[throttleking]

Sorry for the OT question, I know this thread is meants for pictures only.

All Safari owners,

How much do you recommend 4x4 option, if someone is primarily looking at Safari for extensive touring (practically in any part of India) and occasional offroading? Is 4x2 option capable of some kind offroading? what are the limitations?

[tsk1979]

if you plan to do any kind of driving where a wheel can lose traction, eg sand slush or ice, 4x4 is a must.

[HappyWheels]

@ThrottleKing,

Go for the 4x4 if you budget permits. Let me tell you, those once-in-a-while use themselves will put an ever lasting grin on your face.

More true since you plan extensive touring.

[sidcruise79]

Originally Posted by throttleking

Sorry for the OT question, I know this thread is meants for pictures only.

All Safari owners,

How much do you recommend 4x4 option, if someone is primarily looking at Safari for extensive touring (practically in any part of India) and occasional offroading? Is 4x2 option capable of some kind offroading? what are the limitations?

As Happy Wheels mentioned if you can afford it - go for it. When you are driving such a huge beast you should have the capability of getting out of sticky situations on your own. Many Safari owners regret their decision of not going in for the 4X4, and this mod cannot be done later easily.

[tsk1979]

Another fact, a safari 4x2 is less capable than a M800 when it comes to slush/ice etc.,. Same is true for all these scorpio/bolero/innova type of MUVs. Their only advantage is ground clearance. If you have ice/slush or general slippery terrain, a Rear wheel drive 2WD is the worse kind of vehicle to have.

so if you want to roam the mountains, remember if you encounter any snow, or sandy patch, a heavy SUV will sink first.

[himanshugoswami]

guys, here is a question for all Safari nuts out here-

As some of you may know, I owned a safari LX Dicor 3.0 for 2 years and about 30 K kms, before i sold it off due to excessive number of issues,most of all the fact that it left me stranded in ouring rain at midnight due to an ECU failure.

anyhow, that is in the past and i am very happy with the SX4 that i bought as a replacement over a year back. thing is, we are now contemplating a second car, and the wife and I are both inclined towards an SUV rather than a large hatch (sedan is out).

despite my not so pleasant experience with the safari, the damn thing still pulls at my heart strings and i am seriosly contemplating a second chance for thisbeast. the trouble is, no other alternative fits the bill- scorp, innova, xylo, grande etc.

my only concern is that my budget is max 9OTR mumbai and that means LX4x2- are the brakes improved in the new LX (they were below par in my version) and can once really live without ABS on the safari- oris it a must have. A GX 4x2 is >11L OTR and hence way out of budget.

please weigh in with your personal experiences, since most of the Safaris on this thread are non-ABS ones.

[tsk1979]

From personal experience high speed braking is not the safari's forte in the non ABS version.
I have tested ABS equipped safari, and the difference was tremendous.
I suggest you take a test drive and do some runs at 90kmph with medium hard braking. If you are satisfied, you can go for it.

[himanshugoswami]

thanks Tanveer, i am sure the ABS version must have been a tremendous improvement over the non ABS one. if only TML gives an option of ordering the LX with ABS- currently Scorp is the only SUV with ABS < 10L, which is a real shame for a safari lover.

I cannot spend more than 9L at any cost, so the option is to settle for an LX or wait for a year and see what the options are then....

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

please weigh in with your personal experiences, since most of the Safaris on this thread are non-ABS ones.

Breaks on my Safari ( without ABS) are holding for last 2 years contrary to the majority reports . Vehicle stops in straight line about 2 months back I slammed breaks at 130+ when a dog suddenly decided to cross the road and managed to avoid the hit without any incidence.

But seeing reports of others I am keeping my fingers crossed and want to write a slogan of "buri nazar wale tera muh kala " on rear bumper like trukers

But I would suggest invest a couple of lakh in TML shares (Most agencies have upped their rating) hold for 3 months and then sell on next high to purchase a GX version

[NiTviN]

Is it possible to get ABS fitted on an existing 2.2 Safari? Lets say from TASS itself? I had asked this question to TASS, but as you guys know these people will give an answer without even knowing the subject. The guy said that it can be fitted, but its a very complex, tedious... blah blah job and that I should not take a chance. Has anyone got it done? How much did it cost?

If it can be done, it would be a great safety feature for the beast.

[ACM]

Himahshu You could consider a preowned VX 4X4 for about 7L 2008/9 year - with 2 years warranty still pending.

A month old safari feels quite similar to 2 year old safari provided it is maintained decently well.

Just remembered this is a picture posting thread, let move this discussion offline throughs pms or to another thread.

[Indian Ranger]

Friends,

Pardon me for posting this but when I logged in this was the scene with Safari and Scorpio threads running back to back. Felt nice hence am posting this here.

[NiTviN]

Originally Posted by amitk26

But I would suggest invest a couple of lakh in TML shares (Most agencies have upped their rating) hold for 3 months and then sell on next high to purchase a GX version

Well said Amitk26. Tata Motors shares are doing quite well. An experience from my side as well. I was speeding at about 120 KM on the Hunsur rd when a labourer dicides to run across my vehicle. I slammed the break and was able to avoid the person without any incident. However i could not have stopped the vehicle before the point of crossing. I guess if I had ABS i would be able to stop even in short range. But my experience is that Safari breaks are quite good if not the best. They are very responsive and do a wonderful job of stopping when needed.

[himanshugoswami]

thanks guys for your inputs.

Nitvin- retrofitting ABS is not something one should consider

ACM- no pre owned cars for me buddy- i would prefer to wait and save more moolah

the thing is, does any one have back to back experience of the braking of the 3.0 vs. the 2.2. if there is an incremental improvement in the 2.2 over the 3.0, i can live with it. the issue with my truck's braking was not so much premature locking but rather insufficient bite. if the bite is good in the brakes, you can avoid locking to a certain extent by pumping the brakes as well. trouble is that all test drive vehicles in the showrooms are in such pathetic condition tha tit is difficult to accurately guage the braking performance.

anyone here moved from a 3.0 to a 2.2?

[suman]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

please weigh in with your personal experiences, since most of the Safaris on this thread are non-ABS ones.

I think ABS is a must in this monster. As recently as day before, I had two back to back emergency braking situations -

• A Crane suddenly cutting in left on an expressway exit (I was heading for the exit & was at a pretty decent speed)
• A motorcyclist cutting sharply across at speed from the extreme right lane to the extreme left at a traffic signal where the Cop was about to stop traffic going from our direction.

In both cases, without ABS, I'd have hit the Crane/Motorcycle.