[pratim]

Originally Posted by parsh

Been a blissful experience so far since Dhanteras Diwali 2021 in all respects, even with service experiences, immense pleasurable highway and city driving with sorted manners.

There were a few issues in immediate months after delivery, as I had reported then, which were duly sorted out, but should not have been faced by customer at all.

Thanks for your encouraging words.

Safari owners in Bangalore:
Is KHT Whitefield is a good dealer for booking as well as service. I stay bit far from Whitefield area though.
How is Prerana Motors service centre off Hosur Road near Bomanahalli?

Cheers,
Pratim

[parsh]

Originally Posted by varunswnt

How is your experience on ride quality front? Can you provide some comparison between BOF Innova vs Monocoque Safari? In my experience of Innova Crysta, it isolates bad or no roads very well.

Since, Innova Hycross now has gone Monocoque FWD with MacPherson struts in front and Torsion beam rear which is exactly similar to new gen Safari, it would be interesting to see whether Safari will edge ahead in terms of ride quality over Hycross giving that SUV feel to owners.

Innova (and hence Crysta with literally same chassis and its build) is more SUV than any of new age wannabe Monococqe SUVs there, including Safari 2021, with the first hand experiences of Innova, Safari, Safari 2021, XUV500, XUV700. One friend, long time auto enthusiast, owner of Harrier loudly proclaims without any inhibition, your Innova is more SUV than my Harrier.

Innova's Ladder on Frame is definitely useful in many ways including in rugged terrains and absolutely gives that capability and carefree confidence to throw it around in any road condition.

The wannabe SUVs will be more soft roaders in that respect.

With this changeover, which is not just a makeover anymore, Hycross technically sits right alongside the wannabe SUVs. These are just sheeps in wolves clothing.

Innova eats up bad roads easily but the the effect of bad roads would be definitely felt by the passengers.

But given that, the Monocoque and the suspension setup in these new wannabe SUVs including Safari 2021 helps better on various aspects including more comfortable and pliant ride quality, less body roll etc like sedans. But they are likely to face more challenges in rugged terrains, bad roads maneuvering than Innova. We are yet to take the Safari 2021 to rugged terrains though, but initial small outing in HP did throw up some limitations and felt our Innovas would handle better in those mountains, twisties.

However, the FWD also introduces the problem of understeer, one has to be careful when throwing these around corners, on gravelly roads, uphills etc. But then again, the new age technologies too are plonked into these new age wannbe SUVs to assist the drivers in various situations, rendering people ignorant of the other build characteristics and manual capabilities to certain extent.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by parsh

However, the FWD also introduces the problem of understeer, one has to be careful when throwing these around corners, on gravelly roads, uphills etc. But then again, the new age technologies too are plonked into these new age wannbe SUVs to assist the drivers in various situations, rendering people ignorant of the other build characteristics and manual capabilities to certain extent.

SUV is a shape , Innova or Crysta doesn't really look like one, the others do. It has nothing to do with the architecture of the vehicle itself.

Innova and Crysta are as not the same thing, you can drive a Crysta but you need a driver for old Innova, the old Innova is more comfortable no doubt.

The Harrier twins are more comfort oriented despite their shape, they are steady highway cruisers but the XUV twins are performance oriented , meant to be driven fast. Innova is a people mover and it does a better job of transporting upto 8 people better than either of them.

Horses for courses in other words.

[Safari Persona]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

SUV is a shape , Innova or Crysta doesn't really look like one, the others do. It has nothing to do with the architecture of the vehicle itself.

Not sure this is true. I just looked up the definitions from some reputable sites and an SUV designation seems to have little to do with the shape.

Merriam-Webster:
a rugged automotive vehicle similar to a station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis

Collins:
An SUV is a powerful vehicle with four-wheel drive that can be driven over rough ground

Oxford:
a type of large car, often with four-wheel drive and made originally for travelling over rough ground

Cambridge:
a large powerful car with an engine that supplies power to all four wheels


A lot of carmakers in the Indian market have so brazenly abused the SUV moniker in their marketing that we've sort of lost our sense of what an SUV actually is. A lot of what we call SUVs here, like the new Safari and the FWD XUV700, would perhaps more accurately be described as crossovers, while the Punch (which Tata is shameless enough to market as an SUV) is essentially just a hatchback regardless of its shape and ground clearance.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Safari Persona

A lot of carmakers in the Indian market have so brazenly abused the SUV moniker in their marketing that we've sort of lost our sense of what an SUV actually is. A lot of what we call SUVs here, like the new Safari and the FWD XUV700, would perhaps more accurately be described as crossovers, while the Punch (which Tata is shameless enough to market as an SUV) is essentially just a hatchback regardless of its shape and ground clearance.

There is no consensus in the dictionary or even the automobile industry itself as to what an SUV is.

A range rover is not built on a light truck platform, it is a unit-body like any other crossover-SUV if you want to go the long route of calling that way. Same with Grand Cherokee - But you won't call them a crossover because they don't look like it.

A range rover Evoque or BMWX1 is sold as FWD in certain markets but that does not mean they are not SUVs.

SUV is nothing but the shape of it now, else what would you call a 2WD fortuner or Scorpio?

So from Espresso to punch and from Scorpio to range rover - everything is SUV, like how you can call anything from a DZire to an Sclass as sedan.

[Safari Persona]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

There is no consensus in the dictionary or even the automobile industry itself as to what an SUV is.

Maybe so, but there are certainly several characteristics that are generally attributed to SUVs. Rugged, large, powerful, ladder frame, off-road capabilities & functions, AWD/4WD, etc.

This is the first time I'm hearing of SUVs being designated based on their shape. There is no objective standard for an SUV shape like there is for a coupe or a convertible, because SUV isn't really a shape. The hint is in the name: Sports Utility Vehicle. A vehicle becomes an SUV based on its sports utility, not based on its shape (unlike a coupe, which got its name from the French word because of its "chopped off" look).

Just because there is no absolute consensus on what constitutes an SUV doesn't mean we go by something as arbitrary and subjective as body shape. For example, I think Punch looks absolutely like a hatchback and I'm surprised that its looks are being employed as an argument for it being an SUV.

SUV is nothing but the shape of it now, else what would you call a 2WD fortuner or Scorpio?

They're both large, rugged, powerful, ladder frame vehicles with certain off-road capabilities. They fit the description of an SUV more than they do that of a hatchback or a crossover based on their ladder frame chassis. This applies to all the cars you've mentioned, which don't meet ALL the characteristics generally attributed to SUVs, but they certainly meet enough. Tata Punch literally meets none of them and to call it an SUV is quite frankly a farce.

[Aditya]

Mod Note: Please stick to the topic of the thread. Any more off-topic posts will be deleted.

[trehansid]

Ex Innova owner here, who was this close to buying the Safari dark edition in the last 3days. Thanks to the negotiations that kept on going and that i was not able to pull the trigger.

I had been discussing and negotiating with dealerships around the town since 4 days, despite seeing tons of YT reviews over issues. But still was about to take a leap of faith and then, when i have had the account details added for the payment to the dealership, I stumbled on this thread.

Thanks for all the feedback shared, i absolutely fail to understand that why are we not boycotting TATA vehicle. The reviews shared instilled a pain & mental agony of another level. It would feel extremely suffocating to go through all these issues.

And i finally sit clueless of the direction i should take tomorrow while helplessly astonished at the lack of a decent vehicle to suffice our needs.

Innova was such a huge huge - peace of mind and trust, even if not close to an suv. What a heartache and a situation to be in after being compelled to sell it due to age restrictions.

Thanks everyone for sharing what you did.

[cavenkat]

Hello trehansid,

Such dejection in TAMO is totally unfounded. In our extended family there are 2 Harriers and 1 Safari all purchased in 2021. Believe life has become a bliss after purchasing these Harriers/Safari. One Harrier has done 60,000/- Kms, another Harrier has done 25,000/- Kms and my Safari has done 23,500/- Kms.

Except for Infotainment system issue in one Harrier (which was resolved pretty quickly by TAMO team) there has been absolutely no problem with any of the vehicles. After the vehicles have come we are doing more long trips without any stress. There have been absolutely no niggles whatsoever.

All my previous cars were from Maruthi and coming from the bullet proof reliability/serviceability of Maruthi cars, i am still very happy with the vehicles.

The platform derived from the land rover D8 platform is very robust, engine is the tried and tested fiat engine and if you are going for the automatic then the fantastic combo of Fiat engine mated to the Hyundai torque converter is total bliss.

Those who are satisfied with the vehicles like me do not come out on forums and praise the same because the vehicles are going a damn good job. It is only the miniscule minority who have some niggles/issues who will berate the manufacturer and hence will be more visible. The minority will be there with every vehicle and manufacturer. TAMO always gets more brick bats is my own assessment.

If you like the harrier my suggestion is to just go for it without batting an eyelid. You will just love the vehicle for many more years.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by trehansid

Thanks for all the feedback shared, i absolutely fail to understand that why are we not boycotting TATA vehicle. The reviews shared instilled a pain & mental agony of another level. It would feel extremely suffocating to go through all these issues.

There was a time period where Innova is boring, XUV5OO was old, Hector is Chinese - this was the mindset and there comes Harrier V2 followed by Safari.

One of my family members too were in this situation of not being able to wait for something good for their money to come by and pulled the trigger like all those whom you are reading about - same result.

[condor]

Speaking of issues, the Harrier/Safari and the Jeep Compass have the same Fiat sourced engine. There have been issues reported in both these. Has anyone done a comparison on this - what kind of issues are noticed in each family here ? Not the one-off stuff or that related to the infotainment unit, but the more important ones regarding engine/transmission and related stuff.

[mywayishighway]

Just got done with first service of my safari xza+. Car was driven for 1200kms mostly in Banglore traffic.

I had a couple of issues with the car
1. Minor steering vibration at low speeds.
2. Annoying sound from the rear of the car.

I took a prior appointment at kropex Singasandra. Also i know the service advisor from before as he takes care of my friends harrier.

They fixed the rear sound issue(it was happening due to a flap touching some other part). The steering vibration is not that evident now but it’s still there. Apart from this it was a regular checkup with def topping.

Total bill was 3k as they did some ipp coating.

[narsingh]

Originally Posted by cavenkat

The platform derived from the land rover D8 platform is very robust, engine is the tried and tested fiat engine and if you are going for the automatic then the fantastic combo of Fiat engine mated to the Hyundai torque converter is total bliss.

Those who are satisfied with the vehicles like me do not come out on forums and praise the same because the vehicles are going a damn good job. It is only the miniscule minority who have some niggles/issues who will berate the manufacturer and hence will be more visible. The minority will be there with every vehicle and manufacturer. TAMO always gets more brick bats is my own assessment.

I agree completely with all your points, dear cavenkat. I am also a happy owner of a Safari XZA+ Nov 2021 model, Daytona Grey. Driven 14,000 km and got the 3rd service done. Faced no issues so far (touch wood). It is such a pleasure to drive; long journeys with family are a breeze now. There is no other SUV in its price range that can match its head-turner looks. Fantastic audio system, very effective air purifier, great ride comfort, quiet cabin, powerful yet silent Fiat engine, smooth Hyundai automatic transmission, decent mileage. Aur kya chahiye.....??

[pratim]

So finally booked a Safari XZA+. Initially it was the Tropical Mist Adventure edition. Later changed it to Dark Edition after I found that the Adventure edition is lying in the ward since September/October. Also I wasn't sure about the colour, how would it be to look at.

I took time to decide on this; I have a City which have been very reliable, fuss free and comes with a great petrol engine mated to a good auto box with paddle shifters. I shall trade in the City most likely.

Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that the experience will be good.

Thanks to all Safari owners whose inputs and posts here helped me decide on this.

[cavenkat]

[quote=pratim;5462963]So finally booked a Safari XZA+. Initially it was the Tropical Mist Adventure edition. Later changed it to Dark Edition after I found that the Adventure edition is lying in the ward since September/October. Also I wasn't sure about the colour, how would it be to look at.

All the very best. Hope that you will have a fuss free experience with the safari just like I have had.

Also safari in black is such a looker that there is no vehicle on Indian roads which will come anywhere near its commanding presence