[Venkatesh]

Shailesh Chandra, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, says this new SUV was originally conceived as the new Safari, and has a few subtle elements that are a nod to the original.

This SUV was conceptualised as the next-generation Safari. We did not name the Harrier the new Safari for the simple reason that it was not a 7-seater. However, the new Safari will be the best 7-seater, as it does not have apology third-row seating. Like the original, it has a strong face, a high bonnet,the stepped roof, therear three-quarter glass and stadium seating. All these elements were designed at the start to take care of the Safari legacy going forward

Source

[r0ckstar.1]

Interesting chain of events on Gravitas I must say. Like someone mentioned earlier, Tata must be smoking something weird . Bringing in Safari name (which is a welcome move), but without a AWD/4x4, is absurd
Also, keeping the same look as that of Harrier seems like a desparate move to fool the consumer and diluting the Safari brand in the process.

I think, looking at the New Gen XUV500 specs and the hype it's creating before the launch, people within TML ran helter skelter and came-up with this disconnected marketing strategy. M&M will be having a good laugh at this I am sure. Tata may still be able to get some customer base if they get their pricing right, but they will soon lose this battle to competition (mainly XUV500).

I am personally in the market for a SUV with AWD and 7_seat option. As I look now, i have very limited options under 30 lakhs budget.

[nainan]

Its on their website too:-

Safari

For those thinking it wont be as imposing in size:-

Safari Storme :-

Length (mm) 4655
Width (mm) 1855
Height (mm) 1922

New Safari

Length (mm) 4661
Width (mm) 1894
Height (mm) 1786

Its actually bigger though a tad shorter which would only help saving it from scrapes in no truck roads having those metallic monstrosities that scrape roofs(being a DICOR owner I used to passionately hate them)

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by r0ckstar.1

diluting the Safari brand in the process.

I dont know how re-branding an established (and hot selling) product like Harrier is diluting the Safari brand (which to be honest, never really brought numbers for Tata). If the Interceptor would have been called as a Bullet, would that have diluted the bullet brand also? Or enhanced it?

The car has the presence and the equipment list to be at par with competitors.

Also 4x4 is highly over-rated (even more so than a sunroof in India). A car with good ground clearance can do 995 of stuff a 4x4 can. For hardcore offroaders, there is always the Thar!

[Skorp_Knight]

Oh how the opinions are divided! You love to see it

Only time will tell whether renaming Gravitas to Safari was a good move or not, but it did what it was supposed to do, bring attention to the car itself. Haven't seen much traction in this thread before and here we are. Bold move by Tata nonetheless.

[Sebring]

Can we accept the fact that 'Brand Safari' was in cold storage? That's intense brand dilution, since it got axed. It only lived in people's memory. What's the use of just keeping it on the shelves? So they brought it back. It's that simple. Even GTO had predicted that it would return, (as a Harrier iteration). Interceptor couldn't have been a Bullet, because 'the Bullet' exists as a brand (in flesh and blood), and is going strong

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I dont know how re-branding an established (and hot selling) product like Harrier is diluting the Safari brand (which to be honest, never really brought numbers for Tata). If the Interceptor would have been called as a Bullet, would that have diluted the bullet brand also? Or enhanced it?

[Lowflyer23]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

The car has the presence and the equipment list to be at par with competitors.

Also 4x4 is highly over-rated (even more so than a sunroof in India). A car with good ground clearance can do 995 of stuff a 4x4 can. For hardcore offroaders, there is always the Thar!

Apologies for going off topic, but in your opinion road presence and gimmicks make a car a capable tourer rather than a 4X4.
I wonder what BHPians like Anshuman sir will have to say when they read this. None of those FWD cars will be able to do even 9.5 per cent of stuff the members of Northern Overlanders do with their 4X4s.

[fhdowntheline]

I think there is some influence of the success of the re-invigorated Thar at work. But they need to bring out the 4wd to really justify the Safari brand name.

[coolkurt]

Confirmed by Autocar and Hormazd Sorabjee as well.

[shancz]

I agree with BHPians who mentioned that Gravitas cannot be Safari. But I also think that it only applies to those of us who knew about the Gravitas in the first place.

That being said, we already have the Harrier on the roads and I am not sure how Tata Motors will explain to anyone that "this is the Safari although it looks like the Harrier".

IMHO they should have named it anything but Safari(Gravitas was good too). The successor to the Safari should have retained the silhouette and core design. Like the G-Class or the Thar. Was laughing when I saw the silhouette being animated from the Safari to the Gravitas.
Although I never owned one but to me the first version of the Safari looked the best.

I will still call it Gravitas out of protest and respect

Could we have a poll on better names or is it too late ?

[headbanger]

If they had to bring the Safari nameplate back, it would have made sense to name Harrier as Safari. It was a new car and had a lot going for it prior to release.

Naming 7 seater Harrier with the Safari brand is a mistake which has just been aggravated.

[TROOPER]

Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Literally.

For me, they just screwed up both brand names, Safari big time and the Harrier too.

Now the Safari seems like Harrier XL and Harrier seems like Safari Lite. What the hell.

The QC department laziness has reached the boardroom too now.

[r0ckstar.1]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Also 4x4 is highly over-rated (even more so than a sunroof in India). A car with good ground clearance can do 995 of stuff a 4x4 can. For hardcore offroaders, there is always the Thar!

Agree that there are few takers for a 4x4/AWD in India. The ones that buy them, use it for when needed scenarios. I personally have come across many situations during my trips, where I couldn't go to a point, because my car didn't have an AWD.

Coming to Safari branding, the fact remains that brand stood for taking it anywhere and #ReclaimYourLife tag. i remember an ad of safari reaching the top of a hill, looking down the valley. Can you dare to take the gravitas anywhere off-road with your kids in the backseat? I don't think so. Hence my comment on diluting the safari brand.

[im_chandan]

In my last trip to my native, spoke to a close family who owns Scarpio, Sumo cars.

They were not aware what is a 4WD car is, for them SUV means 'Big muscular car', the more people will seat, better the car is

Market of 4WD cars in india can be understand by seeing Jeep compass sales.

Personally I am not happy with this announcement , its like defaming Legendary Safari.

[Axe77]

Personally I feel the 4x4 cred better suits the harrier 5 seat format than the 7 seat gravitas format. If I had to offer it on only ONE of the two models I would have thought the Harrier is the more natural recipient (not by monikers but by body type). (Yes I'm aware the safari was also a 7 seater)