Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene


Closed Thread
  Search this Thread
33,793 views
Old 30th October 2007, 08:38   #31
Senior - BHPian
 
gemithomas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Trivandrum
Posts: 2,366
Thanked: 143 Times

GTO i think its just one simple reason. Every one buying an SUV now must have dreamt of owning a road monster while he was a kid. And at that point of time his dreams would have been filled with a "Safari". SO obviously the first thing that would come to your mind when you think of a SUV would be the safari with cool looking those bull bars and side steps and claddings.

And when you go and see the vehicle you smile at
1.The Price
2.The Space
3.The Comfort
4.The driving position
5.The feeling of being on top of the world ("There are things money cant buy"!!)

So though you at
1.Fit and Finish
2.Body Roll
3.Not so refined engine


But at the end of the day, you just feel its worth all those dreams you have dreamt as a child!!!
gemithomas is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 08:51   #32
Senior - BHPian
 
bigron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: NSEW
Posts: 1,309
Thanked: 2,705 Times

overdose14, thats what I am saying.TH e only reason it sells is because you cant be more prominent on the road for lesser amount of money.Its no doubt big and bulky and that what is selling it..Give me a car bigger then the safari in that price range.None.And trust me...once you buy a car it grows on you and you eventually start liking it.
bigron is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 09:00   #33
Newbie
 
pleasemathen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: dubai, cochin
Posts: 3
Thanked: 0 Times
why safari

bought my safari dicor 3.0l, in august'07. when i was thinking about buying a car in kerala, the only thoughts that crossed my mind were the following;

1. i would feel much safer/comfortable being driven in/ driving a SUV rather than a sedan considering the condition of roads in our state kerala. besides in my opinion with 2-way traffic anything above 100 is dangerous. moreover i am confident that i will be able to walk out on 2 legs out of a safari or a scorpio rather than any sedan if am in a crash, of course in speeds under 100.
2. secondly not overlooking the numerous threads in this forum,on which is better technically safari or scorpio, my choice on safari [barring the better comfort levels for passengers, space etc] was mainly due to the fact that the safaris are mostly private-owned unlike the scorpios, which may not be the case in other indian states. the very same reason why i chose an accord over the camry in the uae.

of course, there are issues with the kind of plastics used in the car, but it is not something that you cannot live without. on the whole i have no regrets getting the safari.
pleasemathen is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 09:38   #34
GTO
Team-BHP Support
 
GTO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 70,335
Thanked: 298,732 Times

Excellent replies, especially from the Safari owners. I just wanted an actual insight into the purchase decision, and as long as the people who bought it are happy.....well, thats what counts then!

Maybe it wasnt to difficult to guess that the formula of SUV image + good pricing + space + ride comfort + delicious extended warranties (in this order??) makes the Safari so popular.

I was disappointed at the lack of fit / finish and sheer depth of engineering....surely a million rupee car deserves more. Personally I would pay the same price for an Innova instead. Yup, doesnt have the looks but has the Safari beaten on most other factors.
GTO is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 10:00   #35
Senior - BHPian
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 3,803
Thanked: 462 Times

If you are a new driver, driven a single class of vehicle (cars), moreso only luxury cars, driven mostly in the cities. I bet you wont like the safari. You need time to grow up to the Safari.

The fit and finish is definitely not like the japanese/koreans but then the pricing is also not the same and its nothing that you cant live with.

In my TD I could see the quality being not good but having driven the earlier mahindra's, it wasnt something 'not acceptable'.

People wanting fit & finish, handling, space and road presence at this cost...not possible, please buy a luxury car.

Last edited by dadu : 30th October 2007 at 10:01.
dadu is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 10:11   #36
BHPian
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chennai
Posts: 421
Thanked: 26 Times

Last but not the least - Marketing.
I think Safari happens to have the most powerful advertisement impact, in the entire Indian motor vehicles history.

"MAKE YOUR OWN ROAD"!

"RECLAIM YOUR LIFE"!

It doesnt get better than that.
M&M can bring in helicopters, nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers and the whole shebang, and they still cant get creative enough to match Safari ads.
Now dont get me wrong - the vehicle is good on its own; but the marketing is just top-notch.
ballkey is online now  
Old 30th October 2007, 10:28   #37
BHPian
 
dkamath's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 577
Thanked: 155 Times

perhaps a not-so good point to put across in today's advanced world of automobiles. the safari carries on with the body-on-frame legacy type of construction, unlike new SUV's which have adapted themselves with monocoque construction. the chassis type of construction, though old today, would still make sense for our roads, for longevity sake atleast. for the kind of roads that are maintained here in india, a monocoque body might flex over time(as it would still weigh more, though not as much as a car with body-on-frame construction), while the body-on-frame type can prove to be more durable. that's one compelling reason i would suggest to go in for a safari.
dkamath is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 10:38   #38
Team-BHP Support
 
tsk1979's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 23,717
Thanked: 22,769 Times

If you are comparing safari with OHC or Baleno, then its not for you. Infact then no SuV, save the CRV(softroader actually) or the GV will satisfy you.
Most safari owners want what safari offers.

The question is like a Honda CBR owner asking a Harley davidson guy, why don't you buy honda. It handles well, its maintenance free.....
tsk1979 is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 10:41   #39
SUV
BHPian
 
SUV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: BLR
Posts: 256
Thanked: 3 Times

This might be a bit off topic ...

I still remember the Safari @ Launch Costed 7.x L ? and is still available at the same price point even today give or take a couple of thousand ... compare that to the competetion !! Heck the 800 started out at 40K and is costing 2.x L odd .... in spite of being the largest produced car ... (The Safari LX has the same Features as it did @ Launch)...

Given the above why wouldnt a consumer be happy with a company who can deliver at a consistent price over the years with improved tech / minor facelifts to boot...
SUV is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 10:55   #40
BHPian
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 200
Thanked: 209 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by hondadude View Post
17.5 for top end model sure but I believe the stripped down version of Fortuner can be priced at 11L (assuming that it is localized as much as Innova). What is the basis of this claim ? Fortuner is priced roughly 1.5 times the price of Innova. Assuming the base model of Innova is around 7.3L, a stripped down Fortuner can be priced at 10L.
From where do you say that Fortuner is 1.5 times the price of Innova ? Those are global comparisons. This is exactly what I am telling. If you take global prices Corolla's Indian price is that of Camry's globally.

Yes 17.5 is for the base version of Fortuner. Prove me wrong if you can.
power ranger is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 10:58   #41
BHPian
 
sumitkalindi's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Kolkata
Posts: 376
Thanked: 17 Times

@1100D I would never say that for a Living being for sure, I already have suffered 2 broken ribs, trying to save a Cyclist on kalyani expressway while driving a 407, well that's. My understanding is very few people in our country, Barring a few Enlightened ones, really bother about handling/safety features. Ask most of the car owners, they either prefer cheap price/running, Comfort, Image, (Though not necissarily in the same order ) above anything else. Thats why you still see 7/8 people in a Omni going to digha to enjoy the weekend. And Safari scores on all these points, plus it looks like it can take a hit from a South Bengal head on a nd survive. I hope you get my point freind.

Last edited by sumitkalindi : 30th October 2007 at 11:00.
sumitkalindi is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 11:00   #42
BHPian
 
overdose14's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Brampton,Canada
Posts: 159
Thanked: 2 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by bigron View Post
overdose14, thats what I am saying.TH e only reason it sells is because you cant be more prominent on the road for lesser amount of money.Its no doubt big and bulky and that what is selling it..Give me a car bigger then the safari in that price range.None.And trust me...once you buy a car it grows on you and you eventually start liking it.
but sir who will give this kind of SUV in this price range. if you expect this from manufactures other than Indian, i'm sure you will be disappointed.
i know fit and finish is not great,but sir fit and finish is not the only thing which makes a good car, future expenses like replacements in case of safari don't cost bomb ,like front headlight cost only 3500.

and moreover you get labor free replacements. so in the end
one can easily live some shortcomings.
till date i've not spend a single penny on replacements and service is too cheap. now take case of maruti and mahindra, both give warranties but charge labor for replacements and getting replacement is not an easy task there. ask a OCTAVIA owner who has ever indulge in a minor accident about cost of repair, 1 Lakh + for dash ( if airbags get deployed) and more for steering assembly and many more. quite cheap isn't it


so in the end one has two options, either spend more money on car or SUV to get better fit and finish and spend even more on service and spares and be happy.
or spend a less money onncar and suv and even lesser on service and spares and be toooooooooo happy and learn to live with some issues.
overdose14 is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 11:07   #43
BHPian
 
sgmuser's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Chennai
Posts: 739
Thanked: 1,090 Times

I love to own a Safari. But, Iam worried about one factor of Safari. Durability. Any Safari owner can give some points? Take Maruti, Koreans or Japs. A normal owner having one of this models with due care given can drive up to 100k without much problems. Can this be said to Safari? I really doubt. Because of this durability and realiability issues, Safari is one of the worst performing in 2nd hand market.

Other than this one issue, Safari gets a thumbs up.
sgmuser is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 11:36   #44
Senior - BHPian
 
suman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Kolkata
Posts: 4,589
Thanked: 279 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by zenx View Post
OTOH, I got mighty scared by the 30k insurance - thats every year!
Just renewed mine at the end of year 1 with Reliance - cost me 24.5k; I thought that was OK as the initial one had cost me 40k (mine is a VX 4X4)

Quote:
Originally Posted by tsk1979 View Post
The question is like a Honda CBR owner asking a Harley davidson guy, why don't you buy honda. It handles well, its maintenance free.....
tsk, that had me in splits

Last edited by suman : 30th October 2007 at 11:40.
suman is offline  
Old 30th October 2007, 12:15   #45
Senior - BHPian
 
vkochar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Delhi / Agra / London
Posts: 2,146
Thanked: 819 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by SUV View Post
This might be a bit off topic ...

I still remember the Safari @ Launch Costed 7.x L ? and is still available at the same price point even today give or take a couple of thousand ... compare that to the competetion !! Heck the 800 started out at 40K and is costing 2.x L odd .... in spite of being the largest produced car ... (The Safari LX has the same Features as it did @ Launch)...

Given the above why wouldnt a consumer be happy with a company who can deliver at a consistent price over the years with improved tech / minor facelifts to boot...
Now this is what I call an answer !!

Absolutely Right - We might Bash TATA on their quality front and blame them for making not so good cars BUT what they provide is pure VFM - they give you an awful lot for your money.

Safari has everything that you can think of - Excellent Comfort, A good engine Finally, Amazing Road Presence & Great Off Road Capabilities. All around the Million Rupee mark.

The only thing TATA should really do is improve its Plastics, Interiors - Maybe charge an extra 10 - 20k - No problem.

But all said TATA Safari has a cult following and shall always have so - just as someone said here - Its the same thing as why people buy an Enfield.

Cheers !!
vkochar is offline  
Closed Thread

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks