[007 Bond]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Fantastic news. Does the 3 row seating officially claim 7 or 8 seater ?

that would be a 7+d, 6+d, there can be an option of 6+d with middle row captain seats i will figure it out.

[harimakesh]

It will be interesting now to see the TATA final naming and effective pricing the refreshed Safari.

I pray the sanity prevails inside TATA on pricing this time to make this edition a volume earner for TATA.

I will be more glad to see TATA succeeds meeting customer expectaion spot on in features, fit and finish, NIL niggles, total quality.

It hurts to see Indian company like TATA now a days with a flopped product range Nano, Grande , Aria and shaky reduced sales of Vista and Maza.

I am sure TATA chooses to learn and live upto customer expectations to gain successful volumes for each model.

[nijan]

got this pic from one other online forum

[swiftnfurious]

The silver trim looks bad. Hope it will not make into final product. The door handle well & mirror in silver on a black car looks out of place.

Originally Posted by nijan

got this pic from one other online forum

Thanks for sharing the pic. You might need to provide the accurate source of the info / pic to provide them with the credibility.

[rohing]

Originally Posted by nijan

got this pic from one other online forum

Thanks. Nice pic. Atleast in this angle, still looks like a Safari! Can understand the debate on upgrade Vs new car now.

I hope Tata does not over chrome it like they did to the Manza.

[condor]

But for the purists, the Classic Safari is still the one.

* That chrome strip is extending into the headlamp area, and messing up the looks a little more.
* The vertical section between edge of bonnet and grille does not look so bad due to the chrome strip.
* The chrome handles :(

[MAS]

Originally Posted by nijan

got this pic from one other online forum

Good picture. Thanks for sharing. The Merlin looks good from this angle. I agree the "brushed aluminium" handles and ORVM look out of place. I hope Tata have worked on the interiors as the SUV fails to impress on this front.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by nijan

got this pic from one other online forum

Please do provide a link and credit to the source.

Coming to the vehicle itself, all that chrome! urgh.. Why do manufacturers have this fixation with chrome? The front strip can still be tolerated but the door handles!

Overall, looks pretty similar to the current gen. 3rd row - still jump seats.

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by 007 Bond

that would be a 7+d, 6+d, there can be an option of 6+d with middle row captain seats i will figure it out.

Thanks for getting the pics and the quick answers.
But, are these your guesses OR through your internal source ? Looks like the Merlin in your post has Jump seats and the handle bar near to the rear door supports the jump seats.

Guys, Is there a roof mount antenna ? just on top of the front windshield.

Prem.

[Parm]

guys, any thoughts about the "thing" in the red circle?

[mercedised]

Are those alloy wheels or wheel caps? If wheel caps I think Tata is going to offer lower variants of Merlin too soon.

@parm: I said it earlier also that it might be the air vents for 3rd row passengers as it really gets hot in the 3rd row in a hot afternoon. Sit in a Safari 3rd row and you will cribb about the poor ventilation if the middle row windows are closed.

[shortbread]

I like that front end, looks more contemporary and sharper, gone is that round front profile. The new cladding makes it look a lot more chunkier, think it will look beefier in lighter shades. Two drawbacks though:

1. That kink for the fuel filler cap
2. Chrome handles

Well everyone has their tastes when it comes to looks, quite a few people have fitted aftermarket chrome handles to their fortuners!!

[simply_sunny001]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Guys, Is there a roof mount antenna ? just on top of the front windshield.

yes, thats a roof antenna for sure.

i am still confused about the looks of Merlin, those wheel arches are making 16 inchers look puny.

and looks like they have made few changes to the stance on safari to acccomodate the 5th tyre and now it looks a bit elevated from rear.

if this is the front, then the ccurrent one surely looks better than this.

[Honda Monk]

The superficial changes are quite apparent but nothing worth mentioning.
In my view the thing that matters much more with Safari is the overall performance and reliability.
I will call it an up-gradation if it includes engine refinement, gear box, interior finish and reliability of equipment.

[julupani]

Externally seems like cosmetic changes only. And not exactly great ones at that.

Definitely hope the silver trim doesn't come the customer's way. The chrome front trim too could have been better done. May be a better pic will change my view on that.

But somehow overall, the stance looks smarter, more purposeful than the present gen Safari.

Though it keeps with a more modern contemporary take, with its sharper lines up front, I still prefer the simple front end of the first gen Safari.