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Old 29th September 2007, 16:44   #1396
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It seems from the first 2 test drives that Tata is still going to do its R&D on Indians. I assume that the 3.0L DiCOR is still a better bet.
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Old 29th September 2007, 16:48   #1397
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With 2.2, one will be driving with the stepney in the boot. It really amazes how those designs passed through, the back wheel cover as well as the front grill. The 3.0 VX frontgrill was also much better.
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Old 29th September 2007, 17:04   #1398
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Originally Posted by deepaktpatil View Post
Dude, here is a little nudge for you, lets see if you get motivated. All the contacts you have are useless until you use them to get a photo and post it here on this site before somebody else does it. What say!!
Thanks for that nudge Mr Patil because of which i tried hard to get these pictures & first one to post it here... Now its confirmed that my contacts are useful.
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Old 29th September 2007, 17:10   #1399
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Indeed they are !!!!

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Originally Posted by kdeepakk View Post
Thanks for that nudge Mr Patil because of which i tried hard to get these pictures & first one to post it here... Now its confirmed that my contacts are useful.
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Old 29th September 2007, 17:17   #1400
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Thanks for that nudge Mr Patil because of which i tried hard to get these pictures & first one to post it here... Now its confirmed that my contacts are useful.
Never had any doubts about your contact or capability. Good to see your pictures here on team-bhp.
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Old 29th September 2007, 17:19   #1401
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Finaly my numerous trips to TML stock yard paid of today.

Initialy as I approached the yard,not a beast in sight and I was disappointed.As I was about to turn back,saw a truck come from inside the plant and was parked outside.They opened the back door to load a Indigo in the top bay and there was the beast in lower bay.I parked my car and ran to that truck.Seems TML loads Safari alone from inside the plant itself.After so much cajoling ,the truck driver allowed me to get inside and see the beast.

It was a Cherry Red EX version.Didnt see the "Radicaly changed wheel cover"as it was kept packed inside the vehicle.The only difference was the 2.2DICOR VTT badge.Couldnt see the front grille as I couldnt go there.Couple of points I noticed
1>Engine Redlines at quarter mark past 4000RPM.
2>I am not sure on this.But it looked like dual tone interiors with light grey on dashboard and beige around.I am not sure on this,as I saw it inside the truck.
3>Body coloured bumpers for EX trim too.
4>Speedo calibarated upto 200KMPH.I am not sure how much it was for 3L

After seeing the wheel cover pics here,I think the first thing that anyone would want to do after buying 2.2 is to remove the wheel cover.Trust me,it looked very much without that bad wheel cover.

Oh before I sign off the cherry red one I saw was headed to Hyderabad.
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Old 29th September 2007, 18:00   #1402
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Dear All,
So it does seem like a damp squib from TATA.
But you know what,the engine does feel so much more responsive than the 3.0
City driving should be much better.
Yes it does have VGT.
Apart from the engine nothing else seems better.
The rear wheel cover is gut renching.
Like I posted before the biege interors is likely to get dirty sooner.The plastic quality is only a shade better.Looks very homemade.
But two main issues have been addressed:better a/c cooling and perkier to drive/better pick up.
The vehicle I drove had the seat belt clip clipped in reverse.Tata's trademark.So don't expect too much on the quality front.
The Rane power steering still hisses like an irritated cobra and the steering pin still makes a cracking sound like a bone snapping somewhere.
New 2.2's are being transported to the dealers' stock yards and by monday a lot of them would be around.
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Old 29th September 2007, 18:19   #1403
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Awright - I have been offline for 3 hours and when I come back - LO - So much of action !!!

I like the new wheel cover !!

I do not like the New grill !!

I like the Interiors !!

Only thing left for me to do is TD it fast.
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Old 29th September 2007, 18:24   #1404
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Originally Posted by doctorkats View Post
Dear All,
So it does seem like a damp squib from TATA.
But you know what,the engine does feel so much more responsive than the 3.0
City driving should be much better.
Yes it does have VGT.
Apart from the engine nothing else seems better.
The rear wheel cover is gut renching.
The engine was the only expected change to the vehicle. Unfortunately this thread went berserk with speculations as to what else would change, and the vehicle will never measure up to expectations along those lines.

Till date most of the official info coming out of TML have only pointed to an engine change. If we concentrate on that assuming the rest remains the same, the actual change can be evaluated. Else we lose objectivity.

When you test drive, please bear this in mind.
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Old 29th September 2007, 18:36   #1405
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The engine was the only expected change to the vehicle. Unfortunately this thread went berserk with speculations as to what else would change, and the vehicle will never measure up to expectations along those lines.

Till date most of the official info coming out of TML have only pointed to an engine change. If we concentrate on that assuming the rest remains the same, the actual change can be evaluated. Else we lose objectivity.

When you test drive, please bear this in mind.
But it is sad.
And it is natural to expect.
The Safari is and always has been lovely to drive.
Tata had to work on only a very few things.
Nothing outlandish.
But they fail to happily surprise the customer.
The rattles and squeaks are not impossible to fix, just that their effort hasnt been good enough.
Does it take that much to improve the quality of plastics?
Thats all they needed to do.They have given it a new heart,all they should have done is spruced up the insides.
Instead they let out old wine in a new bottle.
It feels as if they just want to kill time till they bring out the X2.
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Old 29th September 2007, 18:40   #1406
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Originally Posted by doctorkats View Post
Instead they let out old wine in a new bottle.
I'd say more like new wine in old bottle.
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Old 29th September 2007, 18:47   #1407
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I'd say more like new wine in old bottle.
lol....thats true.
more like sour wine in an old bottle.
but that said lets not forget now the Safari is zippier,peppier and fun to drive.
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Old 29th September 2007, 18:52   #1408
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Well...

It seems that

(A) if you want reliability & sedate driving then its 3 ltr dicor
(B) if you want zippy city driving and few of other things, its 2.2

If one sees the Safari Design: Ladder on Chassis. It hasnt quiet radically changed (like the new wheel cover ).

A bit of this tweak and bit of that tweak only has gone into the chassis design and suspensions, nothing else. Safari's production has lot of LEAN engineering built into it therefore the continuation of rattles and niggles and age old following of dont touch if its not broken

My Personal thinking is that Tata's want to recover their R&D costs through stop gap arrangements like these on the design front until X2/X3(whatever the code) and fill up the declining sales. This also points to the aggressive pricing for the new engined safari

"Tata Motors plans to offer cash discounts to counter a four-month sales slump. “We would like to see sales improve, but that would depend a lot on external factors and are looking at providing more incentives to get customers.” Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant said. ~Economic Times

Last edited by Rahulk76 : 29th September 2007 at 18:57.
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Old 29th September 2007, 19:21   #1409
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Originally Posted by reachmash View Post
now that I heard and seen enough what TATA ment when they said radical changes, I am more inclined now towards the proven truck 3.0L

What say guys? any feedback/opinion is welcome.

I think some expectations management is in order. The highlight of this launch is that potent 2.2L engine. If they were to do a complete rejig of the interiors et. all, everyone would then start cribbing abt how expensive and unaffordable the Safari has become. Also, reading between the lines, the main reason Tata has bought out the 2.2L when it did, is to bed it down in Indian conditions for their next biggest release of the X2.

Its best therefore to buy the 2.2L Safari for its engine, which from the looks of it, should be worth it. And surely, all the rattles reported on the first test mules will not see their way into production vehicles.
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Old 29th September 2007, 19:29   #1410
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Originally Posted by doctorkats View Post
but that said lets not forget now the Safari is zippier,peppier and fun to drive.
Which is all that is all that was to be expected. As long as that expectation is fulfilled, the new version has served its purpose.

Drastic re-engineering so late in a product's lifecycle isnt to be expected - you'd expect manufacturers to save all the detailing for a NEW model.

I would expect other changes if the pricing was like 1 lakh more. If the price diff is only about 30-40k then its unrealistic to expect a new engine + new interiors.

That said, I rather liked those dials. I'm going to wait and get the best bits of the 2.2 into my Dicor (yes, engine included) over the next 3-6 months.
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