[ravibhat]

Raj you are right, Scorpio and Innova very good big vehicles for City use thats what I found out. I loved travelling in Safari not driving. Highway its different story because we use less clutch one will feel Safari good one because size/comfort matters.

People tend to give way to Safari I agree that but its just feeling not everytime its true.

For City use Scorpio/Innova is better anyday than Safari. For highway use take a decision based on which you like I feel all vehicles are one and same.

Regards,

Ravi.

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

It is much better that you drive a bigger car in traffic and let others worry about being banged by you rather than vice versa.

Ok, so take it as a benefit, need I say anything more.

BTW there will few more after affects:

1. after having beast, soon you will spend one weekend cleaning your old dusty bike(if you have one).

2. All of the sudden you will realize the benefits of walking, and will walk to the near by shop.

3. Your servant will immediately ask for a raise .

4. You will feel that your house entry is not good, and will spend a big buck increasing the size of the gate(if you have house). else you will start attending the society meetings very often(if you have apartment).


, Please just enjoy it, I have already put my point


And do not take it otherwise, Safari is my dream machine from childhood, and I still feel thrilled driving it. I have almost driven a friends 2.2L, 2500KM and every inch was a delight, but I had hell time going from NH8 to Sector 4 in peak traffic. Parking it in Gurgaon, sector 14 market is pain. In Lajpat Nagar market, I always looked for extreme parking places, which are the most easiest places to park.

So if you still decide to buy it, I am damn sure you will enjoy it

[ibm_jennifer]

Scorpio and Innova very good big vehicles for City use

I have a TCIC Safari and I just got a chance to travel in my neighbor's Scorpio today.

Believe me or not, I will not buy a Scorpio in my life even if anybody ready to give it free!!!(Maybe I am a stupid or his Scorpio had some suspension problem, but I fell my safari suspension is 500% better than the scorpio - I am sorry if it hurts any scorpio users, no offense please - its my personal thought!!!)

So better test drive the Scorpio or safari and decide it yourself. Regarding the city pickup I don't find any drawback even with my TCIC Safari - As I never seen a SUV overtakes me in Chennai city.

If its not a Safari, then it should be a Land cruiser. This is why I still keeping my TCIC Safari with me.

[Amit_D]

Not trying to get personal, but may be that is the view that a lot of people have about the safari - "its not good in heavy traffic or then its better to driven around in a safari rather than driving it yourself". When I purchased the beast, believe me, I was very apprehensive myself, of my decision, but after driving it for a good 15000 kms, my apprehensions are gone and never once has it given me any trouble, whether in the city traffic, or on the highway. I have recently travelled 5000kms across 5 states on a 15 days holiday, driven it on all kinds of terrain, driven it through dry river beds and flyways as well, on mountain roads and congested city traffic. Its performance remained just "superb". Talking of speed on highways, yes, it is true that due to the tall body, it is better to be always on the side of caution, but at the same time it handles superbly and I did not find any reasons to complain on that front. Remember, the safari is more about sheer power and comfort than about speed (though it will never let you down on that front too).

[raj_5004]

@ ibm:
1) you wont get a scorpio for free!
2) you are not stupid, the safari's suspension is indeed better than the scorpio. whether its 500% or 1000%, i have not personally verified nor i have substantial claims!
3) no offense taken at all.
4) the 2.0 TCIC safari is the slowest mammal on earth, according to me. it would take ages to reach to 100 kmph. yes, you wont have a problem with it because you are used to it. when we have a vehicle, we get used to it no matter how it performs. like i have got used to the bouncy ride of my scorpio!
5) if not the safari, then the landcruiser... why not the 2.2 safari?

@ amitd: yes mate, the safari is not a nightmare to be driven in city. but here when we are comparing it with other vehicles for city use, we suggest which one is better. i feel compared to the other vehicles in its class, the safari is a chore to drive in city. drive a magnum, verna, scorpio or innova in city and then drive your safari. you will feel the difference. the difference is in driveabilty.

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

@ amitd: yes mate, the safari is not a nightmare to be driven in city. but here when we are comparing it with other vehicles for city use, we suggest which one is better. i feel compared to the other vehicles in its class, the safari is a chore to drive in city. drive a magnum, verna, scorpio or innova in city and then drive your safari. you will feel the difference. the difference is in driveabilty.

Exactly, that's my point, you just put it on right words. Is safari a good choice for just a city drive? In my opinion NO. it will not be fair justice to the capabilities of Safari, also there are much better options for just city drive.

[ibm_jennifer]

1. Yes, nobody will give a Scorpio even for a safari.
2. Yes, suspension is what I need to pay 50% more to travel on a Volvo than ordinary air bus.
3. Thanks friend
4. No, TCIC is not the slowest as I have driven a DICOR too. Its all how you drive and how you maintain the car. Believe me, I can buy another DICOR for the cost what I have spend on my TCIC. Its all passion.
5. Because I know TATA engineers very well. They have taken 6 years (1998-2004) to successfully implement and balance the old "AUTO" technology(mechanical) in the SAFARI body.(Even in the last generation TCIC also they had lot of mistakes and I rectified somewhat with SUMO Victa parts!!!).

But I will be the first person in Chennai to buy the fourth generation DICOR after 2-3 years once they learned and corrected every mistakes from the current 2nd generation DICOR customers. Till then I am happy with my TCIC as I got 101% assurance that my SAFARI never fails in the middle of the road!!! I don't find any good reason in the new DICOR to upgrade my TCIC to a DICOR.

So if I am 100% happy with a TCIC, You will definitely not wrong with a DICOR in the city. Test drive all the cars yourself and decide it!!!

[Amit_D]

raj:
I would like to start by repeating what you said in your last post - No offence meant. My intentions here were to give an honest opinion of my personal experience of driving a Safari Dicor 2.2 VTT. Period! Prior to owning a Safari, I have had a good stint with an Esteem (my dads car), a Zen Vxi (which I priviously owned), and lately with an SX4 zxi (my brother owns that). When I settled for my Safari, you bet I tried driving a Scorpio as well and I found it worthy of all the sales figures it boasts, but I realized that I was not looking for a "Taxi" afterall which remained relatively niggle free, could accomodate 8 passengers and was average on suspension and "driveability". Rather, I was looking for a vehicle I would enjoy driving for comfort, take it out for adventure when I demanded and whiz past most of the SUV's "in its class", including a Scorpio, whenever I felt like.

BUT, yes, if one is just and only looking for driveability, there are a lot of other options available. A Safari is in any case not meant for someone with weak legs and in that case, I would always suggest the options you mentioned in your post.

I say, Test Drive and settle for what suits your needs the best (you never know what appeals to someone). On a serious note:

Pros of a Safari: Comfort, Value for Money, A powerful and safe vehicle.
Cons:Big turning radius, Parking issues in small parkings.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by ibm_jennifer

So better test drive the Scorpio or safari and decide it yourself. Regarding the city pickup I don't find any drawback even with my TCIC Safari - As I never seen a SUV overtakes me in Chennai city.

sorry for being OT, but that my friend is purely relative. a person will think his m800s pickup is good. but that maybe because he hasnt driven anything quicker.

[ibm_jennifer]

but that maybe because he hasn't driven anything quicker.

May be true. But why all other car owners driving their cars slower than me in Chennai (Believe me, there is something wrong with my Safari or you are all driving the TCIC as a petrol swift!!!) (I try to mean the power of the SAFARI DICOR is 101% enough in City Traffic, but you cant race with a safari - buy a Baleno instead!)

[suman]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

lastly, about city driving comfort, i beg to differ from the others here. the safari is not the most comfortable car to drive in the city. heavy clutch, large turning radius, poor bottom end response or turbo lag, low backward visibilty (due to spare tyre on boot) and low refinement are some of the reasons. these may be something you can get used to but thats true in every other car!

Originally Posted by raj_5004

suppose i drive a safari after driving a tavera, i'll feel its throttle response is good. but after a drive in the scorpio, the safari's turbo lag becomes really irritating.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

@ amitd: yes mate, the safari is not a nightmare to be driven in city. but here when we are comparing it with other vehicles for city use, we suggest which one is better. i feel compared to the other vehicles in its class, the safari is a chore to drive in city. drive a magnum, verna, scorpio or innova in city and then drive your safari. you will feel the difference. the difference is in driveabilty.

LOL, here we go again...........

Originally Posted by rkbharat

Exactly, that's my point, you just put it on right words. Is safari a good choice for just a city drive? In my opinion NO. it will not be fair justice to the capabilities of Safari, also there are much better options for just city drive.

Rajiv, after 47k kms of driving the Safari, I can safely say that the much hyped notion of a Safari being a pain to drive in city traffic & a pain to park is a complete myth. Maybe true for the occassional user but not otherwise.

To tell you the truth, I now find it a pain to drive a sedan on a continuous basis. Maybe I've got too used to driving the Safari. For the past one week, I've been taking the Fiesta to work & I find it too much of a pain to take evasive action all the time from the likes of the call center cabs etc, to slow down for bad roads & potholes & the like. Give me my monster truck any day

[rkbharat]

That was purely from my experience, may be after driving more, you can get hold of the beast

So that means, TD of safari will not be conclusive, even if one finds it difficult to manage in traffic, during TD

Originally Posted by suman

LOL, here we go again...........

Rajiv, after 47k kms of driving the Safari, I can safely say that the much hyped notion of a Safari being a pain to drive in city traffic & a pain to park is a complete myth. Maybe true for the occassional user but not otherwise.

To tell you the truth, I now find it a pain to drive a sedan on a continuous basis. Maybe I've got too used to driving the Safari. For the past one week, I've been taking the Fiesta to work & I find it too much of a pain to take evasive action all the time from the likes of the call center cabs etc, to slow down for bad roads & potholes & the like. Give me my monster truck any day

[suman]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

So that means, TD of safari will not be conclusive, even if one finds it difficult to manage in traffic, during TD

Its like this - depends on what you're upgrading from. If you're upgrading from a sedan, it will definitely be a while before you get used to the size (again, this will depend on individual adaptability). If you're already driving something similar in size, then you know your way around......

It didn't take that long for me (I was driving a Fiesta & an Ikon before the upgrade) - yes, I may have had my initial apprehensions but I didn't have the problems I'd anticipated. I mean, nowadays, if I can get the vehicle in & out of CP Inner Circle parkings in peak Sunday situations, Sector 14 market would be like sheer heaven in comparison. And chances of someone stratching your Safari while its parked are far less than what you'd face with a sedan

[rkbharat]

so that makes the case very clear,

Originally Posted by suman

And chances of someone stratching your Safari while its parked are far less than what you'd face with a sedan

but I had different experience. every time I parked my friend's beast in some busy market parking, somebody 100% put some small or medium scratch. Specially it attract lots of attention. But not a reason to avoid buying this truck.

[raj_5004]

all i can say to suman, jennifer and amit is guys, you all love your cars. accepted. everyone on T-BHP does.
you have been driving the safari since ages and now you have got used to it. you know when to change the gears, at what rpm, etc. you know how to plan your U turns. you left foot has adjusted to the heavy clutch. but thats not the point. this is true in every other car.
if i were to purchase a volvo and drive it in city, in few weeks i'll get used to it. but that does not mean it is more comfortable in city as compared to a sedan.
the safari's ride is great, good for people with bad back. but someone looking for a city SUV, safari is not the perfect example. to understand this, i would suggest you take a drive in some other cars like the magnum, verna or scorpio and then you will feel the difference.
frankly speaking, many here would have already driven these cars, i know. but i dont know what makes them not accept the fact that the safari is indeed not a city car. i would be suprised if someone sayd they dont feel so even after driving other cars. its maybe the love towards their cars. probably. no offence please.