[VKumar]

I have been reading this thread since a while, and I must accept that renaming the Gravitas as 'Safari' has definitely worked for Tata. As much this thread has grew in last few years, it did as much progress in just a week's time.

That said, after going through everything, and having driven the Harrier, Innova and everything else in this segment on offer, I tried to conduct a SWOT analysis on this new Tata Safari:

Going by what I can see, pricing and features are going to play the key role for Tata.

Going too close to Innova is risky, many of you may disagree that they won't touch Innova against Safari, but in the real market. If the Innova is a lac far, people are going to prefer that. It is not about the features, Innova still has better more supportive seats than the Harrier (Harrier still doesn't offer adjustable thigh support, Innova does, and I have seen a guy reject Harrier against Innova for this reason only), a better appointed interior, a bigger boot, and above all - the Toyota logo (people don't bother about sunroof in Innova and Fortuner).

Upcoming XUV and Scorpio, from what I have come to know till date are being loaded with very potent engines, long list of features, and multiple 'WOW' items right from day 1. See, n matter what one says about Tata, Mahindra has always been commanding more trust in the SUV market. With upcoming XUV and Scorpio too, if Tata still carries their same lacklustre attitude, they may be left in a situation where they will have nowhere to run at for saving themselves from the coming onslaught.

My opinion: Hold the Safari purchase till XUV launch

My suggestion is simply that, Tata needs to try to sell this as much as possible before the XUV launch. IF you won't take the money from the customers, Mahindra or Toyota will take, the customer has to any way spend, Tata needs to assure that they spend on Tata.

[Mustang Sammy]

If it doesn't have AWD/4x4 option it is not a Safari, period!

[Ashboyt]

The MG hector does not have ventilated seats. I do not know about the XUV 500 as it is not released till now.

[Diesel_Drives]

Originally Posted by iamahunter

TATA should have simply used this advert's tune... https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=1pMI...nel=rdpadfilms

+1 To that! It has such a strong emotional connect with the Brand and product. Almost defining a category of its own.

Besides, this is 2021! Thanks to the pandemic, people need to be pulled out of their home offices, and not their corner glass offices or metro stations

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by Ashboyt

The MG hector does not have ventilated seats.

Latest update of the 2021 Hector gets front ventilated seats.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Attachment 2108586

Don't think you can count features and "Empty Playing field"(Hector 7 seater/Creta 7 seater/XUV is just around the corner) as strengths.

Feature wise it is no longer as sparse as a Harrier, but still misses out on quite a few features which will soon be standard across the segment. Features like-

A wireless charger
Wireless AA/Car Play
Ventilated seats
Front powered passenger seat
Configurable mood lighting (Safari gets Mono)
Electric tail gate
ADAS (XUV is rumored to get it)
Mirror Puddle lights (Tata even removed this from 2020 Harrier)
LED Headlamps on high beam atleast.

I mean, if such features were a part of feature set, then we can conclude that it is one of the proper strengths.

IMO, this will be a repeat case of Harrier. Just like Harrier sales prior to Hector and Seltos launches, Safari will get off to a good start. Once the XUV500 arrives, Safari will lag behind and by quite some margin, just like the Harrier.

[Ashboyt]

Just checked. Yes latest Hector does have front ventilated seats. For me personally, yes, that would be a great thing, but the lack of AWD is a big thing because I need another hardcore AWD/4wd. I need 2 cars for long family trips (dogs included). Right now it’s the Disco and Tucson (brakes are useless). I have always regretted the fact that I took a 4x2 Yeti (love it but 4X4 was out of budget then). I have high hopes for Safari's traction control, but do not want a case of AWD regrets again. So on the fence. AWD would have been "take my money" now.

[luvDriving]

All said and done, it was a brilliant idea from Tata to rebadge the 7-seater Gravitas to Safari. Safari was the dream of many enthusiasts and Tata can cash in on those aspirations.

Now that people have realized that the 'true' Safari is not coming back (at least in it's most desired avatar), this one will be making waves on the sales counter provided it is priced correctly (remember Aria ?). Feature-wise Tata cars have sported features which were a couple of trims ahead in other manufacturers. And I doubt this will make much of a dent in Innova sales.

[rpm]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Therefore GNCAP rating allows companies to sell their cars with less airbags and no ESP at par with cars that have 6 airbags and ESP - Imagine an Altroz with 2 airbags and no ESP gets GNCAP 5 , the same rating as Harrier with 6 airbags , ESP and a dozen other electronic safety aids.

Will they have the same protection during a crash? Nope.

Since you mentioned BMW, that poor thing will only get up to 5 stars in GNCAP having all the additional kit.

Isn't this a flawed system?

I may be wrong on this, but aren't all the additional electronic aids (ABS, EBD, ESP, etc.) you mentioned, there to help prevent a crash? In the unfortunate event that someone gets into a crash, their only hopes are the car's structure, deployment of airbags and seat belt. So during a crash, the additional electronic aids may not be as useful as their intended role of preventing a crash.

Also, in case of a rollover, it is important that the roof not cave in, so structure is important there as well.

Whether a car with side airbags, untested for side impact because of poor frontal impact results is safer than a car which passed the side impact test without airbags is pure speculation for now.

For similarly rated cars, it may follow that the significantly heavier one offers better crash protection because it was tested for a crash against an identical vehicle (of same mass) moving at 50 Km/h.

[abhisheksircar]

I think they have done a pretty good job for bringing up a pretty competent 7 seater, Safari or not is a different story altogether. For me, if Safari evolved to this, I would sure be grinning. AWD is definitely a great thing for enthusiasts but as many have already pointed out, how many of those out there to justify the additional R & D cost. I am sure if this picks up well and there is a high demand, they can put back the money to get an AWD version.

What didn't go well with me is the 3 quarter glass and the headlights. I made some changes and please do not kill me for the effort, I am no designer but just scratched out something.



Base image Courtesy : https://www.zigwheels.com/newcars/Tata/new-safari

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by digitalnirvana

Wonderful and it's getting recognition! Tata Motors have thanked you!

A new gen Sumo can very well dampen the Bolero sales sales figures.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by luvDriving

Feature-wise Tata cars have sported features which were a couple of trims ahead in other manufacturers.

I don't think this is anymore true. If anything, current TATA cars lag way behind in features to the competition.

[SahilS]

Tata Motors should utilize Safari launch for some price correction too(maybe in form of introductory prices for Safari).

Harrier/Safari's biggest competitor is Hector/Hector-plus. 5-6 months down the line, XUV500 will join too.

For now, let's see how Safari fares against Hector-plus:

If we talk about only manual variants(Hector doesn't have a diesel automatic), Harrier manual XZ+ costs 18.9 Lac ex-showroom. So Safari top end manual may cost around 20 Lac ex-showroom.

This according to me is not overpriced but if we compare it with Hector/Hector-plus as a layman, it looks over-priced w.r.t. Hector.

Hector-plus top end costs 19.13 Lac. So if Safari top end manual is launched at 20 Lac(1.1 Lac premium over Harrier), ex-showroom price difference between Hector top and Safari top will be 87 thousand(non-automatic) or 1 lac on-road.

An 'average' customer comparing top end of hector-plus vs Safari will see that Hector Plus Sharp provides everything what Safari top provides, plus provides a lot more 'visible' features and still costs 87,000 lesser

Even though Safari offers more than Harrier: rear disc brakes, EPB with auto-hold, TPMS, still if we compare it with Hector plus:

Advantage Hector Plus: ventilated seats, 360 degrees camera, more advanced connected car features(remote AC on, remote car lock-unlock etc) with lot of voice commands, bigger/fancier infotainment system, power adjustable co-driver seat, wireless charging, front parking sensors, opening boot by foot-swipe, cooled glove-box, sunglass holder etc

Most average customers are not going to see that Harrier/Safari provides 14 ESP modes or it provides terrain response modes(rough/normal/wet) or engine drive modes(city/eco/sport) or harrier/safari is more stable than hector/hector+ at 100+ speed or it might be a more capable off-roader.

Tata has got a brilliant product: Harrier/Safari. I just hope they don't lose out to Hector/Hector-plus as MG is offering more 'visible' gizmos/features in Hector(plus) and still costing almost 1 lac lesser(on-road, assuming 20 Lac ex-showroom for Safari manual top-end).

[nikhilthegunner]

Originally Posted by iamahunter

TATA should have simply used this advert's tune...
Would have pulled many more strings...

Originally Posted by 5252rpm

Me too echo your sentiments! The adrenaline rush we had seeing this jump and power slide is just MASSIVE! So many goosebumps moments. Tata should have recreated the same ad. Most of the potential buyers of the new Safari are the ones who had a crush on this in their teenage. They might easily relate to the Reclaim Your Life ad. But not sure if that makes sense for the marketing team as Safari no longer retains Safari DNA.

Originally Posted by Diesel_Drives

+1 To that! It has such a strong emotional connect with the Brand and product. Almost defining a category of its own.

Besides, this is 2021! Thanks to the pandemic, people need to be pulled out of their home offices, and not their corner glass offices or metro stations

While I understand your point of view, knowing Team-BHP, I'm pretty sure if TML had done that then they'd be accused of being unoriginal with the ads.

The teaser itself looks great in my opinion. That slow-mo shot as the front portion of the car emerges from the waterfall is absolutely mesmerizing! It just accentuates the blue colour so much. Let's wait and see the main ad that they eventually bring out.

[EightSix]

Tried out the Safari AR today, and made some quick observations which I would like to share with the BHPian community:

#1. The 2021 Safari is

HUGE

!

- The Safari packs a lot of road presence, much like its predecessor.

- The front fascia however is too busy for my liking.

- The blue shade - which is its launch colour, is a love it or hate it. In a leaked photograph, and on the TVC to some extent — it looked stunning but on the AR and website photographs, it looks bland.

- I made the Safari stand next to my 2010 Innova and it is almost the same size, if not larger. Couldn’t take a good picture because the model was off the ground and continuously moving.

The side profile of the Safari is a visual treat.

- The thin, rectangular door handles enhance the look of the SUV.
- The rear gray panel doesn’t look so bad.
- Alloys aren’t special, but they aren’t so bad in terms of design.
- An almost vertical rear makes the Safari more cuboidal, like old boxy SUVs, but it still looks elegant.
- The S A F A R I branding in the gray panel is a unique place to put your model name, and IMO, is really cool.

The rear 3/4th look is equally magnificent

- Although the website pictures make the Safari look oddball and weird (around the rear) the AR model shows otherwise. The rear three quarters look great and well integrated, nothing looks out of place.

Finally, the rear end

- The rear, if you excuse my mediocre photoshop skills (in adding the TBHP stickers) is plain and simple.
- I like how new Tatas replaced chrome with piano black, which looks more elegant than blingy.
- The only badging is the centrally placed Safari badge that is also neatly integrated.
- However, I don’t think it is finished in chrome — as per AR. With a certain POV and lighting (as in my case) it is blends with the dark blue colour and is hardly noticeable.

Observations on the interior

The seats are white and not beige.

- Nothing is out of place on the dashboard, everything looks premium.
- The white interiors make the cabin feel airy. It yells UNIQUE in the sea of beige and black interiors. No doubt it feels more premium too.
- Yet, it will be hard to maintain, at least in India and I’m surprised nobody has mentioned that yet here on the forum.
- The panoramic sunroof also adds to the airy cabin too.
- Won’t know about the space and comfort on offer unless I sit in it, so I’ve got very less to comment on.
- The third row gets enough light too, and at least in AR, doesn’t feel claustrophobic.
- With all the three rows up as in the AR, there is minimum bootspace left.

—

Conclusion

With every new model, Tata motors is getting increasingly better at design. I believe the official list of features and numbers is not out, and we can only deduce limited things about the Safari. What we know from the AR is that the Safari is a very good looking car. A total head turner on streets.

It makes a worthy competitor for the Hector Plus and even other crossovers and SUVs. However, it’s only time that will tell if it lives up to the Safari name.