[JoseTheScorpion]

A little History

The three cars we had before the Safari Storme, were the M800, Santro and Getz prime.

You can find the complete details in the below links:

M800 – https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...uti-800-a.html (Our First Car - The 1988 Maruti 800)

Santro - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...fore-xing.html (Hyundai Santro – King before the Xing)

Getz - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...getz-crdi.html (My Pocket Rocket | Hyundai Getz CRDI)

Also had the Zen, for my Dad- will surely write its story as well, but coming to my Safari Storme

Car Details
Tata Safari Storme VX 4X2 Varicor, MT, Pearl white, Model 2012(Dec)

Here is the famous ad I was mad about.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=kovjXob5...dIAEAWkHshCXoy

Since the Safari ad in 2006 – “reclaim your life”(Ad link above). I have been a hardcore fan of Safari dicor. I got married in 2012 and as we now were growing as a family, I decided to look for an upgrade to the Getz CRDI. My parents, my brother, my wife’s parents and my wife were all in on the idea(lucky me) and they all wanted to contribute. I surely felt as the luckiest son, brother, husband and husband-in-law at the same time 😊.

Why Safari Storme

In Oct, 2012, the Safari Storme was launched and the moment I saw it in flesh, I was in love with it. My family also liked it but their only concern was its size. As it was a huge upgrade from our last ride – Getz Crdi. Me being the best driver in the world(in my head) never had a doubt and took a couple of test rides. My concern was moving to a 15lakh TATA car, its reliability and service quality, after reading the horror stories of many Safari owners in teambhp. Off course the final decision was taken, thanks to the reviews posted by my BHPian brothers on the high-quality upgrade on the Storme compared to the previous gen (Dicor).

Other cars considered and what turned me off

• Scorpio – no space and the ride was too bumpy
• Duster – looked too small
• Safari dicor – interiors were outdated
• XUV500 – didn’t have the SUV feel

What’s it like to own a Safari

Safari was like opening a Travel portal or Travel log of my life which was not there before. Highways were a joyful and relaxing experience now. I had travelled to many places in my Getz crdi, the longest being the Delhi-Ahmedabad trip, but at the end of the journey I was very tired and exhausted both ways. Safari was the opposite, I was roaring to go on, with the longest trip being 1200kms from Hyderabad to Thrissur (Kerala) a few times. Also, I have once covered the distance in 14hrs in the year 2017, without breaking a sweat.

Trips done from Delhi

• Delhi- Lansdowne
• Delhi -Manali -Rotang pass
• Delhi-Agra
• Delhi-Satkol
• Delhi-Dehradun

Many more, which I may not remember now.

Leaving Delhi

So, we bought the car on Dec16th 2012 from Dwarka, Delhi. I was working in Noida and my wife worked in a public bank in the Karol Bagh branch. She was transferred to Hyderabad in 2015, and I also tagged along, luckily getting an internal transfer in my office as well.

Trips done from Hyderabad

• Hyderabad - Goa
• Hyderabad - Pune
• Hyderabad – Vizag/Vijayawada
• Hyderabad – Bangalore/Mangalore/Ooty/Coorg

Letting Blinder go

I pet named my Safari as “Blinder” because of its powerful halogen dual barrel headlights and fog lights. We kept the car for 9 years and had to sell it only due to the 10 year Delhi NGT ban on Diesel cars. As we were in Hyderabad, we sold our DL registered car to Cars24, which was a disaster (will share all details in another thread).

Anyway, so there goes our white elephant. It was a sad day, but at the same time, there was an uncertain anxiety as to which car would be the successor to the great Safari Storme.

LIKEs

• Most comfortable 5 seats of any SUV under 30lakhs. The rear two seats are jump seats which are possibly the most uncomfortable seats
• Soaks up potholes / speed breakers / footpaths like it is nothing
• Commanding view of the road/traffic from the front two seats. Also huge windows makes it feel really airy inside.
• Powerful AC with 4 vents in the front and 6 vents at the rear. I think it also had a separate AC unit for the rear.
• Looks – agree, that the Dicor looks better, but the Storme isn’t far behind.
• Ease of driving/visibility – with huge rear-view mirrors and huge windows all around, visibility was best in class.
• Space – leg room, headroom, shoulder room and boot space (900 L). No SUV was even close to challenging it.

DISLIKEs

• Plastic quality – Not good at all
• Noise / vibration and rattling – I think every safari owner will share the same frustration of the weird noises coming from all around the car. All the time.
• Highspeed dynamics – Scary, if you even try to change lane in triple digit speeds, due to the high centre of gravity
• Interior – Beige interior colour, it easily used to get soiled.

ISSUEs

• Continuous rattle issues, Doors, seats, boot.
• Had to change the complete ignition system with key once and costed 30k. This happened on a trip to Kerala, luckily I was in my relatives house when the Car failed to start.

UPGRADEs

• LED headlights – white and powerful – spent 12k
• DRL lights and LED indicators – 1k
• I liked the Storme as stock, it was the top model so had all the required features.

Here are some pics of our Safari(Pet named “Blinder” for blinding oncoming traffic)















































Also, I have shared many other fun updates in a video dedicated to the Safari. Here is the link to that.

https://youtu.be/fwPfGxKUTG8?si=IXUfqniUhTsdPAJC

[JoseTheScorpion]

Some more highlights

• Total number of kms covered - 97000 kms over 9 years, single handed(only me).
  
  
• All service done via TATA ASC always.(Delhi, Hyderabad, Thrissur)
  
  
• Never received any dents or did any body repaint. Few scratches on the bumpers.
  
  
• changed tyres once at 70k kms, from Bridgestone to Yokohama, which made the ride smoother and grip was much better.
  
  
• Tachometer stopped working after 50k kms. It used to randomly stop working at any point. Never, happened when the car was in the ASC, therefore next fixed.
  
  
• I loved the team-bhp stickers, so purchased them within one month of buying the car and as you can see in the pics, it looks fab on the new car.
  
  
• Even though the plastic quality was not good on the dashboard, the driver touch points were all soft touch, which is a deeply missed in my current car (Hornet).
  
  
• The footboards were body coloured, which I personally liked. It was easy to clean and looked good from a distance.
  
  
• The four spoke steering wheel had hydraulic power steering which I still prefer over the EPS of this day and age.
  
  
• The lumbar support, hand rest and thigh support is the best in business. No other SUV can match this aspect.
  
  
• We can cruise @90kmph all day at around 2k RPM, making Safari one of the best Highway vehicle.
  
  
• Road presence and people's love - Even after years, my Blinder, used to get positive glares while I drove it on the road.
  
  
• Respect received always - Once the police personal mistakenly saluted me thinking we are also part of the police convoy going in front of us.
  Also we have received random salutes from toll gates, society gates and office gates from Guards or helpers.

All these things adds an X factor to the Safari Storme which I have not felt in the other cars I have owned, like Q5, CRV, Scorpio-N, Corolla....etc

[arnav17]

Great Review, Thanks for Sharing! We have the Safari Dicor 2.2 at home and could definitely relate to many of your shared points.

Originally Posted by JoseTheScorpion

[*]Road presence and people's love - Even after years, my Blinder, used to get positive glares while I drove it on the road.

[*]Respect received always - Once the police personal mistakenly saluted me thinking we are also part of the police convoy going in front of us.
Also we have received random salutes from toll gates, society gates and office gates from Guards or helpers.[/list]

This has happened to us too endless times. Once in a toll plaza they directed us to the VIP lane when we were stuck in a long queue .

[JoseTheScorpion]

16th Dec 2012 was the day when we got our brand spanking new Safari Storme home. A day I will never forget.

Today on 16th Dec 2024, I wish I still had the car with me. I still hate the NGT for making me part ways with my Storme(Blinder). Not sure where it is and who is enjoying its drive as of now. May be some drivers in Cars24 might be having all the fun.

A song dedicated to my Safari, in its memory.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8Cc14F5N...A3GSZyJ60NAOf2

I think only my team-bhp bros can understand the pain. The non-petrol head people will just laugh it off!!