[verditer]

Beautiful pics of your Storme, Narayan. I love to keep looking at her., and always turn my head when a Storme passes by. Just like it is with the Safari Dicor. :-)

The Safari is one most comfortable fella on the highway, and awesome powerful.

Happy Mile Munching with her. The luggage rack looks cool.

13.5 to 14.5kmpl with a/c on is very very good FE. I get around 13 on highways. Looks like we can confidently say Storme is little more Fuel Efficient than Dicor.

Great going...

[soumobakshi]

Originally Posted by narayan

Some other random pics taken at Vagamon

Thanks for keeping the post updated at regular intervals. I am currently in the R&D Stage of finalizing on a vehicle and my priorities are Good Space, Good Road Presence, Minimal Visit to A.S.S., And VFM.

I have shortlisted Safarai Storme based on my Heart Calling but is unable to decide between LX and EX, the misses from LX as per Brochure are as below and my comments for the same.

• Roof Mounted Rear AC - Not a Must

• Master Light Switch with Fog Lamp Controls - No Idea what it does, so guess not a deal breaker

• Height Adjustable Driver's Seat - I am 5'8" so dont think it makes much of a difference.

• Arm Rest for Driver and Co-Driver - Yes, i have been missing this in all my rides. How difficult is it to source and install an aftermarket one ?

• Rear Wash and Wiper - Can live without one.

• Clear Lens Front Fog Lamps - Can live without one.

• Rear Fog Lamps with Reflex Reflector - No Idea what it does, so guess not a deal breaker

• B-Pillar Styling Tape - Not at all a priority for a Black Color vehicle which I would most likely go for.

Does it still make sense to look for EX which is around 1.8 L dearer in Bangalore On Road ?

[narayan]

Originally Posted by soumobakshi

I have shortlisted Safarai Storme based on my Heart Calling but is unable to decide between LX and EX

Does it still make sense to look for EX which is around 1.8 L dearer in Bangalore On Road ?

SB - your summary is quite comprehensive and self explanatory. Even I originally missed only the arm rest. Now I'm used to it. In fact its the front co-passenger who might miss it but if its not there, one gets used to its absence. So financially its a better decision to go for the Lx

[soumobakshi]

Originally Posted by narayan

SB - your summary is quite comprehensive and self explanatory. Even I originally missed only the arm rest. Now I'm used to it. In fact its the front co-passenger

Have you made any attempts to retrofit an after market unit or get a made to ordered for your LX ? Not sure while we have zillions of products targeting hatch backs and sedan users under the guise of Universal Arm Rest why have i not come across any relevant product to be used in a vehicle like Safari Storme.

Can you please upload a pic of the interior space between the front 2 seats which might give some info on retro-fitment feasibility

I hear there is a facelift around the corners with a LR styled Grill, any news by when its hitting the market ?

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by soumobakshi

I have shortlisted Safarai Storme based on my Heart Calling but is unable to decide between LX and EX, the misses from LX as per Brochure are as below and my comments for the same.

• Roof Mounted Rear AC - Not a Must

[list]

I think the roof mounted AC for rear is must these days. We cannot put sufilms now and with this AC only we can make our passenger ride comfortable. I have Safari Lx and till I had sunfilm the need for rear AC was not felt. But after sunfilm I had to fit aftermarket roof AC in my Safari.

Apart from the Armrest also helps a lot in long driving.

There must be more diffrence like Immobilizer etc.

[madhu33]

Originally Posted by soumobakshi

Have you made any attempts to retrofit an after market unit or get a made to ordered for your LX ? Not sure while we have zillions of products targeting hatch backs and sedan users under the guise of Universal Arm Rest why have i not come across any relevant product to be used in a vehicle like Safari Storme.

Try fitting an after market refrigerator with its top as the arm rest for both the front seats.
I have seen this in many pick up SUVs during my travels to latin America.
Also have seen in a Tata venture (van) .
Might just work.

Stay away from the typical aftermarket arm rests as they are weak and might not last long. (i am using one in my Manza and have changed it thrice in 3 years)

Or else another option is to swap the front seats from TATA to EX ones

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by soumobakshi

• Roof Mounted Rear AC - Not a Must

• Master Light Switch with Fog Lamp Controls - No Idea what it does, so guess not a deal breaker

• Height Adjustable Driver's Seat - I am 5'8" so dont think it makes much of a difference.

• Arm Rest for Driver and Co-Driver - Yes, i have been missing this in all my rides. How difficult is it to source and install an aftermarket one ?

• Rear Wash and Wiper - Can live without one.

• Clear Lens Front Fog Lamps - Can live without one.

• Rear Fog Lamps with Reflex Reflector - No Idea what it does, so guess not a deal breaker

• B-Pillar Styling Tape - Not at all a priority for a Black Color vehicle which I would most likely go for.

Does it still make sense to look for EX which is around 1.8 L dearer in Bangalore On Road ?

Originally Posted by narayan

SB - your summary is quite comprehensive and self explanatory. Even I originally missed only the arm rest. Now I'm used to it. In fact its the front co-passenger who might miss it but if its not there, one gets used to its absence. So financially its a better decision to go for the Lx

Completely agree with Narayan here. I also have Lx, and most of the things are not required in 90% of the cases. I wanted fogs, so got hella fixed before leh trip, otherwise never felt the need. Arm rest is something which can be done aftermarket also. Roof AC is to personal liking. Master light switch for fogs is pull type, whilst in lx it has no use. Rear fogs are not required that much unless you want to drive in reverse in fog.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by stormerider

Rear fogs are not required that much unless you want to drive in reverse in fog.

On arm rest part, I kept thinking of fabricating a nice arm rest made of high quality plywood and mounted to the base of the central ac unit. But later realised its just not worth drilling holes. I think you can manage without the arm rests.

[soumobakshi]

Originally Posted by stormerider

Completely agree with Narayan here. I also have Lx, and most of the things are not required in 90% of the cases. I wanted fogs, so got hella fixed before leh trip,Rear fogs are not required that much unless you want to drive in reverse in fog



.

Well Said stormerider and narayan. I will wait for the facelift which is playing hide and seek off late and them take the plunge. I am looking for a time line of this year end so not in a mad rush. Hope by then the face lift and dash lift will hit the market.

My city running will be around 1000 km a month what is the realistic mileage that i can expect with 100% AC ?

[condor]

Originally Posted by stormerider

Rear fogs are not required that much unless you want to drive in reverse in fog.

Then should we take out the brake lights too ?

[soumobakshi]

Originally Posted by anujmishra

I think the roof mounted AC for rear is must these days. We cannot put sufilms now and with this AC only we can make our passenger ride comfortable. I have Safari Lx and till I had sunfilm the need for rear AC was not felt. But after sunfilm I had to fit aftermarket roof AC in my Safari.

Apart from the Armrest also helps a lot in long driving.

There must be more difference like Immobilizer etc.

Well as per the online brochure, thats all is the difference between LX and EX. How is the fitment and effectiveness of the retrofitted roof AC ? Moreover my travel will involve normally 3 or max 5 people with only myself as a Polar Bear so i guess i can skip that part.

I was planning to have an extension mechanism for an arm rest over the existing Blower, lets see once i take the Plunge ! To me LX is more VFM than EX

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by condor

Then should we take out the brake lights too ?

Agree with what you want to say condor, and these small things make the driving a lot safer. But then we have rear lights also to aid the car behind you in fog. We will have to wait for these features to become standard, but that day is not today. The price difference between lx and ex doesn't give you that much.

[narayan]

Guys
Did some minor mod on the Storme over the weekend ( not DIY but got done professionally ). The roof carrier I had was the typical aluminium colour. Got it painted matte black. Pls find below before and after pics.

Ideally I would have loved to have gone for a nice powder coated matte black or dark grey roof carrier at the outset, but there are very few options in the aftermarket for roof carriers for the Storme ( unlike the Scorpio/XUV/Fortuner - which by virtue of having more practical roof rails have a variety of options )

[soumobakshi]

Originally Posted by narayan

Guys
Did some minor mod on the Storme over the weekend ( not DIY but got done professionally ).

Can you please post some interior pics of your Ride

[narayan]

Originally Posted by soumobakshi

Can you please post some interior pics of your Ride

here you go with some pics. Some of the key differences with other variants are

1) More of black in the seats, door pads and dash board. I was very particular about this. Ideally would have preferred all black interiors
2) Steering wheel and gear lever are thankfully black ! ( pls ignore the stupid beige steering grip - it came as a free accessory and i haven't bothered to remove it yet )
3) dash board fascia has a fake aluminium finish and the music system surround panel is of a piano black colour.
4) rear hatch interior plastic is also black

overall, the Lx variant actually has more black than beige and hence in my view looks better and less prone to look dirty