Grandma learns how to drive at 89: Watch her driving a Hyundai Venue

A woman from Thane, Maharashtra whose age is 89 years old and will soon be of 90 in June has been taking driving lessons. Video of her driving a Hyundai Venue has gone viral on social media. The video has been uploaded by BBC News Marathi on their YouTube channel. People watching the video has been praising her. Gangabai Mirkute is currently working on getting a driving license and she was born in 1931 according to her official documents. She said to the reporters that it is the confidence and not the age that matters in life.

“I wanted to learn driving and my grandson taught that to me a couple of years back. But even today, I can drive with confidence,” she said while sitting on the driver seat. Vikas Bhoir, his grandson taught her how to drive a car. He said “Around three years back, she had come to our place in Khardi. She fell ill and I drove her to a local doctor. On the way, I casually asked her if she wants to drive the car and she replied ‘Why not?’. I taught her driving and she started practising on open ground.”

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“That was the beginning of her driving. Recently, when I bought a car, I went to seek her blessings. She immediately sat on the driver’s seat and started driving. That was her way of blessing me. I took a video of her driving the car and uploaded it on social media. The netizens praised her for her skills,” Bhoir said. The family is trying to get a driving license for her.

They have tried it earlier, but were not successful because certain documents were missing. Now, they are planning to surprise her on her birthday, which is on June 1 with a learner license. He knows that getting a license for her will be difficult considering her age. However, a senior official from Kalyan RTO says that any person who is mentally and physically fit can get a driving licence and there is no upper age limit for it. So, it looks like there is a good chance for her to finally get her driving license.

Speaking of the Hyundai Venue that she is driving starts from Rs. 6.86 lakhs ex-showroom and goes all the way upto Rs. 11.66 lakhs ex-showroom. There are three engine options to choose from. Hyundai offers a 1.0-litre turbocharged, direct-injection petrol engine, a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. The 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine produces 120 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 171 Nm. You can get it with three transmission options. There is a 6-speed manual gearbox, 7-speed Dual-Clutch automatic gearbox and a 6-speed iMT which is a clutchless manual gearbox. The 1.2-litre petrol engine produces 83 PS of max power and 113 Nm of peak torque. It is only offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Then there is the 1.5-litre diesel engine which has been borrowed from the Kia Seltos and has been detuned to produce 100 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 240 Nm. It is also mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.

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