Not Just About The Journey

Two walled cities, recognized by UNESCO, explored with the unmatched Hyundai Venue

Nestled deep in the state of Gujarat is a city so rich in culture that UNESCO recognized it as India's World Heritage City (first of its kind) in 2017. Its multifaceted nature has made Ahmedabad famous for a variety of things, and it wouldn't be a surprise if said accolade isn't the first thing that comes to your mind when one talks about Ahmedabad. The contrasting occurrence of the typical urban landscape (think new buildings, unabated progress wherever you see, etc.) and a walled city that felt like it had a world of its own makes it, for the lack of a better word, unique. The co-existence of a variety of religions, its architecture, and the continued evolution of culture (and thus global relevance) has made Ahmedabad worthy of its status, among other things. While we've witnessed the city charm travellers and residents many times, we decided to head to the walled city to see what the fuss is about.

But what about the car we're driving? The majority of cars on sale today are decent, so finding one for a drive between Ahmedabad's wall city and our next destination wouldn't be difficult. But like the two cities, we thought to ourselves that the car ought to be equally extraordinary, too. A compact crossover SUV that can handle all kinds of roads, big enough to be stable on highways but compact enough to get into the old, crowded parts of the cities we were about to visit. It also had to have an engine and gearbox combination that would be pokey enough to power out of corners and make effortless overtakes, but at the same time, in urban conditions, it had to be hassle-free. And to round it up, this car had to be good looking, because amazed by the visuals these two cities would offer, we didn't want to come back to a car that looked disproportionate or tried too hard to look good. Big criteria, you'd say, but the 2022 Hyundai Venue seemed to tick all the boxes.