Driving across three capitals in Fiat diesels.
Fact number one: diesel engines have considerable stamina for long distances. Fact number two: there is no shortage of long distances in India. These are probably the two facts that led Fiat to organise their ‘Fiat Diesel Drives India’ drive around the country, and they invited us for the leg that stretched from Ranchi to Patna via Kolkata. We had at our disposal Fiat’s entire range of diesel cars, which comprises the Palio, the Punto, the Linea and the 500, all powered by the famous 1.3 Multijet motor. Over five days, we would cover just over 1100 km — the idea was not to cover ground at record-breaking pace, but to experience India with the Fiat diesels for company. And I can tell you, it was quite an experience indeed.
Leg 1: Ranchi to Kolkata
The first part of the journey began with the usual enthusiasm and hope that accompanies the start of every long trip. Our convoy rolled out of a Ranchi that was slowly waking up to a cold morning. The Linea looked more beautiful than usual in the great weather, as did the Punto and the 500. The Palio’s decade-old design really cannot match the lines of its Italian sisters, but since the same heart beats under its skin, the Palio had no problem keeping up with the rest of the bunch. Wherever possible, I was giving the Linea the stick and it responded very well to my inputs, darting from corner to corner in the hilly sections and cruising at triple-digit speeds on open roads. However, the roads got increasingly traffic-stricken as the day progressed and there were photographers to be satisfied, which meant that when dusk came, which happens at around 5:30 pm in these parts, we were still on the road with 200 km left to go. That was no problem, however, with the Linea's excellent headlamps lighting the tarmac as the convoy pressed on at a decent clip, and as the digital clock on the dashboard turned to 11, we landed in front of the Taj Bengal in Kolkata.
Leg 2: Kolkata to Dhanbad
After a rest day in Kolkata, we expected to start early in the morning the next day. However, a spanner was thrown in our works when it turned out that the 500 needed attention from the service centre owing to a leaking sump, no doubt the handiwork of the bad roads that the little car had been tortured over. That threw us some eight hours behind schedule, and when we finally got going, it was getting dark yet again. These early dusks are rather irritating, I tell you! The plan was to keep going until we reached Dhanbad, a big mining town with good hotels for accommodation and parking. Also, since reaching Dhanbad would mean that we would finish half of the distance to Patna and avoid driving in the night, it was the only logical thing to do. The 500 proved to be a lot of fun on this leg. Its small dimensions and steering setup make it eminently chuckable through every situation on the highway or in urban areas, while the engine provides more than enough grunt without needing to change gears often. It was so much fun, in fact, that I didn’t even realise when Dhanbad came and it was time to halt for the night.
Leg 3: Dhanbad to Patna
Being the last leg of the journey, the plan was to get to Patna as soon as possible and celebrate the end of a great drive. Plans, however, have their own way of laughing at us of late. In the last parts of Jharkhand that we would be covering, the roads were fantastic and the Punto was a willing ally for some fun. Its handling is somewhere between the Linea and the 500 and it rides better than the 500, which meant that it was brilliant on the B-road hilly sections that we passed as we entered Bihar. But after that, it all went downhill. Truck traffic was terrible and it slowed us down so much, we might as well have been driving backwards. After lunch, it was the Palio that caught my attention, the hardy car proving itself in the rough conditions that are called Bihar roads. Bad surfaces don’t faze this car and it’s still a decent handler, though the lack of a USB slot for music was too much for me to bear and I jumped into the Linea at the first available opportunity. The rest of the way was spent appreciating the Linea’s light steering and controls as we navigated our way through horrendous traffic and reached the outskirts of Patna. It had taken us 14 hours to cover 300 km, something that has never happened to me in any other part of the country. So, did we celebrate? Of course. But it wasn’t without a tinge of sadness for the cars that we were leaving behind.
