When you think of driving skill, the first few things that probably come to mind are: How much control you have of the car at break-neck speeds; how good are your gear-shifts? How well do you choose your racing lines? How late can you brake while coming into a corner? Sure, all of these skills take a bucket-load of practice to master. But have you ever put any thought into how hard it is to drive a car slowly? Now, before you start to question my sanity, just consider the amount of patience involved in driving a car for kilometres at a time; while making sure the revs don’t climb more than a few 100rpm above idle.
The Chariot
Our weapon of choice was the 85hp Renault Lodgy RxL, equipped with the ultra-efficient K9K 1.5-litre diesel engine, a 50-litre fuel tank and a fresh set of 185/65 Apollo tyres; all these elements combined would be ideal for setting a record mileage run. We also had the option of the 110hp Lodgy that came with six gears instead of five. And yes, I know that more horsepower is always better, but that’s not what we needed in this situation. The five-speed gearbox would also allow for more manageable throttle modulation at lower revs. And even though the Lodgy is technically an MPV, capable of seating seven people, its unladen kerb weight is a mere 1,300kg; the perfect vehicle for this sort of mileage run.
Now a Delhi-Mumbai run doesn’t sound overly exciting by itself. But throw in the condition that the fuel tank will be sealed off by auditors until you reach Mumbai and things start to get interesting. There’s a lot of planning that goes into pulling off something like this. And let’s not forget, there’s also a fair amount of mental preparation required.
The Strategy
Consider covering almost 1,400km with a feather-light foot on the accelerator and still managing to stay awake after about six hours of continuous driving. Sure, it sounds pretty simple as it is; but let’s not forget, that this is out on Indian highways, where the traffic is unpredictable, and around this time of the year, the weather in the western part of the country makes ovens seem quite bearable. How did we bypass this? Drive during the night, rest during the day. And keep some entertainment options in the car so you don’t doze off. Avoid using any auxiliary functions of the car like the audio system. This would simply put an extra load on the electricals and let’s not forget, we only get a single tank of gas to make this run.
