Tag Archives: Blogadda

#LiveLodgycal Drive with Blogadda in Goa

#LiveLodgycal Drive with Blogadda in Goa

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#LiveLodgycal Drive with Blogadda in Goa

Hi guys,

So if you read my Renault Lodgy blog post, you know last weekend I was in Goa with the Blogadda team at the Leeka Kempinski Hotel.

This time it was a 2 day stay unlike the Tata Zest which was one day and everything was rushed, so we got time to relax and unwind. Also, there was no ‘Live Blogging’ thankfully :p And we blogged after reaching home and were given a good week’s time.

There were bloggers from Pune,Mumbai,Bangalore,Delhi and everyone reached on Friday the 19th around the same time. I and my team mate Ashwini were the last to reach Goa and we reached the hotel at 8pm coz our tickets were booked separately. The introduction had already started by the time we reached. Also it was raining crazily in Mumbai that day and our flight was late by 1 hour 10 minutes. I was sitting at the airport for almost 4 hours coz I was told by the Blogadda team to leave immediately as there is a lot of traffic but I reached the airport from my place within a hour 😀

We were welcomed at the Leela Hotels with a flower garland and fresh coconut water. We just checked in and had to rush for the introduction. A presentation was given by Renault Lodgy’s Mr. Maneesh and the host for the evening was RJ Archana Pania, which was followed by dinner at ‘The Restaurant’ in Leela which was quite a spread.

Next morning was the drive day.  We quickly had breakfast at ‘The Restaurant’ again and it was super yummy. I miss the breakfast 🙁

40 bloggers were all divided in a team of 4 from the start and each team had one Renault Lodgy. We were team 3 and we named our team ‘LodgySticks’. We started the drive from Leela Hotels and went to the Lalit Hotel. The stretch was beautiful,lush and green. And the car goes super smooth,so the drive was very pleasant in the rainy climate. You know how gorgeous South Goa is in monsoons, right!

Teams were given a series of tasks and pictures to click in between. After reaching the Lalit, Archana took video bytes of few bloggers at the beach. The Canacona beach at The Lalit is just mind blowing!! We clicked lots of pictures there. Also since it is a Golf Resort, the luscious greenery was so pleasing to the eye. We had lunch at The Lalit and drove back again in different Renault Lodgy’s this time.

My Team 🙂 And Maneesh from Lodgy

The evening at Leela was to unwind and relax. There was a blogger panel discussion about professional blogging and benefits of blogging in general. The bar was open and we had the best band in Goa Forefront to entertain us. We danced like crazy and Neha Kapoor, Prateek Thakker and Omkar even sang for us, the live band to full advantage. It was a fun night.

Next morning, we had breakfast and left for the airport as all of us had afternoon flights. There was a goof up at the end by the Blogadda team coz I and my room partner Neha were told that there would be buses from the hotel and while we were ready and sitting in our rooms for the hotel staff to take our luggage, for which no one came for 15 minutes even when we called twice,we missed the first bus. We assumed that there would be another bus in 15 minutes and then the team told us that now there is no bus before 1 pm (flight at 3pm) and that is already booked and all cars are pre-booked and we will have to go by private cab. So, I and Neha had to book a private cab as there was no other option, we expected someone to call us if the bus was leaving or the bus could have waited 5 minutes, coz the bus just left when we reached the reception.

Anyway, the flight was then again delayed by 1 hour 10 minutes. We safely reached the airport, though it started raining very bad and there were trees fallen on two of the roads. The driver somehow managed to makes us reach on time.

Overall, it was a nice experience and we had fun and that is what is important 🙂 Thank you Blogadda and Renault India for this amazing experience 🙂

I was a part of the #LiveLodgycal Drive by BlogAdda.com in association with Renault India

Renault Lodgy: New MPV in India

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Renault Lodgy: New MPV in India

Well last weekend at this time, I was in Goa with the Blogadda team and 40 bloggers from all over India to drive and experience the new Renault Lodgy, the latest Multi Purpose Vehicle in India.

Starting with the design, it looks fabulous with the wide head lamps. It is totally sleek and stylish, especially the black ones look killer.

It comes in 7 seater or 8 seater options and the 2nd and 3rd row are foldable and super spacious. I sat on all the three rows to experience how comfortable it is. Renault claims their third row is their advantage compared to other MPV’s in the market, coz it is spacious and has a separate A/C vent for the third row. I was on the third row for quite a while and it is indeed very spacious with enough leg room which is usually an issue in mostly all MPV’s.

Also the 2nd row can be easily folded for people to get in the 3rd row, with just a push of the button on the top of the seat, unlike trying to fiddle with the bottom adjusting bar every time in MPV’s.

The interiors look super classy and it has  beige and grey quilted design on the seats. A MediaNAV console with a touch screen in the higher models and chrome finished AC vents on the front look super classy!

The suspension was pretty good, and there were no jerks felt even on the third row. Coming to safety, it has airbags for both the front seats, one button car lock, etc. It goes from 80kmph to 0 in 35 metres which is again a superior feature compared to its competitors who are in 40-45 metres range, well every metre matters during an accident! The curves and bends went super smooth. Renult Lodgy also offers cruise control where you can just relax and let the car work on long road trips. Even though it is diesel, it hardly made any noise and it was NIL on the inside. It can practically give a mileage of 19-20 kmpl

It comes in 85 and 110 PS engine,well we got to try both. The 110 PS engine of course was super! It comes in 7 variants and starts from Rs. 8.19 lakhs.

Overall, I can only say that is the most stylish, practical and comfortable MPV in India that I have tried and experienced or sat in 🙂

P.S: It was raining continuously and I could hardly manage a few pics. Pics are from the Renault Lodgy website.

I was a part of the #LiveLodgycal Drive by BlogAdda.com in association with Renault India

Tata Bolt, A Hatchback Like No Other

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Tata Bolt, A Hatchback Like No Other….

 I will start this write up with one simple fact. Tata Motors is not known for the best products in the passenger car segment.  This legacy perception still carries on since the days of the Indica, the first passenger car from Tata Motors, which was plagued with problems on output power as well as mileage.

To be fair, Tata Motors has always tried to front lead and create a whole new segment via its passenger vehicles – Indica (small car segment) and Safari (SUV segment) specifically for the Indian market. Somehow, they met with limited success in understanding the pulse of the Indian consumer.

15 years after the Indica, In 2013-14, Tata Motors embarked on a mission – Project Falcon, to overcome the inherent limitation in TaMo’s passenger cars – Design & Styling. However, having one look at the Zest & Bolt, anyone will say that they score home runs on all fronts– Design, Performance, Mileage & Pricing.

Zest, launched in late 2014, had some initial production constraints, was well accepted by consumers. Bolt, promises to be better, and will mark the beginning of the Tata Motors Era in passenger cars. Both these are equipped with the Revetron engine (more on this later)  –  Reminds me of how Pulsar with its path breaking DTSi engine coupled with competitive pricing, performance and mileage changed the fortunes of Bajaj and soon became every Biker’s dream machine. Déjà vu. Competitors should be afraid.. very very afraid…

I was super excited on 14th January 2015 – Had set out to TCS Neptune, Thane to check out the Tata Bolt. I had dreamt of taking a Selfie with the Bolt. But met with a rude shock – Pics were not allowed inside the company premises for security reasons.  🙁

Anyways, I was completely bowled over by the Bolt. The design was sexy, neither too manly neither feminine. It was just right. Suited for a working professional as well as the girl next door.

One of my cousin, a car enthusiast warned me that it is completely normal to get taken away due to the media coverage, chutzpah and marketing blitzkrieg surrounding new car launches for big brands. I decided to do some objective ground level research and fact finding – Talking to car enthusiasts, dealers, existing car owners amongst my friends and online websites too – A first for me, as a beauty/fashion blogger. I nevertheless decided to take up this challenge.

Have penned down key points of my analysis in the table below, basically arrived at after comparing Bolt with two of the best-selling premium hatchbacks in the country – Maruti Suzuki Swift and Hyundai Grand i10. The below table will tell you almost everything you need to know before zeroing in on a hatchback. Of course, everything cannot be spoon-fed, you will have to go find out the nitty gritties on your own. 😎  I sincerely hope this table helps.

Bolt looks like a clear winner – whether it is performance, value for money or safety, Tata has once again proved that when push comes to shove, no one can beat it on value offerings, which is what we consumers want,  😉

In case you are wondering if this is the end of this post, well, it’s not. The icing on the cake is still to come. Apart from the above comparison matrix, there are some super cool features that clearly belong to Gen 2020. Earlier this week, I also had the luxury of taking this beast out for a test drive in the suburbs of Mumbai and came across some features, Features I loved in the new Bolt, which will blow your mind away…. Here goes…

Driving Mode

We commute to office, weekend getaways, inter city congested areas, etc. It becomes difficult to balance or change our driving styles to suit the commute with optimum performance and mileage. TaMo has had smart engineers working on this problem and has come up with a semi-automated solution. It lets us choose from 3 options to select the drive mode: Sport, Eco & City. Sport is for that adrenaline rush for highway drives, Eco for the best fuel efficiency and city to make the bumper to bumper traffic seem less taxing for the engine and us.

I did some research on it and basically, what this does is controls the flow of fuel to the engine when we use the accelerator. Simple but useful application of the laws of science.

Safety

We always say, “Kitna deti hai?” and “Kitne ki hai?” However, safety is one aspect which we tend to overlook. However, India has among the worst road accident records in the world. Just to add one more line for those who are still not convinced, Safety may not be for us, it is for the ones who care about us.

Bolt is laden with safety features –

  • Anti Lock Braking System is the most advanced globally. It comes with Electronic brake-force distribution, which distributes the brake force thus eliminating force concentration risk and gives better control to the driver. It also comes laden with Corner stability control which improves safety while taking steep turns/tight corners.
  • Dual front Air bags. Double Protection. I needn’t say more.
  • Speed sensitive door locks. Auto door locking when the vehicle’s speed increases. No more worrying about what your kid is upto on the backseat. You can drive in peace knowing that he is as safe as he is within the four walls of your home.

Comfort

  • Space will always be an issue when I make a buying decision. Because making 5 people sit cramped doesn’t make sense neither does making my hubby saying yes to a hatchback (He was already apprehensive about the hatchback visit). I can safely say this is the first hatchback he loved. Because it is big. Enough to make a 6’3 tall guy feel at ease.
  • Seats are plush and comfortable. Doesn’t feel cheap. But comfortable and cozy.
  • Smart Steering – When you are cruising, then the steering becomes more sturdy. When you slow down, it becomes more sensitive. Also, the active return function makes sure that the steering wheel comes back to close to original position when left on its own.

Design

  • This has to be seen to be realised. The Interiors are nicely spruced up and feel different. Black with a tinge of grey. Not one of those colors or materials which will easily get dirty.
  • Headlamps look suave and are smoked, IMHO, better than those fitted in Grand i10 or Suzuki Swift.
  • BTW, Bolt also comes with an in car entertainment system with 8 speakers 😮 . No more comments. Now listen to yo yo honey singh’s songs on full blast while commuting.
  • Tail lamps are tall, slim and sexy. Flame tail lamps, as TaMo calls it.

Dhoom machale

  • Running the risk of repeating myself, What is amazing in this revolutionary engine is it delivers a torque of 140 nm @ only 1,500 rpm, leaving everybody behind by miles and miles….
  • Again, inspite of the power, it gives a mileage in late teens which is only slightly less than that of the Swift, which again is brilliant to say the least.

Watch the Tata Bolt TVC here..

Phew…. I am now done with my longest blog post (Long because I am now a super fan of Tata Bolt, else I would not have cared much to elaborate in such detail).

No prizes for guessing the moral of the story – Get. Set. Bolt……  😛 😆 😮 😎

P.S: This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda.

Images from Google.

How You Can #ShopQuikr on Quikr.com

Lifestyle, Reviews, Shopping, Site Reviews, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How You Can #ShopQuikr on Quikr.com

Hey guys,

Most of you must have heard about Quikr.com obviously with the amount of ads coming in, now on TV too. Did you see the two new latest ones ? I like that red sofa :p

But how many of you have actually shopped on Quikr ? I had not untill yet, so I am glad I got this opportunity by Blogadda.

Read on to know more about Quikr and what all I got:

About Quikr: Quikr is India’s no.1 online classifieds platform, a place  where people can connect with each other to buy or sell goods and services. Launched in 2008 with the vision for buyers and sellers to “meet online, transact offline”, today we have over 4.2 million listings and have generated over 150 million replies.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Quikr operates from 940 cities across India and is accessed by more than 30 million unique users and 26 million brand new customers per month. We now have over 13 categories and 170 sub-categories, with the most popular being mobile phones and electronics, real estate, cars and bikes.

At Quikr, we have created an online community which is simple and secure. We are constantly innovating so that users can buy and sell in the easiest and most convenient way possible. We recognized that getting a fair price could be a hurdle for our customers, and we developed a Maximum Selling Price (MSP) calculator to help users estimate a reasonable price range. We also pioneered the Missed Call service in India, enabling first time or non internet users in India to give us a missed call so that we can help them post an ad. This way we aim to make people ‘Quikr’ users, perhaps even before they are internet users.

Our efforts are being recognized. In BAV® 2013 (a Brand Asset Valuator by Rediffusion-Y&R), Quikr was the only classifieds platform to be featured in the list of top ten ‘Best E-commerce Brands in India Amongst Youth’.

Quikr has also raised big money – US$ 60 million last month, from investors, which means better technology, more categories and super cool user experience in the days to come. :p

When you enter the site, at first you get a select city option and are taken to the sub domain of the city directly. You have a city wise classification and they have a sub domain for every city. For eg, for Mumbai it is mumbai.quikr.com. It is better to stick to your city while searching things, especially if they are heavy, coz transportation would be a pain

Then ‘Post Free Ad‘ option and to Buy or Find anything according to the categories mentioned. You can also create a free alert according to your requirement, category, city and locality and submit your email id and phone number, and you will get free alerts whenever someone posts about something that matches your requirement! Alerts are cool, saves you a lot of time in browsing and finding stuff yourself.

I had to buy a few kitchen appliances, and that’s where I went http://mumbai.quikr.com/Home-Kitchen-Appliances/w1037. All 4 items are from this category.

Saved Ads on the right side corner

 

I registered on the site, which also gave me an option of ‘Saved Ads‘, so that I did not have to go through everything again to find the thing I had liked and shortlisted.

I got this Orbit Handy Chopper and Shake N Go Juicer which are both new and from the same seller. I called them and they said they would deliver the product home, show a demo and then collect the money which was amazing 😀

A man came in 2-3 days with the products and showed the demo, it was all fine. And collected the cash of Rs.2200/- i.e. 1100 each.

I think the Handy Chopper is perfect for onions, garlic and ginger, and many other things of course. Perfect to use when you don’t want puree/mince but fine chopping. The Shake N Go is more of a blender or a smoothie maker. It blends milkshakes and smoothies amazingly well and comes with 2 blenders.

Then I found this brand new Boss All Time Mixer Grinder for Rs.1200/- but the only glitch was I had to go to collect it to Malad. But nonetheless, I am happy coz it was a good deal. Boss makes good kitchen appliances and I loved this mixer with three jar attachments.

And the final thing I purchased is a Eureka Forbes non electric Aqua Sure water filter whose ad the seller took down :/ This screenshot was I could see.

Cached page

Thankfully I got the image from the cached link. It was mentioned for Rs.2000 but when I asked the seller on phone, he said for Rs.1500/– and it’s not much used :p :Happy Dance: (fits under 5000 budget) He agreed to come to the nearby station where I live. Thank God for that :p It has two new extra filters too.

I am getting married and shifting to a new place and these things would be indeed very helpful for me. In fact, now that I have shopped for Quikr and have had a good experience, I am also buying 2-3 things more and saving on some bucks 😀

I compared the price of each of the above items online and this was a good deal in all ways, hence I went for this. There were 1-2 items I had shortlisted before and the seller agreed to send but later when I called to follow up, he denied saying he got a better deal and someone is paying more for it. I know it’s perfectly fine, but the sellers should stick to their words. Secondly the product price he mentioned, I was getting the same brand new product on Flipkart for a lesser amount and so I had quoted 100 bucks less than Flipkart and told him the same, to which he agreed.

Some buyer who must have not compared the price on Google paid a much higher price for the product. I did not like the part where some sellers only try and fool the buyers and sell them the product at a higher price than what is normally in the market.

I suggest Quikr add a comparison tab online under each product page where people can compare the same model or item’s price online and not get fooled. That would be very helpful for many.

Also, sometimes you see a helpline number on the side where they mention they would pick up the product and deliver to your place. I had called that helpline number and they said they charge Rs.30/- per km. which I found very high, and that this price should be mentioned on the site itself.

Other than that, I have had a good experience shopping on Quikr and getting 2-3 more things soon for my new home.

It’s a very good medium bringing the buyers and sellers together. Some sellers even negotiate the prices and some clearly mention no bargaining. So as a buyer, check the product, go for one with pictures, call and try to negotiate. Also find a suitable mid point where you can meet and collect the product if it is not huge.

As a seller, do not price the product higher than the market price. If it’s a used product, always count the depreciation factor. And always include good quality pictures. Helps a lot in selling the product faster.

Also, Quikr has an option of Premium Ads where they charge you some minimal fee per day and place your ad right on the top in the particular category which helps a lot. If as a seller you need to sell something urgently, I would say try the Premium service.

Have you shopped from Quikr.com before? Your experience? Do share in the comments below.

P.S: This post is a part of Quikr.com activity at BlogAdda.com

Book Review: Private India

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Book Review: Private India

About the book: When Santosh Wagh isn’t struggling out of a bottle of whisky he’s head of Private India, the Mumbai branch of the world’s finest PI agency.

In a city of over thirteen million he has his work cut out at the best of times. But now someone is killing women – seemingly unconnected women murdered in a chilling ritual, with strange objects placed carefully at their death scenes.

As Santosh and his team race to find the killer, an even greater danger faces Private India – a danger that could threaten the lives of thousands of innocent Mumbai citizens.

Gist: When a series of seemingly unconnected murders rock the city of Mumbai with the macabre rituals and artefacts found around the corpses, Private India, a leading investigation agency takes the case. Santosh Wagh, the head of the organization, has only one mission. He needs to stop the killers before they strike again. However, in a city of over 13 million people, he finds that the clock is ticking too fast. He finds himself pitted against underworld dons and a Godman who isn’t what he seems. However, the worst is yet to come and Private India itself may be threatened with a revelation that could destroy the entire organization.

MRP: Rs.350/- (Rs.190/- HERE)

Private India is co-authored by James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi.

About the Authors

Ashwin Sanghi is an Indian writer and entrepreneur. He has also written: Chanakya’s Chant and The Krishna Key. He is also known by his pseudonym: Shawn Haigins.

James Patterson is a bestselling American writer. He is best known for Along Came a Spider, Jack & Jill, When the Wind Blows and Step on a Crack among over 100 others.

Don’t go by the thickness or size of the book, the font is big and you can easily finish the book in 1-2 days if you get too engrossed, to max 3-4 days.

Its actually quite engrossing, once you get into the story. Nice twists and turns in the plot.

Private India is the most hi-tech and reputed Indian private detective agency headed by the inimitable Santosh Wagh and it runs as a branch of ‘Private Worldwide’ detective organization, the one and only of its kind.

You do feel at times that there are too many characters to remember, though each have their part to play. I personally like the character of Nisha Gandhe.

The story revolves around Mumbai, from Colaba Causeway to Dharavi, it portrays a picture of Mumbai less known to people.

I liked the fact that the plot was fast paced, a trait of James Patterson. And also that the plot grips you till the end and does not give out the mystery anywhere. But, in the middle it does get a little loose. It could have been more gripping throughout.

Rating: 3.5/5

Have you read James Patterson/Ashwin Sanghi’s Private India yet ?

P.S: This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Experiencing Renault Duster AWD with Blogadda at Lavasa

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Experiencing Renault Duster AWD with Blogadda at Lavasa

Hey everyone,

After experiencing the all new Tata Zest at Goa,when I again got a call to experience the all new Renault All Wheel Duster this time at Lavasa, I was all in for it. I was not expecting something so soon though. Blogadda is super quick now 😀

So we left Mumbai yesterday at 4 pm and reached Pune at night. Checked in at Marriott Courtyard, Hinjwadi, Pune. We had our dinner, chilled out a bit at the hotel (also came to know it was Blogadda’s birthday!) and went to our rooms later prepping up (by catching on some sleep :p ) for the adventurous next day.

Courtyard Marriott, Hinjewadi, Pune

After the scrumptious breakfast in the morning, we left for Lavasa at 8.30. It took around 2 hours and reached by 11. We took the off-road drive to test the new Renault Duster.

There were 2-3 people in each car. And luckily I sat in a car where Rutavi and Omkar were both amazing drivers. Our car was no. 05. Also famous as the most dirty car at the end of it! 😀 Omkar was the best man for this job. He actually ‘tested’ the All Wheel Duster in the real sense. You know what I mean. I was sitting behind, but I could feel the control and grip of the car.

New Renault Duster AWD

 

The car was turning left and right, swish swash in a jiffy. And the brakes are super, I know coz we were in full speed and just about to dash another car, but the Renault Duster’ s brakes and Omkar saved our lives 😀

The Duster AWD offers three modes – two(front)-wheel drive, automatic and manually locked four-wheel drive. Renault says the car should be used in two-wheel drive or automatic mode and the four-wheel drive locked mode should only be used at slow speeds for really heavy work.

Me, Rutavi and Omkar posing with our Duster- No. 05
Selfie with the Duster- Activity (Me and Rutavi)

We did the mud splash, rocky road trails and some steep climbing. We could actually see what/how well the car can go through these. The new suspension in the AWD is also fabulous. I could hardly feel any bumpers or jerks in like huge speed brakers and potholes.

Drift & mud Splash (This was like a roller coaster ride :p )

Sharp cliff climbing with mud splash (This was the scariest! But it actually went through much easily than expected.)

Some pics of the breathtaking view from Pune to Lavasa and in Lavasa.

We drove till 1.30-45 and were super hungry later. Had our lunch at Fortune Hotel at Lavasa.

Desserts at Lunch time at Fortune Hotel, Lavasa

And later drove back to Mumbai. Had a pit stop at our favorite Dutta Snacks and had vada pav and tea.

Happy Us!
Mumbai Bloggers with the Blogadda team

A short fun trip. An amazing experience. The adventurous drive in Renault Duster was the best part. It was frankly, the most adventurous ride of my life, all thanks to Omkar 😀 But, still I enjoyed it.

Thank you Blogadda for having me experience the New All Wheel Drive Renault Duster.

P.S: This blogpost is written as a part of #DusterAllWheelDrive event by Blogadda and Renault India.

#WhatTheBlack Experience and Final Reveal

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#WhatTheBlack Experience and Final Reveal

Hey guys,

If you have been following me on facebook and twitter these days, you must be knowing about this #WhatTheBlack activity that I and many others across social media are doing, with Blogadda.com

Also check out my All Black Wishlist which I shared few days ago HERE.

So it is basically a product for which we received clues on the first 3 days and we had to guess what the product would be.

On the 1st day, we received this black chocolate egg.

On the 2nd day, we got a black newspaper.

On the 3rd day, we received a black paper cup and a black tissue.

All the clues were leading to breakfast or something edible or sweet, like biscuits, etc. Few guessed black coffee. But it basically meant all the things that are traditionally always white had now turned black ! Egg, Newspaper, Paper cup, Tissue.

And what the actual final product was we received it today i. e the 4th day. Everyone was so eager and curious to know what it would be.

It is..

Colgate Slim Soft Charcoal Toothbrush !

Totally unexpected, aint it ? Quite a surprise. Have always been a fan of Colgate toothpaste but not the toothbrush. This looks pretty interesting. Looking forward to trying it out 😀

What did you expect #WhatTheBlack to be ? Did you think of a toothbrush in your wildest dreams ?!

‘ZestUpYourLife’ Experience with Blogadda

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‘ZestUpYourLife’ Experience with Blogadda

After the new sedan Zest Review, now I would like to share my experience of this whole ‘ZestUpYourLife’ activity.

Blogadda has interesting contests and activities every time. Their WIN i.e awarding bloggers all across India and across all categories was also one of a kind and a very nice initiative. I was honored to be amongst the Top 5 Blogs in India under the category of ‘Beauty’ last year. Looking forward to them this year too.

When I was first approached to be a part of this exclusive activity by Blogadda (being amongst the selected lucky 50 bloggers in India !), I was super excited ! I could’nt believe for a second. Then in the next mail, I get to know that its happening in GOA ! And at The Zuri White Sands Resort and Casino which is the best 5 star property in Goa !! (excitement increases) Then I get to know its for Tata Motors’ new car launch ‘The Zest’ (Excitement reaches its top)

You know how it is ! A monsoon weekend getaway in the best 5 star property in Goa. Everything amazingly well taken care of the by Blogadda team and you are treated like a queen ! Well, who would’nt like that ??!

Even though it was only for a day (I would have loved a day extra :p), the experience was worth it. Meeting amazing bloggers and making new friends was the best part in this whole activity, for me.

At the airport, all ready to take off.

Touchbase Goa ! And then we hopped on the buses and reached Zuri. We were welcomed by the Blogadda team and checked in at The Zuri White Sands Resort and had our yummy lunch.

Then there was an orientation by Ankita from Blogadda and she explained us the whole activity and what do we look forward to. Zuri has a private beach where we relaxed, enjoyed and clicked lots of pictures.

Here is a fun gif :p

Later in the evening we had a Masterclass which was hosted by Miss Malini and we had a special guest,none other than the racing legend Narain Karthikeyan. We were given a brief about all the new features in Tata Zest by the design and engineering head. It has 29 Features First in Segments in India.Can you believe that?! And we also tested the DriveNext, ConnectNext and DesigNext features with the help of the games, models and dummies there. Later it was followed by cocktails and yummy dinner.

Yesterday morning we went for a drive all across the beautiful streets of South Goa in the new Tata Zest and experienced it first hand. We were divided in a team of 3. We did 2 leaps and experienced both  the petrol and diesel models. The spacious and comfortable interiors were quiet a surprise. And the Harmon Kardon system played amazingly well. The steering was feather light and the AMT model was a cakewalk. There were no jerks and the suspension was amazing too. Pretty smooth ride.

And later we all were ‘Live Blogging’ and sharing our experience about the all new Tata Zest (as you would have read HERE) and this whole ‘ZestUpYourLife’ activity experience on our blogs.

We finished with our lunch and bid adieu to Zuri and reached the airport chit chatting in the bus. And after spending some more time on the airport since the flight was delayed by 20 minutes, we finally reached back home !

Thank you Blogadda, Zuri Hotels and Tata Motors for this wonderful opportunity. Hope to experience more of these ! 🙂

Tata Zest: Features,Photos,My Experience

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Tata Zest: Features,Photos,My Experience

Hey Guys,

Many of you who follow me on facebook, twitter, instagram, must be knowing that I am at The Zuri Whitesands Resort at Varca, Goa for the launch of Tata Motors new car ‘Zest’.

We got a chance to check out the new Zest first hand, explore it, enjoy it,drive it and experience it. Today we drove the car all around the streets of Goa and here is my short review/experience of it.

About Tata Zest: Killer instinct meets elegance in the Zest. An avant-garde design philosophy makes it beautiful to look at, while also providing an incredible, connected driving experience – A true sports sedan!

FEATURES
First-in-class F-tronic diesel AMT
Revotron 1.2 L Turbocharged MPFi engine with multi-drive mode
Daytime running lights (DRL)
LED tail lamps
New Signature front grille
Harman touchscreen multimedia system
Voice recognition and SMS readouts

The interiors are super classy too. Harman touchscreen technology makes things easy and convenient for use. The best feature has to be Voice recognition and SMS readouts coz most of the times it is not possible for you to read your messages when driving, calls you can still manage with the USB. But SMS is something you cannot check and sometimes would not want the person with you to read :p Voice recognition will change the music, lower/increase the AC temperature, call anyone  for you. What more does one need 😀 No hassles/disturbance while driving now.

Tata is a reliable name and brand and the best in everything they do. Somehow they were focused on ‘affordable cars’ category,which is also good in a way that normal middle class people could also afford to have a car in their life, thanks to Tata. But design and features is what of course a company can’t concentrate on when it has to manufacture a car within a specified budget limit.

But this time Tata has focused on exactly those, with its new sedan ‘Zest’.

Me with the Zest

The 1.2-litre Revtron is Tata’s all-new turbocharged small sized engine that has been ‘designed to deliver superior performance, power, torque and mileage’ Interestingly, this engine offers first-in-class multi-drive modes i.e. Sports, Economy and City, giving it a competitive edge over its rivals.

The car has a by default ‘City‘ mode which you can change with just a button. In ‘Eco‘ Mode, you have gear indication with arrows that show you when to change gears and in what gear you should be. The ‘Sport‘ mode is the best for the expressways and highways.

An Automated-Manual Transmission (AMT) is essentially a manual gearbox with an electro-hydraulic mechanism that makes it work like an automatic gearbox. Zest is the first Diesel AMT sedan in India.

Exteriors: The car has been designed with inputs from the three Tata Motors’ design studios in Pune, Coventry (UK) and Turin (Italy).The Zest is 3,995 mm long, 1,706 mm wide and has a ground clearance of 175 mm. In the sub 4-metre sedan segment, Tata has actually pulled off the best job in the business of looking good. The rear is defined by a well-designed lamp cluster, sculpted bumper and a chrome strip that runs almost the entire length of the boot deck.

Interiors: The interiors looks classy with the new black and optional colour combination shade, silver trim inserts, a newly designed steering wheel, redesigned instrument cluster with integrated multi-information display, updated AC vent design, etc..

The steering wheel is feather light and butter smooth.

With a handful of exclusive feature,the Zest is among the most feature-loaded cars in its segment. One such feature is the new 5-inch infotainment system. While Harman/Kardon has designed the infotainment and audio acoustics system (Eight-speaker system!), MapmyIndia has designed the next-generation navigation & location based services. Other key features include drive by wire technology for better engine response, improved suspension to ensure smooth and comfortable ride.

‘Atheltic, Iconic, Confident, Dynamic’ were the features they were targeting. The Zest is the first in their new ‘DesigNext’, ‘DriveNext’ and ‘ConnectNext’ technology.

Tata has the second largest service network in India, so one can be rest assured of the after-sales services too.

Check out this video..

All-new Tata #ZEST is here! With first-in-class F-Tronic technology, 5-speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) and powered by a 90PS engine, this high tech sedan truly lives up to its name!

To end it, I would say it is the best ‘Value for Money’ Sedan in India ! The 40 months of hardship of 300 people in bringing us ‘Zest’ has really paid off. Go #ZestUpYourLife and take a test drive.

My All Black Wishlist

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My All Black Wishlist

There is something about black that attracts us and most of us love black. Black is mysterious. Black is royal. Black is hot. Black is sexy. Black makes one look thin and svelte.

I have so many black outfits. Black Dresses, Black denims, Black pants, Black skirts, etc.. I have lost count of it. Though I am a color person, but I love black equally. It surely dominates my wardrobe. I literally live in my black denims. 😀 And all IN for monochrome looks.

Black kajal/kohl is something I can’t live my home without or else people tell me I look sleepy/unwell. Also, a black kajal tikka is something which is supposed to protect you from evil or ‘buri nazar’ as its said. Black smokey eyes is something which will make a girl look smoking hot and clubbing ready immediately ! 😀

Here is a small wishlist of things I did love to have in black (Small,out of the uncountable things I did want :D)

1. Classic Black Louboutins

I have a definite fondness for shoes and bags. I have shoes in all colors including black. But simple,plain,classic black Louboutins would be a superb addition to my shoe stash. They work with almost all outfits and are just perfect.

2. An All Black Rado

A Classic Black Rado watch has been on my wishlist since forever. I love the fact that it is timeless, classy, elegant and stylish. Another piece I can pair with anything and everything and wear forever and pass on the legacy.

3. Black S- Class Merc

Even though a black car denotes authority, it exudes style and royalty. It attracts you in an instant. Merc anyways attracts one and a black S- class will not let you take off your eyes off it.

4. Black IPhone 6

Ok, I am not an Iphone fan yet coz I have always been an Android user. But, if I have to jump on the IPhone bandwagon, I did want it to be the latest IPhone 6. I would love to give it a try. But of course, in black. My current Lenovo phone is black too 😀 Told you, I am obsessed with black.

5. Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Being a beauty and fashion blogger, a good camera is a must have for me. Though there are many good cameras out there on a budget too. But, Canon EOS 5D Mark III is one of the best high end professional cameras in the market currently that one can possibly own.

Though I can go on and on, I guess 5 are enough for now. :p I love everything black and whenever I have to make a choice, I sub consciously have always finalized black and end up going for the black.

What about you ? Do you guys love black ? What would be your top 5 black things ?

Images from Google.

This post is a part of #WhatTheBlack activity at BlogAdda.com