Team-BHP - Tata Safari Storme : Test Drive and Review. More pics: pg 47

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- Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/)

- - Tata Safari Storme : Test Drive and Review. More pics: pg 47 (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/120250-tata-safari-storme-test-drive-review-more-pics-pg-47-a-45.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepaktpatil (Post 2930542)

Dadu, pricing is the main variable that will decide fate of Storme so hold on to your horses.

Very True but dont think this will be a sub 7-8 lakh machine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrsteer (Post 2930548)

:OT
The comment above makes little sense. It suggests that Duster was not a success and the Quanto is. As of now, it seems that Duster is a bigger success and response to Quanto is slightly tepid.

I wasnt comparing models with each other but representing the current market competition. Perhaps I should have quoted together "Dust(er) Storm(e)"

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrsteer (Post 2930548)

:OT
The comment above makes little sense. It suggests that Duster was not a success and the Quanto is. As of now, it seems that Duster is a bigger success and response to Quanto is slightly tepid.

I think Dadu was just trying to bring in all the SUV names into one sentence to make it sound :D

I wonder why no pricing info leak has happened yet. Member Akhilesh/ACM etc have lot of TATA contacts. Guys please break the suspense

Practically, i feel they should remove GX and VX variant of present gen-safari and have the Storme variants start at those price tag, however to make the deal more interesting if they reduce the price of present gen-Safari and have LX variant of Storme in between LX and EX of present gen-safari, in this case it would add lots of confusion and may negatively influence the Sumo Grande, present Safari sales.

Ultimately a tough call for TATA, however they should not think of discontinuing the Safari as it would still be able to rake in similar numbers as before and am not sure how many will like the "looks" of Storme, i personally dint find it appealing at all!

Quote:

Originally Posted by narayan (Post 2930596)

Spotted a white Storme near Egmore (Chennai) yesterday in the evening. It had MH plates on it. Couldn't click pics of the beast as I was alone driving my car and didn't have the confidence to drive and take a pic. :Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by lohithrao (Post 2930637)

Storme should be placed somewhere in the region you mention. The pricing will start below 10L Ex-showroom (How much? That is the surprise!). As for Storme lowest variant being placed below existing EX, I sincerely doubt.

Reasons:
1. There are lot of tech advances in Storme which would make EX redundant if available at lower price that EX.
2. It has been discussed here that even lowest variants are expected to bring ABS et al which being placed below non-ABS vehicle would just confuse and make no sense.
3. We have to understand that while the product shares its name with current gen Safari, it is leaps and bounds ahead of the current avatar so it will have its own price range and customer segment to cater.

Tata has massive plans for the vehicle and it all looks good with the way they are handling launches of this vehicle with minor exception being the delay in launch. But then again, I would rather have them get it right than go for MKII, MKIII, MKIV variants. :D

Single Din is here to stay. Why? I don't know. On Pure speculation, I feel that since the dashboard design did not have space for integrated system, there could be very little that Tata could do post feedbacks from testers and junta. Any inclusion of integrated system would have warranted a totally new dashboard which would bring in may complexities with vendor agreements, design changes, etc that would have pushed back the project even further.

IMHO, that is one thing I can live with. It is rudimentary but it is very low on my list of changes I wanted to see on my Safari.

BTW, Did I tell you that grapevine whispers that VX will not have seat-back personal video screens!!! stupid:

Quote:

Originally Posted by akhilesh51 (Post 2930658)

Single Din is here to stay. Why? I don't know. On Pure speculation, I feel that since the dashboard design did not have space for integrated system, there could be very little that Tata could do post feedbacks from testers and junta. Any inclusion of integrated system would have warranted a totally new dashboard which would bring in may complexities with vendor agreements, design changes, etc that would have pushed back the project even further.

Does it take much of engineering to rig an infotainment system like those found in BMW/Audi, with the screen ontop of the dash board, and the HU inside the console ? dont think so. Such a system would have made the dash / HU design much more appreciated / tolerable. There is a cubby hole already ontop which could be used.

They should give away 2 micromax tablets instead of those screens at the back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akhilesh51 (Post 2930658)

Akhilesh - thanks but you have added to the confusion

The EX is priced at 10.02 ex showroom Chennai for the BS4 variant. Hence I am not sure what you mean by the base version of Storme will be below 10 lakhs but not below the EX ? how is that possible ?

Or have you assumed the fact that the EX version anyway sells at a discount of 60-80K and hence the actual exshowroom is essentially 9.2-9.4 lakhs and the Storme Lx would then be around 9.5 lakhs. Am I close to cracking the Da Vinci code ?:Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by lohithrao (Post 2930454)

Have you gone through the initial pages on this thread? there are very clear pics and a pretty detailed review too.

@rajshenoy, the review what Hari has covered is quiet Comprehensive and for sure far superior then the reviews what these automags come up with, btw dont think the Strome being too different then what was seen few months back.

I have been following this thread religiously and have gone through the pictures posted in the initial pages of this thread. My point only was that in this picture the current gen safari would have looked classy, considering the affinity we all have to the current shape of safari. The new shape may take sometime to get used to.

from whatever is seen in this pic, it looks exquisite. Surely there is much more attention to detail than the XUV going on here.

The single DIN music system is very much there but they have added the controls which are not exactly steering wheel mounted but mounted on the indicator / wiper stalks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smsrini (Post 2930686)

It is not about engineering but rather about vendor contracts. TML or any other manufacturer does not produce all components and dashboards, steering wheels and other plastic components are outsourced to ancillary vendors.

Such orders are placed well in advance to allow vendor to manufacture components and send to assembly plant and these orders are shipped in thousands of units at a time and start arriving much before assembly line starts.

Here, any change in design, needs to be re-engineered all the way back to vendor plant and machine setup. Therefore, a lot of time needs to be in hand which obviously Tata did not have in this case.

I am sure Tata has very keenly noted the response and they are well aware of your concerns and will take action as an when it is feasible.

:OT

Quote:

A small story in this regard:

In the 1970s, VW Beetle was turning into a major headache for US carmakers and the success and wide appeal of little boxy cars made americans run head over heels to find an american alternative.

Many vehicles like Chevrolet Vega and AMC Gremlin came to compete with iconic little bug but failed to impress. It is at this time, Ford came out with Ford Pinto based on their then president's vision. "A model that weighed less than 2,000 pounds and that would be priced at less than $2,000".

Pinto was launched in 1971 with a very european/japanese design philosophy and fuel efficient small motors. This was touted to be the ultimate answer to the supremacy of VW Beetle and Toyota imports only for something to completely kill the vehicle.

During the design phase, engineers and marketing heads of Ford encountered a peculiar situation with the low slung vehicle being susceptive to suspension failures and 'risk of fuel tank damage in case of rear collisions' when the vehicle was getting ready for assembly post tests. The problem was routed to a small bolts holding the rear bumper which could potentially puncture the fuel tank in case of rear collisions causing fire.

Well aware of the issue and its risks and hard pressed for meeting launch deadlines, The engineers supposedly actually calculated the legal costs in case they were sued due to faults in their vehicle and deduced that it was better to face legal cases than to stop assembly line and face immediate financial losses. The vehicle was launched with the defects in 1971.

Soon, there were news from everywhere with people charring to death even in rear collisions at speeds below 50MPH. Vehicle was eventually pulled out of US Market and is dubbed as the worst product in the history of automobile.

The cost calculated by Ford for Legal Cases - $49.53mil @ 200K per death + 67K per injury + $700 per vehicle repair
Financial Implications of Stopping Assembly Line - $137.5mil @ $11 per vehicle
Actual Losses incurred in the first Legal Case alone - $6.0mil (Initially, court ordered payment of $125mil which was then reduced by higher courts)
Total Fatalities - 27 + Injuries (It was eventually pulled from market)

The problem we have on hand here is far less risky. stupid:

Quote:

Originally Posted by narayan (Post 2930688)

Akhilesh - thanks but you have added to the confusion.

The EX is priced at 10.02 ex showroom Chennai for the BS4 variant. Hence I am not sure what you mean by the base version of Storme will be below 10 lakhs but not below the EX ? how is that possible ?

Terribly sorry for the confusion. Actually I have always considered NCR prices and Safari EX is currently priced from 9.79L here. Obviously there is expectancy to down-price current safari variants by few thousands if not more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akhilesh51 (Post 2930783)

Not so long Ago, CNB show cased the Tata autocomp which makes the products such as dash boards. They seem to be doing this for mutltiple manufacturers so i am sure they certainly do it for sibling tata motors as well.

And if their management is similar to that of Tata motors, well it is self explanatory :Frustrati

Quote:

Originally Posted by akhilesh51 (Post 2930783)

Ok - So I presume they have to factor the 60-70k discount in the re-pricing. Else whats the joy in giving a 60k discount for a vehicle now and after an upgrade is launched not give the same ( if not higher discount )

so my sense on pricing is ( all are Chennai prices )

Safari Lx - 7.75 lakhs ( existing 8.3 exshowroom minus existing discount )
Safari Ex - 9.2 lakhs ( existing 10.02 exshowroom minus existing discount )

STORME LX 9.4-9.5 lakhs ( this is presumably better specced than the Ex )
LXa -9.6 lakhs

Quote:

Originally Posted by narayan (Post 2930809)

I see that you have been mentioning this 60K discount almost once a day and wanted to ask you. Now is the time :)
Are you sure the dealer is giving the discount on Ex-Showroom price ? Usually, its given only on the OTR since they don't want to [well, they can not] change the RTO charging model while changing the Ex-Showroom price.

May be, I am wrong [?]

Prem.

Max discount offered in Sept, 2012 in bangalore is 30 K for LX model with reverse camera thrown in. The discount is actually exchange bonus.