The Magnite gets to stretch its legs with a trip to my hometown
Having used the Magnite for small weekend trips around the city, this time I decided to take it to our annual family pilgrimage to Vasai about 200km away. My hometown is a quaint town just north of Mumbai and getting there is an adventure in itself. But before the adventure, I had to pack in my family of five and their luggage into the compact SUV.
It wasn’t much of a challenge as the Magnite boasts good cabin space. In fact, my parents quite liked the comfort and appreciated the shoulder room too. We even managed to fit a week’s worth of luggage into the boot and trust me when I say, my family does not believe in packing light!
The first 100km via the Mumbai-Pune Expressway was a breeze, with the Magnite cruising effortlessly. The CVT settled into a nice rhythm once I set cruise control. The 1.0-litre turbo petrol powertrain even returned a brilliant 18kmpl, despite a full house and luggage onboard!
Once we got off the Expressway we had to bypass Mumbai to cross over onto the Gujarat highway via Thane and take the exit to Vasai. Over the years I have figured out a specific time to avoid traffic but restrictions being eased off coupled with the never ending repair work on the highway meant heavy traffic was omnipresent.
Thankfully, the convenience of an automatic and the powerful climate control system helped in making the journey comfortable. Also, the Magnite’s compact dimensions, light steering and sprightly motor helped in making rapid progress. We managed to reach our destination in good time and even stay fresh by the end of it, something even the family appreciated!
