[KALINGA]

This AD shoot was in Magarpatta city,pune.
It was 3-4 days before.
Got this info from a friend of mine.
He said it looks smaller then current Safari.(May be, it has no spare wheel at rear)

[kaviprem]

Thanks Y@sh for clearer pics of rear.
Looks like its going to take some time to forget the rear mount spare wheel and have this rear design grown on us.
From the rear, to me, the vehicle looks abnormally taller :(
From the Side view, the vehicle dimension look good.
Interior, its really classic and neat. I like everything except the single DIN stereo placeholder and looks like the deck is facing upward so that changing CD wouldnt be a problem in 1st or 3rd gear.
Does the gear stick a bit taller than the current one or is it just the angle of photograph that shows like that ?

Prem.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Interiors not good.. still that small steering wheel through which you cant see the instrument cluster clearly.
Same old dials on the instrument cluster.
Gearlever too close to the ICE panel.
No steering controls. Not happening.
No spare wheel on the door is a boon for rear visibility.
The tank seems to have moved under the rear seat between the wheelbase. Good.
Nice color.
Hope they have sorted the 'loose character' handling.

[MAS]

Thanks Y@sh. The rear looks good and looks different from the pics posted earlier. May be it is the colour effect.

The interiors look bad, tacky and 80's. What is the single DIN HU doing there? Come on TATA, even the cheaper Manza has better interiors.

[Y@SH]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Does the gear stick a bit taller than the current one or is it just the angle of photograph that shows like that ?

Prem.

It is mentioned in the AI article itself that the tall gear-lever looks like it is carried over. I personally feel this is ridiculous as these are the minor attention to details that TM should look out for. The only solution the engineers could find to this problem was to have the HU placed at an angle!!
Why couldn't have they placed the AC controls below and the HU above!?
Anyways hope not to see this in the production model.

Originally Posted by MAS

What is the single DIN HU doing there? Come on TATA, even the cheaper Manza has better interiors.

A single DIN HU is fine but it shouldn't be an after-market unit, this looks to be one. A well integrated single din unit would've done the job.

[ACM]

Yep this is a first a sterio mounted at an angle to avoid clashing with the gear stick. Actually this may be convenient for the driver but the guys at the back will not see the system at all. This again may not be the interiors of the top spec version. To go with this as top varient TATA will have to drop prices from current levels due to xuv. Interior quality seems decent it is the design that needs to grow on us.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by koushik

I wish the new Safari will also be offered with 3.0 L CR4 engine with variable geomatry turbo and Delphi system.The tyre seems to be 235/75R15 .

I don't know about the 3.0 mill, but I'm sure the wheels will be much larger than 15". I'm guessing we'd find 17" on the new Merlin.

I'm not very impressed by the Merlin. Looks like a half-hearted job. More like a big face-lift rather than an all-new Safari. It's like the same transition that the Honda City went through (the dolphin-gen and the face-lift after that)

Tata has gone the 'evolutionary' route rather than making an all new and revolutionary vehicle. Or maybe I'm just judging it by its cover? It could be completely different to drive though.

After the XUV-500, I was really expecting something brilliant from Tata, especially after the Aria debacle and the postponement of the Merlin's arrival into the scene.

[Enigmatic]

It seems to be good !!

Although i agree its not the " ALL NEW SAFARI " rather its just a refreshed safari , but its not that bad after all !!

It also seems the interiors are better quality wise than those shown in the spy pics of the pre-production model.

Considering the discounts TATA is offering with the current generation safari i.e. benefits upto Rs 70,000 , it is safe to assume that TATA is doing a stock clearance sale and that the new Safari Merlin would replace the current 2.2 Safari .
But would it replace the current Safari at the current price point ?

The pics of the add shoot seem to be of the EX or the GX variant as it does not have airbags .
But again it can also be of the LX variant as it has no OEM Headunit .

Why would TATA feature a lesser equipped variant in an add shoot ?

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by Y@SH

Source: GOW , Autocar India

Lastest spy shots during the ad shoot. Also posting a pic from AI, of an interior shot because it hasnt been posted on this thread yet.
I just hope the new advertisements are good. I still remember the old safari ads, what fun! Still love seeing them on Youtube specially Reclaim your life & Lines.

Holy moly! Is this a Tata . Interiors looks classy. Is it so or do I see a LR Discovery like C pillar? Design and interiors inspiration?

[condor]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

After the XUV-500, I was really expecting something brilliant from Tata, especially after the Aria debacle and the postponement of the Merlin's arrival into the scene.

Suhaas, there is no way that TML could have changed their plans after seeing what the XUV was. It looks when these two companies started working on their next models, TML started with for the evolutionary model, while M&M started working on a revolutionary model. And Mahindra's decision was the right thing.

Now, my question is - what did TML do in these 3 odd years for this model ? Aria was also being developed, but that is a different story. TML has tested this Safari extensively. If it was just a body refresh & changes like moving the spare to it's new place, then they really did not need so much testing. The engine also seems to the same one that is already doing duty in the Aria.

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

Why would TATA feature a lesser equipped variant in an add shoot ?

Because the shoot featured the Safari from outside ? And hence the interiors did not matter for this ad/shoot ?

[Y@SH]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

It seems to be good !!


The pics of the add shoot seem to be of the EX or the GX variant as it does not have airbags .
But again it can also be of the LX variant as it has no OEM Headunit .

Why would TATA feature a lesser equipped variant in an add shoot ?

Kindly note that the interior spy pic appeared online long back and as this thread was locked I couldn't post it. The interior pic is not during the ad shoot and is of one of te test mules. Even I don't think it is the top varient. Sorry didn't mention it before

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by condor

Suhaas, there is no way that TML could have changed their plans after seeing what the XUV was. It looks when these two companies started working on their next models, TML started with for the evolutionary model, while M&M started working on a revolutionary model. And Mahindra's decision was the right thing.

Now, my question is - what did TML do in these 3 odd years for this model ? Aria was also being developed, but that is a different story. TML has tested this Safari extensively. If it was just a body refresh & changes like moving the spare to it's new place, then they really did not need so much testing. The engine also seems to the same one that is already doing duty in the Aria.

Thank you Condor ji

Several components are shared which is a good thing, but I'm sure TML could have worked on giving us a new and truly international off-road SUV. The Safari was a brilliant product, even for the '90s when it was launched. And had the potential to be internationally acclaimed. I was under the assumption TML will do the same thing. But They haven't. While the Aria is being developed side-by-side, the Merlin, I can't help but think, seems to be neglected a little.

[infotech58]

Y@SH - Thanks for the clearer pictures.

the interiors look classy and the quality of plastics seems to have improved a lot. why does the number plate still say SAFARI and not MERLIN? i was expecting this vehicle to have ABS and Airbags as standard but looks like they are again going the Safari way - ABS/Airbags only in top varient. I just hope that they launch it at Auto Expo 2012 and price it right.

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by infotech58

I just hope that they launch it at Auto Expo 2012 and price it right.

Most likely, the Merlin will be unveiled during AutoExpo but the launch (actual delivery) will be 3-4 months down the line.

[arvindmanju]

Originally Posted by infotech58

Y@SH - Thanks for the clearer pictures.

the interiors look classy and the quality of plastics seems to have improved a lot. why does the number plate still say SAFARI and not MERLIN? i was expecting this vehicle to have ABS and Airbags as standard but looks like they are again going the Safari way - ABS/Airbags only in top varient. I just hope that they launch it at Auto Expo 2012 and price it right.

Merlin was the code name given to the project and its not the exact name of the Safari. Even i seriously feel they need to offer ABS/ dual Airbags on all variants.