[safari_lover]

Over 6000 bookings received for the Storme, according to Tata Motors. This could only go up with the product being made available in the South now. Not a bad beginning, IMO.

source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/18075167.cms

[safari_lover]

And here comes the TVC for the Storme -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=mo9XKeYS--Y

It's nowhere close to the previous Safari ads, IMO!

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by safari_lover

Over 6000 bookings received for the Storme, according to Tata Motors. This could only go up with the product being made available in the South now. Not a bad beginning, IMO.

source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/18075167.cms

Good to hear that. I still feel they may be able to make a difference with this. The top variant is expensive, but lets see what the market is thinking of it.

"This will be for those who look for better refinement offering sporty performance. That is a premium SUV loaded with luxury features", he said.

But TATA, it seriously needs a dual DIN with display to make it feel real luxury!

[sajanjohn]

Clearly people started paying attention to Storme Terrapod Events. Plenty of youtube videos from the events are uploaded by various onlookers and by Safari Fans. Effective marketing strategy TATA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1_m-jQlf3w

[ebonho]

Had a taste of the fabled "Tata attitude" today.

My heart is set on a Black Storme (actually always wanted a black Safari), but seeing everyone going ga-ga over the Urban Bronze (two tone, looks black at night, new BMW color, bla bla .....), I wanted to see both in the flesh side by side before going ahead with the color choice.

Everywhere, in ads, display, showrooms etc. only the Urban Bronze is shown. Never seen a black in the flesh (only photos on the Net). Neither Pandit nor National have a black currently. Concorde had two in their depot. So set a time for 9 am today morning to go over and check it out with my wife and decide.

Everything set up two days in advance, reminder calls made, assurances given. I was told the cars would be dusty, no washing center, have to pay octroi to get to showroom (washed) yada yada, so agreed to go another 7 odd kms away to see the cars on the condition that a black and bronze would be cleaned and kept for viewing.

Land up with the sales guy there and see acres of Tata cars/SUVs in the most horrible condition. They were not just covered in dust. No sir. They were covered in hardened solidified whitish/greyish crud. Not a single clean Storme anywhere. Both black and bronze look the same covered in crud. Phone calls back and forth, apologies etc. etc. but bottom line is that I have taken time off from my officed, wife from her clinic, driven 50 kms back and forth in filthy Saturday traffic - to see cars covered in crud.

Did discover that the LX and EX have different color combination upholstery (Sandstone and Beige for the EX and Black and Beige for the LX). The EX seat covers (material and texture) actually look quite nice and premium so am in two minds of immediately covering brand new covers up with after market art leather ones (Autoform Feather Touch and Impress look best). The sales guy also confirmed that they were treated with something to make them stain resistant.

Also saw some brand new "modified" LX Stormes there meant for sale to Tata employees only. These were the stripped down LX's I referred to in an earlier post. No Music, no ABS, BUT they have rear defogger and wash-wipe unlike the commercial LXs! These will probably be introduced soon at an ex-showroom of around 8.5 Lacs.

Tried out the high volume sound quality on the system in the test Storme. Same crackling at high volume. One of the accessories guys who seems to know something about sound, ICE, etc. says the manual has some instructions on tuning for bass and treble which should improve things - to an extent.

Since I have been hearing things about the speakers, when we returned to the showroom I got them to remove the covers over the speakers in the doors to see whether they were Alpine or some other brand.

There was no brand evident on the back or anywhere else on the speaker.

There was a round blue colored sticker with white lettering:

6 1/2 " (16 cm)
SA-020
Dual Cone Speaker System
90W Peak
IMP. 4 OHMS

Does anyone recognise these?

Got the Alpine manual Xeroxed to see whether the accesories guys can figure out a good basic package (good speakers + amp.).

The model is:

ALPINE
MP3/WMA/AAC CD Receiver with Bluetooth
CDE-126BTT

[narayan]

The Storme event is happening today at Chennai. Unfortunately got to know only now when I had called up the SA to know when they will arrange a TD ( had met them 2 weeks back to book one ).

It would be good to know from members who have booked a vehicle whether there was any offer/discounts ?

[ebonho]

Storme speaker (someone is already trying to sell them off on OLX .....)

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Also saw some brand new "modified" LX Stormes there meant for sale to Tata employees only. These were the stripped down LX's I referred to in an earlier post. No Music, no ABS, BUT they have rear defogger and wash-wipe unlike the commercial LXs! These will probably be introduced soon at an ex-showroom of around 8.5 Lacs.

They are leftovers without ABS sold under first come first serve basis to tata employee at exshowroom price of 7.95 lacs. But the bad thing about it is that those stormes dont have ABS.
Also VX without leather seats were also available to employees which got booked within 2-3 minutes of mailer.

[Enigmatic]

Leftovers from what ?? the testing ??

So will there be a stripped down version of the storme without ABS, music system etc in the near future ??

[narayan]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

Leftovers from what ?? the testing ??

So will there be a stripped down version of the storme without ABS, music system etc in the near future ??

Without a doubt. There is already news of a 2 din audio system upgrade in 2-3 months ! As I posted earlier, there will definetly be 1 ( if not 2 variants ) below the present Lx with the above features removed or probably with the single Din dash. With that move, I presume the old Safari would be phased out. On a related note, am guessing M&M might also be working on a "W4" variant of the XUV to probably take on the Ex/Vx 4X2 variants of the Storme.


Disclaimer : These are just possibilities and not based on any concrete info posted anywhere.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by narayan

Without a doubt. There is already news of a 2 din audio system upgrade in 2-3 months ! As I posted earlier, there will definetly be 1 ( if not 2 variants ) below the present Lx with the above features removed or probably with the single Din dash.

It took them over 3 years to bring out these versions. Expecting Tata to do something within 2-3 months is like expecting an elephant to do an headstand. EDIT: Not a valid metaphor - even elephants can be trained to do headstands, given time.

We've heard rumours about their products before - its best not to expect anything from them. That way, there is a slim chance that you may even be pleasantly surprised when they do bring in changes once in a decade.

Look at the stuff on Luke's first pre-launch drive thread - those jokers apparently took feedback from real users, and released the same old vehicle after a year in which they apparently couldnt incorporate even the most minor changes.

Tata Motors is stuck in rigor mortis - do not expect any reaction from them.

[swiftnfurious]

Off-topic:

Originally Posted by narayan

...On a related note, am guessing M&M might also be working on a "W4" variant of the XUV to probably take on the Ex/Vx 4X2 variants of the Storme...

Dr. Pawan Goenka personally confirmed that there is NO plan for a W4. He says they can't do it under 10L and the demand is more for W8.

[r0ckstar.1]

Well, had my first-hand experience with the storme today at Concorde motors.
Most of these observations has been expressed by others. Still going ahead with my small review based on a very short test drive of less than a km.

Things I liked

1. Better handling and noise insulation
2. Engine seem to be eager and power available on the tap
3. overall quality of the interiors seems much better (at most of the places)
4. The braking is excellent
5. It doesn't nose-dive after braking
6. Looks much better than seen on photos
7. overall paint quality looks good
8. Acres of space in the backseat (as expected)
9. turning radius is quite good
10. Superior view of the road from the driver seat

Dislikes (needed improvement for a SUV costing close to 12Lacs for the entry model)

1. Steering gets in your way BIG TIME during entry/exit. I am 5' 11" and couldn't get in without pushing the seat backwards. ou have to pull the seat forward to get into your position. I think the culprit is the overall dash design. It is a bit lower compared to other SUVs. The bottom assembly of the steering hits your knee and I was cautious about it getting in my way during the steering . Not sure if this is something TATA will be able to fix soon. THere were other 2 potential customers who echoed the same issue.

2. Although overall quality fo exteriors and interiors are good, some of things (like light switches, door handles (on the inside) etc seems cheap. Consistency is not maintained across various parts/assemblies.

3. Turbo doesn't kick-in till 2K rpm and the vehicle lacks the kick till you reach there.

4. The dash looks too basic for a 12Lac vehicle. Some of the new hatches have much better dash design and features (including my Skoda Fabia). Customers who likes to feel good/premium inside will not like it. I am one of those

5. The jump seats are of no use. I would rather take them out and use it purely for luggage needs.

6. no 4x4 in LX version.

No confirmation from the dealer on the new dash versions (as mentioned earlier in this thread). I wouldn't go for the new storme for the above reasons, mainly the steering issue, the interior design and some more features from a security and comfort angle. XUV W6 makes more sense, even though you are paying 2.5lacs more onroad in Bangalore.

[g_prajeesh]

Originally Posted by r0ckstar.1

3. Turbo doesn't kick-in till 2K rpm and the vehicle lacks the kick till you reach there.

I noticed one thing that in one of the test drive vehicle, they removed the odo cable and due to this power delivery is not happening properly. I may be wrong in this regard.Most of the dealers doesn't have a proper demo car.

[condor]

Originally Posted by r0ckstar.1

3. Turbo doesn't kick-in till 2K rpm and the vehicle lacks the kick till you reach there.

At what speeds did you change the gears ?

From my TD, I found power delivery to be very linear. I suspect that you (normally) change gears early, to try & maximize FE