[Fortuner71]

The hunt for a new highway cruiser:

My good old 2003 honda city had completed 10 years of faithful service and clocked 90K and it was time to find a good comfortable vehicle to do the highway runs .Sedans were ruled out and me and wifey were focussed on getting a vehicle with a good height and decent boot space. The hunt had begun for a SUV with all bells and whistles ( Air bag and ABS a must ).
My wife drives as well and she has been my sole companion on many of our long drives.

short list :

1) Duster : liked the ride quality but the interiors were a let down , no hand rest ( a big NO from my wife ) ' our city which is 10yr old has a hand rest , i need this on long drives '.
2) XUV : A well put together vehicle , wife liked it but i felt the electronics and interiors were too much for my liking ( no offence to anyone here).
3) Fortuner : built like a nail , can go anywhere but I felt its too way expensive for what toyota offers ( no discs in the rear ).

We were getting impatient as we shifted base to Mysore and I travel to work almost 3 days a week doing 340kms a day and night driving was getting to be a pain . The wait for the strome was never ending. Just to go back in time, i had booked the strome way back in October in mysore based on the feedback from BD sir , I would like to thank him for advising me to wait. I would also like to thank few team-bhpians who advised me to wait for the strome.

Lukeswalker did the first review , liked the plain looks and clean lines a typical brute SUV. Love at first sight .

Decision on 4x4

Many a times on our drives we felt the need the go places but had a to hold back due to our honda city not being capable to do so. So the decision was made to go for a capable SUV which if needed can make its own road .

Test Drive of the strome :

we test drove the strome 1st week of Jan 2013 in Mysore , the SA got me a brand new LX white strome . Knowing it was a base version i just focussed on the ride quality, braking and ease of driveability within the city . Both of us liked the strome based on the above parameters. Now to wait for the top end , wife wanted to see the interiors and particular to look for the hand rests .
On 21 Jan i received a mail from Anuj Agarwal ( tata motors ) with the VIN and engine details , my Astern black brute was in transit. The excitement was growing . The delivery was promised for the 29th Jan by the SA.

D- day :

The vehicle was neatly done up and was ready on time . I was explained the features , tool kit , engine bay opened and showed the essential things , spare wheel access etc .

Initial experience

Its huge and it took sometime getting used to the size, highway driving has become a breeze ,especially the night drives with good visibility . The brakes are big + from the city , overall enjoying my new ride . Oops the music from my iphone does not play. Went through the manual and solution found , damage of Rs.150/- for the Aux cable. Now i can listen to Dire straits and led zepplin in peace . My 7 month old GSD sleeps in peace and enjoys the wind on his face, the middle row seems to be the most comfortable place to be in.

Iam a 6 footer and feel very conmfortable in the strome. 8 hours in the office + 5 hrs on the road , i still feel quite fresh when i get home , this is a huge jump in comfort levels from the honda city.

The interiors are plain and simple , which is best part i like and with good quality.Controls are easy to use , AC is a chiller be it in ECO mode or normal .Rear AC does its job well too. The cabin is silent even at good speeds , bridgestones do the job well . The clutch is car like very similar to my city.

City driving is easy as well and U turns can be done easily without a fuss. As far as highway driving is concerned its pure pleasure and the brakes more than do the job.The ride quality is fantastic and I could not have asked for more from an SUV of this size.

Night driving as become a pleasure and lights do their job well though i would liked the high beam to have little more range , when you are doing decent speeds.

Iam getting a mileage of 12.5 with mostly highway driving and i fill normal diesel from a trusted BP bunk in Mysore.

On my short weekend drive to Bandipur went over some bad patch of roads , wow the strome glides over them. Now i have a grin on my face whenever i encounter bad roads.

Nice to have is a place to rest my left foot on long drives but there is lots of space in the foot area so no worries.

1st Service

Mysore - bangalore 3 times a week and 1000 kms were reached within the 1st week . Fixed an appointment with Urs car , Mysore and believe it or not i was treated like a king , there was this whole list of people from GM to SA giving their cards and asking for the feedback. I was asked in detail to whether i had any issues , ride quality , brakes , lighting etc . Vehicle was returned back in 4 hrs and there was a 2 page check list the SA showed me on what has been checked.

Overall glad i bought the strome and enjoying my new ride. As of now I have done 1600km and so far its been pure pleasure with no issues what so ever.

Posting a few pics for now , i shall certainly post more pics soon

[honda_dude]

let me be the first to congratulate you on the beast. drive safe

the thread needs high resolution pictures.

cheers

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Fortuner71

Overall glad i bought the strome and enjoying my new ride.

So you finally got to lay your hands on your dream. Congratulations and have a million happy miles ahead.

Please post bigger and clearer pictures of the interiors and the exteriors. A black Storme is definitely wall paper material.

[.anshuman]

Note from Moderator: Thread moved here from Assembly line. Thanks for sharing

[drmohitg]

Hey congratulations on your new ride. I was waiting to see a review come up for the Storme sooner than later. The car looks quite good in black. Would appreciate if you post more pics of your ride. How much did it cost you OTR?

[kaviprem]

Nicely written. Congratulations Fortuner71 !
Time to change your TBHP handle [if possible]

Few more pics, both internal and external would do better justice to the beast.
3 days a week of Bangalore-Mysore drive ? you make me envy.

Enjoy the ride, have a safe and happy drive !
Prem.

[MetalBuff]

Hello Fortuner71,

Many congratulations to you! It's been a fantastic upgrade from the City to the Safari. Looks amazing in the black shade (You seem to have a thing for this color, is it?). T-Bhp seems to have been taken by a "storme"

More pictures, please Also, pardon my ignorance but, the VX trim comes shod with alloys? Seemed like wheel caps in the pictures (Might be the angles at play here)

TML has taken a big leap with the Storme as, I find only positive reviews all around. Good work, TATA! Looking forward to a light coloured Storme now.

-Shivang Gandotra

[Enigmatic]

Congratulation's fortuner71...

The new safari is a beast. It looks lovely, specially the 2nd pic is awesome .
So how is the handrest ? Its also good to know that tata is putting effort in improving their after sales service's. An area in which they really need to improve .
And please post some more pics .

Take care and drive safe.

[Lukeskywalker]

Congratulations on the Storme, it's indeed a lovely peice of machinery you have there, reat it well and it won't disappoint you, nice to see you munching miles already, that is the way a Storme should be driven.

Oops the music from my iphone does not play. Went through the manual and solution found , damage of Rs.150/- for the Aux cable.

Did you not get the iPod/iPhone connecting cable along with the car? Do check with the dealer if you have not.

[Blow Horn Ok]

I am not a TATA fan by any chance (Indica Experience), but this vehicle has made a positive impact on me. It seems like this one is not gonna fail or give issues like its earlier avatar or any other TATA car.

I am sure the 4*2 version would give even better mileage due to lesser weight. Enjoy your ride and do post more pics. Dark Colored 4*4 stormes remind me of the fully done up 4*4 showcased @ the Auto Expo. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...po-2012-a.html I keep drooling @ this everyday


Congratulations & Drive Safe!

[quadra]

Dil se congratulations fortuner71. The rear end looks amazing in black. Waiting for more pics.

Wish you trouble free miles.

[NPV]

Congratulations @Fortuner71, the Storme in Black looks lovely and goes well with your Black Honda City as well
Totally agree with you on the simplicity of the interiors, console, dash - serves the purpose well without the unncessary styling elements.
Wishing you miles of happy drives full of smiles. Looking forward to follow your further ownership experiences regarding services and other updates. Thanks for sharing, Drive Safe.

[swiftnfurious]

Congrats @Fortuner71 !! I am sure this thread is going to be the fastest kilometer munching in least time. At the rate you are travelling, guess this will hit atleast 40K in an year! We will get a feel of the reliability of this car.

What's with your excitement man!! You have managed to mention Storme as StRome all the way!!

Wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

[arulpeem]

Congratulations Fortuner71. Mark Knopfler and Jimy Page will give you good company. I have a 3 year old Grande MK II that has covered 64K and am thinking of changing it. Have been following the Storme threads very religiously. I am eagerly waiting for your ownership thread.
Wish you a safe and pleasurable drive.

[sharninder]

Congratulations on the Storme. I'm not a big fan of TATA vehicles in general but I have to admit the Storme does tick all the right boxes. It's a little too big to handle in a congested city like Gurgaon but the reviews have all (mostly) been positive. I will definitely be keeping the Storme in mind when I'm in for a change.
Ofcourse, it's still too early and I'd rather wait for atleast one or two 10k+ km reports.