[MAS]

Excellent Review Hari.

Reading about a review a full 3 - 6 months before the launch of a product is amazing.

I would appreciate your "Detailed" views on the Storme
a. when compared to a Scorpio
b. when compared to the XUV

TML guys are blind if they can't see the good interiors of XUV and incorporate it in the Storme, while they still have the time.

My wish list would have been...
- More modern dash board with sophisticated central console. (Looks like an after market job done in Coimbatore)
- Double Din audio system
- Central sliding arm rest with cooler
- Audio controls and Blue tooth in the Steering

[dot]

Great review and pictures. It is rare that we get to know so much details of an eagerly awaited vehicle this much in advance.

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

What makes Safari Storme better than the current Safari
1. All 4 disc brakes

Wonderful news indeed. Current Safari drivers know how much good brakes would do for the vehicle.

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

6. Negligible body roll

One has to take a ride in XUV500 or Force One to realize the excess body roll of the Safari. Glad to know that this issue has been looked into.

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

7. Responsive engine

The current 2.2 Dicor was great anyways, improvements are always welcome.

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

9. Better all round finish

Noted that in your pictures. Definitely better that the current offering. Hows the plastic quality?

Originally Posted by Lukeskywalker

2.Pricing?
Ans: No clear picture yet, but between the current Safari and the Aria

3. Will both Safari and Safari Storme be sold alongside?
Ans: Probably yes.

This may or may not be a great strategy. If the Storme is priced at 10-12L then I am not sure if it will be a market success. Unless they reduce the price of the current Safari and place the Storme in the 8-12 range, I do feel that it might be a challenge to question XUV500's sales figures.

[smsrini]

Thanks LukeSkyWalker, for the excellent review.

I wish they had done something about the front grille, and made it more acceptable. it seems to grow on me, but still does not appeal to an existing Safari owner.

Surprisingly no LED lights! neither in cabin or tail lights, which would have given the Storme, a slightly upmarket feel, if done right.

the pop up box on the center console is a good place to have a pop up screen for MID / entertainment system. the screen can have a nice slider which will allow u to close the lid when parked or not in use.

The entire top section between the C and D pillars seems to have gone thru a redesign. The smurf's ears above the fixed glass do not look strong enough to be grab handles.

Hopefully they will have different console covers for 4x2 and 4x4 variants, so that there is no ugly gaping hole with a rubber / plastic insert in place of the 4wd selector.

[Safari_Sid]

Excellent review Lukeskywalker. Rated 5 stars.
Let me be frank, I love the current Safari but the more I look at Storme it growing on me . As already stated pricing would be crucial.
Hope they don't repeat the pricing policy of Indica eV2 which I wasn't convinced about (between Indica and Indica Vista). And we cant draw any conclusions on market performance since they publish reports for all Indicas together and not individually.
Regards
Sid

[Steeroid]

Thank you, Hari - lucky bugger! The improvement in fit/finish is very obvious from the pictures, and I rather like the clean and clutter-free dashboard.

A few questions:

Is there a sub/provision for on the tailgate? There seems to be a perforated enclosure of some sort beside the pockets on the tailgate, and I agree a folding tray table on the tailgate would be much more useful than the pockets.

Other than the wind noise caused by the large frontage and mirrors, did not notice any intrusion of air into the cabin through the beadings/gaps therein?

Similarly has the firewall/bulkhead insulation been improved - there used to be small leaks of air from the engine bay that had to be patched up.

Will the wheel-wells take larger types without hacking at the plastics inside?

Are the wipers still those Syndicates and has the spring tensioning been been improved for firmer contact with the glass?

Will the spare wheel underneath affect your departure angle?

PS: top portion of the rear bumper (corrugated part under the tailgate) needs to be rubberized/painted matt-black else the paint will get damaged when the boot is used).

[vsun]

Excellent review Hari. Nice to read a review of Storme before its launch, by an existing Safari owner.

Yes the Music system has to be changed. It looks outdated. An all-in-one system (with Reverse-Cam and parking sensors support, GPS, DVD player) is needed in that place.

Is the 4X4 full-time or part-time ? It would be better if it is full-time, unlike the present Safari and Scorpio.

I also feel that the floor AC vents in the second row should have been removed (The Roof AC vents will do the job) so as to provide some more leg-space to the passenger who sits in the middle of the seat.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

@Hari,
excellent review of Safari Storme.
Many here including me are jealous on your luck,
but i am happy that one of the member on this forum got chance to attend all paid test drive.
I am happy that your review is focused more on consumer point of view rather than technical.
Your trust-worthy review is like oasis in the desert of all paid Tutu Dhavan chhap technical reviews.
Lets see how much premium Tata will get on this cosmetically changed Safari named Storme.

[aaggoswami]

Is the rise in overall quality Mr. Foster Effect ?
Nonetheless, overall the fit, finish and quality look better than original safari.

1) Isn't Tata taking a bit too long to bring the car to market ?

2) selling both the Safari together ? Disaster. It means the Storme will be priced above Safari where it has tough competition from XUV which has managed many fronts quite well. Tata should have used this opportunity for better styling and VFM tag. Selling two generations together wont help them. Tata is not expert at that, as is visible from Indica and Vista. And where will Aria go then ?

3) I have marked two places where I think that quality has to be improved.
Attaching the images:

[GTO]

Congrats Luke! It's your first detailed review of a new vehicle, and you could give me a run for my money in terms of detail . This is also the first proper review of the Storme on the web or in print. Thanks a ton for sharing . You've made the day for a lot of us!

The Safari has a strong fan following, and the Storme certainly will benefit from it. There is a ready market out there. However, Tata is making a GRAVE mistake if:

- They intend to price it higher than the current Safari

- For whatever reason, they decide to sell it alongside the current Safari

Ideally, the Storme would replace the Safari at the same price for the entry variants, and at a lower price for the (overpriced) highend variants. All Safari parts are now old & cost-effective to procure, the platform is shared with the Aria and the engine with a whole host of other UVs. The Safari is not that expensive to manufacture, neither will the Storme be.

I know there is a lot of pressure on Tata and they cannot do another "Aria" in terms of pricing. Just hope common sense prevails and the Storme is launched with a mouth-watering price. Nothing but a VFM price will move the Storme off showroom floors.

[jkdas]

@ Steer, maybe for sub?

-Another marketing thing? Engine cover now sports " VariCOR"
- No DVD screens on VX?
- New jump seat design?
- Seems no AC vent on from door and it was shifted to new locations (above lamp switch..)
- thought 17inch was an option ( lifted from Aria) :(
- Didnt we see a p/A suffix to some model badges ? Where did it go?
- ABS isnt default on all? Just disc?
- does that fog lamp provide enough illumination? Looks tiny.

Heard from a colleague that IndiaVision guys tested this and said top end 4x4 would cost 16lac OTR !

[greenhorn]

after DiCoR ending up as a WMD (not just a plain old bomb), tata seems to be on a de/rebranding strategy. The 1.4L block has been renamed CR4 and the 2.2 is now Varicor. Lets hope the incremental improvements are enough. Tata sorely needs to come up with some homegrown decent diesel engine tech if it needs to survive in the long term.

[needforspeed88]

Great review. My major grouse is the absence of a third row front facing seating option. Anybody who has traveled seated on side facing seats would know the agony caused to your body and bowel. When they have new chasis, Tata should have spent more time to engineer a forward facing third row capable of seating two people in reasonable comfort. The beauty of traveling in an SUV is that you get to travel together with your family in one car instead of two. This is where a nearly decade old Scorpio provides third row front facing seat while Tata still seem to be finding it difficult to manage that. Safari already had the best ride in the segment and if it has got better, then this is great news as is the improved handling and NVH. The reduced turning radius is a big boon in negotiating gully roads and also in parking/taking you turns. S sliding second row could have done the trick but Tata have chickened out.

These days the competition is so intense in that space where XUV, Innova, Force one, Aria, Safari, Scorpio, Grande , Xylo, Storme and Yeti all fight for the same space from 8 to 15 lakhs otr. People have plenty of options in the muv/suv segment and Tata should try to price the storme aggressively and not repeat the mistake they did with the Aria.

[RS_DEL]

@Luke: Thanks very much for the very informative review of the new iteration of the Safari.

As has been queried prior to my post by other members what exactly is TML proposing to do about manufacturing level gremlins. When the Aria was reviewed by TBhp reviewers and the first Aria was purchased by ACM , if I am not mistaken, I for one had thought TML had a winner going for them. However the experiences of TBhp members who bought subsequently have not been happy to put it mildly. Their woes stem from the lack of QC at plant and abysmally bad service quality at TASS level.

Is the Storme headed the same way? How many brave folks will bite the bullet and opt for the Storme only to find they are no more than guinea pigs for TML?

[raj_5004]

Great review buddy, one of the best in the forum. Rated thread 5 stars.

Good to hear that the turbo lag, fit & finish and body roll issues have been sorted. However, I am not too happy with the following things -
* Single DIN head unit.
* Lack of front facing third row is a small issue, but can be ignored.
* No Automatic Climate Control
* No steering mounted Audio controls.
* No third row AC vents
* No dead pedal
* No 6 speed gearbox, again can be ignored

In the pic of the Storme next to the XUV, I frankly feel the XUV does look better.

All said and done, I am clearly impressed with the Storme if they are pitching this against the Scorpio and pricing it accordingly. Pricing the Storme around 30-50k more than the Scorpio is justified. But anything more than that, then the XUV makes more sense.

[ameaa]

Great review. Just waiting to see how many new customers this product can get for TATA except those Safari fans. My feel is TATA should have worked on a compact SUV than redoing the Safari as many consider safari to be bulky for handling, in terms of its dimensions. (Purely my views)