[A_KP]

After watching the entire comparison video, my personal (laymen's) views are as under:

Looks
1) Safari: Looks like king of the road, specially in blue color.
2) XUV7OO: Looks very modern with all those cuts & creases. Yet from some viewing angles (rear), it gives an MPV vibe to me.
3) Alcazar: Ford Endeavour like rear vibe, but lacks presence as compared to XUV/Safari.

Interior

In my view, now a days infotainment/central console design is overpowering the overall design & likeability of the vehicle. It has the ability to sway customer's opinion in the very first interaction with vehicle. As such the latest entrant to the market/facelifted versions of vehicle will always have an advantage over existing vehicles in terms of playing around with infotainment design.

Floating infotainment of safari looks outdated in comparison of both XUV7OO & Alcazar. It would be a good facelift to Safari if somehow, Tata can integrate the infotainment system in dashboard like Endeavour or overhaul the entire console design like Jeep Compass.

Alcazar's interior color scheme, albeit practical in terms of maintenance, loses out in comparison with airy feel & layered scheme of Safari & XUV. Having said that, I have seen seats of 3 months old Safari & quite sure that it would be a pain to maintain them in top shape.

Engine, Features & Specs

Engine: I drive a Harrier BS4 and feel that 138 PS power & 350 Nm torque is adequate on Indian roads. But power figures of XUV are just wow. . Safari is no laggard either in real world/legal speeds. Just one gripe though, the engine sound of FIAT mill is not great. In my opinion, with full load, both XUV & Safari will feel adequately powered but I am not so sure about Alcazar.

Feature & Specs: XUV 7OO is a clear winner here. Even though, I am skeptical about putting so much of tech in cars (call me old school), but for me, mechanical aspect of car matters the most. Having said that, I see no sour points on paper in XUV 7OO. I cannot comment on XUV's new FSD suspension set up, its ride quality & the extent to which it has eliminated the old XUV 5OO's boat like ride.

For a contemporary 7 seater, Alcazar too is well loaded and has strong points like refinement, perceived brand superiority and feeling of owning higher segment vehicle than Creta. However, it lacks the power & street presence of XUV/Safari.

Tata have to do something to counter such strong products. May be a facelift with: (1) Engine power re-map (if possible), (2) Central console and Infotainment update (If Mahindra-Visteon can do it, Tata-Visteon also can) with a provision for online update, (3) Blind spots monitoring system, and (4) NCAP Safety Ratings along with facelifted version.

Finally, I would choose between XUV & Safari but before buying, I would wait for 1 to 1.5 years to see: (a) Tata's response to competition, & (b) time period for Mahindra to sort out XUV 7OO's initial niggles (if any). By then, I would be having a more clear picture.

Disclaimer: The views are personal and not intended to offend existing owners.


Thanks & Regards,
A_KP

[NitSat]

One more area where Safari clearly scores over the other two rivals, is The Third Row seating.
Safari can easily accommodate two average size adults in its third row. It has acceptable knee room and head room . However, both Alcazar and XUV 700 , are found lacking- ( at least from the reviews, I’m getting this impression) . They are best suited for the kids only.
It has clearly jeopardised the boot space of Safari. But then , both alcazar and XUV , have nothing to write home about, in terms of boot space .

[Jude300]

Originally Posted by NitSat

One more area where Safari clearly scores over the other two rivals, is The Third Row seating.
Safari can easily accommodate two average size adults in its third row.

Absolutely. The 3rd row of the Safari is the best in the segment and the sliding 2nd row gives more flexibility when you have to go full house.

Also, it's the only car to have a more SUVish look and my decision to go with Safari was driven by that fact. XUV700 though had the bells and whistles I somehow am not very impressed. The Alcatraz is not in the list for now for reasons already called out.

It's the Innova Crysta Gx automatic that comes next in my list. It shines where the Safari loses (reliability, service and resale). The customer service at the Tata dealership is already not satisfactory. If they play foul, I will be cancelling the booking and opt for the Innova.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Jude300

Absolutely. The 3rd row of the Safari is the best in the segment and the sliding 2nd row gives more flexibility when you have to go full house.

Also, it's the only car to have a more SUVish look and my decision to go with Safari was driven by that fact. XUV700 though had the bells and whistles I somehow am not very impressed. The Alcatraz is not in the list for now for reasons already called out.

It's the Innova Crysta Gx automatic that comes next in my list. It shines where the Safari loses (reliability, service and resale). The customer service at the Tata dealership is already not satisfactory. If they play foul, I will be cancelling the booking and opt for the Innova.

Wait, test drive , compare and then put your money down where you see value. It's just a matter of another month until you get to see the XUV and experience it.

I have seen instant regret as soon as the 200BHP information came out and then it has gone downhill from there, if only he had waited for a few months. A price correction is going to piss of existing customers and not doing so will .... Quite a quandary Indeed.

[nainan]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Wait, test drive , compare and then put your money down where you see value. It's just a matter of another month until you get to see the XUV and experience it.

I have seen instant regret as soon as the 200BHP information came out and then it has gone downhill from there, if only he had waited for a few months. A price correction is going to piss of existing customers and not doing so will .... Quite a quandary Indeed.

I would say as a Safari owner its a wake up call for Tata. Just imagine if the XUV 700 had drop dead looks too(I know some like it, I personally find it horrendous especially the grill and C shaped headlights combo but by and large we do not see the reactions that the H5X had gotten). If looks did not matter Hexa would have been king.

Even if you discount all the other features the Safari is sorely missing a pertol mill and a 4WD. On pricing I still think the goof up is at the Harrier end which pretty much required them to plonk the Krytotec 170 for them to justify the pricing and reduced the differentiation between the Harrier and Safari and pretty much put them in a corner as far as pricing the Safari was concerned and killed the Hexa.

I think the Harrier 2022 should shake up the variant list with a couple of lower priced versions using the 140 bhp version, the pertrol mill and at least a couple of more features on higher end variants like 360 degree cams, ventilated seats and the 4WD at least as an option to justify the cost. On the Safari flagship I think its the higher end that has been seeing bumper sales and they need to add features as standard like the Harrier and some exclusives to the Safari like better infotainment, connected car etc. The reversing cam needs to be upgraded for sure.

As of now I think the Safari might see a dip but given Mahindra's severe chip shortage and the Safari's lead things might not get to a head till early next year.

The one thing the need to do is extensive and detailed lead tracking, massive improvement in their sales/dealer teams because given the stiff competition and sales lost will hurt both in numbers and perception. Also given a new model year existing passengers will expect changes and wont be too disappointed. If they offer upgrades to the new features where possible they could keep existing customers happy and make a neat accessory sales too.

Hope at least this time they get smart like they did learning from the mistakes of Harrier 2020 and dont goof it up.

[varman742]

Yesterday I had an interesting observation about tyres of my Safari Adventure Edition. The tyres also have the tropical mist color on the outer edge of the wall! In the last 4 month of ownership I didn't notice this even though I have been cleaning the car myself but observed this suddenly to my pleasant surprise.





Has anyone else noticed this too?

[Jude300]

Originally Posted by Jude300

The customer service at the Tata dealership is already not satisfactory. If they play foul, I will be cancelling the booking and opt for the Innova.

I would like to update that I had a pleasant surprise today. In all my years of car ownership I have never had such a quick resolution to issues. I sent a feedback mail to Tata motors customer care mail ID on Saturday evening. I didn't even get an auto generated mail response and so I thought this one too will go to the thrash. But surprisingly I got a response on Sunday morning with contact details (in case I need to speak to) and also mentioning that I will receive a call from the dealership today. And I got it from the sales person today morning apologising for the delay in response. Though the way he dealt with the situation was far from being called professional, I was able to get my things straight with him and set the expectations on the kind of relationship and communication with him / the dealership.

So that was a sweet experience for me who is quite vocal and one who often reaches out to companies with feedback or queries and even appreciation without hesitation. However, except for Amazon, I have never had such prompt response to my issues.

I have done it in the past with Ford giving them detailed feedback on the EcoSport but never got a response. But however, was later invited to a customer feedback event.

But this one from Tata is quite awesome given that my expectations were very low based on many other reviews I had read.

[AirWind]

Originally Posted by varman742

Yesterday I had an interesting observation about tyres of my Safari Adventure Edition. The tyres also have the tropical mist color on the outer edge of the wall! In the last 4 month of ownership I didn't notice this even though I have been cleaning the car myself but observed this suddenly to my pleasant surprise. Has anyone else noticed this too?

No... this cant be true! Are you sure you didn't drive thru paint? Is this consistent in other tires too? I hope this is not some issues with the tyre

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by varman742

Attachment 2199422

Attachment 2199423

Has anyone else noticed this too?

I've noticed same after driving through mud. Guessing it's minerals from mud reacting with tyres.

[Jude300]

Originally Posted by Jude300

I would like to update that I had a pleasant surprise today.

Yesterday's surprise was doubled when later in the day the sales person called to inform that my car has been billed. A month-end strategy to achieve the sales numbers I guess. Anyways, the car is coming. Now I have to deal with the ones where I have least control. Our company's HR operations team that takes a lot of time to process the lease and the new 5 year bumper to bumper insurance rule.

If this rule comes to existence which is the case now, my company will take its sweet time to update the policy before processing the lease.

I hate the lease route for this very reason though it will help me save tax in the future.

Originally Posted by varman742

Yesterday I had an interesting observation about tyres of my Safari Adventure Edition. The tyres also have the tropical mist color on the outer edge of the wall!

Has anyone else noticed this too?

I guess it could be because of the mud that has reacted with the rubber. I thinks it's normal based on what I read.

Link 1

Link 2

[Abhi1990]

Hello Everyone
quick question to all Delhi safari owners, which service center would you suggest as best in North delhi for service of Safari?

[Trust_In_Thrust]

Originally Posted by Abhi1990

Hello Everyone
quick question to all Delhi safari owners, which service center would you suggest as best in North delhi for service of Safari?

Truenorth Peergarhi (This was a Concorde service centre earlier) has been able to work satisfactorily for our Hexa XTA since 2018. Manish and Pritpal on shop floor work with dedication. It is congested place and cleaning is not upto mark ( i get it cleaned outside ). The only strength is there willingness to address the issue if any.

[Jude300]

A quick question to owners. I see only a single USB port below the infotainment unit. Where is the USB port for Android Auto? Is it in the same place or inside the arm rest? Also, is it possible to have the pen drive and Android connected at the same time?

Coming from the EcoSport there were 2 USB ports below the centre console. This issue was that my daughter who sits in the second row couldn't change songs as the phone was not reachable.

Would like to know how convenient it is in case of the Safari? Interestingly I couldn't get the answer from the manual; in fact no mention of Android Auto.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by Jude300

Where is the USB port for Android Auto? Is it in the same place or inside the arm rest? Also, is it possible to have the pen drive and Android connected at the same time?

Regarding Harrier/Safari, as far as I know, There is only one USB port for android auto/pen drive.

There are a total of 4 more USB ports. Two inside front armrest and two for rear passengers. But they are meant for phone charging as per what I saw in a few reviews.


Even if there are two or more USB ports in a car, there is no guarantee that the system will simultaneously support playing music via USB/pen drive and using Android auto for other stuff such as Navigation etc. In many head units, enabling android auto or apple carplay takes the entire screen into that mode. It all depends upon how the head unit has been designed to work. If a HU is designed to work as a split screen even with android auto and apple car play, only then it should support both (Phone + USB). It is recommended to have a demo in the test drive vehicle to see how this works.

[Candy$Cars]

Originally Posted by Jude300

A quick question to owners. I see only a single USB port below the infotainment unit. Where is the USB port for Android Auto? Is it in the same place or inside the arm rest? Also, is it possible to have the pen drive and Android connected at the same time?

Coming from the EcoSport there were 2 USB ports below the centre console. This issue was that my daughter who sits in the second row couldn't change songs as the phone was not reachable.

Would like to know how convenient it is in case of the Safari? Interestingly I couldn't get the answer from the manual; in fact no mention of Android Auto.

It is the same port for everything I guess atleast in the Harrier. The same port is used for Android auto, car play, charging, usb play. Your daughter in the second row will still won't be able to change songs ! Unless she uses bluetooth streaming!

However, there were reports of Safari getting wireless android auto and carplay, someone's safari few pages back already had the beta version if I remember correctly.
If that is implemented, then she will be able to do so.