Originally Posted by
tacostuff
Wow, thank you everyone for your replies. You've given me a lot to think about. I'll address a couple of comments I saw.
For what its worth, I am one of those people who will pay for business class. This is mostly becuase I'm a big tall guy (think NFL offensive lineman), and for any flight over 2 hours, I rather not go than to sit in coach. Having to be stuffed in a coach seat for a long period of time would be like water torture for me...
I don't really care about a BMW. I know that the X5 is a pretty big vehicle and I'll fit comfortably in it. If the hotel told me the choice was between an X5 and a Ford minivan, I'd take the Ford in a second because it would be cheaper. Also, the X5 is a safe vehicle, and based on people's comments, that may not be a certainty in an average Indian vehicle.
The Toyota Innova, is the local equivalent of the Ford minivan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Innova
I would not suggest that the X5 is substantially safer than the Innova. Indian vehicles such as the slightly cheaper Tata vehicles are perfectly safe also however your greatest risk is from other Indian drivers, and sadly the X5 does not get its own private highway - the driving in India is some of the worst in the world IME - I've driven cars in Thailand, Mexico, Indonesia, across Europe, the USA, South Africa, but I would NOT drive in India.
As previously noted, the train is more comfortable and faster and safer.