Drive To Discover 10: Exploring The Southwestern Coast Of India

It was Day 351, and I was still working from home. The merciless Indian summer was here. It was a little over 11 am and the mercury had already touched 37-degree Celsius on the thermometer in Mumbai. And that is when my phone pinged. It was a message from my boss Ameya Naik, and it said these exact words - "Giving your name for Honda Drive to Discover". There was an instant grin on my face as that message took me back to September 2017, when I had experienced what was my best-ever road trip so far, as part of the Drive to Discover 8, and it was to no other place but Bhutan. Now, I won't go into the details, because you can read all about that D2D here, but as soon as I came back from the trip, I had begged Ameya to send only me whenever Honda sent the next invite.

Flash-forward four years and I was now packing my bags yet again for the Honda Drive To Discover 10. Only this time, in addition to power banks and extra underwear, my essentials also included about a dozen masks, a couple of sanitisers bottles, and a few pair of latex gloves. As eager as I was to go on the long 3-day drive from Bengaluru to Goa I was not planning to take any risks, especially with the coronavirus still lurking around stronger than ever. So, with my RT-PCR test results handy, I was at the airport at 5:30 am on March 15, 2021, to take the early flight to Bengaluru. Over the next 3 days I, and 26 other journalists who had come from all over India, were to cover about 800 kilometres along the Southwestern coast of India. On our way to Goa, we were going to halt at Chikmagalur, Mangaluru, Kundapura, and Karwar.

This year's Drive To Discover 10 was flagged-off from Bengaluru and Honda had its entire fleet of cars present

Day 1 - Going Up The Hill

Flipping through a bunch of printouts, the organiser finally said, "9325" the number of the car assigned to me, and it was a Honda Amaze diesel automatic. Honda also had multiple units of the Jazz, WR-V and the new-gen City for the drive. As with every D2D this time too we were going to share the car with a fellow journalist, and my partner for this edition was Aditya Upadhyaula, the Associate Editor at Motoring World magazine. This was my first interaction with Aditya, and by the end of the trip, I can safely say, we had bonded over The Office, Cars, and of course Classic Rock music, which was always being played inside our car. In fact, all Honda cars at our disposal were equipped with a touchscreen infotainment system, featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which came in handy for both shuffling through our playlists and for navigation.

Our companion for Day 1 was the Honda Amaze diesel automatic that gets a 1.5-litre engine with a CVT unit

On day 1 we drove from Bengaluru to Chikmagalur, covering over 285 kilometres, and for the most part of it, we were driving through good four-lane roads on National Highway 75. The CVT automatic made driving the Amaze through Bengaluru city, and wherever we found some traffic, a total treat. However, the car makes just 79 bhp, which is 20 bhp less than what the manual version makes, and you certainly feel the absence of that extra punch. Furthermore, as convenient as the CVT unit is in city conditions, it is not the most responsive one for driving on the highway where you might want to do some dynamic driving. The signature rubber band effect of the CVT stood out like a sore thumb, especially, while we were driving uphill, on the twisties of Mullayanagiri, the highest peak in Karnataka, on our way to our hotel. However, before that, we did take a small halt near the Yagchi river to enjoy the sunset.

Before ending Day 1 we took a small halt near the Yagchi river to enjoy a nice sunset

Day 2 - Taming The Ghats

Now by the time we had reached our hotel in Chickmaglur, it was pretty dark so we could not see the pristine coffee plantations that we got to witness in the morning. Surrounded by acres of forest land and coffee plantation, the view from the hotel certainly charged us up for Day 2 which was going to be a 260+ kilometre journey, and most of it was going to be ghats section.

On Day 2 we woke up to a breathtaking view of the forest and coffee plantations of Mullayanagiri Peak

For this leg of the journey, we had the new Honda City with us. The car we had was the petrol manual and it was certainly a treat to drive. The 119 bhp 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine was punchy and eager, and the ample 145 Nm torque meant we did not miss a diesel engine. Some of that credit also goes to the slick 6-speed gearbox and the car's light clutch action.

The very capable and feature-packed new-gen Honda City was the car given to us on Day 2 and this one was the petrol manual

The major pitstop for the day was the coastal city of Mangaluru, which is a little over 170 kilometres from Chikmaglur, and we had stopped here to flavour some authentic seafood. However, the final destination for the day was still a little over 90 kilometres away, and that's Kundapura, yet another coastal town situated in the Udupi district of the state of Karnataka, and it is mainly known for its beautiful beaches.

On Day 2 we also got to sample the Amaze diesel manual and yet again ended the day with a beautiful sunset on the waterfront, in Kundapura

Midway, we swapped our City for an Amaze diesel manual, with a couple of fellow journalists. And we weren't disappointed because the 99 bhp 1.5-litre oil burner of the Amaze is certainly one of the nicer engines that Honda has to offer. That extra 20 bhp certainly makes its presence felt and the clutch is also nice and light, perfect for some spirited driving, which was necessary because we had to reach our hotel before sundown as we had to get our RT-PCR tests done for our return flights.

The coast town of Kundapura is known for its beautiful beaches, and the first one we visited was the Maravanthe Lagoon

Day 3 - From Coast To Coast

The main aim for day 3 was to get some nice sunrise shots at Maravanthe Lagoon, which is one of the major attractions of Kundapura. The beautiful stretch of the road has the Arabian Sea on one side and the Suparnika River on the other, and for this leg of the drive, we had the WR-V diesel manual with us. Powered by the same tried and tested 99 bhp 1.5-litre oil burner that comes with the Amaze, the WR-V crossover offered that extra bit of ruggedness needed to access some of the unpaved sections of the beaches in Kundapura. And one of them was the Kodi beach, which could only be accessed by a small single lane road, going through a village.

The WR-V was certainly a capable companion for our early morning beach hopping, and the diesel unit that powers it is one of nicer engines Honda has to offer

From Kundapura, it's nearly about a 250-kilometre drive to Benaulim, Goa, the final destination of Honda's Drive to Discover 10. For this final leg, we got to sample both the Jazz petrol CVT and the City petrol CVT, in that order. For the most part of it, we were driving on the four-lane road of National Highway 66. We started the journey with the Honda Jazz CVT, which is certainly a nice car for the city, but for the highway, we wished we had the manual version of the car, which is a bit peppier. The Jazz received a facelift only last year and along with some minor updates Honda also removed the diesel engine from the line-up. Right now, it only gets an 89 bhp, 1.2-litre petrol engine with a 5-speed manual and an optional CVT automatic unit.

The CVT version of the Honda City gets the same 1.5-litre petrol as its manual counterpart and it does offer an engaging drive

The City CVT on the other hand gets the same 1.5-litre motor as its manual counterpart and is a much more enjoyable car to drive compared to the Jazz CVT. In the lower and mid revs, the City feels at home, offering an engaging drive, however, the car does not like to be pushed too hard, and we had to adjust our driving manners a bit to match the shifts of the CVT unit. The convoy did stop at Karwar, which is about 182 kilometres from Kundapura, to sample some more seafood Karnataka had to offer.

While we did get lost on our way to see the Shiva statue in Murudeshwar, we did manage to make the best of it with some nice photos

While our itinerary for the day also included a quick pit-stop at Murdeshwar to see the famous statue of Lord Shiva, however, one certain navigation application created by an American tech giant took use 70 kilometres away in a different direction, inside a fishing village. While we had to miss meeting lord Shiva, we did manage to get some nice photos on the waterfront, before heading over to Goa.

If we had to choose just one car to do this trip all over again, then we would probably go for the WR-V diesel manual

The Last Day - Bidding Adieu

From the pristine coffee plantations of Chikmagalur to the coastal cuisines of Mangluru, and the beautiful beaches of Kundapura, this tenth edition of the Honda Drive to Discover, certainly offered us different flavours of the Southwestern region of India. While every Honda car made a strong case for itself, if we had to choose just one car to do this trip all over again, then we would probably go for the WR-V diesel manual, mainly for the versatility the car offers. After a little bit of sightseeing in Goa, it was time for me to head over to the airport to catch my flight back home.

The tenth edition of the Honda Drive to Discover, certainly offered us different flavours of the Southwestern region of India

All things said Honda Cars India did manage to yet again create a memorable road trip, despite all the COVID restrictions, ensuring the safety and hygiene of everyone who had participated in D2D 10. Now that the trip is over, and we are back to the grind, I eagerly wait for the next edition of the Honda Drive to Discover.