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| credits: Team BA. |
Meets.
They
are the best part about blogging. You get to meet the bloggers in skin who you
otherwise stalk virtually. My one such morning began with Tata Bolt drive
experience. Handpicked bloggers from all of Mumbai were invited to try their
hand at the all new Blot.
7.15.am
on a Sunday morning, I know call me crazy!
We
(me and Monish) left for Café Infinito, BKC. The networking began. I was part
of team R1. My team comprised of Ekta, Deepak and our chaperone from Blogadda
the very lively Anuja.
Post
breakfast they had us sign disclaimers and latter indulged us into an immersion
session about the Bolt. The product Manager gave us a brief PPT about the new Horizon
Next philosophy adapted by the Tata’s. He walked us through the design
philosophy and the cutting edge features on board the Bolt. I on a personal
level couldn’t really wait for him and the others form the Tata clan to wrap it
up, so that we could soon get on the road and experience the car firsthand.
9.30am, It was time for the flag off, just before we got on the road we were briefed about the rules of the drive. The amount of prep work the team BA had put into the planning was really commendable. We had a total of 5 pit stops along our drive up to Lonavla. The entire convoy had pilot cars leading us, making sure didn’t take a detour or hijack the poor little chaperone. Apart from that there was a case full of goodies to keep us tanked up along the way.
The
drive…
I
was petrified, haunted by the memories of the past. I’ve had an accident of the
Express way a couple of years back and since then this road always gave me the
chills. This was my first time driving on the express way and I had to face
some daemons of my own. I could have given up and let someone else drive, but
then where is the fun in that. Hence I Bolted…
Our
course of the day:
1st
Pit stop- From Bkc we headed to Reclamation Grounds. An obstacle course was
setup for us on a rocky surface. Apart from maneuvering sharp turns the car was
made to go over a rumblers to give us a feel of the suspension of the car.2nd Pit Stop- From the reclamations grounds we headed straight to the Pune Express way, where we stopped over the food court for a quick swap of drivers. This is where I unwillingly gave the keys over to Deepak for the next leg of the journey.
3rd
Pit Sop- From the Foodcourt we headed
straight to Lonavla, where lunch was served at Triose. After some more networking over
food, we all gave them a byte about our drive experience with the car.
4th Pit Stop- Post lunch we headed for the Tiger point. With
a lovely backdrop but a grueling sun to make things worse, all the bloggers got
into clicking selfies with the car. I couldn’t wait to get out of there
honestly.
5th Pit Stop- From Tiger point we headed
to our last pit stop of the day, the CCD along the express way. A formal
closing ceremony was arranged there over coffee. Post that the drive was officially
over and we were driven back to Mumbai….I really enjoyed my day and what made is more fun
was the eclectic mix of people who were a part of this group.
The Bolt experience.
Cursing on the express way with the Bolt was fun, the sports
mode really packs a punch. While existing the city I drove through some early
morning congestions, but steering the car through it all was quite effort less.
It’s a great car and looks pretty decent for its segment. I especially loved
the Infotainment System curtsey Harman on board the Bolt. What I loved is that
the system actually was tuned to understanding the Indian accent, now that’s a
score!
I
wished they could work on was the pick up at lower speeds. It was a little
sluggish and that’s my only complaint. To read more about my bold experience
and to get a detailed account of its features, read my review here: The Unpretentious Bolt review.
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| credits: Deepak |
