Once upon a time lived a little boy called Hiccup. Skinny and pale, he was not quite good enough at anything to warrant a mention. One day, deep in the concrete jungle, he befriended a dragon. A Night Fury, or in Dragonese, a Zafari. Lore has it that the Zafari is the rarest and most intelligent species of dragon. It is small to medium-sized with a sleek, dark body that is almost black with faint lighter patterns.

Now, you all know, right - behind their aggressive exterior, all dragons have a softer, emotional side. Almost vulnerable. They come with their own set of niggles. You got to take care of these beasts; establish a connect.

Hiccup called his friend "Toothless". No, no; it was not bonding at first sight. Not even close. Their story has a lot of twists, turns and heartbreaks. But as time unfolds, Toothless starts to trust Hiccup and even allows him to touch him and eventually ride him.

Oh, before I forget ! Toothless is not only a fire-throwing dragon. It is also my black dualtone Tata Saf.

(Creative inspiration: http://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/)

July 8, 2011. Somewhere near Sarjapura.
Customer's pre-delivery inspection

We arrived at the Concorde Motors Sarjapura stockyard around 4:30 p.m. R, one of the Team Leaders, had agreed to show us our would-be dragon (erm, car). The appointment was done yesterday and R has been particularly accomodating.

Within a couple of minutes, the car was brought before us. We took a look at the vehicle and we were disappointed. This was the same vehicle that was shown to us three weeks back while we were promised a "fresh" vehicle. (I had noted the VIN on my cell). In fact, another sales rep who we were in touch with mentioned that our car had arrived from the plant last week. Did not go down well with us. R asked us if we had spotted anything wrong with the vehicle. I explained that it was not a matter of something wrong with the
car but of business ethics. He seemed to understand. He offered to bring us
another black dualtone Gx 4x2; and in a matter of minutes there was an identical car standing next to us.

Now we were in the corner ! I took a look at both the odo's. The first read 23.1, same as what I had seen 3 weeks back. The second one read 30.
I asked R if he could find out when both were manufactured. He said he could, but he would have to look at the Form 22. In anycase, he assured us, like the perfect salesman that none of the cars would be "more than a month or so".


The first one had been washed for us, it seemed. After a couple of comparative glances and some discussions, we felt that there was an element of fate that tied the first dragon to us. It has been unmovingly waiting for us for the last three weeks. Gosh ! What unholy, illogical reasoning people pursue to get their car.

Toothless: This over That




R seemed relieved that we stuck with the car that had been invoiced to us. Otherwise, he mentioned, he would have to undo and redo some things - which would be some work, but then again he had no issues doing that.

He offered us a test drive. Well, he made us me an offer I could not refuse ;-)
So, happily we went on my 7th Safari TD. Yep seventh in last four months.

Toothless behaved pretty well overall on the first flight. The turning radius was not a major problem on Sarjapura road where I did a U-turn. The engine thrum was surprisingly low and restrained. Rear seat comfort was unparalleled.
I did not push anything; hey this is not a "demo" vehicle. I hope I will have enough chances to do that in the next few years.

Waiting for The One




My first impressions about Toothless.
- Gearbox is a bit unsettled.
- The steering had a little play and just a little low on feedback.
- My wife pointed out that a plastic cover-piece on one of the hangers was broken.
- Abhorrent was the word that came to mind when I felt up the interior plastics (but hey I knew what I was getting into)



One of the reasons why I chose black (hell, that's another story) is the beautiful play of reflections you get on the body. In the distance, you may be able to spot a tiny red (scarlet sage) Hyundai Santro Xing, my trusted steed friend for years (now abducted by my wife)


R checked up the gearbox and steering and mentioned that he saw nothing wrong but still he asked one of the stockyard supervisors to make a note and check during the PDI. More over, he gave me another EX Safari for a comparative drive. The steering on this one felt OK, but the gearbox was no better. "Get used to it, boy", I told myself, "Dragons are mean creatures."

Car out
16 July, 2011

We filed into Concorde Motors around 2 PM. The delivery process was quite smooth, save one issue around warranty of the vehicle (still working on that, so maybe I will post around Tuesday with an update). Overall, this is how it went:

- The paperwork had been done and pretty neatly arranged (by my standards)
- I even got some money back (about 4K) because of some discount which no one was sure about.
- The sales rep has been very courteous throughout the buying process.

Accessories:
- I purchased a reverse camera for about 7.5K. The kit has been mounted and is working without any issues so far.
- Free of cost floormats. These are dark beige in color and made of "carpet" material. They got dirty in no time and these cannot be washed. Hence this seems a total waste. May have to get rubber mats separately. (Any advice ?)
- Sunfilm: I was told Garware sunfilm has been applied according to the legal limits. Much hue and cry was done about the fact that Concorde/Tata never applies non-approved levels of sunfilm etc. All that is good, the problem is I never wanted films in the first place. So this is another accessory where the dealer assumed the customer would need.

The Puja:
The priest approached us and offered to do a Puja. It lasted for about 20 minutes. Nice ritualistic stuff, took it as it came. Tip: INR 200

The scare:
At the end of the Puja, I placed four limes at the bottom of each wheel.
I got in and turned the ignition key. Crank but no start. This happened twice at which I remembered the countless hours I have spent on team-bhp listening to other people's woes. Was it happening to me ? The salesperson explained me something about the key/immobiliser; i guess I was too angry to understand. But he could get the engine to start so I gathered that I must have goofed up.

Except for one more scare at the petrol bunk, where cranking the key just did not yield any result. Not sure what's going on. Need to pore over the manual tomorrow.

Registration:
Given that we paid for the road tax yesterday, was pleasantly surprised that the registration had been done and we even got the number of the car. Unfortunately the number plate is not ready yet. Will collect on Monday.

Finally I drove out of the dealership around 4 pm.

Things I am liking at the end of day 1:
- Awe-inspiring road presence. You can see a marked decrease in the number of autos jutting and cutting into your path. I had to do two u-turns on Indiranagar 100 ft road.Ended up being Y-turns because of the giant turning radius. But did not mind that much 'cause nobody honked.
- On the good side, with great power comes great responsibility. I could see myself being a much more polite driver today :-)
- Confident ride. You don't have to watch out for potholes, broken roads. Makes a lot of difference


Things which are niggling at the back of my mind:
- The front wipers make a whrrrr noise when they scrape the glass; even when there is plenty of water on the windshield.
- At the lowest speed, the wipers make a clicking sound
- The steering wheel groans a bit, not just at the end of the turn
- Very unhappy about the fact that the wheels are not balanced. Clear pull towards the left.
- The gearbox is clunky compared to the Hyundai I drive. But hey, this one I knew what I was getting into.

Well, I know the number of dislikes seems to convey that I am not liking the car. Just the opposite, Toothless rocks. Do provide your thoughts and comments and stay tuned as I build the ownership report over the next few months.

Parting thought:
The car is too big for my parking spot and I think I got to be extra careful while parking !

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Reports Forum. Thanks for sharing!

[Reinhard]

Hey Sarcar!

Hearty congratulations on Reclaiming your life! Wish you unlimited safe & happy miles with the beast!
An excellent SUV, excellent colour choice & great writeup. Very detailed and patient review. Thanks for that.
Do post more pictures including the interiors as well please. Enjoy it to the fullest!

As for your woes -

1. Wiper noise - you may want to get the spring tension on the blades checked. Looks like the blades aren't applying sufficient pressure on the glass. Or, in the worst case the rubber-teflon blades are pre-used & worn out!

2. The click sound - I assume its coming in the intermittent mode? Its the sound of the relay under the dashboard that cuts the power to the motor to make it work intermittent. Not to worry.

3. Pull to left is not about wheel balancing, you need wheel alignment to be done.

4. The trouble in cranking the engine is a bit worrying. Why not take the car to them rightaway? It may be something as simple as a faulty contact in the ignition switch, which could be fixed by a drop of lube oil. Better get it checked. God forbid if the engine dies while you are driving, and then you cant crank it back quickly, you'll be left with no power steering and no booster assist on the brake pedal!! Must to get that checked soon dude.

BTW, can you post a picture of how the reverse camera is mounted along with upcoming pictures? Thanks.

Out of curiosity - on the front alloys - there is a small cap in the central hole. But I don't think there is one on the rear wheels. Is there a hollow in there? Why this difference? Or I'm not seeing the picture above properly?


Cheers!

[sheelz]

Hi Sarcar
Congrats on your Beast buddy. I can understand the your happiness as I went through same when I got my Black dual tone Saf GX last December. In spite of all the niggles, you will just fall in love with this vehicle.

And welcome to the club of Beast Owners...

Happy mile munching..Drive Safe

[musicmanaman]

Congrats Sarcar on the beast, you sure have a way with words, and I'll be eagerly waiting for you ownership updates, by the way what was the OTR price.

[bluevolt]

Congratulations Sarcar for your TATA Safari. I know how good you must be feeling on owning this car as we also have a Government provided white TATA Safari with a blue beacon. The feel while riding in this car is totally different from others (you feel like a politician).

Please do add some more snaps and update the thread regularly.

Wishing you happy and safe driving.

[ghodlur]

@Sarcar,

Congratulations on the dragon, even if it is toothless it surely breathes fire. The black colour looks great on the car.

What is the OTR cost? We need more pics of the interiors and also of the reverse camera.

All the best, happy mile crunching and drive safely.

[sachinj12]

Congrats on your nightfury, Hiccup!!

Now, be a good boy and start fighting evil dragons (off-roading).


Hearty congrats man. Wishing you many happy miles with her. Drive safe

[IronH4WK]

congrats on finding the Night Fury!

do keep us updated on how Toothless behaves and if you've been able to tame him

[aqualeo2040]

Congrats Mr Sarcar. Now you have got Toothless, you need to find out how to control the beast and when to let go

Dont trust the wheel alignment done by the showroom folks, they are absolutely pathetic. Get it done outside.

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Dont trust the wheel alignment done by the showroom folks, they are absolutely pathetic. Get it done outside.

Thanks aqualeo.

Concorde Motors is the dealer, I would assume that something like this would not pass their PDI. My question is, Should I wait till the first service and get it done at the TASS or take it to some good wheel balance/align center (Any reccos in Bangalore ?)

Originally Posted by Reinhard

1. Wiper noise - you may want to get the spring tension on the blades checked. Looks like the blades aren't applying sufficient pressure on the glass. Or, in the worst case the rubber-teflon blades are pre-used & worn out!

4. The trouble in cranking the engine is a bit worrying. Why not take the car to them rightaway? It may be something as simple as a faulty contact in the ignition switch, which could be fixed by a drop of lube oil. Better get it checked. God forbid if the engine dies while you are driving, and then you cant crank it back quickly, you'll be left with no power steering and no booster assist on the brake pedal!! Must to get that checked soon dude.

BTW, can you post a picture of how the reverse camera is mounted along with upcoming pictures? Thanks.

Out of curiosity - on the front alloys - there is a small cap in the central hole. But I don't think there is one on the rear wheels. Is there a hollow in there? Why this difference? Or I'm not seeing the picture above properly?

Cheers!

Reinhard, thanks a bunch for your kind words and keen observations.

1. The wiper noise is intermittent. Got to figure that one out. Thanks for the pointers.

4. Had no further issues with the cranking. In fact, now the touch needed is very light, indeed. So overlooking (at my own peril) for now.

The pics above are from PDI. During delivery, the chunky button caps have been put. (Great obsvn !)

Will come back with more pics.

[abishek2222]

Congrats on the suv that simply commands respect on every road get used to it.
Hopefully no more troubles further

[verditer]

Dear Sarcar

Hearty congratulations on Toothless.. She'll keep you grinning end to end, kilometer after kilometer. Wishing you years of pleasant driving and mile munching. Have fun.

I love your GX color combination. One of the best combinations to me.

PS: Regarding the trouble you had cranking - do remember that the immobiliser kicks in after few mins of inactivity and if the key is not in the keyhole. I think during your puja at dealer and then at the pump, both times immobiliser had kicked in - you have to press the unlock button on the remote to deactivate immobiliser and be able to crank start the engine. Check it out.