[sasi405]

Originally Posted by condor

@Sasi, Congrats & Welcome to the club ! Wishing you a long happy ownership.

Reg the F-M-H feature: there are 3 buttons on the remote - one of these is for the follow-me home. I think you are pressing on this by mistake.

Thanks a lot for the warm welcome, everyone! Feels good to be part of an active and concerned group of Stormers :-)

The headlamps are coming on each time I unlock the car (while getting in) or when I lock the car (when getting out). Not only the headlamps, but the reading lamps and the dashboard gets illuminated. So, not sure what's happening.

[sasi405]

I just went down to pick up something from the car. The headlamps didn't come on when I unlocked the car. Neither they came on when I locked it back. So I guess I was pressing the wrong button.

[narayan]

Sasi
Welcome to the group of Storm riders. Pls do start a thread on your initial purchase and keep updating it ( what is lacking the most with many present owners ! )

Reading lamps do come on but headlights coming on is just not right. Could be key problem. Pls have it checked asap

[sasi405]

Will do. First bits tomorrow morning. :-)

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by sasi405

Will do. First bits tomorrow morning. :-)

The center button on the key fob is the one that gets the headlights on. The lowest one is the unlock, and the highest one (which is a prominent raised sphere) is the lock. Be careful not to leave the headlights on, because I honestly do not know whether they auto shut off after a pre-programmed time - or stay on and drain your battery double time. I know the 3 reading lights inside auto shut off on their own after 30 seconds or so. You shut the headlights off by pressing the same center button one more time.

[sasi405]

Originally Posted by sasi405

Beast reaches home. Full details of the buying experience and other things to follow. Model EX, Pearl White. Odo at delivery 41km.

BTW, there is a Santro in the pic next to my Storme which has a TBhp sticker on it, but looks like an older type 'LCLC' one (see below the number plate). So, there are two Bhpians other than me in the same building. Have managed to meet only one (he has a deep green Verito and a Swift). Don't know who the Santro belongs to.

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by ebonho

The center button on the key fob is the one that gets the headlights on. The lowest one is the unlock, and the highest one (which is a prominent raised sphere) is the lock. Be careful not to leave the headlights on, because I honestly do not know whether they auto shut off after a pre-programmed time - or stay on and drain your battery double time. I know the 3 reading lights inside auto shut off on their own after 30 seconds or so. You shut the headlights off by pressing the same center button one more time.

Take a pic of the key and put it here please. From what I understand, there is a way to switch on the headlight on STORME ? If so, its a good one thats not there in DICOR. "Follow Me Home" of DICOR works different.

Prem.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Take a pic of the key and put it here please. From what I understand, there is a way to switch on the headlight on STORME ? If so, its a good one thats not there in DICOR. "Follow Me Home" of DICOR works different.

Prem.

Sure Prem.



From Left to Right, Lock, Light, Unlock.

The one in the Dicor (of a friend) works on the central locking and is timer based. Not this one in the Storme.

As you can see, someone with fat thumbs (or not paying attention), can inadvertently put on the headlights while unlcking (difficult while locking because that is prominent and raised from the surface).

In the dark you will immediately make out, but in day time, you could then lock the car, and move away, with the headlight still on. I almost did that once, till I saw the headlight shining against the parking wall thankfully.

[sasi405]

Yes. I have to be careful of this thing. Also, I guess one will get used to it eventually.

[stormerider]

The light button as pointed out by our friends is in middle and gets pressed by my thumb also, I have a bigger thumb!
The light goes off after a couple of minutes automatically. I did check this myself on an earlier instance to be sure that it doesn't drain the battery.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by stormerider

The light button as pointed out by our friends is in middle and gets pressed by my thumb also, I have a bigger thumb!

Even are thumbs are twins!

The light goes off after a couple of minutes automatically. I did check this myself on an earlier instance to be sure that it doesn't drain the battery.

Fantastic info bro! Tata sure seems to have put some thought into a lot of small things.

Pity about the cup holders though .....

[sasi405]

Ok, so here comes my Official Review of the TATA Safari Storme EX 4X2. I am going to make it very short and crisp since many people have already written about this car and I doubt I will be able to add much more to what has been shared.

Short background to the purchase
The car I have been using for the past 7 years had finally come to the last of it's active life. A 2006 Chevrolet Aveo 1.4 (Base) with 101500km of trouble free and easy motoring, it had become tired of late and was longing for a retirement home. So, finally, I managed to find a home for it, where it would rest through the week and probably do 10-20km over the weekend (compare this with the 80-100km daily run it was doing with me, here in Delhi NCR).
So, I had to look out for a new car. My daily return run of 80-100km consisted of 60% beautiful open highway, 30% perpetually broken roads (trucks from the crusher use this stretch) and 10% fairly congested city roads. Add to this quite a bit of flooding during monsoon. I also venture to construction sites and for land prospecting, as my work is to do with buildings and their planning.
I also love to drive out of the city in all directions possible, as soon as an opportunity comes up. Hills, deserts, rivers, forests, sea etc are all always on the list. Fortunately, I have an immediate family who also love to travel, provided its in a comfortable vehicle.

My requirements in a car, as defined by me

1. Comfortable ride over all types of roads
2. Enough space for 4-5 people and their luggage
3. High GC
4. Preferably diesel for economy

Shortlist (nothing new here, so I will not elaborate on each)

• Mahindra XUV500
• Mahindra Scorpio
• Renault Duster
• Tata Safari Storme

Final selection and brief reason
Tata Safari Storme, with the following reasons

• Commanding driving position with great visibility
• Ladder on frame construction (abuse friendly)
• Simple, but refined styling (interior and exterior)

I want to emphasize here that I was not necessarily looking for an 'SUV', to show off to anyone or to satisfy my ego. I wanted a family car that can fulfill my requirements. So, I am not looking at the Storme as an 'SUV' but as a big family car that is suited to Indian conditions (a bit like those big estate cars, only with high GC and tough construction).

Buying process
It was fairly simple; as soon as I found the new home for my Aveo, I put in the cash earned there with a bit of my savings and topped up the rest with a loan through my company bankers.
I had already tested the Storme many times and had a good feel of the vehicle.
I contacted Concorde Motors in South Extension (Delhi) and they extended full cooperation by sending their guys across for all the paperwork etc. I will put up costs etc later, but as the deal, what I got was INR 20,444.00 cash discount, 2nd and 3rd Year insurance free (not zero dep, though) and a 3K additional discount (some Yellow Day or some such thing at Concorde). I could have availed an exchange bonus, but since I didn't give my Aveo to them, that was forfeited.
I was allotted an Oct 2013 vehicle immediately after I did the booking on 24th December 2013 and once the finance thing was cleared, I did the down payment on 30th December. I took delivery of the vehicle on the 3rd of January 2014.
Salient points at the time of delivery are as follows:

• Odo reading was 41km
• Vehicle was brought to showroom at the promised time (12:30PM)
• Vehicle was clean and well presented
• The accessories that I had asked for (the reverse sensor, beep type) and window visors weren't fitted. They fitted these in front of me.
• When I took a test before signing the papers, I noticed that the 'door ajar' warning light remained on despite opening and shutting everything (including the bonnet). This was rectified.
• All paperwork, including the temporary registration number, was all done and ready for me to simply sign.
• My wife had prepared 'nimbu mirchi' pendants at home, which we tied in the front and the back.
• Customary photo op was done with bouquet and box of chocolates.
• 5 ltr of diesel was in the tank, I filled in the rest of the 50 litres from an adjoining pump.

The drive home
It was a slow but smooth drive through Delhi traffic and we took MG Rd to get to Gurgaon. Though the car is BIG, it never felt unwieldy or difficult. I kept the rpm under 2200 (as mentioned by others here) and changed gears accordingly. It pulls easily in 3rd and I never felt the engine straining or the need to downshift frequently, in stop-go traffic. Also, sound insulation and general NVH levels are very good indeed. It gives the feel of a car which is at least one segment above, if not more.

Present status (4th Jan 2014)
Odo reading is at 110km today. Took entire family (wife, mom-in-law, sis-in-law and 55 day old baby) for shopping. Bought some bulky items (pram and car seat for the baby) and simply dumped it all at the back. Very convenient indeed!

Questions to the experts

• Does the fuel meter work similar to the Indica etc? It starts to lift off the FULL mark quickly and then slows down in the 3/4 to 1/2 to 1/4 range and again speeds up at the end? Or is it the other way round?
• Has the net to hold down luggage been eliminated in the recent deliveries? I didn't find it in my car and when asked, they said TATA has stopped giving that recently.
• What is the best (and practical) security system that is suggested? I didn't like the gear lock one bit, so refused to put it.

I will do the next update after I spend a couple of days behind the wheel, sometime mid next week. Pictures will also be uploaded soon!

Cheers!!

[condor]

Originally Posted by sasi405

Does the fuel meter work similar to the Indica etc? It starts to lift off the FULL mark quickly and then slows down in the 3/4 to 1/2 to 1/4 range and again speeds up at the end? Or is it the other way round?

The other way round - Slow in the first 10-12 & last 10-12 litres (red zone). Faster through the middle sections. But is consistent. I have been tracking half-way mark against actual distance, and it is predictable.

[YGarg]

Originally Posted by sasi405

• Has the net to hold down luggage been eliminated in the recent deliveries? I didn't find it in my car and when asked, they said TATA has stopped giving that recently.
• What is the best (and practical) security system that is suggested? I didn't like the gear lock one bit, so refused to put it.

Yes the net has been eliminated now. IMHO, GPS based tracker will be a good investment for security.
Have you considered Teflon coating / lamination / any protection strips for bumpers ?

[narayan]

Originally Posted by condor

The other way round - Slow in the first 10-12 & last 10-12 litres (red zone). Faster through the middle sections. But is consistent. I have been tracking half-way mark against actual distance, and it is predictable.

My observation is similar to Sasi's. Very fast initially, very slow from about 2/3 to 1/3, then fast, but not as fast as the first 1/3