My Family Owns 6 Cars — Real Ownership in Rajasthan
Most automotive websites are written by journalists who test cars for a week and then write a review. They drive the car on smooth press event roads, stay in nice hotels, and hand the car back to the manufacturer after 500 kilometres. Then they tell you whether you should buy it.
I am not that kind of automotive writer.
My family owns six cars. Not test cars. Not press cars. Our own cars — bought with our own money, driven on Rajasthan’s roads every single day, serviced at our local dealerships, and lived with through every season, every road trip, and every ordinary Tuesday commute. When something goes wrong with one of our cars — we deal with it ourselves. When something impresses us — we notice it in ways that no week-long press test ever could.
This is what real car ownership in Kota, Rajasthan actually feels like. No PR spin. No manufacturer influence. Just honest experience from a family that genuinely lives with these cars every day.
The Fleet — Our Six Cars
Let me introduce you to every car in our family’s fleet and tell you exactly what we think of each one after real-world ownership.
1. Honda City 2018 2. Kia Seltos 3. Hyundai Creta 4. Toyota Fortuner 5. Mahindra XUV700 6. Toyota Innova Crysta
Six very different cars. Six very different ownership experiences. Here is the honest truth about all of them.
Honda City 2018 — The One I Love Most
If you asked me which car in our entire six-car fleet I would choose to drive every single day for the rest of my life — the answer would be immediate and it would never change.
The Honda City 2018.
I have been driving this car for approximately four years. It currently has 2,30,000 kilometres on the odometer. Two lakh thirty thousand kilometres. That number alone tells you everything you need to know about Honda’s build quality and engineering reliability.
But the kilometres are not what make this car special to me. What makes it special is everything that happened during those kilometres. This car has been with me at my happiest moments. It has been with me at my lowest. It has carried me through phases of my life that I will never forget. I fell in love in this car. My girlfriend and I have shared some of our most important conversations, our most honest moments, and our happiest memories in the front seats of this 2018 Honda City.
From a pure driving perspective — the City’s 1.5-litre petrol engine is one of the most refined units I have ever experienced in a car at this price. It is smooth, willing, and satisfying in a way that numbers on a spec sheet cannot capture. The steering is direct and communicative. The ride on Rajasthan’s mixed surfaces — smooth highways, broken town roads, and everything in between — is consistently comfortable without feeling disconnected.
After 2,30,000 kilometres the City still starts instantly every morning. The AC still cools the cabin effectively even in Kota’s brutal summer heat. The interiors show the wear of use but nothing has broken, rattled, or failed in any meaningful way.
Is it the fastest car in our fleet? No. Is it the most powerful? Absolutely not. Is it the most feature-loaded? Not even close. But is it the one I reach for the keys of every single time I have a choice?
Every time. Without hesitation.
Kia Seltos — The Feature King
The Kia Seltos is the most feature-loaded car in our fleet and it shows every time you sit inside it. The large touchscreen, the premium audio system, the ventilated seats on hot Rajasthan summer days — these are genuinely useful features that improve daily life in a real way.
The Seltos’s turbocharged petrol engine is punchy and entertaining — overtaking on Rajasthan’s national highways feels effortless and the DCT gearbox makes the most of the available power. For a car at this price the Seltos genuinely feels premium in a way that surprises people who sit in it for the first time.
What I have noticed about the Seltos after real ownership is that it rewards drivers who engage with it. It is not a passive, relaxing car like the City. It is a car that asks you to be involved — and when you are, it is genuinely enjoyable to drive.
Overall the Seltos has been a reliable and impressive ownership experience in our family. It represents what Kia has achieved in India in a very short time — a genuinely premium product at a price that makes it accessible.
Hyundai Creta — The Popular One With One Known Issue
The Hyundai Creta needs no introduction in India. It is the country’s best-selling SUV and our family’s experience with it reflects why it sells in such massive numbers — it is comfortable, well-featured, and easy to live with every day.
However I want to be completely honest about one thing we have experienced and one thing I have heard consistently from Hyundai Creta owners across India — the air conditioning system. In Rajasthan where summer temperatures regularly cross 45 degrees Celsius the AC is not a luxury — it is a necessity. And the Creta’s AC system has been the one area where our experience and the experience of many other owners I have spoken to has occasionally been inconsistent.
This is not to say the Creta is a bad car — it absolutely is not. It is an excellent car in almost every measurable way. But if you are buying a Creta and you live in a hot climate like Rajasthan — get the AC system checked thoroughly at every service interval. Do not ignore any early signs of cooling issues. Address them immediately.
Everything else about the Creta — the ride comfort, the features, the spacious cabin, the resale value — is genuinely excellent and justifies its position as India’s most popular SUV.
Toyota Fortuner — The Road Presence Champion
There is something about driving a Toyota Fortuner on a Rajasthan highway that nothing else in our fleet replicates. The road presence is extraordinary. When you are sitting high in a Fortuner on the Kota to Jaipur highway — with the diesel engine pulling effortlessly at highway speeds and the commanding view of the road ahead — you understand why the Fortuner has been India’s aspirational SUV for over a decade.
The Fortuner in our fleet has covered significant kilometres on Rajasthan’s roads — highways, town roads, and everything in between. It has never given us a moment of serious concern. Toyota’s engineering and reliability philosophy is evident in every kilometre the Fortuner covers — it simply does not complain, does not break, and does not surprise you with unexpected issues.
For long road trips with the full family — Kota to Jaisalmer, Kota to Udaipur, Kota to Jodhpur — the Fortuner is the car that gets chosen every time. The combination of space, comfort, highway stability, and the psychological reassurance of sitting in something so solidly built makes it the perfect Rajasthan road trip vehicle.
Mahindra XUV700 — The Most Impressive Value
The Mahindra XUV700 is the car in our fleet that consistently impresses people who experience it for the first time. The dual 10.25-inch screens, the 200 bhp turbocharged petrol engine, the ADAS safety suite, the premium cabin quality — none of it feels like it belongs in a car at this price. And yet here it is.
Driving the XUV700 on open roads is a genuinely exciting experience. The 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine delivers performance that feels more supercar than family SUV at times — the acceleration is immediate, strong, and deeply satisfying. Mahindra has achieved something remarkable with the XUV700 — a car that can embarrass vehicles costing twice as much in terms of features and performance.
Our ownership experience with the XUV700 has been largely positive. It has proven to be a capable, impressive, and genuinely exciting car to own and drive in Rajasthan’s varied conditions.
Toyota Innova Crysta — The Most Reliable Car We Have Ever Owned
If I had to pick one car from our entire six-car fleet and say — this is the most reliable vehicle our family has ever owned — the answer would be the Toyota Innova Crysta. Without any hesitation whatsoever.
The Innova Crysta in our fleet has covered an extraordinary number of kilometres. Long highway drives, fully loaded family trips, daily urban use — it has done all of it without meaningful complaint. The 2.4-litre diesel engine is one of the most proven and durable units ever fitted to a mainstream Indian vehicle. The third row is genuinely comfortable for adults on long journeys — something almost no other car in India can claim at any price.
When something needs fixing on any car in our fleet — we fix it and move on. But the Innova Crysta is the car that needs fixing the least. It simply runs. Day after day, kilometre after kilometre, season after season in Rajasthan’s extreme climate. It runs.
Toyota has built something with the Innova Crysta that goes beyond specifications and features — they have built trust. And in 23 years of living with cars in Kota, Rajasthan — I have learned that trust is the most valuable thing a car can give you.
What Six Cars Have Taught Me About Buying a Car in India
Owning and driving six very different cars has given me a perspective on car buying that no amount of spec sheet reading or press event attendance can replicate. Here is what I have genuinely learned:
Reliability beats features every time. The Innova Crysta has fewer features than the XUV700. It does not matter. It has never let us down. That is worth more than any touchscreen.
AC performance matters enormously in Rajasthan. This is not something most automotive reviews mention because most reviews are written in cities with moderate climates. In Kota where summer temperatures cross 45 degrees — AC performance is a genuine quality of life issue. Check it thoroughly before buying.
Honda’s refinement is genuinely special. After driving six very different cars regularly — the Honda City’s engine refinement, steering feel, and overall driving experience still stands apart in a way that is immediately noticeable. There is a reason I keep choosing it.
Your first car should be something you love. Not just something that makes financial sense on a spreadsheet. You will spend years with this car — in traffic, on highways, in parking lots, at 2 AM when you cannot sleep. It should make you happy when you unlock it.
That last lesson is why I am buying the Honda City 2026. Only a City can replace a City.
Why This Experience Built Motor Mogul
Growing up in a family with six cars — a family that has driven Honda Accords for 5 lakh kilometres and Innova Crystas through every season Rajasthan can throw at a car — I absorbed something that most automotive writers never get the chance to experience.
I know what real ownership feels like. I know what it feels like when a car lets you down 200 kilometres from home. I know what it feels like when a car surprises you with its reliability after 2 lakh kilometres. I know what it feels like to fall in love with a car so completely that it becomes part of your identity.
That knowledge — that real, lived, experienced knowledge — is what Motor Mogul is built on. Not press releases. Not manufacturer briefings. Not week-long test drives on perfect roads.
Real ownership. Real roads. Real Rajasthan.
— Pulkit Trigunayat Founder, Motor Mogul Kota, Rajasthan
