The Active Lifestyle

It’s unfair to keep your pets at home all the time. They deserve a break from city life too.

- Anand Mohan

REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A KID, there were very few cars that were suitable to an active lifestyle. A close friend’s father drove a rickety old SUV, and I laughed at his father’s choice of wheels but it served a purpose. When not ferrying his large family in questionable comfort, the SUV had enough space and access to get his German Shepherd in, drive comfortably to his factory and back home where the said canine was a guard dog. The kids ran for their lives at the sight of the beautiful giant. The misunderstood dog was actually quite a mellow creature once you got to know him and I even remember going camping in this van with my friend, his dad and the German Shepherd. These days, living an active lifestyle is getting more and more important. City life sucks your energy through the week, you work long hours and a quick weekend trip is almost impossible if you have a pet at home and a car unsuitable to carry your dog with you. Cars like the i20 Active seem to be made for just that; getting out, living life and not leaving anyone behind, especially the most loved member in your family, your dog.

The Hyundai i20 Active is the perfect mix of a city car with outdoorsy tweaks. The suspension is raised by 20mm from the Elite i20, so when you step out of town, the ground clearance is good enough to go over poor roads and large speed breakers. You can venture off- road, tackle the odd dirt trail and even drop two wheels off the shoulder of the road without worrying when you drive through smaller villages. We did that on a recent drive to catch up with an animal behaviourist on the outskirts of Pune.