Hi all. There are already many posts on the good and bad aspects of the Safari. Here are a few things I felt are missing in my accomplished+ 7-seater.
• The iRA app works well, not great.
I would have also liked it to be a complete replacement for the physical key, allowing me to turn the car on to accessories mode, open windows and the sunroof, and open the tailgate within the app.
• Better radio reception is needed.
The FM quality really sucks. I’m sure fellow owners in Kerala face the same issue. It hasn’t been a problem for me as I use Bluetooth audio the most. CarPlay would come second, as I noticed there’s some compression going on with the audio and google maps works better on the MID.
• Third-row AC control from the infotainment screen is glitchy.
Spaceunicorn mentioned this in one of the posts above. If the knob is turned to one of the speeds, and the vehicle turns on, we only have an option to turn it off from the screen; it won’t turn back on, nor can we control the fan speed.
• Reclining third-row seats would have been nice, not that it’s necessary, as the default position is already comfortable enough.
• The wireless charging doesn’t work well with newer iPhones.
I’m using the iPhone 14 Pro with a MagSafe case. There’s a big camera bump, so it leaves a gap when it's laid on any surface. Consequently, when the car is moving, I keep getting an alert that there’s something metallic like keys on the pad and therefore it won’t be charging. However, it works perfectly with my Ultra, so I'm forced to use the USB-C cable for my main phone whenever I need to charge it.
Has anyone else noticed the weird jittering and interlacing when you open the camera app on your iPhone while it's on the wireless charging pad? I am seeing it for the first time. Not sure how to interpret it.
• Half-baked features are never a good idea. Lane-keep assist is a must-have with such good ADAS, and we aren’t sure how long we have to wait for it.
• Getting to honk the horn and open windows, along with the sunroof, with the physical key.
I always used it in my Mercedes and Land Cruiser. I’m not sure how much engineering is required to implement that, so I’m just going to leave it at that.
• The 19-inch alloys.
It definitely look amazing and perform very well on corners, but I would rather have 18s for a much smoother ride. It’s a family car after all.
• A better-sounding horn from the factory. My Nexon sounded much more premium.
• Mood lighting situation.
It gets super bright with drive mode changes for a few seconds, i.e., super green with ECO, dark red with Sport, and dark blue with city mode. I would like those brightness levels to stay instead of the dull presets.
• SVM
The car is equipped with the best-in-class 360-degree cameras. It could have the Surround View Monitoring system, just like the XUV700, to have peace of mind, even though I have installed a 70mai dual-channel dashcam.
• Side-view mirrors
It could have had a bit more visibility, as well as the A-pillars blocking a significant chunk of the driver’s view, which is concerning on ghat roads and in village areas. Agreed, Blind spot monitoring cameras are there for a purpose but who really focuses on the infotainment system while taking a turn?
• Brakes are good, not great.
They could have been better considering its weight and size. There’s no initial brake bite, and the rear discs feel small, though they work better than the previous models.
• Ease of getting into the second row.
The door is definitely big, but the area where you actually put your foot and get in is narrow, making it very hard for senior citizens to get in and out. They get confused about where to grip and end up holding the driver/co-passenger headrest and seat for support. A grab handle in that area would have made things easier. If it were a 6-seater version, I can only imagine how elders would feel while trying to access the third row through the middle. I know getting side steps will solve this issue, but it will ruin the aesthetics of the car, and TATA's genuine accessory costs 19k with a 3k labor charge for installation. I'm waiting for automatic side steppers. I have checked the universal ones, and they don't fit perfectly. When spending 50k on something, it's advisable to think twice, so I decided against it until something comes up that aligns with the body.
• Second-row AC situation.
Not going to lie, my Nexon had better cooling. But since the AC is strong enough, I’m directing the middle vents straight, as the side vents in the second row have very poor performance. They only work decently from fan speed 3.
• Equalizer
As an Audiophile, I would have liked a 10-band EQ for the Custom mode, where I could tune it myself to perfection. I find myself changing JBL modes often from song to song, which is kind of annoying while driving. Flat mode (0 bass, mid, and treble) works as intended, and whenever I get super annoyed, that's what I use.
The car has a lot of tech, and since it's from Tata, nothing is picture-perfect. It forgets what to do at times. Be it with AC speeds when the car is starting to change gears to opening the boot. I’ve had small troubles every now and then where it's not concerning that much but still there's always something to nitpick.