[Sebring]

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala had invested 500 crores at its lowest. Since then its perked up

Originally Posted by pelican90

The street seems to be cheering whatever Tata Motors is doing right.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by vigneshkumar31

Bolero puts up a good fight, demonstrating "ooncha is the new lamba" 'Height' is the new 'length'.

Angles can be deceptive.

Look how the much smaller Bolero looks bigger than my Storme



Though Storme is substantially larger than the harrier at all dimensions, that photo just exaggerates the difference.


Here's harrier with my storme

[docted]

Coming in very late to this thread, i also have my two cents.

I think Safari name tag was the last ditch effort by the TATA to save the H7X.

My rebuttal are as follows :

Hector and Seltos killed the 1st gen Harrier in terms of whole connected, better package, and VFM tag, forcing TATA to quickly up their game with more power and small tit bit improvement. Vocal for Local also helped.

With new XUV500, 7 seater Creta and Hector plus throwing their gauntlet H7X would have been on the back foot from the word get go with respect to whole digital console, connected car, VFM etc. TATA have invested far too much to now have mediocre product.

I read (or heard) one of Pratap Bose interview, where he was clarifying why Nexon does not look like baby Harrier, as “ wanting to avoid russian doll effect” . And now justifying the new Safari look forced.

What i think was planned, was to use the Safari name as a halo badge, like an AMG,Black edition etc for future TATA 4*4 products (with JLR pedigree). Say a 4*4 Tata Harrier Safari Edition.

Internal discussion would have forced the management to fold or go all in, looking by the response to Sierra at the expo, they have rolled the dice.

But now that the stone has been cast, i hope the product does well and the industry grows as whole.


Cheers

[tsr_83]

TATA has to win the race among stuffed competition in this hyper-demand segment. Starter reviews will make +/- vibrations to the new SUV buyers like me.

Personally, i'm satisfied with my 10 yr old vista petrol, still gives 19km/lt on highways w/o AC. Every technician at any town/city can fix the issue to unblock you from issues. So, look forward to weigh on those loyalty feelings and TATA's latest thirst to strive the highest on safety.

Like me, i hope every other SUV buyer wants to go with wait & watch to feel
XUV500 2nd Gen Vs Scorpio 3rd Gen Vs Creta 7-seater
and then invest INR>15-20L is something to be considered. I'm sure, TATA would have thought through and feel confident on the product to start the race.


Look forward to learn insider story on improvements made over design version, Harrier learnings that we can erase from our memories based on earlier models' niggles. Few more days to get revving.

--Cheers

[VKumar]

Caution! Long Post

Originally Posted by ebonho

You are a man after my own heart.

Point is, only a man can be after a man's own heart, kids can't! Preserve what you have, they don't make such cars any more.

And you are depressing me badly man, as if Tata Motors had not enough.

As already said, preserve it. That engine still sounds wonderful between 1800-3000 rpm; especially the slight background hiss it makes when you pull from say 1500-3500 in any gear, just keep driving that way only, and make it last as long as possible. Once you move to some new monocoque Harrier type car, you will actually regret selling the older one.

Originally Posted by 07CR

I might digress here, but this isn't true by any measure. Be it in gear or flat out, TUV300 is one of the slowest cars out there I have seen.

Disagreement is what makes this forum awesome. Imagine how it would have been if everyone just agreed to each other.

So, since this is India, and we are free to express our opinions - without the risk of getting Jack Ma'ed; let me try to put my point again.

I never talked about the flat out acceleration or top speed type performance. I meant that "with our kind of infrastructure, while driving an SUV, even if that's a lousy TUV 300; you can still maintain a pace which many premium hatch and sedan owners can't".

Why? Because you have a better view of the road, you are less scared of suddenly appearing potholes, and you even know what is on the other side of the median - a few luxuries, a hatchback or sedan driver doesn't have. It is all about maintaining 100-110 kph on the stretches, where the hatch or sedan guy will maintain 90-100. I hope my point is clear now. SUVs are not faster than cars in performance, they are faster because the confidence of the driver is higher, just because of the visibility around.

BTW, even in a TUV 3OO, the driver sits as high as say a Scorpio or Safari.

Originally Posted by pelican90

The street seems to be cheering whatever Tata Motors is doing right

And I am someone, who has been waiting for this day since over a year. When I consulted our smart chap @Smartcat around a year back, since then itself I have been sitting with a lot of Tata motors. Well, the Safari has always made me happy I must say.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Loved your post.

Many thanks sir

I bought my Scorpio SLE in 2010 only because the Safari EX was out of my budget then. However, I haven't regretted this purchase at all.

And that was the better decision, even we replaced our EX 4x4 with a Scorpio SLX, but that was simply choosing a lesser evil from Safari. Safari was super comfy, and loved to be driven, but hated to be stopped. Once my chauffy (Who was habitual of driving Innova V) gave a landmark judgement on Safari brakes "Bhaiya agle jile me ja ke rukti hai (Bhaiya, it stops after reaching another district)". Tata had made a nice car, but in the initial batches of 2.2, there was a bit too much to be taken care of.

I do think that TML has probably missed a trick by consciously getting out of this space - that of a abuse friendly, spacious, comfortable and (relatively) low maintenance BoF RWD 7 seater.

As already said, they have aspired to move up, but left behind a segment altogether, which has higher number of buyers, higher volume, and probably a higher success probability too. Not everyone wants a Creta or Seltos for 15-20 lac. Out of 15-20k they sell per month, even if Tata could lure 15-20%% of them with a proper SUV instead of those unsafe, mutated, hatchbacks, it would have been a success.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Fearing Safari fans coming at me with Pitchforks

This precedes every Tata SUV launch, but the numbers have spoken louder - everytime. It is not a stigma with the brand that the product is awesome but the brand stigma is stopping people. If it was so, Nexon and Harrier wouldn't have started growing in sales. Truth is sacrosanct, one can disagree and deny, but can't change it.

This new year eve our Mhawk was climbing up a Jeep trail in a coffee estate with AC on, All in good time.

With a longer travel in suspension, and higher weight - a Safari normally does it better. But, the mHawk as an engine, knows how to pull; that too, enthusiastically.
Heck, I have seen a Scorpio with over 4.5 lac on odo, engine untouched! And there is the Scorpio of HVK, I guess it has crossed 6 lac kms, but had a major engine rebuild at 4.2 lac kms. The point is, it lasted 4.2 lac kms na? I have seen multiple Safaris, since I am associated with contractors and politicos normally, I have seen multiple people switching from Safari to Scorpio for only one reason - long term ownership and abuse friendly nature.

Originally Posted by tirumalavoleti

Probably Tata has plans to bring in Hexa as a capable off roader

I guess it can be a soft roader at max, like it has always been. Mainly due to three reasons:

• Long wheelbase
• Too heavy for the stuff
• No low range box

Originally Posted by ebonho

Is Hexa a SUV?

If it can go farther than say a Safari 4x2 or Scorpio 4x2 or XUV 4x2 or even Fortuner 4x2, what's wrong in calling it an SUV then? Let's not go by the shape, but the capability.

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

I am looking forward to the next-gen Scorpio. Because of the elusive 4x4 AT combination that it will have. Once you get used to the seating position of BOF vehicles, it is really tough to come down.

That's actually what I also have been emphasizing on, people are left with only one option now, and it will come at a more affordable price than Safari and XUV too. If Mahindra price it well, the Scorpio will fly off the shelves - and Tata will regret; yet again.

[2000rpm]

I think that Tata has got just the marketing boost they needed for what is an extended Harrier!

People here are comparing the Safari to the Seltos, Creta, 7 Seater Creta, Scorpio, XUV, TUV. This is what marketing is all about.

Whenever people will think about buying the above vehicles, Safari will end up in their mind as a comparator. AND thats a battle won!

Imagine the car being launched like the Hector XL, which frankly, no one cares about on this forum (if we go by the activity on the thread).

Well played TATA, now deliver us a good quality product please.

[rbg]

Hi guys just a minor message from my side.
I would like to put my neck out and say that many harrier xz/xz+ prospective buyers are potential safari buyers too since the price gap is not expected to be more than 1.5-1.8 lakhs.
And looking at the positive market response below for the harrier it is perhaps an indication that the Safari is going to make healthy numbers
https://gaadiwaadi.com/tata-harrier-...mber-2020/amp/

Eagerly waiting for official teambhp test drive review by @gto and team.
Hopefully they bring in the Safari 4x4 version by mid year or Diwali and I will be 90% game to scratch my itch for the 7 seater and take a leap of faith in Tata product (my first Tata product).
Exciting times.
Thank you.

[yd_gli]

Wow, what a mess this thread is becoming with all these "mine is bigger, I sit higher" nonsense. It reminds me of discussions with my uncle who had these "real drivers don't need power assisted steering, real drivers don't need power brakes" arguments based on his time with the Ambassador and Morris Minor.

A few don't get it, but the world has moved on. An vehicle does not have to be an agricultural, ill-engineered, supermarket trolley shaped bag of bolts to be called an SUV. Tata is in the business of making a profit and they will cater to the needs of the current customer and not of those living a couple of decades in the past. If you don't like it don't buy it. But harping on the same point over and over again takes away from the value of this forum. There are a few who come here to get the latest updates on the vehicle and not rants by a few who feel Tata sold out on them.

Given the arguments on this thread, there are only two vehicles that can be called SUVs: Original Safari and the Scorpio. Everything else is basically an abomination in the name of SUVs.

[db DrivE]

Originally Posted by yd_gli

Wow, what a mess this thread is becoming with all these "mine is bigger, I sit higher" nonsense.
======
Everything else is basically an abomination in the name of SUVs.

+1 from my end mate!

It is supposed to be kept simple.
A car manufacturer is offering a product. As consumers you either buy it or not, as per what is being offered. Period.

Naming it as per what the manufacturer wants to name it should be fine, as long as it is legal to do so.

Offering 4x4 is also upto the manufacturers. It will be offered when a profit is seen by them, since it is ultimately business for them.

And IMHO, it absolutely does not matter if it is altogether a new vehicle with the old name.
What matters is progress in the value of their offering and I definitely see it.

I would suggest to give inputs regarding the vehicle, if any, since that is what makes this forum special.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Point is, only a man can be after a man's own heart, kids can't! Preserve what you have, they don't make such cars any more.
.
.
.
That's actually what I also have been emphasizing on, people are left with only one option now, and it will come at a more affordable price than Safari and XUV too. If Mahindra price it well, the Scorpio will fly off the shelves - and Tata will regret; yet again.

I've briefly driven a Scorpio many years ago. It's definitely a driver's SUV.

However, also many years ago, I once sat on the second row bench of a Scorpio from Pune to Nashik and back.

It was a nauseous and headache generating experience.

I am not even getting into the huge internal space feel difference when compared to a Safari

I used to be a hotshot Baleno driver. Racing everything on the roads, and expressway and ghats. Only to win.

Over the past 8 years I've become a Safari driver. I still drive it hard on the expressway, but obviously not as hard on the ghats. And yes, I usually win. Lol

So I'm sold on the Scorpio as a possible next SUV. But I'm pretty sure the middle row occupants will never warm up to it.

On your Hexa analogy, the same could be said about an Innova and especially a Crysta. Ask all the tourist guys in the mountains.

So does that make them SUVs too?

Cheers, Doc

[nainan]

Ahh the Scorpio-Safari debate. In 2007 I drove the Scorpio first on the then under construction Rajiv Gandhi Salai and thereabouts not a proper trail but enough of the urban jungle. The Scorpio is cramped in every seat. The suspension might take abuse but it dishes it out in doles too. Then I took a 3.0 DICOR on the same jig. Yes the agrarian engine with its extremely narrow torque band was a bit of a dampener but the space and the ride sealed it for me. Fortunately for me by the time I put my money up the 2.2 DICOR was on offer an engine which IMHO did justice to the Safari. The VARICOR took it to a new level. I drove the beast then on for 8 years of absolute satisfaction. Yes the beast used to wake up with a shudder when you turn the key. Yes it used to undulate and dive like a "boat" an affectionate name some of my family used to refer to it. It used to be a pain to "U" turn on Bangalore roads and finding parking was not easy. The Indian Army decided to go with the Safari and not the Scorpio which in my view is a testimony of what the brute was capable of so there the beast was in a class of its own. It was a super comfy "palace on wheels" that would not find itself out of its element when you took it off the roads.

The super long throw clutch could frustrate you in traffic. The gear fouling with the HU could drive you mad. But in those 8 years other than a clutch cylinder seal leak it never let me down. It was a 4x2 and I regretted not putting up that extra lakh a couple of times.

I have driven the Harrier and while its not the bucking elephant that the DICOR was it still has enough of a hint of a body roll to demonstrate the pedigree but not enough to question its refinement. Yes its not as high a perch as the DICOR but its not very low either and you do get a commanding view of the road. Also those menacing eyes set in the more refined bulk are as likely to get you the respect on the road as its predecessor.

Now too much has been said about the Safari & a Harrier+ etc here. I for one think they should have launched the Safari first, they should have priced it more reasonably maybe a couple of lakhs less and they should have provided the 4x4 for anyone who wanted it as an addon.

But for the omission of the 4x4 I still think this is a promising SUV which is worthy of the badge and pays equal tribute to its lineage on both sides. As for the Mcpherson strut suspension I think if it could work for the Discovery Sport it will work for the Safari too. The rear suspension which seems to be the biggest impediment in the journey to a 4x4 is the one that one that I frankly would want them to do away with not because of any performance issues but just because it comes in the way of a 4WD.

That said I am waiting with bated breath for the 26th and hoping that they launch it with a silver option and surprise us with what they cooked up. I do think with its looks and quite a list of features its pricing that going to make or break it. The closer to the Harrier they price it the better it will sell and hey even if it attracts Harrier customers its in the same family so should not be an issue.

[RM Motorsports]

For all Tata Safari Fans : Participate in Safari contest and win vouchers from Taj.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92fN5113rkY

[SpideyBoy]

Tata Safari rendered as a police car, must say job well done. This would definitely drive people's aspirations to become a policeman



Source

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by SpideyBoy

Tata Safari rendered as a police car, must say job well done. This would definitely drive people's aspirations to become a policeman

Nice! There!s something irresistible about Tata big boys (am trying to find a polite extensively acceptable non Safari non SUV term) and black.

Wonder how it would look in white. That's almost de rigeur for a Safari to succeed with our guntha mantris.

Cheers, Doc

[himanshugoswami]

I owned the Safari Dicor 3.0 (2006-2010 covered 1.1 lakh), and then a Safari Storme VX (2014-2018- 78k) and now own a Harrier XZA (2020- 11K and counting). So I guess that makes me well qualified to opine on this Safari vs Harrier debate

Let me get one thing out of the way first up- the Harrier is superior to the Safari in EVERY respect if we compare it to the 4X2 Safari. As a highway cruiser the Harrier is in a league of its own. Forget the earlier Safari, SUVs twice its cost fail to provide such cruising comfort.

in terms of road presence, I have found no difference in the respect other road users give to the Harrier, in fact, the gorgeous looks makes people admire it in addition to giving way. I have covered 11 K in a little over 4 months so obviously, most of these miles are highway miles. cabbies, sedans and hatches are easily taken care of. what adds to this is the fact that the grunt in the Harrier's engine is way superior to the Safari, the road manners much better, the track is wider and hence more secure, brakes infinitely better, so all in all, you can pull up onto cars in front much faster, flash your lights and complete the overtaking in a jiffy and be gone.

Honestly there is no point comparing the Safari (old) and the Harrier. The Safari was emotive but flawed. The Harrier (BS6) is emotive (because its so gorgeous) and close to being the perfect cruiser.

The new Safari will only build on this especially if it gets AWD

lets leave it at that and enjoy what's on offer today.