[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

...14. OTR price for Bangalore is 18.21 lakhs (thanks to the taxes )...

Ex-SR is 13.25+30000(hike) for the VX 4x2 right ?
Taxes are 18% road tax +1.8% cess, plus insurance etc. Assume total 25%.

That's 13.55L x 1.25 =16,93,750/- or ~17L.

Are you sure that's the 4x2 for 18.21L or is it the 4x4 ?

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Ex-SR is 13.25+30000(hike) for the VX 4x2 right ?
Taxes are 18% road tax +1.8% cess, plus insurance etc. Assume total 25%.

That's 13.55L x 1.25 =16,93,750/- or ~17L.

Are you sure that's the 4x2 for 18.21L or is it the 4x4 ?

Its for the 4x4. Sorry I should have mentioned it. For me an SUV is complete only when it has 4x4 with 4L and LSD. Not that I use it every day, but a must have at least for me

[adroit]

Don't know whats in their mind. I will have to wait for a few years to be able to buy it as i am keen to buy only a 4x4, i can wish only if they had the Varicor 4x4 option in LX or EX.

[sunishsamuel]

Any news/further update about the 6-speed ZF automatic gearbox and Storme ? I remember someone had reported spotting the Auto version of Storme and shared this link as well (sorry can't find the exact post)

I don't want to be in a bad situation by booking the manual and then getting to know that an automatic is getting launched in few months which would definitely hurt me.

Plus i have a feeling that Tata might revamp the Storme dash to look something like what's on this picture

[GTO]

Originally Posted by lurker

Body-on-ladder frame is going to roll, no matter how well it is built and no matter how stiff the chassis.

Not all. The Toyota Innova - and Tata's own Aria - have excellent road manners. They aren't scary or that 'top heavy' at all.

[4x4addict]

@ACM:

Great review and the Varicor 400 is good news for Safari fans. I considered the Storme before buying my Duster 4WD but the earlier Storme (pre-facelift) just didn't cut it for me. But, I am looking for a Seven seater as the duster is cramped in the rear if a decent size passenger and/or driver sits in the front. If similar improvements are carried over to the Hexa, it will be well worth the money and a true Indian competitor to the overprised SUVs in the market now. I only hope Hexa does come with an automatic option.

I think a 4WD Duster and a Hexa is a perfect combination of a daily chuckabout and a long distance cruiser vehicle combo. You can get both together for the price of 4x4 Fortuner.

[rosaf]

ACM and Tushar thanks for the crisp and wonderful review!no need to look anywhere else.

I am glad i keep postponing my purchase owing to various reasons and the wait first got the refreshed Storme with interior bits and then secondly the 400Nm (the best of changes IMHO), but cant delay it beyond this year for sure.

Interesting bit for me is below:

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Given how they've tweaked the " when & how " the extra torque comes into play, I'm not surprised that they haven't changed suspension components for the Storme 400.

With a 20 % increase in torque (which i personally feel is quite a big bump) , how come suspension setup didnt need any changing or at least any tweaking?

And now the wait for 'Auto' tranny begins!

[extreme_torque]

The autocar review is a complete opposite as far as engine is concerned. As per them there is "lots of turbo-lag" and finally they diss the car because it lacks "modern day essentials like a touchscreen, automatic climate control or a reverse camera".

So apparently a car will be judged based on equipment list and if it has a touchscreen system or not! Whats with the Scorpio then? To me Safari Strome in its present iteration is a much better product than the Scorpio, dated or not. For heaven sake the Scorpio still uses those ugly unrefined rain gutters on its roof. So a touchscreen music system makes it state of the art? I am glad we have Team Bhp to read review. The automags these days are useless.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by adroit

Don't know whats in their mind. I will have to wait for a few years to be able to buy it as i am keen to buy only a 4x4, i can wish only if they had the Varicor 4x4 option in LX or EX.

I waited for a few years for exactly the same reason. But Supreme Court came into my way. Now the wait is extended by a few more months. I would have covered 30-40 thousand Kms in Storme if EX had 4X4 version.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

1) Cruise Control - Unnecessary and it makes us lazy in highway.

Has power windows or power steering made us lazy?

2) Sun-roof - Completely unnecessary in our kind of polluted environment.

What has pollution got to do with a sun-roof, unless you decide to open it like any other window of the car? It is glass, probably thicker when compared to the window. A thief can break both.

It allows in more light & feels good IMO. It doesn't bring much value, agreed, but dissing it because of pollution just doesn't cut in [Comments on a public forum aren't really personal]

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by Sheel

It allows in more light & feels good IMO. It doesn't bring much value, agreed, but dissing it because of pollution just doesn't cut in [Comments on a public forum aren't really personal]

There are many arguments in favor and in against of Sun roof and many are quite relevant too. I feel Sun roof are quite useless in parts where I live (most of the plains of North India but very good feature to have is you live in beautiful coastal areas of hills.

It is like having a 4X4 feature on SUV, a person like me will use it once in a year but still have it my car. I do not want to miss it when there is need. Similarly many will not like to miss Sun roof when it would have been a very good to have feature. Some think 4X4 is useless for daily drive and some think the same for Sun roof.

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by rosaf

...With a 20 % increase in torque (which i personally feel is quite a big bump) , how come suspension setup didnt need any changing or at least any tweaking?

And now the wait for 'Auto' tranny begins!

The torque is delivered in a linear thrust through the turbo range across a wide RPM band, thus there is NO abrupt surge which would generally result to excess suspension abuse when driving through bad roads.

Yes. There are a lot of people who'd be interested in an automatic MUV below 20L. But it's the TATA brand that comes in the way. And it's really no exaggeration that too few people trust them.

EoD, Informed enthusiasts (who'll contribute to a few '00 sales per month MAX) themselves consider it a gamble. Wonder which affluent person would choose TATA over an Innova, unless priced aggressively.

Anyway, I don't want to write off the brand based on just my limited judgement / experience.

Let's see. Hope TATA builds a brilliant product like it did with the Zest.

[Aceman82]

I hope that Tata releases this version in the EX model in the next couple of months with a 4WD option like the Scorpio S4 plus model.

Post the insurance settlement due to Chennai Floods for my Linea (thank god for Zero dep) ,I am looking for a new car in the 14L-18L range with everything from Rapid DSG till XUV500.

i feel that Storme VX 4*4 at 18L is very expensive and only some Rs:65,000 lesser than equivalent XUV500 W8 AWD model. At this price point XUV500 would be default choice (at-least for me). Even in W8 FWD model Vs VX 4*2, at these price points XUV500 W8 would be the better choice.

Storme EX model has most of the features which I want (Airbags would have been nice) and looks much better than barebones XUV500 W4 model/Renault Duster but I just cannot buy Storme EX knowing that a better Gearbox and Engine tune is available.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

I think a 4WD Duster and a Hexa is a perfect combination of a daily chuckabout and a long distance cruiser vehicle combo. You can get both together for the price of 4x4 Fortuner.

I feel if you do get the Hexa and it delivers on all that it seems to promise at a reasonable price point then you may not need the Duster at all the AWD Hexa AT should meet all requirements and not be too much of a pain to drive in Traffic. That said it would feel Heavy and the Duster would be the opposite and in that sense would provide a bit of a carefree experience.

Originally Posted by rosaf

With a 20 % increase in torque (which i personally feel is quite a big bump) , how come suspension setup didnt need any changing or at least any tweaking?

I believe the Suspension was already tweaked sufficiently (tightened) in the refresh earlier this year, and is the right balance right now. The 400nm variant was earlier expected to be launched with the refresh but we can guess that it somehow was delayed.

Originally Posted by Sheel

Has power windows or power steering made us lazy? What has pollution got to do with a sun-roof, unless you decide to open it like any other window of the car? It is glass, probably thicker when compared to the window. A thief can break both. It allows in more light & feels good IMO. It doesn't bring much value, agreed, but dissing it because of pollution just doesn't cut in [Comments on a public forum aren't really personal]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Very nice Krishna !
Your bullet point review moves me more towards this STORME of 400 NM.
I am just controlling myself for HEXA and STORME AT to reach the showroom until then I dont want to take a TD of this 400 NM version. Because, if I take one, I will buy one. In fact, my daughters are more curious to get STORME instead of waiting for AT
Yes - I agree for 18+L in Bangalore, our expectation on few more gizmos may be a legitimate ask. But, wait - What do you I ask [comments are my personal opinion] ?

1) Cruise Control - Unnecessary and it makes us lazy in highway.

2) Sun-roof - Completely unnecessary in our kind of polluted environment.

3) Automatic Climate Control - Both like and dislike. I, most of the times, have the AC with "fresh" air ON and this ACC will decide based on its intelligence unless we intervene which again makes it manual.

My take on the above points.

Sun-roof- Had it in the Laura. Average usage in Mumbai for me was once a year till I sold of the vehicle. Yet I have missed it in the EcoSport and the Aria but not in the Safari / Storme. the Storme thanks to it's huge windshield and glass area all around somehow feels fine without the sunroof and I wouldn't value it, but in vehicles where you are closeted all round the Sun Roof would add to the Airy feel, of course it has no correlation to Pollution for me as one can always keep the glass itself closed all the time.

Cruise Control: - Used it in the Laura (AT) and the Aria (MT) and in fact even more often in the Aria MT. It was possible to use Cruise control even at speeds of 40kmph in 3rd Gear in the Aria and it was very useful. We would go for drives at night and simply place the car in cruise and go along slowly. Also of course it had a lot of use on highways. The Aria Cruise Control System was superb and performed even better than the one on the Laura and hence it is sad they do not consider adding it to other vehicles. Also it must be mentioned that the Aria Automatic Headlights and Rain Sensing Wipes too were perfect in their detection and again better than of the VW group and are missed by me in all vehicles since.

ACC - Yes I do agree that it should be there but I would not miss it too much and the Manual Controls in the Strome look elegant enough. ACC is not missed in the Storme but Cruise Control and Auto Lights and Wipers would be good to have. Cruise Control to some extent also satisfies the requirement of AT and is a low cost alternative. I would consider MT vehicles with Cruise Control as keenly as an AT vehicle.

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Yes. There are a lot of people who'd be interested in an automatic MUV below 20L. But it's the TATA brand that comes in the way. And it's really no exaggeration that too few people trust them.

EoD, Informed enthusiasts (who'll contribute to a few '00 sales per month MAX) themselves consider it a gamble. Wonder which affluent person would choose TATA over an Innova, unless priced aggressively.

For TATA the Brand Perception does come in the way but is also Product Positioning. The Positioned the Aria as a crossover and gave it AWD and though it had a MUVish shape guys like me bought it. They were targeting the Fortuner and the XUV but Mahindra spoilt their plans with aggressive launch pricing and effectively killed the Aria. TATA they targeted the Innova and it thus lost the positioning plot and this didn't work either. Who wants an MUV with AWD in India?

Fortuner is positioned as a Tough and Reliable vehicle.
Innova as a Reliable & Comfortable MUV
Storme as a Touch SUV -thanks to its last row seat pair it will never be seen as a MUV and for some like me this is an appeal.
The HEXA positioning will be interesting to say the least. If it is positioned as an MUV guys like me who drive their own vehicles may loose interest and can it really take on the Innova in the MUV game. Let us remember the Innova is coming soon with more aggressive looks and Aria/ Hexa/ Storme kind of Engine Power and Features. Yes it will be priced higher but not as high as the fortuner so it will be tough for Hexa and even the XUV when the new Innnova is here.

Originally Posted by Aceman82

I hope that Tata releases this version in the EX model in the next couple of months with a 4WD option like the Scorpio S4 plus model.

I am looking for a new car in the 14L-18L range with everything from Rapid DSG till XUV500.

i feel that Storme VX 4*4 at 18L is very expensive and only some Rs:65,000 lesser than equivalent XUV500 W8 AWD model. At this price point XUV500 would be default choice (at-least for me). Even in W8 FWD model Vs VX 4*2, at these price points XUV500 W8 would be the better choice.

Storme EX model has most of the features which I want (Airbags would have been nice) and looks much better than barebones XUV500 W4 model/Renault Duster but I just cannot buy Storme EX knowing that a better Gearbox and Engine tune is available.

Aceman your thoughts do validate what we have discussed earlier in the thread that many individuals start with fixing a Budget and then next eliminating and comparing options across all segments be it SUV or Sedan. A valid approach.

Agree 100% the Storme EX is a missed opportunity they should have had the Varicor 400 Engine and 6 Speed Grearbox setup for that as well. One does set a feeling that with so many wanting this it just might become available. Yes the XUV500 W8 is the equivalent model but I my case I would select the Storme unless going for the XUV W8 AT but in the case of XUV the W8 AWD is missing you can get only AT or AWD in W8 and that too is roughly another 1L further up. There though is also the option of the VX 4X2 Varicor 400 priced lower that the 4X4 that may meet your requirements.

[sunishsamuel]

Cruise control should be a must feature in a vehicle like storme. For the long highway cruises, i always missed this feature. While it takes the "Drive" feeling out, it is actually a comfortable and safer option. Why ? If you keep pressing the accelerator to maintain speeds of 80kmph, it never happens. You end up giving pressure on the pedal inconsistently resulting in varying speeds and less mileage (though its inadvertent most of the times). With cruise control, the speed is maintained consistently - you get to drive at 80kmph (which is the max speed limit of many of our highways) plus gives you better fuel economy.