[devarshi84]

just to know !!! how did u post from the showroom??
did u use one of their computers?

[metallica]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

just to know !!! how did u post from the showroom??
did u use one of their computers?

PDA's ... I have used my P800 to post a couple of times .

[hawkeye]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

just to know !!! how did u post from the showroom??
did u use one of their computers?

Must be from his i-mate JAM. Right Steeroid?

Anyways congrats for your new beast. Post some pics please.

[nishant_kingpin]

Hey Steeroid...first on the Test Drive, First on the descision, First on the Driveway!! Way to go pal way to go!!

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by hawkeye

Must be from his i-mate JAM. Right Steeroid?

Thats correct - there's another reason why I found the time... see below.

Originally Posted by metallica

Hey Steeroid ,
You had metioned earlier that you have gone in for some accessories upgrade ... can you give an idea as to how much the side claddings and other things etc costed you ...that would help me decide which variant to go for ....

As of now none of the accessories have been done - reason being that the Tata Dealership from where I bought the vehicle is a new one thats less than a month old and they really screwed up the delivery. They didnt get me a temporary registration without which I couldnt have driven the car out of the showroom, and I made them run for it at the last moment. They went chasing some RTO personnel and came back with the all important paper at about 7.30 pm. That was the time when I was sitting around in the showroom with nothing to do, hence the post from there...

The chaps hadnt even changed the speakers of the Head Unit to the ones I had with me. Nothing was done, not even the promised body-coloured coating of the side claddings, sun control film or the underbody coating. All this was supposed to be complimentary since they couldnt get me the colour I wanted in time..

Ultimately we got delivery at about 8.30 pm and I was too pissed off to pose for the press-insert photograph for the handover of the first Dicor. Sent my son to take the keys.

I then went around trying to change tyres and found that none of the shops stocked Pirelli Scopions or Michelins of 255/60 R16. They all stocked R15 tyres of all sorts and the only R16 was 275/60 which was too fat and too tall for my liking. Eventually I have decided to live with the tyres that came with the vehicle, since I couldnt keep off the road for too long.

Right now the only non-standard accessories that my vehicle sports are the Pioneer Head Unit in place of the Blaupunkt Monte Carlo MP34, Blaupunkt 6" coaxial speakers (2 way) in front instead of plain jane Blaupunkt speakers, Sony Xplod 3 way component speakers in place of plain jane Blaupunkt speakers in the rear. Still to get my CD changer fixed.

The buggers also scratched the centre console, taking some paint with them when they finally changed the head unit. Will get that changed on Tuesday.

All in all not a very pleasant buying experience.

[Steeroid]

Okay here are the first impressions. The odo reads 343 kms of which I've done 309.

The bad parts first:

1. The service station chaps scratched the centre console of the dash while wrestling with the OE head unit. The nincompoops couldnt take it out even after trying for 30 mins and we finally went to Blaupunkt where they removed it in about 5 seconds. Getting it replaced when I go in for the permanant registration and pending works.

2. Carpet quality isnt upto scratch. Loose ends of the carpet near the driver and passenger footwell have velcro strips to keep them in place, but they were not fastened - for a while it looked like the ends of the carpet were coming off, until I spent some time and figured out the velcro bit. Somebody pay me for doing the PDI.

3. There is no dead pedal near the clutch. This is VERY disappointing in a vehicle of this size - I'm going to have to fit one myself because there is plenty of space.

4. Noise levels at lower rpms are a bit high. Now this may be because I've been on petrol for nearly 4-5 years now and the only diesel vehicles I've used are the bakkies or executive pickups in South Africa.

5. Spare wheel cover wasnt fixed very well, and I thought I had the dreaded tailgate rattle till I figured out how to fix it in place properly. Nice mechanism to hold it in place, but bad PDI job.

6. Steering is vague and requires correction while taking fast sweeping curves. Not very confidence inspiring, though I still did those curves at 100 kmph.

7. There's a slight bit of airconditioning draft from the vents below the windscreen even when the control is set for face only/face and feet/feet only. This is irritating at night when you get small spots of mist at the bottom of the windscreen. A/c vents are on the centre console, door pads and a pair of rear facing vents at floor level for the 2nd row passengers (behind the storage console b/w the front seats) , in addition to the roof-mounted coils for the rear seats. Unbeknownst to Tata, there is yet another vent - the slit for the parking brake lever also wafts cool air. Must be a new development for cooling the brakes

8. I cant tell you much about the fuel economy except that the 65 litre fuel tank has still a way to go before reaching half-way.

Now the good parts:

1. Atal Behari Vajpayee budgeted about 66,000 CRORES to give us a few good "phoren-like" highways. For about Rs.10 Lakhs I've brought the roads of Dubai to wherever I drive in India - that pretty much sums up the ride quality review. This is the single most compelling reason to buy this supertanker.

Pothole? Whats a pothole?

2. This is the Volvo bus of passenger vehicles - the low-revving engine is a world apart from all the vehicles I've driven so far. I used to drive my cars with a Lead Foot, but I've realised this one responds much better to a gentle caress on the gas pedal. With the engine lolling around (I can almost imagine it with its feet up on a reclining chair, drink in hand) at about 2000 rpm, you lazily waft past cars that are revving frentically at 120 kmph. Its another world, dude...it wont win 0-100kmph drags, but once on the move it gathers speed so effortlessly that I'm sure it will change my outlook towards life in general. I'm much more relaxed on the highways.

3. Ergonomics are spot on, requiring minimal adjustments (if at all required). The only sore spot is the long row of switches on the centre console, which require you to take your eyes off the road if you want to use the 3 switches on the extreme left (Front Fog Lamp, Rear Fog Lamp and Demister). The instrument console looks good when lit up at night, though it does look dowdy by daylight. Nice foldable arm rests for the front passengers on the sides of their seats, but you have to push the armrests back up if you want to buckle your seatbelts.

4. The vehicle sings and vibrations disappear at >2000 rpm, but I've not been able to enjoy that sensation much since I'm holding back for a while. I've been keeping the engine within 2250 rpm, which isnt much fun because thats where the vibrations are and the power isnt. Post 2000 the engine makes EVERY single rpm count - the powerband isnt as narrow as you might think since it stays in that range for quite comfortably. You can rocket past traffic like you were driving a car - I did it just twice (took my feet off when rpm approached 3000) and it was fun.

5. The clutch has a very nice feel or bite to it, and it would take some effort on your part to jump the vehicle or make it judder unlike what I've seen in other diesels. That saying a lot in a vehicle that develops 30 kgnm of torque...

6. No rattles, at least not yet.

Thats it for now. Should be logging on some more kms before I get my RC book...then its off to Kollur and maybe Bangalore.

[v1p3r]

Hey... Seems like you have a winner... just one question... how are the brakes?!

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

just one question... how are the brakes?!

AND where are the pictures with close up shot of number plates? Don't tell me that you haven't got those stickers as yet!

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Don't tell me that you haven't got those stickers as yet!

No I havent!!!

[satish_appasani]

Hey Steeroid

Congrats on your new car. Enjoy it

[man23ish]

Steer,

You are one hell of an auto-salesman's delight dude.. Reminds me of the phrase, Steeroid Came, Steeroid Saw and Steeroid Conquered.. Keep up the good work..

Cheers,

Manish

[Mpower]

Good Report, What are the OE tires in the Safari, Dueller?. You might be able to improve your steeing feel by using a good quality imported tire, but it might take a small bite out of your excellent ride.

The 1st gen Safari also had quite a bit of body roll, how's this one??

[sriny_blr]

[quote=Steeroid]Okay here are the first impressions.

.... For about Rs.10 Lakhs I've brought the roads ....


oh boy some one here bought a Roadking....

CONGRATS PAL !!

[speedfreak]

Post Deleted : Note from the Admin - Slang is not permitted on Team-BHP. Please read the board rules carefully before posting any further

[karthik247]

Congrats dude...have fun with ur Safari. Could u post a few pix and also which colour did u get??

If it redlines at 3000rpm, i don't think u shuld be pushing it beyond 2000rpm till abt 1000kms, but then is it really possible(?) to keep the rpm so low??