the world and it has some of the most beautiful, technologically advanced and efficient products in its line-up today. Hyundai’s philosophy hints strongly at their simple yet creative approach to car-making.
They have given the world excellent products such as the i20, Verna, Elantra and Sonata. Hyundai also lead the brigade when it comes to innovation as they provide ultramodern features and engines in all their creatively sculpted cars. Several Hyundai cars have won numerous awards the world over and continue to do so even today.
The new i20 has re-defined the hatchback segment in the country. And thanks to Hyundai’s ‘Fluidic Sculpture’ design philosophy, the i20 has become a new benchmark for premium hatchbacks. It comes loaded with many modern day features and is available at an affordable price. The beautiful exterior is a visual treat and the spacious interior gives one the
feeling of being in a much bigger car. Driving dynamics are superb and you simply enjoy driving the i20 for long distances. It is a perfect example of Hyundai’s caring approach to car-making.
And with hundreds of dealerships and service stations all over India, you know that help is never far away. Hyundai have taken extra special care to ensure that their
customers stay happy.
These are just a few of the many reasons why we chose the new Hyundai i20 for a long road trip to a magnificent place like Hampi. There was the thrill of using an ultra-modern car to explore an ancient city.
Hampi is an ancient city now in ruins and what better way to go to such a historically rich place than in an ultramodern offering from Hyundai Motor India? Thus I decided to put into practice
my novel idea of travelling to Hampi in the new Fluidic i20, which is a very modern car with high-end features that put most other hatchbacks to shame. So it was decided that Jim, Rommel and myself would go to Hampi in the new Hyundai i20.
I had always wanted to explore Hampi, because I was fascinated by its grandeur that came across so forcefully through the pages of history. Even after travelling the whole country I never got a chance to see this magnificent place. I was finally going to see this ancient city and that too in the new i20. Without any further delay we called up Hyundai and within a day the
good folk at Hyundai arranged the new i20, making us even happier.
Hampi is truly a magical place and, being one of the few world heritage sites in India, it is an excellent getaway for any keen traveller. People from around the world come to Hampi in order to see this magnificent ancient city now in ruins. It is a peek into the past, a place that wonderfully exhibits the greatness of the Vijayanagara Empire that was in rule between AD 1300 to AD 1500.
These are just some of the facts of a much bigger story and just to find out how great this ancient city really is one has to travel to Hampi. And we – Jim, Rommel and myself – were ready to let the charismatic Hampi enthral us. We started from our default destination, which is Pune, and headed to Hampi. Starting early in the morning always has its advantages as you avoid all
the traffic and reach the highway within a few minutes instead of almost an hour during rush hour traffic. I was driving the 1.4-litre Hyundai i20 Automatic, which proved to be an excellent option for this 1,200+ km round trip. The automatic gearbox, which is tuned for efficiency and performance, is a blessing as we discovered once we were in the Khambatki Ghat section. When we reached the ghat section I simply turned off the overdrive of the auto box, which allowed the engine to be in the right gear and climb the uphill ghat section with utmost ease.
After crossing the Ghat we were back on NH 4, headed for Kolhapur. For me it is a ritual to stop and have some spicy hot Kolhapuri misal whenever I am passing through the city. It is hard for me to just pass the city without stopping to have some spicy grub. And it was breakfast time when we stopped in Kolhapur. Surprisingly, I was feeling as fresh as I felt when we
started from Pune. The i20 doesn’t let you tire because the seats are so comfortable that even after driving for 260 km, none of us felt any fatigue. The suspension setting gave the car a good ride quality, which is the most important factor while travelling long distances.
After having some super spicy misal-pav we were back on the highway and on our way to Hampi. The only thing bothering us by now was the hot weather outside. The outside temperature readout in the i20 read 35° Celsius. Fortunately, the automatic climate control adjusted the cabin temperature quite well and we were not able to feel the hot weather. The air-con in the i20 is quite powerful as well and it brings down the temperature inside the cabin in just a couple of minutes no matter how hot it is outside. With the outside temperature reaching 40° during the afternoon, being inside the i20 was the most pleasant option we could have.
By lunch time we had covered a good 450 km and were just outside Hubli when we stopped. Once again we were surprised to find ourselves almost as fresh as we were in the morning. The i20 was simply taking good care of us. We didn’t waste much time during lunch and after a quick bite were back on the highway and ready to cover the last 160 km to Hampi. Until Hubli we were driving on a good, four-lane highway, but we had to get off NH 4 and on to NH 63, which is a single road, meaning no dividers and just a patch of road for two-way traffic.
It is not really a great road to drive on, because the mining trucks coming from Bellary are a big nuisance on this stretch of highway. But with the powerful engine, responsive steering and the auto box of the i20 allowed me to tackle the oncoming traffic with ease. For overtaking the auto box would shift down quickly to the right gear, giving me the confidence to get back on gas without waiting for the power to kick in.
By late afternoon we were in Hospet, which is 11 km before Hampi, where we stopped for refreshment and petrol for the i20. I was surprised by the excellent fuel efficiency we got from it as it had travelled almost 600 kilometres on a full tank. That is really good for an automatic hatch. After refilling the i20 and ourselves we headed out of Hospet to cover the last 10 kilometres
to Hampi when just six kilometres short of Hampi we had to stop. There was nothing wrong with the i20, the reason we had to stop was because the road was blocked as there was a religious procession going on at a small village en route. Actually it was more like a rally where the crowd was pulling a well decorated wooden chariot. This scene reminded me of the Jagannath Puri Yatra where a massive wooden chariot is pulled by hundreds of devotees. It felt like the entire village was there. It was a mesmerising sight. By the time we started
moving again it was late evening and there was no point in going to Hampi so we turned back and went to Hospet to spend the night.
The next morning we woke up early and, after a nice breakfast of idli, wadas and dosa, we were ready to explore Hampi.
As we neared Hampi the huge boulders that surround the place became visible. Hampi was an important city of the Vijayanagara Empire and its location was of strategic importance as the city is protected by huge boulder mountains on three sides and by the mighty River Tungabhadra on one side. But the true magnificence of Hampi lies inside the city. There are so many monuments that writing about all of them would take up the entire space that we have here. But sites like the Vittala temple, the Virupaksha temple and the ruins around it, Lotus Mahal, stepped tank, elephant stables and the mighty statue of Lakshmi Narasimha simply take your breath away. And the most amazing thing is that many of these monuments are located
on the main road itself, which means you don’t have to drive off to remote locations to enjoy the splendour of these majestic and heavenly places. The calm and gentle Tungabhadra simply soothes your soul and lets you forget the chaotic and haywire life that we all live in big cities. And the peace and quiet of the Vittala temple brings you closer to the almighty. You can spend hours roaming around these monuments and you will never get bored. Hampi not only makes for a great visual experience, but it also leaves you with the question: how did the city come to life? You start wondering about the engineering, the planning and the execution that gave birth to these wonderful monuments, which still survive even after hundreds of years of torture from the unforgiving natural forces. The engineering prowess and the sheer architecture of Hampi leave you spellbound and with a head full of questions about the greatness of Indian people.
Experiencing Hampi was simply heavenly. We had a lot of time to see and explore Hampi and I saw many monuments and edifices that I hadn’t read about before. It was a great experience not only for me, but for Rommel and Jim too.And since we were in the company of Hyundai i20 the experience simply got better. The i20 behaved like a true friend. It was always there when we needed it and not even once did it let us feel otherwise. It is a great car to have and if you own one, then just find an excuse to escape to your favourite destination in the comfort
of your Hyundai i20.
Story: Ravi Chandnani
Photography: Rommel Albuquerque
