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-   -   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-82.html)

please: Anybody had any idea on the south india launch ? frustrating as the days go by waiting for the storme :Frustrati.

I just got a call from Storme customer care as I had registered for some contest. The lady said Storme is launched only in North & Central India. She had no info on the South India launch time!

It's quite frustrating indeed. I was one (like hundreds down south) who was looking to do a TD and maybe book it soon. But now, I lost that enthusiasm. Looks like TML had no strategy towards launching it across the country and even if they had/have one, they have failed miserably to communicate it to potential buyers. That in itself is business loss for TML. Looks like they are :ZZZ: off.

Hi,

By this time, i was hoping that at least one or two ownership threads. Is it that none of the team-bhp members have bought this vehicle? Its really surprising.

Its not launched in South but in north, none.. If any of our team bhp members know of some ownership threads, anywhere, could you please post as it'll help many people and surely lot of us. :)

Looks like TML top management is clueless. I do not think storme will touch 2K marks per month if this is the strategy they are following. This kind of strategy defenitely push even hardcore safari fans away :Frustrati

Lets be patient and lets NOT write-off certain brand without knowing certain basic things !
Go back a couple of pages, you will find the probable time-frame for Storme launch in South India. Debating about the delayed launch in S.India is a different topic, but saying TML do not have a plan/strategy, etc ... is different.

I don't want to hurt anyone, at the same time, would like to reinstate what we already shared here.

Basically, we are looking @ Dec 2012 for the Storme launch in Bangalore [may be, South India]. This is NOT from Ratan Tata. So, don't take it too close to heart.

Prem.

Greetings,

Finally, I got to test drive Storme on 3rd November.
Before taking the TD of Storme, I took TD of Scorpio and Duster 110.

Before I go in to the test drive details, I would like to give some back ground on what happened before this test drive.

Events from 17th October - 2nd November:

Me and my friend visited a TATA Showrooms in NCR on October 20th and saw Storme majestically standing in the show room. Asked the SR to arrange for the test drive, however the test drive was not arranged citing that there is an embargo of test drive and vehicles are not ready for it.

No problems, we went again and unfortunately the show room was closed on occassion of Dusshera. We then went to another show room (show room 2) on the same day and asked for a test drive.
Here we were surprised as the SR mentioned the vehicle is not available for a test drive because of some technical issues. Now, this was really surprising and shocking.
I confronted the SR that how can you give this kind of a reason for a new vehicle and asked to speak with a senior person. The senior person told as the vehicle had gone for outdoor launch we had to do a PDI again for a proper test drive and promised me to bring the vehicle for a test drive to my home on 27th October.

So, the call came on 26th October from show room 2 and mentioned that they cannot come to my house for a test drive and I will have to come to the show room. I flatly declined and told him that I will come when ever I am free.

On 27th October, me and my friend again decided to visit show room 1 for a test drive. I called up show room 1 and enquired about the test drive, the SR mentioned that we can come any time for the TD.
So, I took my family along with me a for a TD. We reached the show room 1 at around 3:00 PM and shockingly the SR mentioned that the TD vehicle has gone to show rooms MD's relatives home for a TD and will be back in 45 mins.
This was the limit, and I told them that if they want my business they better call me and bring the vehicle for the TD to my home.

28th October, 10:00 AM.: Got a call from TATA Motors HQ enquiring me about my experience of Storme Test drive and they asked me to rate the over all experience.
I told them about my experience and pathetic attitude of the SR and how they are spreading misinformation and how they are using the TD vehicle to cater to their relatives.

2nd November: Saw the effect of my feed back and got a call from show room 2 and confirmation of TD of Storme VX at my home on 3rd November.

3rd November, Test Drive day:

The SR had brought white storme VX with the green stickers. The vehicle looked great and was clean from inside too.

The Vehicle interior quality looked good to me. The materials and plastic used felt good. Didnt feel any gaps and everything looked to put together well. The leather seats gave Storme a luxury feel.

As all pointed out, 2 DIN system is being missed. I am fine with 1-DIN too.

Cranked the engine and as the case is with the diesel engines, the whole cabin vibrated once and then settled in steady state. The cabin felt quiet and there was very little engine clatter coming in to the cabin.

Adjusted the seat and the steering and felt that there is enough space between my knees and the steering (btw I am 5' 8"). Adjusted the mirrors and slotted the vehicle in 1st gear. Here I felt that some engine vibrations are being transmitted to the gear lever too.

Here I felt that slotting the vehicle in 1st gear was little hard, it could be that I am used to Punto and not used to SUV's. The clutch felt light and there was no hardness in it.

Released the clutch without pressing the accelerator and the torque made the vehicle move forward. Slowly pressed the accelerator and I could see the massive 2 ton Storme gaining momentum eagerly. Slotted the vehicle in 2nd gear, some resistance was there but managed to slot it in first attempt.

Now, I had to get out of my complex which have some narrow roads and not too wide turns. This is where storme excels, negotiating storme through these turns was a bliss. I have tough times with my Punto on these turns.

Next was to take Storme through some bad patches, pot filled roads, over a bridge and on a free road. I took a test drive of around 6-7 KM.

Bad patches and Pot filled roads, Storme never lost its compuser and was always planted and never once I felt the bouncy feeling. In fact, I could not feel the shocks coming in side the cabin and on the steering wheel. The storme definitely has a solid and composed ride on the bad roads.

In scorpio, I felt bouncy feeling on bad roads. However, scorpio engine had much better pick up. May be due to the torque coming early at lower rpms. I didnt get a chance to take Duster on bad roads, but it definitely had much better gears and steering feedback (will come to stormes too).

Once, the bad roads were tested, I took storme to open road and floored the accelerator in 2nd and then 3rd gear. I touched around 90 KMPH in 3rd gear without any sweat. The vehicle was planted and cabin was quiet.

Now, I took the vehicle on a bridge and accelerated from 35 KMPH to 80 KMPH in 3rd gear on a climb. Storme passed this test with flying colours and never once the engine knocked and the in gear acceleration also felt good.

Braked the Storme at 80 KMPH and she responded well and decelerated linearly and vehicle was in straight line without any side ways movement.

Now, the steering feedback part. I felt that there is some thing lacking here. It is not as precise as my Punto (may be I am little harsh here) and I didnt feel that I am getting proper feedback. I always felt that there is some delay or it is not fully connected to the road.
I will have to test another vehicle, may be a 4x4 VX, to make the final conclusion.

My final take, between Scorpio, Storme and Duster, it is a tough choice. No SUV is perfect but all have their strengths and areas of improvement.

For me it will be Storme, as I am looking for a SUV which has a well planted ride, comfortable seats, can seat 5-6 adults and 2 childrens and can stack some luggage.

Question is, will I buy today. I did the same with my Punto, I bought Punto when it was launched and pledged that I will wait for atleast 6 months before buying a new model.
Same is the case with Storme, I will wait until Feb - Mar 2013, before putting in my deposit.

My personal opinion, if you are looking for an SUV then please do take TD of storme, because this is totally a different vehicle than the Old Safari. (I took TD of Safari in the month of April and was not too happy with it).

-PK

Thanks, PKScorp is lighter than the Storme by about 200-250 kg's and hence feels better in the accleration figures.

I too had a similar bad experience with Concorde Motors in velachery, Chennai when I asked for a test drive of the Xenon.


I am surprised by this comment as Punto owners swear by the handling and how it is good on curves. Not sure how a Body on Frame Top heavy SUV can handle better than Punto on a curve.


Despite having lower power than Safari, the Scorpio feels more sprightly because if the shorter gearing. Safari final drive ratio is 3.73, Scorpio is 4.3 and Storme from what i have read online is 4.1. Hence Storme will have better acceleration than Safari, but low end Torque maybe less than Scorpio. The problem with Scorpio's short gearing is that after 120 kmph the engine rps goes above 3000 but in Storme/Safari you can cruise highways more comfortably.

Regarding Scorpio suspension, the less said the better

If you regularly drive over bad strechtes, I suggest you pick between the Storme or Duster. Duster is fantastic over bad roads and from your review Storme is also great. Scorpio is terrible once the road gets bad.

Thank you 4x4addict and Condor on your explanation of scorpio's initial pick up and better acceleration.

I can not even compare Storme's handling with my Punto's handling. May be I should have put it in a much better way.
There are some narrow roads and very tight turns in my locality. I had to be very careful with my Punto while negotiating these turns at a speed of 5-10 KMPH. In storme due to its tight turning circle and high seating, I was able to maneuver it with much more ease and confidence through these turns in my society.

-PK

pk_del
thanks for your intial feedback. its surprising to note the careless attitude of the dealers. somehow they dont seem to be prepared for handling the customer queries on the Storme - this despite Tata having launched it only in North. Anyway the action taken after your feedback seems to be good.

was the vehicle you drove a TD vehicle ?

I took a TD of the Safari yesterday. Basically there was no plans for the weekend and hence called up the local dealership. They were prompt and brought a Ex model. Unfortunately, it was not a TD vehicle and had the ODO cable disconnected. The SA also went on to say that due to the cable being disconnected, the pick up might be low since apparently some sensors dont work when the ODO cable is disconnected.

The dealership staff was also dismissing the Storme as an inconsequential vehicle with just a new "dashboard" and "stepny below the vehicle". Either they have not yet been trained on the Storme or they wanted to push the Safari.

When I insisted that I will go for the Safari only after checking out the Storme, I was told its expected in December.

But I am surprised by the lack of any update from North on any bookings/initial ownerships ? Hasnt anyone on TBHP booked a Storme ? very surprising

@ Narayan, yes, I got the TD vehicle and the ODO was working fine. I can understand your concern.

Infact, the same thing happened to me around 3 years back when the dealer brought a Palio for TD with ODO disconnected. I took the vehicle for a spin and found out that the ODO was disconnected. I returned back and refused to take a longer TD and scolded the dealer to never contact me again.

It was clear that the dealer had brought some customers vehicle for TD. I think we all should refuse for a TD if we feel or sense that it could be some other customers vehicle which the dealer has brought for a TD.

This will send the message to dealers that if you want my business then be fair. Because the same thing can happen to me to or any new customer.

-PK

As I have mentioned before, because of the storme it has created, dealers in down south has no clue when will it be launched. I was left with no other option other than much hated Scorp. I sold off my Punto, and missing every sigle bit of it even after two weeks.I waited till the storme luanch, no confimration from any dealer so far. My sweet revenge to TATA motors. Booked two Scopio VLXs taking delivery next week. I'm sure I will not regret my decision.

That's a very bad dealership or maybe the sales guys were trying to push for the Safari to meet targets, the staff at most dealerships have been trained on the differences between the Safari and Storme and they do know that the Storme can't be dismissed saying "new dashboard", it was right of you to insist on taking a decision after driving the Storme.
I once again reiterate from a current Safari owner's perspective, the Storme is all about the drive, not just the looks, one needs to drive it for some distance to feel how different it is compared to the existing Safari.

Totally agree. Atleast the dealers in NCR region are well informed on the features of Storme. They some times make irresponsible statements on the available features.
For example: One of the SR told me the control on the steering doesnt control the volume of the music system and I cannot scan the channels. :Frustrati

Waiting for BHP's official review as it will clear lot of doubts.

-PK