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-   -   Tata Safari Storme : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/129728-tata-safari-storme-official-review-140.html)

Personally, I was a bit disappointed with the dash board in the P0 and PP batches. However, when spoke to the correct guys, was convinced on the quality which was about to come in the final versions.
I too drove the test mule once again before confirming a 'go ahead' to Doc in one of those Pune Tapri meets in 2011/ 12.

Yes. Other than the name sharing, many of the things have be re - designed in Storme for continuing the legacy of durabilty and ruggedness of its earlier avatar along with tons of improvements already discussed.




My earlier drive was a Manza QJT Aura ABS. Finished 40K in 2 years and sold only to take the benifit of a company car.
It is a gem of a car if you are looking at it alone with out comparing with others.
The dissatisfaction may arise only when you start comparing with others. Else, for the price, its really a gem of a car. Loaded to the fullest in its own way.

Sorry you are right - wrong term used. It was not a test mule he drove but "one" of the prototypes. The test mules came later.

Your advice went a long way in making my decision when I was still thinking of other alternatives like the Aria, Xylo (yes), Innova, Scorpio, and Force One. Thanks once again buddy!

It's refreshing to see so many people coming in support of TATA with the Storme. In this forum, things have generally been otherwise. As far as my experience is concerned, it has always been good with TATA. The first car in the family was my dad's Indica V2. It's 11 years old now and even though it has been sparsely driven, we have not faced any issues with it. My first car was a Indigo which I bought in 2006. Having driven across the length and breath of the country, always with family including kids as old as 8 months, I can proudly say that the car never let us down. And now, I drive the Storme. So yes, as far as I am concerned, TATA has always been a good buy. One thing that I tell myself all the time is that when I pay the price of a TATA car, I should not expect the quality of a Honda or a Toyota. Keeping that spirit in mind, I am a very happy customer of TATA vehicles. Not withstanding that, I have not faced any "niggles" till now.

As far as the Storme is concerned, this is one car which does not have a "niggles" thread in the forum even after almost a year and a half while the number of members driving it have steadily increased. I think that this fact says a thing or two about the reliability of the vehicle.

one of my family members is looking to buy a storme. On her behalf, i called up the dealer and here is the info I got:

VX4x2 also doesnt come with a music system any more (What are TML smoking these days?)

the dealer upfront offered the following deal:
30K cash disc
5K corp disc
8Kdealer disc

all from ex showroom price.
this is without negotiations. I'm sure with negotiations, i can bring this to at least 50 K with some accessories thrown in gratis as well.

Now my questions to the members is as follows:

Is there any update expected in the Storme at auto expo? we've been hearing of 2-DIN audio/ ACC etc, but are these just urban legends or will the Storme really be launched with these in Feb?

Unfortunately i no longer have my contact in TML ERC since he has changed jobs- so i no longer have any insider info in TML.

Any guidance will be highly appreciated, since the person who is buying the storme is my Wife's sister, and so, as you can well imagine, any slip up on my part can prove to be catastrophic for both my physical and mental well being :D (more so since i convinced her to look at the Storme instead of the XUV and Terrano)

Expected delivery near Feb end.. So I am engaged in arranging the finance for it.
Btw,
1) Does it make sense to go for front/ rear nudge guard? As official accessories these are available at very high prices (may be even higher than the cost of bumper itself) which doesn't feel justified to me. Can all nudge-guards of dicor be fitted to Storme also?
2) What is preferable among reversing cam / sensor? I've no experience with these, hence not sure about the usefulness of camera in the dark, and that of sensors in case of small protruding objects or open drains at roadside.
3) Fabric seat covers, horn etc I like in original form so no plan to change. Or should I?
4) Any other suggestion from your side is awaited.

You've put yourself in great trouble man;-) if Terrano is handsome, XUV is stuffed!
Anyway, the discount offered to you is close to what I'm getting, and is good. Even if not at auto expo the integrated touchscreen is expected sometime in this year (as per rumors).
Still I went ahead for booking it as the present layout of control knobs, ac ducts etc is ideal for me, plus the price of vehicle will sure be increased once Tata makes this much hyped-about change.
Further modifications in the pipeline are probably Auto box and 160 bhp, none of which do I need.

1)Try to get the metal nudge guard featured in Tata Safari Storme explorer Edition Ad(IMO that is looking too good) Or else with no nudge guard-clean looks the best. If i were u,i would have definitely opted for the nudge guard. Definitely an advantage to get that space/street presence on streets of Cota that you may encounter
2)My vote goes to reversing CAM. I have been using the same in My Manza fitted after market the day of purchase.
3) I would also keep the seat stocks and no after market covers.
2 advantages basicaly : 1)Stock looks the best 2)The bucket effect/ depths/hugging properties are best in stock seats as per my personal experience/ observation.
4)
-Dont go for any underbody rust protection (unless Cota water pollution levels / climate specifically demands for it
-I would definitely invest on a good professional paint protection treatment (i mean 3m) but not sure if that is available in COTA. Will surely be available in Jaipur though.
-Rajasthan and Cota too i guess has very bad quality of water and hence i would avoid any washing of car to the extent possible and only advocate washing with water once in 7-15 days that too using a good carwash shampoo.
- Get yourself JOPASU car duster. It is extremely useful and effective
- get yourself microfiber cloth to wipe the truck after the shampoo wash.
Never use the regular cloth to wipe the car after a wash. Only use Micro fiber one.

All the best.

I personally wouldn't recommend a nudge guard, there's a high chance that it could affect the functioning of the cars crumple zones.
In case of a crash the force of the impact would be transferred directly to the mounting point of the guard which invariably is the chassis.

For the reverse camera vs sensor debate, I would recommend the camera, just make sure you get one with night vision and grid lines (costs a little more). I have used both on my SX4 and can assure you that a camera is infinitely more helpful.

@Ygarg-- Just in case you go for the nudge guard, there are many in the accessory market. Explorer edition piece looks good only in the photo. In real its of quite poor quality, finish and looks.

@HG --- if you can stretch that to 50k its a sweet discount but hope your wife's sister took multiple TDs and is convinced this is the ride for her ? If you look closely at the dash design, an integrated touch screen HU requires quite a lot of changes which going by TML's legendary product development time lines should take another 3-5 yrs atleast. So go ahead and book the Vx

Narayan,

yes she took a grand total of ONE TD of eachlol:

She has outsourced the decision to me (thankfully not the financing part!!). She is clear she wants a butch SUV for the badlands of NCR- XUV was the obvious choice for her, but i dissuaded her simply because i dont like how it looks (I do like how she looks though ;) )

Terrano- good car, but no soul- its anodyne!

Hence i steered her towards Storme- she drove it and said the car seems good though a bit under equipped- not a deal breaker as long as it has a brilliant audio set up, which she will get installed anyways. No car in this range has a great stock ICE.

@YGarg, like the rest of the replies here:
2) Reverse cam. Has better coverage than the sensors, I think.

1) I prefer clean looks - so no nudge guard for me. If you are not in NCR / Metro traffic, then leave it as it is. The Storme has looked better in stock form.

3) Fabric seat covers - I got a set from Elegant. Good stuff, though they just fell short a little in the fitting dept - specifically with the rear hand-rest & the last row folding seats. Planning to take off the covers of the folding row seats.

Horn - stock is good !

4) Swap speakers. Throw out the stock set. You can do it with your eyes & ears closed.

What spec speakers will fit? Which brand would you prefer for better sound in reasonable price?

6.5" co-axials. That's the stock size. No adjustments required.
Components in front.

Listen to diff brands & take your pick. Which brand you pick will depend on how you like your music.
I have Diamond Audio. I prefer a balanced output - neither too bright, nor too heavy.

Question: I suspect Clutch Release Bearing (CRB) noise in my gaadi. The suspicion / indication is a sort of grrr grrr noise when, say, you have just taken your foot off the accelerator and coasting towards a stop at a traffic light or simply coasting before undertaking a maneuver. I know this problem used to be there in the Dicor, so wondering if any Stormers or Dicorers can throw some light? I will be reaching the 1500 - 1800km service sometime in the next 10 days, so planning to report it then. In the meantime...... any ideas?
BTW, I did some more spirited driving since last refill and this time, I have got 13.21kmpl.

@Himanshu, just one question - who will drive the vehicle ? If it is only your wife's sister, then I hope she's comfortable with the size of Storme/ XUV in city traffic.

The sound you observed is with clutch pressed or without? Is it from the first day or developed later? Is it loud enough to be heard or audible only when paying attention?
BTW The FE you're getting is amazing.