[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

A turbo charged ~120 bhp [from various forums] engine which gets entire torque @ 1500 rpm makes Ecosport a snail? Knowing how Ford tunes their engines, I would NOT be surprised to see a sub 12s 0-100 timing.

+1.

In fact, considering it will have a much lower Kerb weight, i am even hoping for a 10s to the ton. And considering its a Ford, it will run circles around the Safari in every aspects related to performance and road manners.

But I agree EcoSport will not be a direct competition - its much smaller and it will be fighting with Duster and others.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

A little OT:

A close friend of mine owns a 2.2 Safari, and I own a Scorpio. I have done 2 long trips [1000 kms +] in his vehicle and numerous short trips. These trips have been as a passenger, both in the front and middle seat. Compared to my Scorpio, the ride comfort in Safari was positively PLUSH!!

Hence, I am very curious when you say the suspension is the Achilles heel of the Safari, it is with respect to what? Ride quality, longevity or something else?

Cheers,
Vikram

Not at all related to ride comfort, for that the safari is still THE King, and th heavy duty supension smolders the road, but the problem is long term reliabilty, one or other part will keep on failing as early as even 25k kms.

[neel385]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Hence, I am very curious when you say the suspension is the Achilles heel of the Safari, it is with respect to what? Ride quality, longevity or something else?

I don't own a Safari, but going by the ownership reviews posted here, it would seem that longevity is the issue. Almost everyone seems to have had to change the suspension around the 50K-60K mark. And it is not cheap either!!

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by neel385

I don't own a Safari, but going by the ownership reviews posted here, it would seem that longevity is the issue. Almost everyone seems to have had to change the suspension around the 50K-60K mark. And it is not cheap either!!

All that is needed to be changed in the safari suspension is the bushes, at around 60k kms, nothing else. The cost of this including labour is within 3k. All other components of the suspension are very robust and have bulletproof reliability. Considering how every Safari owner gets used to flying over potholes and breakers, i think 3k spent over 60k kms is damn cheap. Infact, driven decently like a car, these bushes will go well over 100k kms before the rubber hardens and warrants replacement. Other option is buy a Fortuner for 25 lakhs and replace the same bushes at 100k or 120k kms.

[deepaktpatil]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

A little OT:

A close friend of mine owns a 2.2 Safari, and I own a Scorpio. I have done 2 long trips [1000 kms +] in his vehicle and numerous short trips. These trips have been as a passenger, both in the front and middle seat. Compared to my Scorpio, the ride comfort in Safari was positively PLUSH!!

Hence, I am very curious when you say the suspension is the Achilles heel of the Safari, it is with respect to what? Ride quality, longevity or something else?

Cheers,
Vikram

I was referring to longevity, there is no question in my mind about the ride quality.

[AyAn!]

Originally Posted by anujmishra

It is now imperative to know the difference/modifications/changes from the model that appear in Auto Expo and actual market model. This will be going to clear only after it is available in the showroom.

Saw the first lot. They appeared to be dead -ringers to the models shown at the Expo,barring from the kitted up version of course. So no difference/modifications/changes as of now,at least on the exterior.

Originally Posted by neel385

Does TATA really have any other option with the Storme? The product needs to be placed very competitively for it to sell. Other than the 4X4 low, it has no other USP. The Ertiga beats it on pure value, the XUV beats it in tech and goodies and with the Duster and Ecosport coming up, it might offer very little VFM as well.

So really, if the festive pricing does not go on for ever and not just three months as that is when the Duster will probably be out, I see the Storme going the Aria way. And that would be sad!

+1

The Safari,as we all know is getting too long in the tooth now and the Storme is just old wine in a new bottle. TML themselves aren't completely satisfied with the vehicle as an overall package and are quite skeptical about how it'll perform in the market. It might prove to be a dud.

The Safari has always been a respectable product in-spite of its shortcomings,but with the Storme TML seems to have lost it a bit. I mean,its positioning is a bit uncertain.With all that pseudo sophisticated face-lifting,it tries hard to be some suave,contemporary,luxury compact off-roader,but can't seem to shake off its old school brash that most of us had come to love. That makes it a quite confused car. Bits like the whole front fascia weren't meant to be put on a car like the Safari. Pity they couldn't do justice to the original.

It was a very emotive product to say the least. But now,the Safari has lost its character. All of it. Even the Sahara ready version at the Expo didn't look very convincing to me.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

+1.

In fact, considering it will have a much lower Kerb weight, i am even hoping for a 10s to the ton. And considering its a Ford, it will run circles around the Safari in every aspects related to performance and road manners.

But I agree EcoSport will not be a direct competition - its much smaller and it will be fighting with Duster and others.

A 120 bhp Ecosport would still be quite a bit heavier than a fiesta / Laura and possibly be in the Yeti weight band. It would at best do 0-100 times in about 11.5 seconds (12+ is more likely). To better 11 seconds it would require a DSG Gearbox which I believe would shoot up costs.

The Eco Sport is very different from the Safari and one should not really be considering both as options even if in a similar price band. They will meet very different customer requirements.

On the issue of Safari suspension at about 60K mark one requires to change some of the bushes and by about 80-100K the tierrod ends and ball joints. This because most safari owners also tend to drive the safari very differently from how they would drive a sedan and do tend to thrash it through rough roads at higher speeds. The weight for the safari coupled with the speed of impact causes some of the suspension components to give way with time.

I would like to add that the suspension components itself are not that expensive compared to the cost of the vehicle and it is not really an issue.

I for my part used to really rip the safari on really really rough roads at speeds of 60Kmph plus at places where other vehicles would be doing 20 kmph - result - replaced the bushing kit 3 times over 175,000 kms - which was fine by me.

The new Safari Storm has a very different suspension (that of the Aria) that is expected to last miuch longer with reasonable use.

[harishnayak]

Read few comments about the STORME on the thread here. Did not even bump into this thread before buying my 2012 March Dicor and even if i did i would have not waited for the storme because i personally believe that the safari has a unbeatable character and the comfort attached to it inspite of the phobia that comes along with it which says that you'll wear out maintaining it.

3 known people bought the DICOR after i bought mine as they could not resist it and did not want to be the guinea pigs to the new STORME.

DICOR RULES.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

3 known people bought the DICOR after i bought mine as they could not resist it and did not want to be the guinea pigs to the new STORME.

DICOR RULES.

Well with due respect to the idea of sticking to the tried and trusted. The STORME too would be a Safari DICOR (irrespective of them using the name.) with an improved version of the same 2.2 dicor engine with improved braking, stability, transmission and suspension components.

[parsh]

For the first time, got to catch Storme live on streets. This was near DSK Toyota showroom, Bawdhan, Pune on the Mumba-Pune-Satara Highway on 28 Apr 2012, about 1:45-2 PM.





With no frills and no camouflaging, seems it is ready to Launch NOW atleast?

[Palio_2005]

looks yuck!! another market dud from tata. mahindra is running circles around tata and with launch of small cars soon, i am sure tata will be nowhere to be seen.

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

A little OT:

A close friend of mine owns a 2.2 Safari, and I own a Scorpio. I have done 2 long trips [1000 kms +] in his vehicle and numerous short trips. These trips have been as a passenger, both in the front and middle seat. Compared to my Scorpio, the ride comfort in Safari was positively PLUSH!!

Hence, I am very curious when you say the suspension is the Achilles heel of the Safari, it is with respect to what? Ride quality, longevity or something else?

Cheers,
Vikram

Vikram, as a past Safari owner and a present Scorpio owner, i can confirm what you said abot the Safari;s plush ride. But the issue with the Safari has never been ride comfort but suspension geometry. the Safari's suspension has an inherent design flaw on account of which there is a regular misalinment of the tyres, or the suspension bushes wearing out .
In my case, i had misaligned front suspension from day 1 which required some jugaad with the shims to rectify but it didnt go away completely. i had to rotate tyres evry 5K to minimise the uneven wear on the tyres.

With teh Storme running on a modified Aria chasis, the suspension will have to be totally recalibrated from the present Safari, and that may be proving to be a challenge.

[infotech58]

Originally Posted by parsh

For the first time, got to catch Storme live on streets. This was near DSK Toyota showroom, Bawdhan, Pune on the Mumba-Pune-Satara Highway on 28 Apr 2012, about 1:45-2 PM.

With no frills and no camouflaging, seems it is ready to Launch NOW atleast?

it looks ugly and like half hearted job. current gen safari looks much better than this. this new one looks like current gen safari from sides and like a DC mod from front/rear. assuming they have done much of the work on suspension and chassis, why could they not have redesigned the shell to look more propotionate.

[parsh]

Originally Posted by infotech58

it looks ugly and like half hearted job. current gen safari looks much better than this. this new one looks like current gen safari from sides and like a DC mod from front/rear. assuming they have done much of the work on suspension and chassis, why could they not have redesigned the shell to look more propotionate.

Yup, personally agree with you. I would say, they have killed that Beast called Safari.

[anb]

Originally Posted by infotech58

it looks ugly and like half hearted job. current gen safari looks much better than this. this new one looks like current gen safari from sides and like a DC mod from front/rear. assuming they have done much of the work on suspension and chassis, why could they not have redesigned the shell to look more propotionate.

Safari might look almost similar. But it has completely different underpinnings. The chassis is different. Storme uses shortened version of Aria's chassisTata Safari Storme review, test drive - Review - Autocar India.