Road trips are no less than therapy, as they help you break away from your mundane routines and come back feeling rejuvenated. But a road trip can also be soul soothing when you hit the road for a cause and make for a deep sense of satisfaction and offer a feeling of warmth. That said, it isn’t very often that we get to club road trips to a cause. As TURBOCHARGED turned four, I was keen on making that happen though. I’ve been wanting to visit the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, given the noble cause behind it. It’s unlike any other school and is India’s most energy-efficient school to say so, with a strong focus on sustainability.
I decided to drive to the school in the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid, which is India’s most fuel-efficient SUV. Launched in 2022, it needs no introduction as a premium midsize SUV from India’s leading car manufacturer and also has an edge over its rivals in a lot of ways. Its ARAI-certified efficiency of 27.97kmpl is a big deal too! The number bears testimony to Maruti Suzuki’s engineering prowess and is also a strong nod to the manufacturer’s commitment to a greener future. And besides its silent nature, the Grand Vitara’s strong hybrid powertrain helps you drive long distances without having to refuel. You can drive it for over 1,200km without needing to look for a fuel station!
This meant an interesting proposition, of driving to the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School from the Delhi-NCT, 800km away, on a single tank of petrol! But its excellent fuel efficiency is just one of the reasons why I chose the Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid. The SUV is supremely comfortable for long drives, thanks to its plush ride quality and well-cushioned seats and hybrid powertrain that makes it very silent to drive, making journeys very pleasant and enjoyable. This is besides the fact that the Grand Vitara is loaded with features, including many segment firsts. These include the largest in class panoramic sunroof with the largest opening, a head-up display and more.
So, tank filled to the brim and tripmeter reset to zero, I started from Gurugram for the city of Jaisalmer that sits in the dry and arid Thar desert in Rajasthan. I also had interesting companions on this drive in the form of Maruti Suzuki’s SmartPlay Pro+ infotainment system and the Premium Surround Sound System by Clarion. The infotainment system supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, while the sound system plays crisp audio notes, adding to the pleasantness of the long drive. Crossing over from Haryana into Rajasthan had the countryside change from lush green to brown, but the one thing that did not change even 200km later was the Grand Vitara’s fuel gauge. It was still at full! The distance to empty readout was over 800km, while fuel efficiency was an astonishing 26.6kmpl.
I was also able to experience the SUV’s comfort, excellent road manners and exhaustive feature list. The TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) ensured I had precise information about tyre pressures while the ventilated front seats were a bonus. The Grand Vitara is also equipped with a PM2.5 filter that keeps dust and pollution at bay. Meanwhile, the strong hybrid powertrain was only sipping fuel thanks to its clever, future-ready engineering, also helping the Grand Vitara achieve the lowest possible CO2 emissions. An electric motor powers its front wheels, receiving energy from the lithium-ion battery pack onboard and engine is fired up only when needed, helping curb emissions. Effectively, the 1.5-litre petrol engine only acts as a supplementary power source and provides additional boost, thus helping make the Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid ultra-efficient!
The strong hybrid system also switches between pure EV mode and turning the engine on seamlessly, only firing it up to recharge the battery or provide additional boost. The instrument cluster’s multi-information display offers precise information about energy flow from the battery to the motor to the wheels, or the other way round, when using regenerative braking. This information can also be accessed via the 9.0-inch infotainment screen. The strong hybrid powertrain also helps in making the Grand Vitara very quiet. The silence and smoothness, especially when cruising, help in making the Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid an excellent mile muncher, as I was feeling fresh even after hours of driving.
The additional torque on offer courtesy the combination of the electric motor and engine were also making for effortless driving, especially while overtaking on the highway. The Grand Vitara’s comfort – thanks to its well-tuned suspension and plush seats – were also helping me make good time. And thanks to the strong hybrid system functioning like clockwork the fuel gauge was still above half, even as I was approaching the 500km mark. That is because the Grand Vitara was running in EV mode even at highway speeds most of the time, making for a pleasantly quiet drive, and the engine was only coming on occasionally. This is also why the Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid is a very practical solution for India, besides its focus on sustainability.
The drive also gave me a chance to drive on the Jamnagar-Amritsar Expressway where I was able to use the Grand Vitara’s cruise control function, adding to my comfort, while viewing relevant information on the head-up display. Soon after turning off the Expressway, I crossed the 500km mark but didn’t need to start looking for a fuel station as I still had a little more than half a tank of fuel! 100km later the fuel gauge was down to half, but Jaisalmer was just over 100km away now, and the school was only another 40km away. At Jaisalmer, tank range was still 432km, after having driven for about 750km which was unbelievable! I halted at Jaisalmer for the night, but the excitement – of visiting the school and just how much range the Grand Vitara would still have – meant I was restless.
Driving to the school the next morning called for a bit of off-roading as the school is in the middle of nowhere literally, with no tarmac once you turn off the main road. With its 210mm ground clearance the Grand Vitara was perfectly at ease on the gravel and sand though and the excellent torque delivery at low speeds courtesy the combination of the electric motor and the 1.5-litre petrol engine both ensured progress was rapid. And as I approached the school, I was grinning. The tripmeter told me I’d driven 787km, the fuel gauge was just under half tank and distance to empty was still 356km! I’d effectively driven the distance in much lesser than a tankful of petrol, and overall efficiency on the trip computer was 24.2kmpl! Another reason for the grin was that finally, I was at the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School.
The school is a beacon of hope for women’s education and empowerment, especially in the region, as female literacy rate there is barely 32 percent as per statistics. The school is run by CITTA India, a nonprofit organisation that has been instrumental in making it all happen. The school is also backed by the royal family of Jaisalmer, which is why it is named after the royal princess. The building has been designed by American architect Diana Kellogg, but pro bono. In fact, there’s a list of people and organisations who have provided help for the school without charging fees, be it for its construction, for the solar panels, for the girls’ uniforms (fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee designed them using ‘Ajrakh’, a local block printing technique) and many more.
The school does not charge any fees, and its coordinators also travel to nearby villages to convince families to send their daughters to study. Transportation to and from the school is provided free of cost, along with mid-day meals. The school is gaining popularity and has also been successful at convincing locals about the importance of women’s education. Besides this, local women, especially mothers of the students are given an opportunity to earn through handicrafts. But what’s also worth noting is that sustainability is at the core of everything in the school. For instance, the building has been constructed using locally sourced limestone which is known for its cooling effect during summers. The architecture is such that the school does not need air-conditioning even when it’s 50 degrees Celsius outside – Jaisalmer is one of India’s hottest places!
That’s thanks to the building’s unique design, which is oval in shape and interestingly, also meant to represent the shape of a mother’s womb. There’s lots of cross ventilation in the classrooms, which are airy and spacious, and there’s a large central playing area as well. The school also employs rainwater harvesting ensuring there is no scarcity of water, despite the school being in the middle of nowhere, in a desert, and the girls drink water cooled naturally. There’s large solar panels on the terrace to take care of electricity needs, ensuring the school is self-sustaining on the energy front. Being there in the school and watching the little girls – quiet and attentive in the classroom and loud and playful while outside it – brought a smile to my face. I was in fact beaming with pride, thinking of the bright future the girls can look forward to thanks to their education!
To draw parallels, the Grand Vitara Strong Hybrid is India’s most fuel-efficient SUV and the need of the hour, given its advantages. The fact that I’d driven 800km without needing to refuel is a feat possible only in a strong hybrid SUV like it. Then there’s the premium interiors, comfort and features that make the Grand Vitara so likeable. As I was leaving, I couldn’t help but smile as I glanced at the school in my rear-view mirror, thinking of the memories I was heading back with, especially, as a father to a 9-year-old girl myself! The very next instant I was looking at the Grand Vitara’s distance to empty readout of over 350km and smiled wider – the SUV had helped me accomplish a unique road trip, and one that had filled my heart with the feeling of warmth I spoke about at the start!
