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-   -   2021 Tata Safari Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/232704-2021-tata-safari-review-113.html)

Hi Friends

I have finally decided to sell my 7 years old absolutely amazing Renault Duster.
I need a 7 seater now and have a strictly 20 lakh OTR budget. It seems XUV and Safari are my only options and I can't wait 60 weeks for a car which rules out XUV.
Now with Safari, i am torn between booking XT or XMA.
What to you suggest?

The safari is purely a front wheel drive vehicle (its based on a monocoque platform), while the hexa was based on a ladder frame chassis and had 4x4 and hence rear wheel drove in non-4x4 variants.

Ideally, would be best if you could stretch upto XTA/XTA+ for some useful features like Android Auto/Apple Carplay.

If that's not possible, I would suggest to go for XMA. IMO automatic is a must nowadays, especially in such a large vehicle.

Check out the 2021 stock with dealers, there are healthy discounts going on for Safari/Harrier twins.

I don't there is any XTA variant else I would have stretched for it. There is only XTA plus and I don't really see the need for spending money on sunroof. Also i think the taxes tend to increase as soon as ex show room cost is above 20 lakhs.

With XMA i lose out on ACC and Apple Carplay and I guess the soft touch dashboard but get the so much talked about Automatic.
:confused:

I would have gone for XMA, automatic is priority No 1 for me.
Have never found ACC to be very useful, yes Apple carplay is a great feature, but automatic is way more convenient.

I test drove the Safari without any intention of purchasing it, just to check it out since I had driven the Compass S which uses the same engine with a 9 speed gearbox. But unlike the lethargic Jeep which just makes a whole lot of noise when you push the pedal and waits till it hits 3rd or so before it finally starts moving, the Safari's 6 speed AT will get you moving right from the get go. I was delighted to find how much easy and fun to drive the Safari was (if you ignored the overly sensitive steering at high speeds), just gunning it over broken roads, hills and what not, with the engine and gearbox responding as if I'm driving a sedan and not a large FWD SUV. And just like that, my dad and I were won over and abandoned all intentions of buying the Compass, solely for the suspension, engine and gearbox combo offered by the Safari at a very good price. The interiors felt cheap, the features felt gimmicky, some elements like the centre console and speedo felt half baked but Tata sure has nailed the core element of the car which is all that matters to me, coming from a fully loaded Hyundai where I haven't used half the features after the first few months.

XMA if you drive more than 80% in the city, else XT isn't bad at all.
Have an XZA Harrier and let me tell you, this thing has an EXCELLENT auto. No fatigue whatsoever in traffic.
Keep us posted :)

Only worry will be, how can the owner of this black beauty manage driving it during Indian Summers when the vehicle upon a 20 min exposure will turn into an oven, Aircon needs to run in 150% to keep the cabin pleasent,

Tata launched multiple new trims and editions since the launch of new Safari in Feb 2021. I had actually done a pre-launch booking but cancelled it later (completely personal reasons).

The new editions / trims Tata introduced after its original launch in 2021 Feb:

1. Tropical mist color added to standard variants
2. If I am not wrong, a new based trim with sunroof
3. IPL timed new variants (Gold edition & one more)
4. And now, this Black edition

All these changes happened within 11 months of launching the original variants. I am not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, just curious to know how existing owners feel.

If a seven-seater is not a requirement (as it was in my case). Then Harrier is a good buy. You can move up the variants line if it's Harrier (Safari is 50-70K expensive variant to variant compared to Harrier). I would strongly suggest you get an automatic. The Engine-Gearbox (Fiat 2L + Hyundai's Gearbox) combo is very good in X[any]A.

The panoramic roof is very good and I would recommend folks if possible not to miss it.

Wireless android auto, ACC, Auto-headlamps, Rain-sensing wipers are some things you can give a miss when on a tight budget. I have driven mine for around 5k km up until now. I feel all the features that I pointed out before can be done manually without feeling the need for a sensor performing that task (e.g., Auto-headlamps: It's just a rotation on the light stalk, I can do it myself without a sensor doing it for me). Possibly skipping the dual tone and dark editions will save you another (80K in total).

The car looks visually stunning and is loaded - no doubt, but my observations are -

a) black is the most difficult color to maintain - specially in matte finish which scratches easily;
b) PPF application on matte finish ruins the finish (likewise ceramic coat);
c) heat - this car would be impossible to stay inside during 10 months of the year in 75% of the country - without the AC running super efficiently (ventilated seats notwithstanding) - as another member observed as well.

Just a question for BHPians - do Tata Safari captain seats have isofix? What considerations to look for when one is putting kids on the 2nd row seats?

This one is not matte, its glossy black on the Safari Dark Edition.

Yes the captain seats support ISOFIX. Covered in the official review - link (pic)

A bit disheartened, blank, a bit like this -> :confused: I hope they launch a program to get the original models updated. The first batch does not get wireless charging & venti-seats both of which are desireable and have their own uses. How hopeful am I? Maybe 3/10 that this happens.