[krishnakarthik1]

Wow, so much love for the 'safari' name and so much disappointment that an extended harrier is being given the name. Tata must be wondering where all those were when the safari was still around. It became a legend because no one bought it

This is wonderful news for me. It will come with all the niggles solved and it will sell well. Good start to 2021.

[TROOPER]

Cross posting from the "Gravitas" thread

Originally Posted by 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.

How much would it have cost Tata to wait for some time and bring in a proper Safari in the fortuner-endy territory? Existing Safari and Hexa owners would have happily upgraded.

[Shamegz]

De badging this would be big task for TATA now:

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by TROOPER

Existing Safari and Hexa owners would have happily upgraded.

Problem is there are not many existing or even were Safari/ Hexa owners.
Anyways, I think changing the Gravitas to Safari is a good decision.

[yd_gli]

Originally Posted by krishnakarthik1

Tata must be wondering where all those were when the safari was still around. It became a legend because no one bought it

So true dude! No one bought it then and only a small percentage of those jumping with joy will go buy one now. An even smaller percentage of the "lack of 4x4 complainers" will go buy one if and when they do launch a 4x4 version. Most will succumb to family pressure and social status to either buy a Creta/Seltos or then a Fortuner/Endeavor.

I need to get rid of my dad's 4 year old Creta this year and the Safari will be on the top of the list to get!

[viXit]

Originally Posted by Flash777

Errr....Did you even check the posts before yours?

The alleged new Safari is coming with all your wishlist - bells and whistles included.

They now need to plonk the 4x4. That's all's left.

Sorry for the misunderstanding sir.
I mean that the body on frame Safari Storme which was launched in 2012 should have all the above mentioned features. I was not talking about the gravitas which is now being launched with all these features.

I'm having trouble warming up to the "New safari" i should've called it that. I'm calling it gravitas for now.

[ach1lles]

Well the Safari name certainly carries Gravitas

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by krishnakarthik1

. It became a legend because no one bought it

Going by that logic, Tata Nano, Force One, Chevrolet trailblazer et all should have become legends.

Safari is a legend because it was the first aspirational SUV of this country. It has a cult following not many cars have

It was on sale for 20 years and even during the last leg of its life on shelf, 500 people bought it every month.

I hope it gets launched without any niggles in it. Wondering what price tata would place it in.

[Flash777]

Originally Posted by condor

And the Harrier/Gravitas platform isnt made for a AWD or 4x4.

I don't think the President of the PV segment would outrightly lie in a public interview.

I do believe they have provisioned for AWD and it's a very capable platform based on Discovery which is already an AWD.

But whether they shall eventually do it or not is a business decision based on how the New Safari takes off in the market and subsequent demand for 4x4.

History says that it has always been a niche segment.

[Singh101]

Originally Posted by TROOPER

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.

Originally Posted by TROOPER

How much would it have cost Tata to wait for some time and bring in a proper Safari in the fortuner-endy territory? Existing Safari and Hexa owners would have happily upgraded.

Originally Posted by Shamegz

De badging this would be big task for TATA now:
Attachment 2103576

All of the above sums up perfectly what just happened at Tata.

They started sweating when the finished spyshots of the Mahindra Scorpio started doing the rounds on the web. They realised what actually comes off real effort, when you work over and constantly upgrade and refine and product because you believe in it. They realised that the Gravitas is probably going to be decimated by a two-pronged attack from the 2021 refreshed Scorpio (for people looking for ruggedness) and it's swankier brother, the XUV5OO, for people who want a bit more. So they decided to "revive" the Safari name in hopes that it might add a couple thousands to their sales numbers and the Gravitas doesn't go the Hexa way.

Shame, Tata. Shame.

[rpm]

Well, this came as a surprise. I do think people will be able to see through the similarities between the Harrier and Gravitas which has now been christened the Safari. They just look so alike, you can't help but notice the name change with an additional row of seats even if you're a non enthusiast, which also happens to be the sentiment being echoed on the comments section of their YouTube channel as well. Contrary to popular belief, I think they could have worked with the monocoque chassis had they designed it not to be too similar to the Harrier. I mean, just look at how marvellous the boxy Sierra concept looks with their new design philosophy. In my opinion, Tata should have retained that boxy silhouette of the safari and then applied their new styling to it.

Originally Posted by hydraulicsteer

In my opinion a smarter branding approach would have been naming Harrier the Safari initially and then Gravitas with some surname say a Safari Luxe or a simpler Safari Plus.

How about Wild Safari/ Safari Wilde?

[Strangerintown]

What this announcement does however also ensure is that we are unlikely to see the Safari edition Hexa. Could this mean that the Hexa resurrection is off the cards?

[shortbread]

Originally Posted by condor

And the Harrier/Gravitas platform isnt made for a AWD or 4x4.

Wrong, the Land Rover D8 platform that the Harrier/Gravitas uses, is the same platform the likes of the Freelander, Evoque, Disco Sport is based on. It is definitely designed to accommodate 4x4 and quite capable at that.

Whether Tata offers the upcoming Gravitas/Safari with 4x4 is a different question altogether. The fact is most people crying for the Safari's off roading prowess are hardly going to take their 20 lac machines through mud and rocks, that is a fact.

If Tata does offer it 4x4 and kit it right the Gravitas/Safari should be a very capable off road machine, infact hard to think of a 3 row sub 20 lac rival in its segment capable of the same.

The question is does Tata see a 4x4 variant as being commercially viable?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq0L1ef_8Bg

[krishnakarthik1]

Originally Posted by Singh101

So they decided to "revive" the Safari name in hopes that it might add a couple thousands to their sales numbers and the Gravitas doesn't go the Hexa way.

Shame, Tata. Shame.

What's shame in that? It's good business thinking. The competition is getting better and they thought they had to get an old brand name to add numbers. They can't change the car so they thought at least they can change the name to make it sell a lot more. A couple of thousands of safari's is always better than a couple of hundreds of gravitas's isn't it.

[Flash777]

Originally Posted by Strangerintown

What this announcement does however also ensure is that we are
unlikely to see the Safari edition Hexa. Could this mean that the Hexa resurrection is off the cards?

Frankly, except in the 4x4 guise, the Hexa doesn't make business sense any longer. I am a proud owner of a Hexa but I simply cannot see how the Hexa and the New Safari can coexist with each other while eating into the others' sales.

All Tata needs to do is give the AWD option for the New Safari which might cater to a niche, but shall truly justify the Safari legacy.

And whilst people might cry foul on the naming, we need to remind ourselves that the Harrier itself is one of the most dynamically sorted and capable SUVs in its segment having a great pedigree.

We in turn should feel happy that the New Safari shall have such a capable platform underpinning it.