[adityamunshi]

Hey tanveer!! Congratulations on the new Beast cheers:

Just saw this thread today. Actually, i havent been on the forum much in the last month.

So what about the Indica ? Will you be selling it off ?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Looks like its warming upto you. Have any "off-road" snaps?

Nope, when you offroad there is no time for snaps. I was too busy not getting stuck!

Originally Posted by dadu

And any details on the Seat covers, are they OEM (Safari tag) and cost.

Not OEM. Got them from Lajpat nagar for 4300

Originally Posted by adityamunshi

Hey tanveer!! Congratulations on the new Beast cheers:

Just saw this thread today. Actually, i havent been on the forum much in the last month.

So what about the Indica ? Will you be selling it off ?

Nope, Indica stays as a city runabout. Will probably do around 500-600kms a month instead of the 2000+ earlier

[tsk1979]

Today the fuel needle was slightly above the red mark(which is BTW close to 1/4th of the tank) that the orange light started glowing

Is this level correct for low fuel warning indicator to glow. From looking at the fuel guage, it appears that still there is around 1/4th tank full, i.e. 15 liters in the tank.

Is this the reserve level of 2.2?

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Today the fuel needle was slightly above the red mark(which is BTW close to 1/4th of the tank) that the orange light started glowing
Attachment 53170
Is this level correct for low fuel warning indicator to glow. From looking at the fuel guage, it appears that still there is around 1/4th tank full, i.e. 15 liters in the tank.

Is this the reserve level of 2.2?

7lit IIRC. The light may start showing when you have 7-10lit.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by jkdas

7lit IIRC. The light may start showing when you have 7-10lit.

I'd say that sounds about right. There will be a rather large variation depending on the 'trim' of the car: as in the slope that it is on.

[dadu]

Well, if you look closely its not exactly 1/4, its lesser than that(1/3 of the 1/2) and once it starts glowing its 10ltrs of fuel left.

When the needle is at slightly more than half of the red bar, 5 ltrs is left.

Just before the needle touches the last mm of the red bar, you will run out of fuel and engine with stop.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Is this level correct for low fuel warning indicator to glow. From looking at the fuel guage, it appears that still there is around 1/4th tank full, i.e. 15 liters in the tank.

Is this the reserve level of 2.2?

[tsk1979]

She is done 5000kms now, thanks to the 2100kms Jaisalmer trip.
In a nutshell
1. Lots of rattles, infact most of them have gone away.
2. Sometimes that idler nut(suspension) khat sound comes, but not always
3. The fuse box cover has started popping open on its own, will tape it till next service
4. In 4x4 mode at high speeds(40-50kmph+) sometimes there is a slight whine
5. Clutch seems hard, and I suspect there is some slipping sometimes. This is the only major big ticket item I am concerned with. But then it could be just bleeding problem
6. The temperature control knob is very hard, and does not turn properly. Some issue there, I'm suspecting the console will be changed, since its a new vehicle.
7. FE in city is 10.5. With highway driving(full throttle 140 frequent) she gives 11. On return due to traffic I could do 90-110 atmost, and inclusive of quite a bit of offroading she gave 12.5.
I suspect with 90-100kmph highway driving I will get 14-15


Overall very happy. The scary Tata Niggles are few, and no real show stoppers have appeared till now. She's done 5000kms already, and was driving under harsh conditions in 40 degree C temperatures.
Performed like a dream.
Extremely stable on highways, except for long wave undulations, which can unsettle her and she goes into a sine wave mode. A little scary, but leave the accelerator and you are fine.
Handling is well, a handful. Can't throw into twisties like indica.
As for bumpy road, as long as you have potholes, you are good, but when you have those smooth bumpy wavy roads, it pitches and rolls, and its not difficult to lose your dinner.
However even sudden maneuvers, for example getting off the shoulder at high speed when the oncoming bus does not give way on narrow state highways, do not make her unstable.

The surprise package is the off road capability. Though no Mahindra jeep, she performs well in sand. 4H is not very useful in starting when you are dug in. IF you do not give throttle, she will stall, low end torque even in first gear is nothing to write home about, if you give throttle, then apart from half clutching, which I hate, you will wheel spin, and again thats not a good thing in deep sand.
So the answer is 4L. She can pull out even at idle speeds.
The heavy weight means that you should not slow down no matter what. If you slow down, you will bog in, so keep the speed, Esp in inclines.
The Jeeps were doing a better job, but for a 2.5 ton gross weight elephant she did very good.
The entire jeep driver crew were fascinated with push button 4 WD, without any lever. They were fascinated that I did not have to get down and unlock the hubs.
So one by one different jeep guys were shotgun riding with me.
One of them even took me up a wrong path, where there was just dune, and no trail. Got bogged down uphill.
Flicked into reverse, and she came out. No sweat.
The best part is comfort. In 40 degree heat of the desert, the jeeps were cooking.

On mud flats, and sand hard flats she is easy to drift, even with 4WD active. Flick the steering and tail steps out. A real hoot to drive.

14 hours with just 1 40 minutes break, and 2 10 minute breaks, and we were fresh at Jaisalmer, now thats how a highway touring vehicle should be.


In city she's a pain, with the turning circle of a 747
But then you win some, you lose some!
A few recent pics

[Technocrat]

Nice report Tanveer. She looks gorgeous in the pics

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

1. Lots of rattles, infact most of them have gone away.
I suspect there is some slipping sometimes.

Rattles or no rattles ?

And how do you feel the clutch slipping ? Symptoms are ?

[suman]

Got to see that she's holding out well.

Originally Posted by Eddy

And how do you feel the clutch slipping ? Symptoms are ?

Yeah, I would be interested in knowing this too - whay are you suspecting a clutch slippage?

Anyway, a test that had been recommended to me - take her on to the highway or any decent stretch of traffic-free tarmac, put her in 4th gear & let go the accelerator. At a particular point (for the 3 litre, its around 40 kmph), the vehicle will just amble along, the revs & the speed will drop slightly and then pick up again, on its own. It will then continue to amble along at this cycle. If this happens without any jerks or stalling, your clutch is absolutely OK.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Rattles or no rattles ?

I meant, most rattles gone away!

And how do you feel the clutch slipping ? Symptoms are ?

Originally Posted by suman

Got to see that she's holding out well.


Yeah, I would be interested in knowing this too - whay are you suspecting a clutch slippage?

Anyway, a test that had been recommended to me - take her on to the highway or any decent stretch of traffic-free tarmac, put her in 4th gear & let go the accelerator. At a particular point (for the 3 litre, its around 40 kmph), the vehicle will just amble along, the revs & the speed will drop slightly and then pick up again, on its own. It will then continue to amble along at this cycle. If this happens without any jerks or stalling, your clutch is absolutely OK.

A couple of times, I smelt that burnt clutch smell. I was cruising at 80kmph on the highway in 5th gear.
Also sometimes when you have to start on a very steep incline, inspite of hand brake usage, there is bound to be a little half clutching. At those times, I sometimes feel judder.
Moreover the clutch pedal is harder than other safari's I have TD'd(2.2)

I will do the 40kmph 4th gear test. I am suspecting some adjustment issues. when she was new, the clutch adjustment was not correct and they had to bleed the clutch.

[suman]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

A couple of times, I smelt that burnt clutch smell. I was cruising at 80kmph on the highway in 5th gear.
Also sometimes when you have to start on a very steep incline, inspite of hand brake usage, there is bound to be a little half clutching. At those times, I sometimes feel judder.

On a slope with half clutching scenario, there will be some clutch burn; I wouldn't be too worried about it.

In any case, any such doubts, just ask them to replace the clutch. Period

[kingshukt]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

A couple of times, I smelt that burnt clutch smell. I was cruising at 80kmph on the highway in 5th gear.
Also sometimes when you have to start on a very steep incline, inspite of hand brake usage, there is bound to be a little half clutching. At those times, I sometimes feel judder.
Moreover the clutch pedal is harder than other safari's I have TD'd(2.2)

I have smelt clutch burn twice. Both during backing up a steep slope with a curve.
However the clutch is still Ok (apparantly) because I have been doing the "w/o accelerator driving" for quite some time - though not in the 4th gear, and not yet felt any difference.

The clutch pedal feels soft when starting from a cold but after some running, that "softness" is gone. It does not become hard but that soft feeling is not there. I do not think that it is a bleeding issue.
Anybody else have this experience ?

[anupmathur]

Nice review, Tanveer!
And that whine in 4WD mode, at 50 or so kmph speed, is quite normal.
If you recall, even the Gypsy used to emit that sound.

Originally Posted by kingshukt

I have smelt clutch burn twice. Both during backing up a steep slope with a curve.

I had a similar experience here with a Scorpio 4WD. Reversing up a steep gradient, the rear wheels lost traction and spun free on a black top road at Banjar, Himachal Pradesh. There was a fairly strong clutch burn smell too, apart from the bluish smoke from rear wheels laying rubber on the road.
I had to engage 4WD to complete that manoeuvre successfully.
The clutch has almost certainly shed some weight, but there is no other deficiency noticeable. Seems to be perfectly OK.

Clutch pedal hardness/stiffness is something I have not experienced yet.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by suman

On a slope with half clutching scenario, there will be some clutch burn; I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Yes there will be and you dont have to be worried about it - I've had this smell on many occassions till I got the technique right and the clutch is still good at 60k. You can safely DUMP the clutch, instead of releasing it gradually - obviously this is only applicable on hard surfaces. If you're on loose surfaces, 4WD is the way to go - its just a matter of turning a dial on the dash, so it isnt a bother either.