[shankaranand]

Originally Posted by pogusingh

As one of my friend jokes, if you buy a tata car, you have to always carry screw driver with you!!. I see a lot of tata owners in the thread. Are the cards so bad?

I am an Indigo owner myself.. It has been joyful 10000+ km ride without a single major issue (touchwood)..

Sure there will be few niggles like ashtray coming off or cheap plastics here and there.. But surely you can tolerate them.. They dont interfere with Driving experience..

It is just a question of perception..

[tushky]

spotted Tata Safari 2.2L again. the driver was Tamil. i tried to speak with him in Marathi/ Hindi / English. but he couldn understand anything. so i asked him 2.2ltr??? he sait yes. i asked lauch?? he said Export. the i asked India?? he said 2008. god!!!1

[pogusingh]

Hi Thanks everyone for their response. I think this is one of the best threads that I have ever seen on the web on the subject. So kudos to all who are involved.
Coming back to the issue, I saw a recommendation for waiting for the X2 platform instead of buying a 2.2 L dicor safari. Is it because the 2.2L dicor is going to still have issues? Although I am not a great tech savvy guy on cars but to my understanding a car is as good as its engine. So does this mean the 2.2L is not a good engine

Also I am confused now as if we are saying
a) DICOR is selling pretty OK in the market
b) X2 is slated for next year

why do tata guys really need to push a 2.2L engine, why dont they directly go for X2? Is it that they want 2 SUVs from tata in the market next year?

I want to upgrade to a car that has lots of space & safety and within 10L range. Based on the feedback from the forum, I am now having a rethink as to whether its worth even waiting for 2.2L dicor.
I was actually waiting for the launch of Baleno 2007 + Safari Dicor 2.2L to finally decide where do I need to go. Although one might say these are 2 different segments but thats how I was looking at it that either I shall play safe( Baleno ) or fulfill my dream of owning the Safari

I was going through :: AUTOCAR INDIA - CAR AND BIKE MAGAZINE ::
which says about the current dicor
a)The steering is not direct and is non-linear as well.
b)The brakes however need serious improvement as they cause some anxious moments with the car snapping sideways.
c) Unfortunately, a poor turning circle and reduced visibility at the rear make the Safari difficult to manoeuvre.

Does any one has information about whether point a) & b) are getting addressed in 2.2L

I know I am asking a lot of questions but please bear with me, this forum just looks to me as a RAAM-BAAN which shall address all my queries

Best Regards
Pogu

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by pogusingh

a)The steering is not direct and is non-linear as well.

That is correct. This is something only sir Psycho on TBHP has been able to correct.

Originally Posted by pogusingh

b)The brakes however need serious improvement as they cause some anxious moments with the car snapping sideways.

Not correct. I personally havent had this problem - could be an issue with the LSPV setting on the unit they drove.

Originally Posted by pogusingh

c) Unfortunately, a poor turning circle and reduced visibility at the rear make the Safari difficult to manoeuvre.

Get used to it and its quite easy to manouvre. The only issue I have had is in backing up when I dont know where my spare wheel ends. This is an issue on any SUV that has a Tail-mounted spare.

[pogusingh]

Hi
I was browsing through another site Tata Safari DICoR review - Ride, handling and verdict and following is the nicchod of their analysis

Pros
-----
Huge amount of space, specially with last row folded
High tech engine management for good response and economy
Excellent ride, able to handle the rough very well
Positive feel to gearbox
Efficient A/C with vents extra vents for rear passengers
Adjustable height seats and seatbelts

Cons
-----
Quality of dashboard plastics, Spartan
Traditionally constant RPM engine has very small rev-range and suffers from late response
Not a true blue offroader, ABS inadequate
Clutch is heavy and gear throw is long
Car feels very front heavy around corners and subject to lots of roll
Immobilize can be bit irritating at times, ignition key hole in a awkward position

So again is 2.2L version going to address ABS & heavy clutch. As I understand the new engine is going to be lighter so may be the front heavy roll related issue might get sorted out. What is the opinion of rest of you on this?

One thing I realize :- Safari definitely has a huge fan following in India even though there may not be enough buyers to substantiate that statement
regards
pogu

[SUV]

here is My Take -


Not a true blue offroader, ABS inadequate - "You should experience what its competion can do ..... I am sure you will change you mind".

Clutch is heavy and gear throw is long - If you are used to car ..... Then forget it .....

Car feels very front heavy around corners and subject to lots of roll - Just Tweak it ...... Takes nothing actually ...

Immobilize can be bit irritating at times, ignition key hole in a awkward position- "I would say this is looking for a CON's ..... "

From tha above post i can gather you are either in love with the Scorpio or Own one .... No Offence meant ....

[Desert fox]

Originally Posted by pogusingh

a)The steering is not direct and is non-linear as well.
b)The brakes however need serious improvement as they cause some anxious moments with the car snapping sideways.

My 2 cents-

1) Apart from what Steeroid said a good set of upgrade rubber has always helped the Safari in the steering feedback.

2) Agreed,that is a surprising new development on the Dicors from 2006(FUZ onwards),culprit-TVS-rotors and xyz pads!

Solution- Go back to the old (TCIC) Rotors and get yourself the self adjusting rear drums,And a very good set of pads.

I agree pogusingh that Safari has a following,because it may not do/have a lot of things associated with (read:quality) its rivals...But what it does right...Sigh,if own/owned a Safari,you would know... Maybe you are intrested??

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by pogusingh

One thing I realize :- Safari definitely has a huge fan following in India even though there may not be enough buyers to substantiate that statement

And your point is?

We would appreciate first hand feedback on this site as opposed to quoting abc magazine or xyz site.

A majority of those that write about the vehicle here are owners, not readers. You're more than welcome to drive one and post your own views, because we're quite capable of googling for other sites thank you very much.

[pogusingh]

I am sorry if I offended anyone by giving reference to other sites. My only intention was to find out the first hand feedback about the dicor from the owners on this forum corresponding to the cons mentioned on those sites and also if somebody has a good information on 2.2L wrt resolution of those cons
I understand that all of the gentlemen on this forum are very learned and hope they would be humble enough to understand my intention
BTW I am not a scorpio owner but yest I plan to buy a safari 2.2L and hence just wanted to explore if it was worth the wait

regards
pogu

[Su-47]

Pogusingh,

Since you are spending so much time researching the Safari, I would assume that you are genuinely interested in it. If so, I seriously recommend a longish test drive rather than just reading from the auto magazines, and making a decision. Its good to have information, but there is nothing to beat first hand experience...

Originally Posted by pogusingh

Traditionally constant RPM engine has very small rev-range and suffers from late response

Enough has been said about the 3K rev limit. I felt the engine to be pretty responsive. Within a short span of time, if a very avg. driver like me is able to figure out how to keep it in the powerband, everybody should be able to do that. Besides, you can't expect a 2T vehicle to accelerate like a 1T sedan.

Originally Posted by pogusingh

Clutch is heavy and gear throw is long

I also felt the clutch is a little heavy (again in comparison to the wagon-Rs and balenos), but is lighter than a palio 1.2 that I drive very frequently. And, I haven't noticed any problems with the gear throw.

Originally Posted by pogusingh

One thing I realize :- Safari definitely has a huge fan following in India even though there may not be enough buyers to substantiate that statement

AFAIK, they've been clocking 1600+ sales every month. That is a substantial number of people..

[suman]

Pogusingh, let me add my two cents here as well -

1) I have a feeling you read the Autocar article which came out when the Dicor was first launched - I remember that said the ABS doesn't work well, the car snaps sideways etc. The ABS on my Dicor seems to work OK & I really haven't felt any sideways snapping
2) Heartily agree with SU-47, this powerband thingy is overhyped. I know I was swayed by it too before buying - now that I have it, I don't feel it "narrow". Yes, if there is a Skoda or Verna in front who are blocking my way and then I go after them, I feel a handicap initially but who cares? If its on a highway or a good stretch of road, I have the Safari AMBLING along (yes, ambling along) at 120-130 kmph & breezing by these guys
3) Haven't faced any problems yet with the gear throws, the current crop has had the gear lever modded a while ago (initially, it used to sit closer to the CD/DVD player so you couldn't change CDs if the car was in 1st or 3rd gear but they've changed that quite some time back)

About waiting for the 2.2, while it sounds real good, I'd go for the existing one simply because even if the 2.2 is launched now, no matter how much of testing etc has been donee, you'd have to be part of their R&D effort for the next one year. And that's if its being launched right away, which may or may not be the case.

Cheers

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by suman

About waiting for the 2.2, while it sounds real good, I'd go for the existing one simply because even if the 2.2 is launched now, no matter how much of testing etc has been donee, you'd have to be part of their R&D effort for the next one year. And that's if its being launched right away, which may or may not be the case.
Cheers

Since the 2.2 launch will not be a new vehicle, this customer R&D will not be same as 3.0. The new safari is already being exported so the Europeans will be doing R&D for us, and what we get in June will be a tried and tested version.

[rahul_intlad]

How come the safari is sporting a TN registration and has a tamil driver,Does telco manufacture safari in Tamil Nadu now.

Also why would an export model come for homologation to ARAI,if it had come for only vehicle testing then I think there is a similar facility in Tamil nadu too which was inaugurated recently amidst great fanfare by the Union minister.

[suman]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

The new safari is already being exported so the Europeans will be doing R&D for us, and what we get in June will be a tried and tested version.

TSK, the Safari has been an export model for some years now - hasn't stopped them from using the general public as their R&D team here for the ones unleashed here. I think their QC norms for exports would be much more stringent - besides the assembly lines would also be different I would think............

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by rahul_intlad

How come the safari is sporting a TN registration and has a tamil driver,Does telco manufacture safari in Tamil Nadu now.

I think Delphi's facility is in Tamil Nadu - Hosur if I'm not mistaken. Could this be the reason? I wonder how they got a non-homologated vehicle registered, though? Unless they plonked in the new engine into an existing, registered vehicle.

Originally Posted by suman

I think their QC norms for exports would be much more stringent - besides the assembly lines would also be different I would think............

As long as they make these on the same Assembly Line as their CVs, quality is going to remain the same.