[simpleman]

It was a dark and stormy night.......

Actually it was dark but not quite stormy. I always wanted to write a short story with the above opening words, but never got around to doing it. This is my story, a short one, but the story of living my dream.

Introduction

I am a doctor, currently pursuing another dream, to become a surgeon. I live in a humble town called Vellore.
To cut a long story short, I love cars. I like zipping around, trying to see what each car can do. But I never owned one. My means of transport is a Bajaj Pulsar 180cc classic bought in the year 2003, run about 45000 kms till today without a major problem. But then, the bike itself is a different story left for later.

So what changed?

There comes a moment in a man's life when one is at a crossroad, and must choose the right path. Ok, that line was copied from the Scent of a woman speech by Al Pacino. The above mentioned crossroads was about 4 months back. The moment when every man has to make life threatening, soul searching changes. In short I got married.

Now what?

I felt the need for a car, simply put. And there was only one dream. Everything else, didnt matter. The TATA Safari. But then, how does one convince the wife to splurge, that too when one half of the couple(me) is bringing home a pittance?

The plot thickens

During the course of my short stay on this planet and in this life, I got two pieces of advice which has proved to be invaluable.
The first was given to me but my head of the department, one sunday morning when we were having a department breakfast. He said, if you have any bad habits before marriage, and wish to continue with it, introduce your wife to it.
I introduced my wife to my tata safari fascination.

The other piece of advice was given to me on my wedding day, by my mentor. He said, there are only three words one needs to know to have a successful marriage, it's not "I love you"
It is "yes my dear"

So with a lot of convincing, haggling and bargaining, she came around.

Little did I know, that life was much simpler. Actually all I needed to do, was put her next to me in a safari and drive for about 20 kms and she would be hooked.

Now the gory details

I always wanted the 4x4. My plans were shot down by TATA motors when they decided to discontinue the 4X4 EX. I couldnt convince myself to go for the 4x2 ex hence I decided to chase the Lx. Booking was done at VST Motors, Cuddalore. They had a car in stock and could do the delivery whenever I wanted.

The D-Day

2nd June 2011. The day dawned bright and sunny. We reached the dealership at around 10.30 am. I wanted to do the PDI before the car went for registration. Mr Khaleel Rehman was the salesman I dealt with and his demeanor, behaviour and actions were impeccable. I would highly recommend him to anyone in the future.

During the PDI, I found that the tail gate was rattling, there were the usual fit and finish issues with TATA, all of which were sorted out by delivery time.

Bringing the baby home

The car is amazing. Our drive back to Vellore was around 200 kms. There are two things that Safari owners say about the Safari that always catches my attention.
1) No fatigue issues: I second them on that. I was told to keep the car within 2500 rpm, I did that by trying not to cross 2200 rpm. At 2000 rpm, the beauty does 90 km/hr in 5th gear. What more can I ask for?
2) People think twice before cutting across the road and one gets more respect in the safari: Crap. Retards will be retards. Does'nt matter what car you drive.Their IQ is not influence by what car we drive.


Having done almost 500 kms in the safari till today, here are the good and the bad.

First, the good stuff.
- awesome road presence. It's nice to look at the world from up there, dwarfing most of the things on the road.
- The best engine in the Tata line up. Quiet when not hassled, growl, growl when whipped into action. Love the engine for its ability to be both a pussy cat and a lion.
-Acres and acres of space. My wife and I stay in a room about 10x10 feet with an attached bath. This accommodation is provided by the medical college I'm currently pursuing my PG in. The safari seems like a second room.

The bad: These issues mentioned below are not gut wrenching or debilitative in any way. Its like the bathroom lizard, you know its there, you know its not supposed to be there, yet we go on with our lives.

- The fit and finish. TATA, if you are listening, I have a question for you. How many engineers does it take to make a car that doesnt rattle?
The answer should be none. Cause from the looks of it, it seems that your cars are made and finished by the inmates of the loony bin.

The tail gate rattles on bad roads. Atleast if it were a proper rattle, I would live with it. It sounds like a few mice trying to make lots more mice. And that messes with my head while driving.
-The rear view mirror, the side view mirror, vibrates on start up.
-The a.c console lights are not working,
The tailgate noise was picked up at PDI and pointed out to them. They rectified it, only to see it re appear 100 kms later.

Over all, Its addicting, enticing but frustrating sometimes. Would I buy the car again if given an opportunity?

A hundred times yes.

Now I shall let the pictures do the rest of the talking. The plastic wrapping on the steering wheel has been removed.

[tsk1979]

Congratulations, and thanks for such a comprehensive review!

The bad: These issues mentioned below are not gut wrenching or debilitative in any way. Its like the bathroom lizard, you know its there, you know its not supposed to be there, yet we go on with our lives.

LOL, how true. Being a fellow Tata owner, I totally understand what you are saying, even though my issues were more like the alligator in the bath tub than just a teeny weeny lizard

[PAVAN KADAM]

Congratulations on living your DREAM

Enjoy the Beast, the more you get into it the more you find niggles, forget the Niggles, they wont trouble you after the First service,since they are tooo minor.

Have fun.

[krish82]

This is a great looking car, OOPs SUV. Looks great in Black. Congrats and wish you many years of Happy ownership. This SUV looks great, but the interiors could be better. TATA please improve, these minor niggles are noticed by everybody, still i dont know why they don't fix these issues while manufacturing.

[bluevolt]

Congratulations for your brand new TATA safari. It’s one fantastic SUV.

A TATA safari as a government vehicle will be given to my dad from next month. I am too waiting for the car.

Good luck and Drive Safe.

[n.devdath]

Congrats on the buy Doc. 2 suggestions. Please remove those ungainly Sumo like mudflaps put by the dealer and the plastic covers on the seats.

Enjoy your truck and wish you many miles of mile munching.

[TOR]

Congrats on the buy! Drive safe.

What happened to the licence plates? where they not provided by the dealer?

The ORVM with the integrated turn indicators looks real swell.

and, yes please loose the ungainly mud flaps.

[kaviprem]

Congratulations Simpleman. Enjoy the safari ride.
Beware - it might take up your primary profession

Prem.

[jkrishnakj]

Heartiest congratulations. Its a joy to open the doors of the safari and sit in the drivers seat, each day ! I can vouch for this being a Safari owner myself.

Have miles and miles of trouble free riding.

[HappyRoadie]

Congratulation on the buy. It is really an awesome SUV. I think Safari looks best in black colour. Wish you many happy and safe miles. Could you share the On Road price that you paid?


Regards

[rajeev k]

Put in a hi effect boost and surround system and make your safari a concert hall on wheels, the rattle snakes will get submerged.

Jokes apart, Happy Motoring Doc in between your studies which I can visualize as hectic.

[aviorp]

Congratulations simpleman. The 2nd pic with the beast and a beaming smile, says it all. Wish you miles of happiness.

[RS_DEL]

Congrats Doc on your living the dream. WIsh you many many miles of happy and safe enjoyment as you live your dream.

Allow me to compliment you for being a young man who is very wise, much beyond your years. . You are a very apt student indeed to have taken your seniors advice to heart in the marital department. The missus must be truly naieve to not know how Machiavellian you are . LOL LOL.

[condor]

@Doc, a wonderful start to my weekend - reading your (initial) review & the pearls of wisdom in there.

As Devdath has already pointed, pls get the correct Safari mud-flaps. If you want longer mud-flaps, pls check my Sumo ownership review thread.

And before I forget - hope the accessories you have picked up are of the right type. I am espcially refering to the camera .. cause you will soon start travelling, and you will need a good cam to capture those images.

Congrats, drive safe .. and wishing you a long, happy & trouble-free ownership of this lovely truck.

[amitwlele]

Congrats Doc. I should say that your patients would enjoy the prescriptions that you write for them. You have a flair for writing.

I have been trying to convince my wife about the need for a bigger car and a Safari for a couple of months now. I have started pretty early considering that we intend to buy the bigger car next year.