Taj Mahal by road: Seven seats, one experience

The Engineering of Ease

Delhi doesn’t let you leave easily; it lingers in traffic signals that take just a bit too long. As soon as you get rid of it, there is a change in the air. However, for the Rumion, both city and highway feel like home. It is as easy and comfortable to drive in city as on the highways. Just like everything in the world, it too gets its certain set of shortcomings. For once, the power delivery is not exactly what you call spirited. But then, what would you expect from an MPV? What one expects from an MPV is space. Loads of them.

While other MPVs design their third row merely as an additional structure, the Rumion takes advantage of its long wheelbase. Seven people, and yet no one was negotiating for space. The second row’s slide and recline functions allowed the cabin dynamic to shift as easily as our conversation. It’s a reminder that in automotive design, balance matters. Discomfort during a long road trip isn’t only physical, but also emotional. In this case, the vehicle remained unobtrusive, with its "shambolic" road heating kept at bay by AC vents that even extend to the third row of seats.

And somewhere down the road, without much notice, the trip was no longer about the automobile. As we got nearer to Agra, another feeling came into play—the sort of excitement that cannot be replicated by any mechanical device.

The Weight of Expectation

But then again, when you visit Agra, you will not merely find yourself visiting one more place. As we arrived in Agra by late evening that day, the Rumion had done its part nearly perfectly. The rest would have to wait. For there are some experiences which are best kept for the morning, especially in Agra—where that starts with the iconic Taj Mahal. 

There is just something about the Taj Mahal which gives us the feeling that we know how it must look like because it has been romanticised far too much for us to see it any other way. There comes a point where the symmetry is unveiled, and the marble begins to emit light. 

In light of the intricacy of the marble work, the shift from such an elegant material to the sturdy red sandstone of the Agra Fort seems well planned. While the Taj represents the feelings, the fort stands for its structure. As one moves within the massive walls of the place, the history becomes real instead of something learned from a book. However, as the sun makes its presence felt, the use of the car changes from being just transportation to recovery mode. You step inside, the outside world fades, and the climate control resets the fatigue of the afternoon.

The Silence of the "In-Between"

Travel is usually counted in monuments, but it is in between where it lies. There was something different about the trip back to the hotel. Driving the Rumion was easy enough – the car was light on its feet and predictable enough so that it never gave me a hard time. The Rumion doesn't make you want to drive fast; rather, it makes you want to continue.

As we headed towards the silence of red sandstone at Fatehpur Sikri the following day, the scenery began to open up. The Buland Darwaza not only stands but rules. Once you reach the top, it appears as if the entire world has been simplified.

The Unseen Enabler

By the time we left for the return trip to Delhi, the car was like a second home. Each seat had its designated occupant; each charger cable had its own assigned place.

This trip was not about visiting World Heritage sites or braving temperatures soaring up to 40°C. The real magic was in those in-between places—where being fully occupied in a vehicle didn’t feel cramped and feeling cramped amidst people was comfortable. At the centre of it all was the Rumion—not as the loud protagonist, but as the silent enabler.

Some journeys demand your attention. Others, in their own understated way, earn it gradually. This was the latter.