Why Safari?

[sumitkalindi]

IMHO, people going for safari love it since they are not interested in dodging potholes at high speed,(Which in any case is a weakness of almost any SUV) they are more interested with riding through that pothole, without getting their feathers ruffeled at which Safari excels.

Though a bit OT I remember my driving instructor almost drilled into me " never try to doudge potholes, just run over them." In his exact words "Kitne gaddhe bachaoge, idhar bachaoge to udhar girega, tension mat lo seedha chalate raho". Maybe most of the safari buyers follow this same philosophy.

About the Don't mess with me looks, I don't want to harp on it again.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by suman

5) Lack of any comparable alternatives in that price band (I have the VX 4x4 & I find the fit & finish levels quite acceptable) - nothing came close

Not being a Safari owner, i find this the most valid point.

Other than Scorpio, where is the competition? What other option do you have?

[power ranger]

Originally Posted by hondadude

The only company which can seriously threaten Tata and Mahindra is Toyota. They can bring the Fortuner here and make a killing however they aren't interested either so we consumers are big losers.

DUDE - Fortuner ?
Believe me the Fortuner will not be priced less than 17.5 lacs if at all launched in India.
Toyota overcharges for everything for the **** that they are selling in India.
Safari is real value for money especially the 3.0 DICOR. I beg to differ on the 2.2 though. Ofcourse, even I am irritated with the frequent rattling and finish issues and requires a lot of visit to the service center. But overall, the ride quality is superb for long drives and one of the safest on the highways.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by sumitkalindi

IMHO, people going for safari love it since they are not interested in dodging potholes at high speed,(Which in any case is a weakness of almost any SUV) they are more interested with riding through that pothole, without getting their feathers ruffeled at which Safari excels.

Though a bit OT I remember my driving instructor almost drilled into me " never try to doudge potholes, just run over them." In his exact words "Kitne gaddhe bachaoge, idhar bachaoge to udhar girega, tension mat lo seedha chalate raho". Maybe most of the safari buyers follow this same philosophy.

About the Don't mess with me looks, I don't want to harp on it again.

Would you say the same thing about a stray Mongrel coming in your path?

Handling is absolutely necessary, but then is there any alternative to the Safari in its price range that would substantially better it in that regard.

[overdose14]

First of all, Road presence and then damn cheap to run. third comfort. i would say Tata has given a true VFM product.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by hondadude

When there is no competition, consumers lose.

I think that one sentence says it all. Some people prefer the big ones & in that category, there are only 2 VFM players namely the Safari & the Scorpio. Some prefer the former, some the latter.

My cousin went to buy a SUV sub 10L & the only choices he hit upon was the safari & the scorpio. While the safari sales folks were tripping over themselves & offering free insurance etc etc, the scorpio showrooms were even reluctant to give test drives, from this i could understand how the safari scores over the scorpio.

he went ahead & bought the scorpio without the floor mats, mud flaps or any basic freebies that you get for even a 2.7L M-800.

[tsk1979]

Its like asking whats in an enfield.
Its big luxurious and SuV and costs 7.5L(LX is the most popular!).

Handling etc., Thats all academic. If you want handling go buy some sports car. SuVs are supposed to be big, scary and handsome looking.

Its the the jeeps, the enfields, the harley's. You cant explain emotion, can you?

[bigron]

you are bang on target.the safari is one of the worst car i ve driven in india.i went for a test trive of the new 2.2 lt engine a few days ago and after 5 minutes i wanted to get out of the car.it just dosent feel right.either its the really bad build quality or the interiors or i dont know what.althought the newer one is miles ahead of previous models but still.even the middle row seats are no great shakes.agreed its got the space but thats all its got.I think the only reason the safari seels is because you get alot of metal for your money.

[Mpower]

Safari was probably never designed to handle so much power when it was first designed in 97-98.

Tata knows the limitations of the chassis and rather than try to fix it, they are rumoured to be working on an all new platform for the future Safaris.

PS: Looks like the Italians are happy with the Safari's performance on the Autostrada.

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by power ranger

DUDE - Fortuner ?
Believe me the Fortuner will not be priced less than 17.5 lacs if at all launched in India.

17.5 for top end model sure but I believe the stripped down version of Fortuner can be priced at 11L (assuming that it is localized as much as Innova). What is the basis of this claim ? Fortuner is priced roughly 1.5 times the price of Innova. Assuming the base model of Innova is around 7.3L, a stripped down Fortuner can be priced at 10L.

Toyota overcharges for everything for the **** that they are selling in India.

It may be so but again there is no alternative to Innova so even if you believe that Innova is priced higher than it should be (which I personally disagree) it is selling like hot cakes. Camry, which is horrendously overpriced has worthy competition in the form of Accord so it isn't very successful.

[mlal000]

I know this is OT, but the 3.0 LX is being offered for 6.85 lakhs ex showroom in NCR (saw ad in Delhi Times). Another good reason to pick up the Safari.

[DirtyDan]

I test drove it recently and did not like it one little bit. It was heavy handling, it was hard to see the left front corner or the right for that matter, it roled like a drunken sailor, it did not have good visibility. But I did notice one quirky little thing about it. It really isolated you from the outside world. Maybe people like this?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

But I did notice one quirky little thing about it. It really isolated you from the outside world.

I think you captured it in one sentence - thats what it is about really. Isolates you from road, traffic and weather conditions. And like tsk (and several others) said, if you want handling dont look for it in an SUV.

Lets put it this way, a Safari owner test-driving the Honda Civic on the roads in Kerala recently would've wondered why that car is worth 10 big ones when it cant move without scraping its underside every 5 minutes at ridiculously low speeds.

[overdose14]

Originally Posted by bigron

you are bang on target.the safari is one of the worst car i ve driven in india.i went for a test trive of the new 2.2 lt engine a few days ago and after 5 minutes i wanted to get out of the car.it just dosent feel right.either its the really bad build quality or the interiors or i dont know what.althought the newer one is miles ahead of previous models but still.even the middle row seats are no great shakes.agreed its got the space but thats all its got.I think the only reason the safari seels is because you get alot of metal for your money.

Nope Bro, reason being its a SUV not a car. My father canceled innova booking and on very same day bought safari and on that day i was thinking "what the hell, why in this world my father bought safari" but now its a total different story.moreover the respect it commands on road, even private bus operator in ludhiana easily give way when you honk.

Originally Posted by Mpower

Safari was probably never designed to handle so much power when it was first designed in 97-98.

if that was the case then it would'nt be able handle 372Nm of torque.

Originally Posted by Mpower

PS: Looks like the Italians are happy with the Safari's performance on the Autostrada.

hell ya

Originally Posted by DirtyDan

I test drove it recently and did not like it one little bit. It was heavy handling, it was hard to see the left front corner or the right for that matter, it roled like a drunken sailor, it did not have good visibility. But I did notice one quirky little thing about it. It really isolated you from the outside world. Maybe people like this?

sir, its a SUV not a verna or ford fiesta.

[zenx]

I think a lot of sedan owners TD the Safari as their first SUV (not much in TDing the 18Lacers from our point of view) and subconsciously benchmark the handling etc against their existing car. Its definitely not going to be a quick point and shoot affair around corners and suchlike, cause thats not its raison d'etre. For that, the OHC, or Baleno, or the Fiesta are the cars you want.
OTOH, I got mighty scared by the 30k insurance - thats every year! How much would a year old 3.0 be these days ?