Sponsored feature: The monsoons. A Tata Zest. And a couple of weekdays away from office. Perfect.
Published on Sep 03, 2015 08:00:00 PM
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Sometimes you just want to get away from it all. You want to stop staring out of the office window and actually get out. Especially when you know that once you get out of the city, the weather will be just perfect. The rains will have turned everything lush and green, the clouds will be hugging the mountain sides and the lakes will be full. Sounds about perfect. All you need is the right companion. That’s where the Tata Zest comes in. It’s the perfect partner that’s got everything you need.
But where to go? Since it’s the middle of the week in what is so incorrectly considered the ‘off-season’, you can actually choose a place that’s well known and rightly expect it to be deserted. Off to Nashik then. The roads are good, the place is not too far away, and what waits there makes it totally worthwhile.
So begins the drive towards peace and quiet. But that means first getting out of the city. Here’s where the Zest’s Multi-drive comes in handy. The City mode is the perfect choice here. It gives a good balance of fuel economy and delivers power when you need to overtake. The electronic power assisted steering wheel makes it effortless. Often, while darting in and out of traffic, one can easily overlook the potholes that the roads develop during the monsoon. But the Zest’s suspension deals with them easily and with that ground clearance, there’s no chance of it scraping anything either. Although getting some fresh air is one of the things to do on this getaway, letting the fully automatic AC keep the cabin nice and comfortable is the better choice while still within city limits.
Once the city is left behind though, it’s time to really drive the Zest. Switch to Sport mode and unleash the Revotron 1.2 turbocharged petrol engine delivering 90PS of power. The Sport mode option really livens things up and makes an already fun car even more exciting to drive. The road to Nashik has its share of nice bends and the Zest has enough grip to attack them. But the monsoon makes the land so picturesque; the smart thing to do is slow down, take in the views. The Multi-drive system on the Zest has an answer for that too – Eco mode. It’s almost as if the Zest has been designed to be able to reflect the many moods one can go through.
The monsoon is really magical. The dry, dusty Kasara ghat that most know it to be during summer, disappears under a layer of green. Waterfalls are visible from the smooth highway. The combination of gentle rolling hills, views of the mountain range, deep valleys, fields and patches of forests are just beautiful. It gets even more beautiful as you get closer to Igatpuri. For those interested, there’s something rather special at Igatpuri. A centre for one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques, Vipassana. A method of self purification by introspection, Vipassana is sought out by people around the world and its courses are offered free of cost. It requires great self-discipline and ten days of complete silence. A difficult proposition, considering the fact that we live in an incredibly noisy world. But those who manage to complete it, come out of the ten-day course enriched.
Unfortunately, a quick, short getaway from the city does not allow for this beautiful ten-day program and it must be planned for in advance for another time. For now, all that can be done is sense the tranquility in the air and get back to the Zest. Worthy of a pause is the stunningly crafted Myanmar Gate to the Vipassana centre. A few kilometres away from the centre are two lakes that present serene views. The ground clearance of the Zest comes into play here and easily lets the Zest get to places that sedans would normally not be expected to reach.
The Zest then continued on to Nashik. Nashik too is well known as a place for spiritual direction. It is also a place where one can celebrate high spirits. A short, 20-minute drive after arriving at Nashik leads to one of the country’s leading vineyards, Sula. Home to a rather popular and crowded annual event, the Sula vineyards look and feel absolutely beautiful in the monsoon. All the vines are bursting with fresh green leaves, ready to grow a new crop of grapes that will be developed into a wine that’s loved by many. But there’s no room for such indulgences when one is behind the wheel. Abstinence is the key. The vineyards though, do provide a fantastic backdrop for the Zest. It made it to the Sula vineyards via very few stops. The Zest did not need any because it is very reliable. The people, on the other hand, need breaks from time to time. The ride quality was great. The AC kept the cabin temperature comfortable and the Harman music system was doing a brilliant job of keeping spirits high. Even when you’re travelling with the entire family, there’s enough space in the Zest for everyone. There’s plenty of headroom and enough legroom in the back thanks to the intelligent layout and scooped-out seat backs. The large 390-litre boot is big enough to swallow all their luggage. And of course, the advanced Revotron 1.2T, with the multi-drive mode, gives you the right combination of power and economy when you need it. Makes for a brilliant drive indeed.
The drive out to Nashik in the monsoon was amazing. Making it even better was the beautifully equipped Zest. Even after a day’s drive, the Zest leaves you with a lot of energy. The drive does not drain any of your ‘zest’. Rather, it adds to it beautifully, by being a reliable companion and delivering what you need when you need it.
A YEAR OF ZEST
The Tata Zest completed a successful year in the Indian market in August, 2015. With over 30,000 units of this compact sedan sold, clearly many Indians seem to enjoy the Zest.
Its class-leading features, fantastic ride quality and smart pricing have made this the perfect car for modern Indians looking to ‘zest’ up their lives.
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