Driving up to strawberry capital

In April, when mercury routinely breaches the 40 degree Celsius mark, Mahabaleshwar is where the sun-burnt Puneite heads for some much-needed respite. Nestled 150-km away, in the verdant Sahyadri ranges, we take the journey as much for the scenic ghat roads as for the last yummy strawberries of the season.

The two-hour journey is pleasant enough, in itself. If one is sitting in the driver’s seat of a high performance SUV, the Audi Q5 3.0 TDI (diesel), S-line in this case. The car introduced in the Indian market earlier this year, comes with a V6 engine which has displacement of 2967 cc, a maximum power output of 245 HP, and max torque of 580 Nm. The drive type is quattro (permanent four-wheel) with self locking center differential, the transmission is seven-speed and the fuel tank has a capacity of 75 litres. The S-line variant has some added (mainly cosmetic) features which include reinforced bumpers, trunk sill protection in stainless steel, deflector vane, and 19-inch alloy wheels with 5-spoke Rotor design.

The car is roomy –the five-seater configuration for the rear seat is certainly a bonus – but the real value is the driving comfort. The steering wheel is delightfully responsive, and calls for so little energy for manoeuvring that it is an absolute dream to drive. The fact that a significant part of the 120-km road runs over the golden quadrilateral road network, could be viewed with some derision for the off-roader enthusiast, given the Audi’s capabilities in this sphere, but I am not complaining that road is well made and the car is gliding!

As we get off the Pune-Bangalore highway, and head onto the Pasarni ghat, replete with steep inclines and hair-pin bends, the Audi Q5 brings out its best. We drive past Panchagani, and make it to Mahabaleshwar in two hours flat.

Our stopover for the night is the 106-year-old Dina hotel, a charming colonial style wooden bungalow with latticed windows that overlooks a valley swathed in green. In the evening, we drive on narrow hill roads flanked by woody glades, and the innumerable pathways that snake through the forests seeming to lead to eternity. The morn finds us ready to return, but not before picking up our annual stock of fresh honey from the local store. The road along the Venna lake is lined with vendors selling local produce; orange carrots, deep pink radishes, fat, purple mulberries, and conical mounds of fresh picked strawberries.

Return to base takes a little short of the designated two-hour time thanks to the thinner traffic. When we started, the gauge indicated 740 km worth of fuel. After nearly 280 km of driving, the numbers tell us 620 km worth of fuel remained. Was it the car that was good or the driving?