Tata Nano AMT – evo fleet

Remember the Good ol’ days when long distance trips meant cramming six people inside a Fiat (or Ambassador if you were ostentatious enough). Ed seemed on a similar nostalgia trip when I asked him for a bigger car for my yearly vacation to the native place. “You have the Nano!” he exclaimed. I had to politely remind him that my travel companions consisted of Dad, sis and two rather healthy ladies. “So what? It’ll be a fun story” Ed has a weird sense of humour. It did take a lot of convincing with the ever looming threat of disownment but finally my family agreed when I questioned their sense of adventure. “C’mon, it’ll be fun” were my exact words.

Now what I did not foresee was the family’s voracious appetite for travel luggage and the Nano’s tiny boot fit for a couple of soft bags. Disownment seems like a sweet dream. Well, a bit of ingenuity, light packing and cramming every nook and cranny with small bags seemed to do the trick and we set off.

Now the Nano is a tiny car and I managed to fill it with rather large individuals and their associated belongings so I was half expecting the car to snail-pace its way to Vasai. Then I realised we also needed to cross Lonavala which meant ghats, ascent and a tiny engine lugging a full load. The Nano never ceased to surprise me. It pulled. All the way to 80kmph keeping a steady pace, occasionally climbing up to 100 to overtake much larger cars and their startled occupants, surprised to see a tiny car filled with people effortlessly pass them on the right. It must have been quite a sight to see the Nano bobbing down the expressway. I did keep one eye on the temperature gauge and one ear looking out for any impending breakage. We did reach our destination safely, covering a distance of about 200 kilometres in 4 hours, half an hour later than my usual time. As for the family. Well it was cramped but surprisingly they didnt mind the cosiness and neither did anyone complain of aches. They didn’t seem to mind the trip back either so I reckon, to them the Nano is like any other car. As for me, I’m glad I’m not yet disowned.