[condor]

Originally Posted by ebonho

This section I am talking about is concrete - i.e. flat slabs

It's not the material. Road surfaces are typically designed to drain away rain water, and not allow stagnation.

[torquing_points]

Originally Posted by ebonho

torquing points, navsangeet, is it "normal" in your Stormes for the front end to ever so slightly "wander" left-right sideways in a straight line? Its very very imperceptible, as in its not felt on a straight road. But I get the feeling when driving in the BRT lane with the concrete divider close on one side and the smaller concrete separator on the other -i.e when space is limited and the wandering may cause you to graze the sides. Or is this the symptom of the truck pulling to one side slightly?

Hi Ebonho - I have also felt this. Although I think that its because of the non-flat road, as mentioned by condor. I did notice that my petrol Sedans and LR Freelander (a monocoque) maintained their lines well - much better than the Storme. I also dont recall having this issue on the Aria.

However, it's ever so slight, I always thought that its a matter of perception - but if you're also feeling it, maybe theres something about the new suspension / light steering combination...

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

Hi Ebonho - I have also felt this. Although I think that its because of the non-flat road, as mentioned by condor. I did notice that my petrol Sedans and LR Freelander (a monocoque) maintained their lines well - much better than the Storme. I also dont recall having this issue on the Aria.

However, it's ever so slight, I always thought that its a matter of perception - but if you're also feeling it, maybe theres something about the new suspension / light steering combination...

Thanks for confirming bro.

And you are exactly right. The steering is very light.

If you are doing a good speed, and hit an undulating patch where all four wheels are at different levels, you have to be extra careful that your hands also do not get thrown side to side, as that would translate pretty easy to the steering.

Again, comparing to the feel of my Baleno here. Realizing that a tall SUV is not going to behave the same.

[torquing_points]

It's now been 3000 KMs, and the ownership of the Storme so far has been mixed. On the one hand, the ride quality and stability on good roads is fantastic. On the other hand, I've had niggling issues to do with rattles, door locks & electronics, suspension and now power steering.

But the biggest thing that has changed is that I have given up the back seat - for ever, and moved to the front passenger seat, and MAN its a different experience altogether. The front passenger seat is not as bumpy as the back seat, although I do feel significant body roll when going over bad roads where all 4 tyres are on different levels, or on a pothole ridden road.

Being in the front seat also means that I can plug in my ipod into the stereo, and finally listen to some music. Sound quality is much better in the front than it was in the rear.

I still am scared to do anything about the ICE. On the one hand, I feel like just ripping it out and putting a completely new set in. On the other hand, with all these issues that I am facing, I would have probably shed a tear or two if not for the warranty. If there is *one* thing I want more than to listen to good music, then it is to not mess with the Tata warranty.

This is a pity - because I am willing to drop a good amount of $$ to up the ICE, if even at a dealer. Lets see, all my requests to the dealers have so far been rejected - they refuse to change the HU / install an amp for me. I wonder if there is a way to request the company's intervention for this. With the ICE related warranty claim issue that another Team-BHPian faced on his Skoda, I am even more worried now. Maybe after 6 months or so of completely trouble free driving, I will take a risk and throw the current trash out - but only after all the initial issues are over.

Anyway, the summary is that I have now moved to the front passenger seat from the back seat - and find this much much more comfortable.

The other point ot note is that I get EXACTLY 10 kmpl on every fuel trip. Exactly.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

It's now been 3000 KMs, and the ownership of the Storme so far has been mixed. On the one hand, the ride quality and stability on good roads is fantastic. On the other hand, I've had niggling issues to do with rattles, door locks & electronics, suspension and now power steering.

When I reviewed the storme, I felt it to be a better engineered vehicle. But it seems Tata has not learnt. Beauty seems to be skin deep and the same Aria/Safari story repeats. No wonder sales are down below 800 units which a much inferior scorpio sells 4000+!

[torquing_points]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

When I reviewed the storme, I felt it to be a better engineered vehicle. But it seems Tata has not learnt. Beauty seems to be skin deep and the same Aria/Safari story repeats. No wonder sales are down below 800 units which a much inferior scorpio sells 4000+!

Honestly the car I had before this was a Skoda. After dealing with those jokers, I find Tata to be not so much of a pain - purely because their service guys are able to fix problems. This is because of a combination of the fact that their guys are genuinely better trained than Skoda, and also because the car is far less complicated than a Skoda. Not that Skoda is the benchmark for servicing anyway - but im just pointing out to you guys why i find these issues with Tata amusing, and why they arent driving me insane. I have a thick hide now.

I have realized that the Storme is a fantastically engineered vehicle with the last-mile missing. I feel that the team has really put in a lot of effort to design the car - but then forgot to tighten all bolts (literally). This is really stupid - that you put in all the hard work to make a great product - and then because of complacency, you dont finish it up well. I made the same point in the choice of black for that matter - when I said that they have 3 different tones of black in one door. It's a matter of attention to detail. I think they've got the engineering part right though.

Having driven the Storme, Aria and the Dicor, let me tell you though - the Storme is a giant leap from both the Dicor and the Aria. Long way to go though... and as you pointed out, their competition is moving quite fast!

[ACM]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

Honestly the car I had before this was a Skoda. After dealing with those jokers, I find Tata to be not so much of a pain - purely because their service guys are able to fix problems. This is because of a combination of the fact that their guys are genuinely better trained than Skoda, and also because the car is far less complicated than a Skoda. Not that Skoda is the benchmark for servicing anyway - but im just pointing out to you guys why i find these issues with Tata amusing, and why they arent driving me insane. I have a thick hide now.

Having driven the Storme, Aria and the Dicor, let me tell you though - the Storme is a giant leap from both the Dicor and the Aria. Long way to go though... and as you pointed out, their competition is moving quite fast!

Have similarly moved from a Skoda Laura to the Aria and have a similar view on why one is able to live with the TATA vehicle. But in my case has also live with the Safari TCIC for 10 years. But have not been able to let go of the Laura and need it to serve me when the Aria is in the garage.

I recently was offered and availed of the Storme VX 4X4 on trial for a few days courtesy TATA Motors and felt that the Aria was way better for a daily run close to 100 kms that has a significant bit of highways. Though for shorter city runs and genuinely poor roads the Storme would be better or even if the daily run is limited to a max of say 30kms both ways put together. One felt a lot safer, relaxed and comfortable in the Aria vs the Storme. But this is more from the Drivers own perspective rather than as a passenger. The Storme VX too misses out on a lot of creature comforts and this is really usable stuff that I am used since the Laura days.

[torquing_points]

Originally Posted by ACM

I recently was offered and availed of the Storme VX 4X4 on trial for a few days courtesy TATA Motors and felt that the Aria was way better for a daily run close to 100 kms that has a significant bit of highways. Though for shorter city runs and genuinely poor roads the Storme would be better or even if the daily run is limited to a max of say 30kms both ways put together. One felt a lot safer, relaxed and comfortable in the Aria vs the Storme. But this is more from the Drivers own perspective rather than as a passenger. The Storme VX too misses out on a lot of creature comforts and this is really usable stuff that I am used since the Laura days.

We drove an Aria and a Freelander to Ladakh last year. I found that the Aria did the slushy area around Zozilla pass much better than the Freelander. You are right, the Aria is far more well planted than the Storme - which is why it feels more comfortable and safer. That is as a driver.

As a passenger, what you say about the Aria is even MORE true. Ie, as a passenger, the comfort in that car is much better than the Storme.

I bought the Storme because I love driving it on weekends - more than I enjoy driving the Aria or for that matter the Freelander. Also, I didnt like the interiors of the Aria, and I dont trust the electronics that Tata / Mahindra provide. The Aria seemed far more drive by wire than the Safari, and I thought that its safer to go with a car with less electronics. This is the reason that I did not buy the XUV as well. Basically, the lack of the creature comforts that you talk about is exactly the reason that I bought the Storme!

The only features of the Superb that I miss are the automatically adjusting rear view mirrors (which point down the moment you put the car in reverse and are AWESOME when parking) and the much much superior audio system. Apart from that, I cant say that Im missing to much of the stuff from the Superb on a daily basis. [[Sarcasm Warning]] That said, once its monsoon, I might miss the Superb's most advertised feature - the Umbrella holder.

On a different note, by this time (3000 KM), my Superb had already been in the garage for over 40 days with an oil leak.

[ACM]

A new experience A superb in the garage with an Oil Leak - Typically associated with TATA. The Aria and the Storme are not too leaky like the earlier Safari, and in general hold their fluids.

The Aria failure points have actually mainly been the mechanicals which they share with the Storme. The Electronics and gadgets (unlike on the XUV) have been quite reliable. (Touch some wood). They Infotainment is sourced from Delphi rather than a Chinese unknown brand and that is probably helping.

The Storme though does overall indeed feel to be a vehicle with very less that could go wrong.

[apachelongbow]

Only irritating issue I faced on my 2012 end Dicor is the persistent need to reset the tailgate after about 4-5k km, to ensure that no rattles or squeaks are present. I am quite surprised to hear that you are hearing rattles from the Storme. The entire reason for dropping the spare wheel off the tail was to reduce rattles!!! However I face no rattles from any other portion of my car, including seats. Maybe because I specifically asked the service center to tightned/torque all nuts and bolts during the first service, my explicit need was to hear no sounds, and it looks like they have done a neat job after a rattlefree 14000kms

[torquing_points]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Only irritating issue I faced on my 2012 end Dicor is the persistent need to reset the tailgate after about 4-5k km, to ensure that no rattles or squeaks are present. I am quite surprised to hear that you are hearing rattles from the Storme. The entire reason for dropping the spare wheel off the tail was to reduce rattles!!! However I face no rattles from any other portion of my car, including seats. Maybe because I specifically asked the service center to tightned/torque all nuts and bolts during the first service, my explicit need was to hear no sounds, and it looks like they have done a neat job after a rattlefree 14000kms

Well I had two rattles out of the showroom. One was in the roof mounted ac of what sounded like a loose part or screw moving around whenever the car turned, and the other was a take on the inside of the trail gate door coming from a loose panel which was clearly identifiable by holding it when the car was moving. This my driver tightened himself.

Have had no rattles 'develop' over time. Just teo that came with the vehicle. Now they are fine and no new rattles have developed.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by torquing_points

the other was a take on the inside of the trail gate door coming from a loose panel which was clearly identifiable by holding it when the car was moving. This my driver tightened himself.

Have you tried holding the handle on the inside facia of the tail gate door?

The plastic makes a crackling sound like those thin plastic moulded trays that hold toys (or barbie dolls) inside toy cartons for kids ......

[torquing_points]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Have you tried holding the handle on the inside facia of the tail gate door?

The plastic makes a crackling sound like those thin plastic moulded trays that hold toys (or barbie dolls) inside toy cartons for kids ......

Haha thankfully not. I havent sat inside the back row yet. Ill check it today to see if this is true!

[apachelongbow]

From what I have seen in Stormes in the showroom, the cladding around the body appears to be made of thin plastic. This when compared to the sturdy plastic cladding of the Dicors. I have a feeling that the cladding of the Storme will be the first to go or suffer cracks if a cyclist bumps into it.

[stormerider]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Have you tried holding the handle on the inside facia of the tail gate door?

The plastic makes a crackling sound like those thin plastic moulded trays that hold toys (or barbie dolls) inside toy cartons for kids ......

You are correct, the rear handle does make that crackling sound. I also agree with the gentleman mentioning that tata forgot to tighten all nuts, as I personally tightened 2/3 nuts for the side cladding! Also squeaks and rattles are there, but it sure is way ahead of the dicor which my brother has.

And on a lighter note, the best part of storme is that my wife can shut the tail gate!