[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

The goal would be that every single team does the job it is supposed to do. Just because someone forgets to tighten a bolt (even if we presume that to be the case), doesn't mean a marketing guy quits his job.

It may work for a neighborhood Kirana shop, but car manufacturers need to cross several boundaries to reach out to their potential customers. No way they can sell a product without advertisements, one form or other. I am sure they have several teams that will handle different channels of marketing and advertisement including social media.

The wider the gulf between different departments, the more embarrassing it is. That's what I was trying to say, maybe I must have worded better.
One one hand a fundamental flaw , unheard of - ,bolt coming loose from fuel tank fastening, in a new vehicle.
On the other hand, a hyper aggressive "this is the medicine for your boring life" lifestyle ads.
The aggressively of the marketing campaign highlights the niggles/faults even more starkly. In-your-face style can kickback even worse in such high risk marketing approach, banking on a legacy name

[Slushmaster]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Ask the Hexa. A stellar product praised by all, not much of marketing hype, probably the best 6/7 seat SUV/MUV, but it flopped.
Post being culled, lot of crocodile tears in this forum on how they "would" have bought one. Compare this to a Harrier, vilified on this forum, however the market has lapped it up. A reality check: opinions on this forum don't reflect the real world.

I feel that Hexa failed because Tata never wanted it to be successful as they never put their heart in it after launching it. As a Tata car owners since the begining of this century, I always feel bad for neglected products and half hearted effort by the entire team outside the factory to sell or manage the product.

The review of this forum matters a lot to the informed buyer. But, mostly the first touch point with Tata's showroom after reading good things about their cars is negative. So views of this forum needs to be matched by tata by their sales and service to sell.

I want Safari/ Harrier to be a successful car, but only tata motors can make that happen. Brands in India are selling pathetic cars in huge numbers and good cars are neglected and that too because of poor management of product and brand. Sorry for going Offtopic.

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

The wider the gulf between different departments, the more embarrassing it is. That's what I was trying to say, maybe I must have worded better.

Embarrassing to whom? The Tata motors? I doubt that. May be to the guy who left that bolt unfastened or his supervisor or the guy who did the QC for that particular item. Or the guy who did the under-body coating and left it hanging. Or in case of latter, to the owner who had no clue about such a thing happening to his brand-new car. But companies don't have feelings. They can't afford to have feelings.

Did I feel embarassed when my Linea left me stranded on a highway with a fuming engine bay? May be a little, but not to the extent of blaming it all on someone. These things just happen.

Originally Posted by venkyhere

One one hand a fundamental flaw , unheard of - ,bolt coming loose from fuel tank fastening, in a new vehicle.
On the other hand, a hyper aggressive "this is the medicine for your boring life" lifestyle ads.
The aggressively of the marketing campaign highlights the niggles/faults even more starkly. In-your-face style can kickback even worse in such high risk marketing approach, banking on a legacy name

Well, if you look that closely, there won't be anyone left. We have seen cars leaking rain water into the cabin, cars catching fire, steering wheels rattling and then some cars crumbling like aluminum foil in a crash test and what not. IMO, there is absolutely no reason to go overboard with this. But then not everyone reacts in the same manner. With that, I will stop as I think we have gone well into the territory of

[Sheel]

MOD NOTE - Guys, request you to please stick to the topic of discussion.

[shortbread]

Thursday....

https://youtu.be/DHnKUIrRBcI

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by shortbread

Thursday....

Is it just me or the current Reclaim your life TV commercials feel lame in comparison to the legendary TVCs of the past?

PS: Not at all taking the product in the ad into account, but just the general emotion and vibe surrounding the current ads are somewhat,- incomplete.

[locusjag]

This car's extremely low GC when fully laden is worrisome to me. I don't see many who've expressed their concern about it. It probably goes to show that this car isn't being seriously considered as a 7 seater car by most folks. It's just a bigger Harrier with the option to seat 2 more folks for a short run...it has more real estate and metal thrown in when compared to the Harrier. That's it - ignoring other stuff that's really been changed in it.

143 mm of laden GC would be hair-raising to me when driving this car with a full load - and a full load in my extended family means 7 on board plus ~ 40 to 50 kg of rooftop luggage and ~20 kg of stowed luggage indoors. If I really needed a car to move 7 or 8 people plus serious luggage, this car shouldn't be in my consideration set - right? I'm curious to see what others think about this.

The Marazzo's laden GC is ~ 160 or 165 mm if memory serves me right. We don't know what the Crysta's or Hexa's is, because the ARAI didn't make it mandatory for OEMs to disclose fully laden GC figures until recently.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Is it just me or the current Reclaim your life TV commercials feel lame in comparison to the legendary TVCs of the past?

These are teasers/trailers (one day at a time) of the full TVC, based on the original 'Reclaim your life' theme. I hope/believe once the full AD is released, it would be as inspirational as the original, if not better.

Originally Posted by locusjag

This car's extremely low GC when fully laden is worrisome to me. I don't see many who've expressed their concern about it.

So far, no one has complained about GC of the Harrier, even with full load. Since this is based on the same platform, has similar suspension and slightly bigger wheels, the new Safari shouldn't be a scrapper as well. Numbers might not give the full picture here, so let's wait for the full review.

The videos by reviewer Bunny Punia shows Safari is capable on bad roads and doesn't bottom out. Considering full load, I imagine the results won't be vastly different.

[ThatCarGuy]

I have not driven the Tata Safari, but have driven the Tata Harrier and I really couldn't find a good comfortable driving position. I found the driver side really cramped up, the telescopic steering pull is very less, the tilt position as well. Also, the dead pedal is so small, I couldn't accommodate my 11 size sandals, it was interfering with the clutch pedal, not sure if Tata intended a dead pedal there.

I am 5'11, any suggestions for a good seating position.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by ashis89

So far, no one has complained about GC of the Harrier, even with full load. Since this is based on the same platform, has similar suspension and slightly bigger wheels, the new Safari shouldn't be a scrapper as well. Numbers might not give the full picture here, so let's wait for the full review.

The Harrier's fully laden GC is 153 mm. The Safari's is 143 mm. The numbers are deadly and do tell a story; the wheelbase remains the same between the Harrier and the Safari, while the laden GC is down by a full 10 mm in the Safari thanks to the extra load placed on it.

The videos by reviewer Bunny Punia shows Safari is capable on bad roads and doesn't bottom out. Considering full load, I imagine the results won't be vastly different.

I wish Mr.Punia would rather conduct tests based on real world scenarios - 7 passengers, ample luggage, make the Safari climb a speed hump in Bangalore or a concrete culvert in rural Tamil Nadu. The nation wants to know!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Is it just me or the current Reclaim your life TV commercials feel lame in comparison to the legendary TVCs of the past?

PS: Not at all taking the product in the ad into account, but just the general emotion and vibe surrounding the current ads are somewhat,- incomplete.

You're not alone. This is what I said two pages back -

"Fittingly, like the car the ads and the models and settings too have a very metrosexual vibe to them, compared to the original."

I was being polite and politically correct of course.

The campaign is simply flat and without direction and embarrassingly "me too" without remotely looking the part or evoking similar emotions and vibe.

I'm actually looking at that dusty rocky trail, and that new Safari, and the dandy in the ad, and wondering how they all came together and got back to office.

Cheers, Doc

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by shortbread

Thursday....

There isn't much there in these, is there? These are way too short by themselves individually to convey anything. Personally, I would just ignore these peace-meal marketing. Perhaps for someone who is (over)eagerly waiting for the release, this might make some sense and even offer a sense of connection.

[shortbread]

FRIDAY.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ6mO-jUp70

[ankur_fox]

Did a short test drive of the 6-seater automatic today and found the car to be quite spacious. It does hit a sweet spot with the various driving modes and massive sunroof.

A few niggles:
My father noticed a lack of immediate repsonse on the throttle in some modes, the AC vent cover on the third row was flimsy and could be broken if pulled by hand. Also the rear blowers throw barely enough air to suffice in our sweaty Indian summers and all speakers have JBL stickers on them which a 2 year old can remove in 2 seconds.

The car does look much bigger in the pictures than it actually is and I am a 5'3" man saying that lol

[nainan]

Finally got a test drive of the Safari both manual and auto. While a lot has been said on this thread I will add a couple of my observations.

• The manual gearbox is much better than the one that I drove on the Harrier 1.0 and has lost most of the rubbery feel of the earlier Tata gearboxes. The gear shifts are not Hyundai slick or precise but its overall much improved
• The MT clutch is long travel though light and the dead pedal is quite close to it and within the arc of the clutch pedal. Moreover for my size 11 feet it could only accomodate the edge of my foot. Hence I ended up mostly not using it
• The knee foul up is still there and I did try to adjust the height and the position of the seat but combined with the long clutch travel its not an easy position
• The bench is indeed the better middle row option and has oodles of space
• It somehow feels smaller than the Safari and Hexa maybe because of the smaller glass area but the road view is still commanding
• The 2nd gear has a tendency to stall when you slow for a hump in city mode. The annoying thing is parking brake engages as soon as this happens and to disengage it you need to press on the brake pedal. This was annoying
• The auto on the other hand was a breeze to drive on the Bangalore roads
• Doing U-turns well I liked the Storme much better but this is not as bad a the original Safari
• The body roll is more than the Harrier but much better than the Hexa or the Safari however well contained
• While it takes bumps and potholes in its stride the suspension is a tad more stiff than I would have liked
• I had myself, wife and 2 people from the showroom but there was not bottom scraping so GC felt adequate

It does have the presence and earns respect on the road. So it eventually comes down to price. I don't think given the very similar kit between the Safari and the Harrier given the Harrier XZA + is 20,25,500 ex-showroom logically the Safari should be price about 21-21.5 lakhs.