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#1
I have a 2010 April model Chill metallic colour Figo 1.4 Tdci Titanium and We were contemplating on taking a flight to Chennai as our Figo is at 98,000 kms and we haven't taken it on a long drive but I chose to tie the bell to the cat and said we will go by road. And in prep for it, I had also sent the car for 1 lakh km service and it cost me 20K for it at Fortune ford in Hyderabad. However, I always wanted to upgrade my car a little bit so I chose to remove the hella aux lamps that I was using and removed the stock bulbs and fixed HIDs from Genome - cost 23K and also remapped the ECU to increase power output as by default the 1.4 tdci starts struggling once it reaches 3500 RPM and to overtake when in 5th gear, there is no additional power so I have to downshift always. Took the car to a reliable dealer who deals with Quantum remaps and did a stage 1 remap for Figo and boy i was surprised at what this engine is capable of. I only wish I had done this sooner. I didn't do it as I was not in country for the last 4 years.
Now coming to the trip, we started at 7 AM from Hyderabad - I stay close to ORR so in a minute from home I took the ORR entry and was away. Took the exit to Vijayawada and then from there followed google maps' fastest route guidance. This however has small villages along the route (miryalguda, pidguralla. addanki) and does result in people / tractors / cattle crossing on the road so I had to slow down often. The route goes via ongole -> Nellore -> Chennai Once we reached the guntur vijayawada nellore junction at medarametla and took the vijayawada chennai highway, the drive was a bliss until we reached Tamilnadu border where there is lot of construction on this highway and traffic was literally moving at snail's pace.
The stretch from medarametla to TN border was clean - no potholes and could constantly maintain triple digit speeds. The stretch from ORR exit to until medarametla had potholes and especially where the boundary between one toll road ends and another starts when passing through a small town / village. It was irritating to say the least in those areas. The trip was immediately after the heavy rains in Telangana and I believe that could be the reason for the poor roads. however, the NH was well maintained and no issues at all.
For those who take the route, there is Village Aaharam in about 20 mins after we take ORR exit to miryalguda for a quick breakfast. If you miss it there is N Grill on the same road (they open slightly late) so thats a potential place for breakfast. For lunch there are a couple of places before ongole Viyyalavari Vindu (they open only by 12 PM and hence I had to skip this place as I crossed early)and Aavas hotel and resort (open by 11 AM). Aavas is a decent place for lunch and for kids to relax as well. The entire route is here in this link given below for anyone to refer. I have set the starting location as hitec city to keep it generic.
Google Maps
Hope this helps someone looking to ride in the same route. I might take NH16 to Vijayawada and then drive to hyd from there instead of taking the shorter route as I want to avoid the potholes and villages, I will update this thread in-case I take this route.
Now coming to the trip, we started at 7 AM from Hyderabad - I stay close to ORR so in a minute from home I took the ORR entry and was away. Took the exit to Vijayawada and then from there followed google maps' fastest route guidance. This however has small villages along the route (miryalguda, pidguralla. addanki) and does result in people / tractors / cattle crossing on the road so I had to slow down often. The route goes via ongole -> Nellore -> Chennai Once we reached the guntur vijayawada nellore junction at medarametla and took the vijayawada chennai highway, the drive was a bliss until we reached Tamilnadu border where there is lot of construction on this highway and traffic was literally moving at snail's pace.
The stretch from medarametla to TN border was clean - no potholes and could constantly maintain triple digit speeds. The stretch from ORR exit to until medarametla had potholes and especially where the boundary between one toll road ends and another starts when passing through a small town / village. It was irritating to say the least in those areas. The trip was immediately after the heavy rains in Telangana and I believe that could be the reason for the poor roads. however, the NH was well maintained and no issues at all.
For those who take the route, there is Village Aaharam in about 20 mins after we take ORR exit to miryalguda for a quick breakfast. If you miss it there is N Grill on the same road (they open slightly late) so thats a potential place for breakfast. For lunch there are a couple of places before ongole Viyyalavari Vindu (they open only by 12 PM and hence I had to skip this place as I crossed early)and Aavas hotel and resort (open by 11 AM). Aavas is a decent place for lunch and for kids to relax as well. The entire route is here in this link given below for anyone to refer. I have set the starting location as hitec city to keep it generic.
Google Maps
Hope this helps someone looking to ride in the same route. I might take NH16 to Vijayawada and then drive to hyd from there instead of taking the shorter route as I want to avoid the potholes and villages, I will update this thread in-case I take this route.