[randomguy]

Hello Everyone!

This is my first post on team-bhp & I’ve been following this forum for a while now, lurking.

This is my impression of the family’s new Safari. You can go - *GASP* another safari owner?!?!

About the car - 2.2L 4x2 Cycus Green VX BS4 & according to the Chassis no, it was manufactured in May 2011.
The bike in the reflection is a RX100. Yep, I ride that too!


Price: With accessories, close to 14L OTR.

Half the amount was given on the 31st of May to VST motors, Chennai. I do not know when the remaining half was given. Careless of me, right? But we got the car on the 16th of June.

I’ve been driving a normal Sumo, not the Victa or Grande mind you, for a long, long time. So, my impressions are from a Sumo driver’s perspective.

Lets jump into it, shall we?

First impressions/ observations

1. It feels larger than a Sumo. In fact, it IS (I think)
2. The seating position is more car-like in the Safari. In the Sumo, it’s more truck like.
3. When I switch off the engine, I can hear the turbo or a belt slowing down. It is similar to the sound you get when aircraft engines are switched off, but on a much smaller scale.
4. My safari did NOT come with the dove tail fitting for the rear door.
5. I was able see the front edges of the car in the Sumo. This is very useful in tight turns. Having a full crash guard does help you know where the edges are in the Safari. If you do not have one, or if you are sitting low, you will have difficulty seeing the front edges. That’s just my opinion.
6. The OEM sound system lacks punch. Bass in the Safari? Whats that? I’ll need to visit the ICE section one of these days. I’ll have to replace the speakers, add an amp & maybe put in a sub woofer. The Alpine HU seems nice though. Lets see.
7. I have not tried out the LCD screens yet.
8. It came with 90km on the odo.
9. No idea about the FE yet. I have only driven 50km till date & tanked it up only yesterday (the 18th of June).
10. The ancient romans are more alive than the battery in the stereo remote. That’s how dead the battery was! I bought a new battery then the remote worked fine.
11. The water level in the windscreen wiper reservoir was low. Not a bit deal. Filled it up on Sat (19th June).
12. No puddle lamps for the rear doors

No PDI was done, by the way.

Being a pessimist, I will list the negatives first.

1. Large turning radius. I know that the turning radius can be adjusted, but why does it need adjusting in the first place? The sumo had a smaller turning radius. Anyway, I’ll have to be more careful while making U turns.
2. From around 1200 to 2100 rpm, (all approx) the engine vibrates, a LOT! After 2100 rpm, it becomes much smoother & goes like a rocket! I have not revved past 2800 rpm, being a new engine and all.
3. Reversing is a PAIN! Rear visibility is poor. I’m lucky this model came with a reversing camera, but the C & D pillars as well as the top portion of the wheel cover block your field of vision.
4. If I’m listening to the radio & try to reverse, I get a hissing sound when the reversing camera comes on. This is problem faced by many VX owners. Maybe we should not listen to the radio while reversing?
5. Seats fewer people (3 to be exact) than the Sumo.
6. The Jump seats are closer to the floor in the Safari. I’m not sure how comfortable it would be in those seats for longer drives.
7. The shiny OVRMs are huge & are expensive. This is both good & bad. They are a bigger target. I’ve lost 2 or 3 driver’s OVRMs in the Sumo already.
8. Selecting first gear HAS to be done with grace. Otherwise, slotting it into place is tricky as it angles AWAY from the driver.
9. Shifting from 1st to 2nd is not as smooth as I would have liked it to be. The Sumo had the same problem. Same DNA?

Positives

1. Very smooth engine (above a certain rpm) & a smooth ride. I was told that the ride in the jump seats was much smoother than in the Sumo.
2. Much more powerful engine!
3. Quieter than the Sumo, both inside & out.
4. Absorbs the speed bumps better than the Sumo.
5. It looks huge in the rear view mirrors of smaller cars. Can I say, it looks more intimidating? Hmmm?
6. Big OVRMs. I can see the next two lanes behind to me. Very useful.
7. Nice AC. Cools fast.
8. The ignition light is nice touch.

Now don’t get me wrong, I really, really like the Safari. It’s a big step up from the Sumo, HUGE step. It’s just we’re paying double & that makes one more critical.

Accessories
The dealer installed the front crash guard, rear step, mud flaps & 3M sun film. We also bought a car cover. I did not have any contact with the dealer at all, so I do not know how much they charged my dad.

Did a DIY setup of the supplied iPod cable on Sunday. It took me 15-20 min. You can do it in less than 5 if you know what you’re doing. Haha!
Note to the wise: Sit in the passengers seat & do it. When you open the glove compartment, there is a small hole near the front, on the right side. Run the cable through that hole. No need to mess with the carpets & poke your fingers here & there. You WILL get grease on them.
Selecting songs on the iPod is a hit & a miss for me. Actually, it's mostly a miss. It will almost NOT play the song you want if you sort by song. I have to go to sort by artist to play anything. I'll figure it out soon enough.

Now, since there are so many pictures of Safaris, I thought that I'd keep mine to a minimum.
Most of the pictures were taken on Sat. I removed the ribbon & plastic seat covers later on.

The rear




The ignition light - you can only see the light when it's dark


As I said, the gear lever angles AWAY from the driver


The rear camera in action


Alloys


Finally, the front


People might be tempted to skip it they see a long review - I know I would. So, I've kept this relatively small. If you want more, I'll see what I can do. My responses will be mostly be during the nights on weekdays & at odd times on the weekends. If I take a while to respond, it's just me being busy or most likely, lazy.

Note from Support : Thread title updated with Arctic Silver

[Lukeskywalker]

Congrats on the new Safari Randomguy, many happy miles on the new vehicle, simple and to the point review, but is this "Cycus" green? It looks like arctic silver.

[MARCUS_520i]

Good review - Nice n short, just the way I like them to be!
Congratulations on the purchase!

Looks beautiful in the picture with the Alto.

However, I have the same doubt as Lukeskywalker about the colour name!

[charthom]

Originally Posted by randomguy

Hello Everyone!

This is my first post on team-bhp & I’ve been following this forum for a while now, lurking.

Welcome aboard,randomguy.Nice review of a nice car.Please do post updates.

Rgds,charthom.

[HappyRoadie]

@randomguy Congratulation for your Safari. It is really an awesome vehicle. The colour I think is Silver. Wish you many happy and safe miles. Do keep us updated.

[bluevolt]

Congratulations on your TATA Safari. Nice review and pictures.

Please post some interior pictures too.

Wishing you happy and safe driving.

[chaxy]

Nice buy! it will keep you happy. One word of advise, the bull bar does more damage to the vehicle even with a small impact. The problem is with the way its hinged and held in position with two weak struts.

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the owning the TATA Safari. Cycus green, it looking like silver to me.

You are really bold enough to take the car without the PDI. Enjoy many more happy miles with Safari.

Request you to post a few pictures of the safari in taken broad daylight in open area. I'm interested to see the color

[randomguy]

I am so sorry gentlemen . Arctic Silver is the correct colour.
Note to self: Do NOT post reviews at 11:30pm on a Sunday, especially when tired.

[simpleman]

Congrats on the new baby. I think it's artic silver. I can never get enough of looking at safari pictures, even though I own one. So more pictures please.

[whitelion]

Congratulations for Owning a "Jumbo".

Lots of space Inside but needs lot of parking space. I dreamed for it but Pocket and Parking space at office were two obstacles. I had to settle with hatch back, but opted for Figo which has class leading interior space.

Happy mile crunching with this "Jumbo" and wishes for many years happy ownership.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Those hub caps are the most useless part on a Safari. You would be lucky if you dont have to buy a few every year. They are known to fall off. Costs about 250/piece.
How come you are experiencing noise and vibes at low rpm's. I thought the new Safari was a much refined and improved beast.
Nice color. Enjoy trucking

[randomguy]

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

Congrats on the new Safari Randomguy, many happy miles on the new vehicle, simple and to the point review, but is this "Cycus" green? It looks like arctic silver.

Thank you. You are spot on. Yes, it is Arctic Silver. Some say I'm a man of few words!

Originally Posted by MARCUS_520i

Good review - Nice n short, just the way I like them to be!
Congratulations on the purchase!

Looks beautiful in the picture with the Alto.

However, I have the same doubt as Lukeskywalker about the colour name!

Thank you. Yep, it is Arctic Silver. The Alto belongs to my neighbour.

Originally Posted by charthom

Welcome aboard,randomguy.Nice review of a nice car.Please do post updates.

Rgds,charthom.

Thank you. I'll post some updates on the weekend. I'll take it out only on the weekend. I'll post some updates then.

Originally Posted by HappyRoadie

@randomguy Congratulation for your Safari. It is really an awesome vehicle. The colour I think is Silver. Wish you many happy and safe miles. Do keep us updated.

Originally Posted by bluevolt

Congratulations on your TATA Safari. Nice review and pictures.

Please post some interior pictures too.

Wishing you happy and safe driving.

Thank you. Yep, it is Arctic Silver. More updates & pics over the weekend.

Originally Posted by chaxy

Nice buy! it will keep you happy. One word of advise, the bull bar does more damage to the vehicle even with a small impact. The problem is with the way its hinged and held in position with two weak struts.

Noted & thank you. Hopefully, we'll never need to find out!!

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Congrats on the owning the TATA Safari. Cycus green, it looking like silver to me.

You are really bold enough to take the car without the PDI. Enjoy many more happy miles with Safari.

Request you to post a few pictures of the safari in taken broad daylight in open area. I'm interested to see the color

Thank you. Yep, it is Arctic Silver. No camera tricks here!
I wouldn't say bold. Can I say naive? Anyway, we know the Tata mechanic from our Sumo days. We can always catch him! More pictures over the weekend.

Originally Posted by simpleman

Congrats on the new baby. I think it's artic silver. I can never get enough of looking at safari pictures, even though I own one. So more pictures please.

Thank you. Yep, it is Arctic Silver. More pics over the weekend.

Originally Posted by whitelion

Congratulations for Owning a "Jumbo".

Lots of space Inside but needs lot of parking space. I dreamed for it but Pocket and Parking space at office were two obstacles. I had to settle with hatch back, but opted for Figo which has class leading interior space.

Happy mile crunching with this "Jumbo" and wishes for many years happy ownership.

Thank you. Don't worry. Your day WILL come. Keep saving!

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Those hub caps are the most useless part on a Safari. You would be lucky if you dont have to buy a few every year. They are known to fall off. Costs about 250/piece.
How come you are experiencing noise and vibes at low rpm's. I thought the new Safari was a much refined and improved beast.
Nice color. Enjoy trucking

Thank you for the heads up. I'll have to keep an eye on the wheels. Maybe the turbo spooling up is causing this? I'll need some more time to observe it & see if it goes away.

[HappyWheels]

Congrats on the buy, Randomguy! Wishing you many KM's of happy and safe driving.

You have a VX, which is the worst candidate for having a bull-guard due to the fact it has airbags. Would suggest you do away with them after sometime. (Drive with it for some time so that you don't feel you have wasted money on them... which you have).

[swiftnfurious]

You managed to fool at least some of us on the Cycus green ! I was checking again and again which part of the car is in green !!

The wood insert is quite a put off in the pic! Is it actually this dark ? And I thought VX always came in 4x4. So is it an option to have 4x4 or not? And how much is a VX 4x4 costing above VX 4x2 ?

And you missed the pics of DVD player / screens etc ! C'mon man, you need to show off when you have the stuff.

Anyway I am sure you will have a great time with the car. Wish you miles of happy & safe motoring !

Edit:: We all cannot blame you on the color! My dad's Wagon R is called "Baker's Chocolate" from the catalogue and the "actual" color looks like green to all of us !!