WHAT ARE CAR ENTHUSIASTS DRIVING

Baba Sarkar Shrestha President, Active Women of Nepal

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Your drive

I am currently driving a Nissan X-Trail and occasionally drive Mazda 6 and Chevrolet Captiva.

Year

Nissan was a hand me down from my husband and has been with us for almost 10 years now.

The most striking feature

Even though the Nissan X-Trail is a mid-sized SUV, the exterior looks large. It’s got spacious interiors with plenty of head and knee space and a sunroof. Other striking feature is the powerful engine. However, I like the fact that this vehicle was built to be driven in the toughest terrain which makes driving in Kathmandu pleasantly tolerable.

Your earlier car

My earlier vehicle was Mitsubishi Pajero. I would not actually call driving a Nissan an upgrade. We sold off the Mitsubishi and have ordered a Mercedes SUV which should be handed to us anytime soon. Now that would be upgrading!. So meanwhile I am driving what is available at home.

Personality traits you share with your car…

Dependability and size

Next on your wish list

The next car in my wish list is a Tesla because it is eco-friendly and has selfdriving capacity at a safety level which is substantially more than human drivers.

One song on repeat mode while driving

There are a couple of Hindi songs that I listen to quite often like Rim Jhim Gire Sawan and Ali Maula. My son has also got me hooked on to Podcast and I listen to Marauder and Minimalists.

A vintage car that you’d want to own

When we went to school in the 70s, the reverend nuns at St Mary’s High School, Kathmandu, had a sky blue Volkswagen Bus. It was such a treat and a feeling of importance getting a ride which happened very rarely. I would love to own that bus. I also grew up reading Richie Rich and Archie comic books. And a red convertible was what Richie Rich and Veronica would ride. As a young girl I always hoped that one day I would own a vehicle just like that. So I guess a Rolls Royce Corniche Convertible from the 70s in my collection would be fantastic. Suggestion for the Kathmandu Metropolitan City office on transportation One simple thing the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Office can do is operate a fleet of AC luxury coaches for tourists from airport to at least the city areas.