Drivers of Change Season 3, Part 1: 10,000 kilometres of purpose
A 10,000km journey across India captures a nation in transition, where evolving mobility, smart infrastructure, and bold ideas converge, revealing how innovation and ambition are driving meaningful change forward.
Ten thousand kilometres ago, this was just a route on a map. A clean line drawn with intent, connecting cities that seemed too different to belong to the same story. Mumbai to Bhopal, Udaipur to Delhi, climbing into Gangtok, dropping to Visakhapatnam, sweeping through Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa and back again. It looked ambitious, but distant like something to be completed, not experienced. That illusion lasted all of a few hours. Because the moment you leave Mumbai, the journey asserts itself. Traffic compresses space instantly, forcing awareness, demanding precision. There is no gentle introduction here. You are thrown straight into the deep end of Indian driving, where anticipation matters more than reaction. The first few hours are always the hardest. Your senses sharpen, your rhythm adjusts, and you begin to understand that this drive will demand as much from you as you expect from it. The noise, the movement, the unpredictability of it all become a kind of initiation, one that prepares you for everything that lies ahead.
And it is in this chaos that the Mahindra XUV 7X0 quietly begins to prove its worth. You approach, and before you even reach for the handle, it recognises you. Approach unlock brings it to life in a way that feels intuitive rather than indulgent. Step away later, and it secures itself without input. Walk away lock becomes second nature. These are not features that demand your attention, but over the course of this journey, they begin to define your rhythm.
As the city loosens its grip, the road stretches outward and the night takes over. Visibility drops, uncertainty rises, and the drive shifts from reactive to instinctive. This is where the environment begins to test both driver and machine, where clarity becomes the difference between confidence and hesitation. The ice cube fog lamps and cornering lamps step in here with a kind of quiet precision. They do not flood the road with unnecessary light. Instead, they illuminate exactly what you need to see, the edges, the curves, the unseen movement just beyond your immediate vision. On unfamiliar roads, that clarity changes everything. It allows you to maintain momentum without second-guessing every input.
By the time the highway opens up, the journey finds its rhythm. The chaos of the city gives way to a more predictable flow, and the XUV 7X0 settles into a composed stride that feels effortless. This is where long-distance driving reveals its true nature. It is not about speed, but about consistency. About how well a machine can absorb what lies beneath it without disrupting what lies within it. The DaVinci suspension becomes central to this experience. It works quietly, smoothing out imperfections without isolating you completely from the road. Broken patches, uneven surfaces, and expansion joints pass underneath without unsettling the cabin. There is a sense of control here that builds gradually, the kind that allows you to trust the car over distance rather than just in moments. Inside, the cabin begins to feel like a space you can inhabit rather than just occupy. The acoustic solar windshield filters out heat and softens external noise, creating an environment that remains consistent even as conditions outside change. Conversations continue without effort, music plays without interruption, and fatigue takes longer to set in. It is not dramatic, but over hours, it becomes significant. The journey begins to feel less like something to endure and more like something to experience. The pristine expressway between Mumbai and Bhopal via Amravati serves as the perfect appetiser for the forthcoming roads on our drive. The Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg stretches 700km, and is a six-lane access-controlled expressway that goes all the way to Nagpur. The XUV 7X0 sat on cruising speed across this exceptional piece of tarmac like peas in a pod. A quick cut across from the expressway via Amravati led to the first smart city on our list.
Bhopal arrives quietly. There is no dramatic shift, no overwhelming sense of arrival. Instead, there is a subtle order to the way the city functions. Traffic flows with intent, systems operate without drawing attention to themselves, and the Smart City infrastructure reveals itself not through spectacle, but through efficiency. The Integrated Command and Control Centre connects multiple aspects of urban life, traffic, safety, and emergency response into a cohesive system that feels both responsive and reliable. The conversations here reflect that same philosophy. Smart city representatives speak about systems, about improving what already exists rather than replacing it entirely. Their focus is on efficiency, on governance, on creating frameworks that can scale without losing stability. It is a quieter form of ambition, one that prioritises impact over visibility. There is a sense of maturity in these ideas, a recognition that lasting change is built through structure, not disruption alone. It is also here that you begin to see how mobility and infrastructure intersect, how the way a city moves influences how its people build, think and execute. The roads feel planned, the movement feels guided, and that sense of order lingers long after you leave. Leaving Bhopal and heading to the next smart city meant another 600km of scenic routes via Ratlam, producing the first change in visual scenery. And although the roads weren’t as faultless as the earlier ones, they were no match for the might 7X0. Only adding to the experience, the 16-speaker Harman Kardon audio system comes alive in this space, filling the cabin with a sense of immersion that transforms the drive. Tuned with Dolby Atmos, it does not just play music; it surrounds you with it. Long stretches feel shorter, less demanding. The monotony of distance is replaced by a sense of continuity.
As the route tightens into Udaipur, the nature of the drive shifts once again. Narrow roads, tighter margins, constant awareness. Precision becomes essential. The 540-degree camera offers a perspective that eliminates guesswork, allowing you to navigate spaces that would otherwise feel restrictive. The memory ORVM, with its auto tilt function, ensures visibility exactly where you need it most. Together, they reduce the mental load that typically accompanies such driving conditions. Udaipur, popularly known as the ‘Venice of the East’, feels like a city suspended between time. Heritage and modernity exist side by side, neither overpowering the other. Once again, smart city representatives spoke about preservation as much as progress, about building businesses that respect legacy while adapting to contemporary demands. It is growth with restraint, ambition guided by responsibility. Driving out of Udaipur at night introduces a different kind of rhythm. The roads quieten, the urgency softens, and the cabin begins to transform. Multi-zone mood lighting adds a subtle warmth, shifting the environment without overwhelming it. The skyroof opens up the space, allowing glimpses of the night sky to become part of the journey. It is in these moments that the car stops feeling like a machine and starts feeling like a space you exist within. Fatigue, which would normally creep in at this stage, feels held back, managed by a combination of comfort, insulation and consistency that continues to define the experience.
Just like Mumbai to Amravati before it, our convoy of 7X0s made short work of the route between Udaipur and Jaipur, post which it was time to enter the last stretch of the Mumbai-Delhi expressway, which is one of the prime examples of the progress made to improve our existing road transport infrastructure. The high-density seat foam with plush pads provides support that remains consistent, even as time passes. It does not soften excessively, and it does not fatigue quickly. It simply holds. And when you step out for a break, the smart driver seat retracts subtly, making exit easier, more natural. It is a small detail, but on a journey like this, small details accumulate into something far more meaningful. As the commercial vehicle build-up intensified late into the night, the National Capital Region (NCR) welcomed our entry into our country’s central nervous system. Delhi reintroduces intensity. Traffic returns with force, density compresses movement, and every decision feels immediate. This is where assistance must be precise. The level 2 of ADAS provides that support, visualising its inputs clearly, allowing you to remain aware of what the car is doing and why. It does not take over. It complements. Fittingly, the capital of our great nation is also the first meeting point with our achievers of this edition of the Drivers of Change. From the manufacturing of drones to AI-driven data analytics, and then extending to the influence of Indian classical music. The conversations in Delhi are defined by scale. Our achievers speak about reaching millions, solving existing problems across geographies, and touching the hearts of many with the sound of music. But beneath that scale lies structure. Systems designed to sustain growth, not just achieve it. It is an ambition grounded in execution. The individuals of this great city expanded on the foundations of the country as a whole, one that is marching forward with confidence in its step and without any fear or hesitation. After a quick dash through the sights and well-known landmarks like the India Gate and Connaught Place, it was time to chart our route to the next destination.
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Ten thousand kilometres ago, this was just a route on a map. A clean line drawn with intent, connecting cities that seemed too different to belong to the same story. Mumbai to Bhopal, Udaipur to Delhi, climbing into Gangtok, dropping to Visakhapatnam, sweeping through Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Goa and back again. It looked ambitious, but distant like something to be completed, not experienced. That illusion lasted all of a few hours. Because the moment you leave Mumbai, the journey asserts itself. Traffic compresses space instantly, forcing awareness, demanding precision. There is no gentle introduction here. You are thrown straight into the deep end of Indian driving, where anticipation matters more than reaction. The first few hours are always the hardest. Your senses sharpen, your rhythm adjusts, and you begin to understand that this drive will demand as much from you as you expect from it. The noise, the movement, the unpredictability of it all become a kind of initiation, one that prepares you for everything that lies ahead.
And it is in this chaos that the Mahindra XUV 7X0 quietly begins to prove its worth. You approach, and before you even reach for the handle, it recognises you. Approach unlock brings it to life in a way that feels intuitive rather than indulgent. Step away later, and it secures itself without input. Walk away lock becomes second nature. These are not features that demand your attention, but over the course of this journey, they begin to define your rhythm.
As the city loosens its grip, the road stretches outward and the night takes over. Visibility drops, uncertainty rises, and the drive shifts from reactive to instinctive. This is where the environment begins to test both driver and machine, where clarity becomes the difference between confidence and hesitation. The ice cube fog lamps and cornering lamps step in here with a kind of quiet precision. They do not flood the road with unnecessary light. Instead, they illuminate exactly what you need to see, the edges, the curves, the unseen movement just beyond your immediate vision. On unfamiliar roads, that clarity changes everything. It allows you to maintain momentum without second-guessing every input.
By the time the highway opens up, the journey finds its rhythm. The chaos of the city gives way to a more predictable flow, and the XUV 7X0 settles into a composed stride that feels effortless. This is where long-distance driving reveals its true nature. It is not about speed, but about consistency. About how well a machine can absorb what lies beneath it without disrupting what lies within it. The DaVinci suspension becomes central to this experience. It works quietly, smoothing out imperfections without isolating you completely from the road. Broken patches, uneven surfaces, and expansion joints pass underneath without unsettling the cabin. There is a sense of control here that builds gradually, the kind that allows you to trust the car over distance rather than just in moments. Inside, the cabin begins to feel like a space you can inhabit rather than just occupy. The acoustic solar windshield filters out heat and softens external noise, creating an environment that remains consistent even as conditions outside change. Conversations continue without effort, music plays without interruption, and fatigue takes longer to set in. It is not dramatic, but over hours, it becomes significant. The journey begins to feel less like something to endure and more like something to experience. The pristine expressway between Mumbai and Bhopal via Amravati serves as the perfect appetiser for the forthcoming roads on our drive. The Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg stretches 700km, and is a six-lane access-controlled expressway that goes all the way to Nagpur. The XUV 7X0 sat on cruising speed across this exceptional piece of tarmac like peas in a pod. A quick cut across from the expressway via Amravati led to the first smart city on our list.
Bhopal arrives quietly. There is no dramatic shift, no overwhelming sense of arrival. Instead, there is a subtle order to the way the city functions. Traffic flows with intent, systems operate without drawing attention to themselves, and the Smart City infrastructure reveals itself not through spectacle, but through efficiency. The Integrated Command and Control Centre connects multiple aspects of urban life, traffic, safety, and emergency response into a cohesive system that feels both responsive and reliable. The conversations here reflect that same philosophy. Smart city representatives speak about systems, about improving what already exists rather than replacing it entirely. Their focus is on efficiency, on governance, on creating frameworks that can scale without losing stability. It is a quieter form of ambition, one that prioritises impact over visibility. There is a sense of maturity in these ideas, a recognition that lasting change is built through structure, not disruption alone. It is also here that you begin to see how mobility and infrastructure intersect, how the way a city moves influences how its people build, think and execute. The roads feel planned, the movement feels guided, and that sense of order lingers long after you leave. Leaving Bhopal and heading to the next smart city meant another 600km of scenic routes via Ratlam, producing the first change in visual scenery. And although the roads weren’t as faultless as the earlier ones, they were no match for the might 7X0. Only adding to the experience, the 16-speaker Harman Kardon audio system comes alive in this space, filling the cabin with a sense of immersion that transforms the drive. Tuned with Dolby Atmos, it does not just play music; it surrounds you with it. Long stretches feel shorter, less demanding. The monotony of distance is replaced by a sense of continuity.
As the route tightens into Udaipur, the nature of the drive shifts once again. Narrow roads, tighter margins, constant awareness. Precision becomes essential. The 540-degree camera offers a perspective that eliminates guesswork, allowing you to navigate spaces that would otherwise feel restrictive. The memory ORVM, with its auto tilt function, ensures visibility exactly where you need it most. Together, they reduce the mental load that typically accompanies such driving conditions. Udaipur, popularly known as the ‘Venice of the East’, feels like a city suspended between time. Heritage and modernity exist side by side, neither overpowering the other. Once again, smart city representatives spoke about preservation as much as progress, about building businesses that respect legacy while adapting to contemporary demands. It is growth with restraint, ambition guided by responsibility. Driving out of Udaipur at night introduces a different kind of rhythm. The roads quieten, the urgency softens, and the cabin begins to transform. Multi-zone mood lighting adds a subtle warmth, shifting the environment without overwhelming it. The skyroof opens up the space, allowing glimpses of the night sky to become part of the journey. It is in these moments that the car stops feeling like a machine and starts feeling like a space you exist within. Fatigue, which would normally creep in at this stage, feels held back, managed by a combination of comfort, insulation and consistency that continues to define the experience.
Just like Mumbai to Amravati before it, our convoy of 7X0s made short work of the route between Udaipur and Jaipur, post which it was time to enter the last stretch of the Mumbai-Delhi expressway, which is one of the prime examples of the progress made to improve our existing road transport infrastructure. The high-density seat foam with plush pads provides support that remains consistent, even as time passes. It does not soften excessively, and it does not fatigue quickly. It simply holds. And when you step out for a break, the smart driver seat retracts subtly, making exit easier, more natural. It is a small detail, but on a journey like this, small details accumulate into something far more meaningful. As the commercial vehicle build-up intensified late into the night, the National Capital Region (NCR) welcomed our entry into our country’s central nervous system. Delhi reintroduces intensity. Traffic returns with force, density compresses movement, and every decision feels immediate. This is where assistance must be precise. The level 2 of ADAS provides that support, visualising its inputs clearly, allowing you to remain aware of what the car is doing and why. It does not take over. It complements. Fittingly, the capital of our great nation is also the first meeting point with our achievers of this edition of the Drivers of Change. From the manufacturing of drones to AI-driven data analytics, and then extending to the influence of Indian classical music. The conversations in Delhi are defined by scale. Our achievers speak about reaching millions, solving existing problems across geographies, and touching the hearts of many with the sound of music. But beneath that scale lies structure. Systems designed to sustain growth, not just achieve it. It is an ambition grounded in execution. The individuals of this great city expanded on the foundations of the country as a whole, one that is marching forward with confidence in its step and without any fear or hesitation. After a quick dash through the sights and well-known landmarks like the India Gate and Connaught Place, it was time to chart our route to the next destination.
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