[narayan]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

LX 4x4?? Thats weird! Tata does not produce any LX 4x4!

Where have I said Lx 4X4 ?

[rkbharat]

Explorer edition is just a poor and ill-planned kit

1. Decal is of poor quality and will peel off soon (as compared to what is given on Scorpio). Though I loved the design, looks good.
2. Chrome kit is bad fit and was peeling of on the display vehicle.
3. Nudge gaurd is also badly designed, covers the number plate so they have a separate plate placeholder hanging from nudge gaurd.
4. Rain Gaurd is good
5. 2Din is bad, no GPS, and it renders the cupholder useless.
6. Seat covers are okish and useless for VX model which already have a better leather seat cover.

rest all stuff are useless.

LX 4X4 - wish they do that, but till last month, there was nothing.

BTW how is the mount for that roof top tent is atached? I don't see is attached to front rail and there is nothing in the rear is Safari

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by narayan

Where have I said Lx 4X4 ?

Sorry, I misread your post. You meant VX and VX 4x4

But I do find this variant comical.
Marketing executive : "Our storme has fizzled out. We thought it will be category 5, but it did not even turn out to be a breeze"
Head Honcho : "I know what to do. Lets put stickers. "

[KrishD]

I guess there is still no news of the engine and gearbox upgrade?

If Horizonext is restricted to stickers and decals, their rough times will continue.

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by roadjourno

Any reports of guys taken S.Storme 4x4 to the mecca of offroading -> Leh Circuit?

Traveled Ladakh this June/July in my 4x4 Storme. Got to say, the improvements made in the vehicle do work. It climbed steep inclines without fuss, took winding corners calmly, braked well, the 4x4 got us out of sticky situations in deep slush, sand dune and one scary incline while getting to Kyon Tso! All in all, it was complete peace of mind. Also was quite a head turner in there!

But as they say, nothing's perfect, we'd developed a snag on the very first day on reaching Srinagar. It was the persistent squeak that the front suspension made whenever it hit an uneven surface. Got confirmation from experts that it wasn't anything to worry about and completed the trip without any hitch. All in all, wifey & myself were pretty pleased by the beastie's performance on the 16 day trip.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

Traveled Ladakh this June/July in my 4x4 Storme. Got to say, the improvements made in the vehicle do work. It climbed steep inclines without fuss, took winding corners calmly, braked well, the 4x4 got us out of sticky situations in deep slush, sand dune and one scary incline while getting to Kyon Tso! All in all, it was complete peace of mind. Also was quite a head turner in there!

But as they say, nothing's perfect, we'd developed a snag on the very first day on reaching Srinagar. It was the persistent squeak that the front suspension made whenever it hit an uneven surface. Got confirmation from experts that it wasn't anything to worry about and completed the trip without any hitch. All in all, wifey & myself were pretty pleased by the beastie's performance on the 16 day trip.

This is good news. look forward to your thread in the Travelogue section. I am also keen to do a Chennai - Leh trip but not sure whether a 4X2 would suffice. TSK's thread suggests a 4X2 should suffice for most parts in the circuit. Now I need to work on getting a 3 week off from work which looks very risky in these times. You never know if your job will still be around when you are back

[KrishD]

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

Traveled Ladakh this June/July in my 4x4 Storme. Got to say, the improvements made in the vehicle do work. It climbed steep inclines without fuss, took winding corners calmly, braked well, the 4x4 got us out of sticky situations in deep slush, sand dune and one scary incline while getting to Kyon Tso! All in all, it was complete peace of mind. Also was quite a head turner in there!

But as they say, nothing's perfect, we'd developed a snag on the very first day on reaching Srinagar. It was the persistent squeak that the front suspension made whenever it hit an uneven surface. Got confirmation from experts that it wasn't anything to worry about and completed the trip without any hitch. All in all, wifey & myself were pretty pleased by the beastie's performance on the 16 day trip.

I guess squeaks will be part of a Tata vehicle experience, unfortunately. When i test drove the Safari Storme, there was a consistent noise coming from the front dash. The guy came along almost pretended not to hear it!
But having said that, I think Safari's have consistently proved themselves in Ladakh. Plenty of Team Bhp travelogues to support that. Your thumbs up will go a long way in convincing some fence sitters, like me, to probably take the plunge!

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by narayan

This is good news. look forward to your thread in the Travelogue section. I am also keen to do a Chennai - Leh trip but not sure whether a 4X2 would suffice. TSK's thread suggests a 4X2 should suffice for most parts in the circuit. Now I need to work on getting a 3 week off from work which looks very risky in these times. You never know if your job will still be around when you are back

TSK's absolutely right regarding a 4x2. If you stick to the trails and don't go round chasing those slush pools, sand dunes & very steep inclines, you'll have no problemo! I guess 4x2 can perform even better on most part of the circuit, as it's lighter.

Originally Posted by KrishD

I guess squeaks will be part of a Tata vehicle experience, unfortunately. When i test drove the Safari Storme, there was a consistent noise coming from the front dash. The guy came along almost pretended not to hear it!
But having said that, I think Safari's have consistently proved themselves in Ladakh. Plenty of Team Bhp travelogues to support that. Your thumbs up will go a long way in convincing some fence sitters, like me, to probably take the plunge!

Even I had to convince the SA about the squeaks when I took it for inspection. The good thing was that once he heard the squeaks, he took them seriously. End result was a change in front shockers & bushes, under warranty. But the cause for concern was when the mechanic told me that wierd noises/rattles have become a part of the package called Storme. They're getting many complaints for that.

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

Traveled Ladakh this June/July in my 4x4 Storme. Got to say, the improvements made in the vehicle do work...

Congrats man on the new vehicle, guess the Esteem had enough... Hope to see a travelogue very soon. Good to hear about the 1st hand experience on the Storme.

[n.devdath]

***Question to all Storme Owners***

Have you observed your gear knobs getting scuffed after a couple of thousand kms?

I have seen this on all the 6 TD vehicles that I have driven so far.

[condor]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Have you observed your gear knobs getting scuffed after a couple of thousand kms?

I have seen this on all the 6 TD vehicles that I have driven so far.

My Storme - still good after 6k

The TD vehicles - have noticed it. Possible rough handling by people

But the "leather" on the knobs doesnt feel built to last.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

***Question to all Storme Owners***

Have you observed your gear knobs getting scuffed after a couple of thousand kms?

I have seen this on all the 6 TD vehicles that I have driven so far.

None at all after around 4k kms. But I too noticed this in TD vehicles which were all Vx models which has the Beige gear knob and steering wheel and both look dirty and stitches worn off.

Black looks much better


Edit: Checked out the Explorer edition - Total waste of money. Why ?

1) Bad quality stickers. The ones on the rear quarter glass will come off even before you take delivery of the vehicle
2) Average looking seat covers ( again Beige ) - why would an Explorer edition have Beige seat covers ?? It should have been an all Black interiors
3) Tacky touch screen system
4) Horrendous looking nudge guard. It looks sweet in the brochures thanks to the PS skills of their ad agency. In flesh, its pathetic with a huge "TATA" lettering bang on top of it which I never want to see again !

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by Kandisa

Congrats man on the new vehicle, guess the Esteem had enough... Hope to see a travelogue very soon. Good to hear about the 1st hand experience on the Storme.

Thanks bud! Nah, the Esteem's still going strong but this time around, we're in a mood for challenges of different sorts.

Travelogue will come up shortly as I soon will be getting a breather from hectic office stuff.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

***Question to all Storme Owners***

Have you observed your gear knobs getting scuffed after a couple of thousand kms?

I have seen this on all the 6 TD vehicles that I have driven so far.

My Storme's look fine @ 10K mark. Just a bit dirty though. Beige is hard to keep clean.

[lifebuoy]

A little off topic - but related. ACI had commented that their gear lever silver shine was rubbing off, as lordofgondor has queried. My ARIA shift is still the same as new, the silver (black in the storme) strip retains shine and the leather cover intact (dark brown in the ARIA, beige in the storme).

Guess it is caused by drivers having an itchy habit of resting their hand on the shift stalk and then scratching it with fingers / nails. Seen this happenning with many driver driven cars / cabs as also radio / stereo buttons.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by lifebuoy

A little off topic - but related. ACI had commented that their gear lever silver shine was rubbing off, as lordofgondor has queried. My ARIA shift is still the same as new, the silver (black in the storme) strip retains shine and the leather cover intact (dark brown in the ARIA, beige in the storme).

Guess it is caused by drivers having an itchy habit of resting their hand on the shift stalk and then scratching it with fingers / nails. Seen this happenning with many driver driven cars / cabs as also radio / stereo buttons.

Can also be due to the inconsistent parts quality that Tata supplies with its vehicles. We see that regularly with mechanicals as well. Some people report absolutely trouble free ownership whereas some would have had frequent parts failure