[rajneeesh]

Narayan, thanks for sharing your experience with the Storme. After cancelling my booking for the Ecosport, I had decided to continue with my SX4 for some more time. However, reading your Ebonho's threads made me head towards the Tata Motors showroom in Noida yesterday afternoon.

I liked the Storme a lot more than the XUV500. If only Tata Motors were to offer Airbags and 4WD (as an option alteast) with the LX variant of the Storme, it would tick all the boxes on my list. The VX 4WD is a way beyond my budget.

Tata Motors would do well to learn from Mahindra which offers Airbags as standard on all variants of the XUV 500.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

I liked the Storme a lot more than the XUV500.

What is your final decision then? Are you going for Storme or looking for something else? I am also waiting for LX 4X4

[narayan]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

I liked the Storme a lot more than the XUV500. If only Tata Motors were to offer Airbags and 4WD (as an option alteast) with the LX variant of the Storme, it would tick all the boxes on my list. The VX 4WD is a way beyond my budget.

Tata Motors would do well to learn from Mahindra which offers Airbags as standard on all variants of the XUV 500.

Rajneesh - you are absolutely right. Going by the discounts offered for the Storme, they might as well rejig the pricing and variants and offer Airbags, ABS, EBD across the range.

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

What is your final decision then? Are you going for Storme or looking for something else? I am also waiting for LX 4X4

I am not sure how big a market there is for a base model 4X4 SUV going by the numbers the Scorpio Lx 4X4 does but worth checking with Mr Behram who is with TML now whether the Storme Lx 4WD is possible.

I personally would like it if TML can offer the front facing seats that was showcased in the European models in India as well.

[subraiyr]

Originally Posted by narayan

I am doing a Yercaud trip in Jan for 2 reasons - to make use of my club mahindra quota and push the beast past 10k - kms ( will be the fastest 10k for me in any of my cars so far ). Will update you on how the beast performed. I am not too happy to hear the FE numbers you posted.

But how was the braking downhill ? I personally feel the Storme brakes are not adequate - or atleast the initial bite is lacking. It feels spongy initially and then when you press it hard, you start feeling the braking action.

@Narayan - I dint have any trouble with braking downhill. Of course as the brakes heated up, there was some amount of reduced braking, but that was marginal. But then again, i prefer to downshift more than braking while coming downhill

Also, i did some offroads in Coonoor and there again the truck performed brilliantly. No issues on braking. Did you get your second service done ? Any issues on braking should be covered in that. Black Knight is going today for his second service.

At one of the junctions where the road splits into 2 - one towards Gudalur and the other towards Masinagudi, there was a traffic constable who got all the vehicles to slow down and warned them adequately to use first and second gears to go downhill. I saw a Maruti 800 whizz past me on the climb down and after about 10 hairpin bends the guy had pulled over and was trembling obviously due to poor braking

[narayan]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

@Narayan - I dint have any trouble with braking downhill.

Did you get your second service done ?

Thats good to know.Yes I got 2nd service done somewhere around 5k- kms

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

What I found was the engine was loaded about 25-27% at speeds till 80kmph and at speeds between 100-120kmph the engine load went up to 60-65%. These loads are measured on an empty car, full fuel tank, air-conditioning on, 5th gear, constant speeds.
So what I gather, is that at higher speeds (greater than 100kmph) the engine load due aerodynamic drag increases disproportionately in brick shaped SUVs and causes at-least 2-3kmpl increase in fuel consumption.

From my experience with the Safari, anything below 80kph speeds in 5th gear wouldn't have the engine running at the more than 1500rpm. So your experiment doesn't tell you anything new except that at lower rpm the engine power delivery is lesser vs higher rpms and not to forget the turbo range here. The test needs to be done in a wind tunnel to determine how much drag force is being created and subsequently calculate how much engine power will be consiumed to overcome it to establish the impact of the shape on FE.

A 2-3kmpl drop because of shape would not be an appropriate judgement based on your findings. The weight of the car itself is a deterrent to the FE but once in motion the momentum it has can easily negate the wind drag even at the top speed of 160kph that it is rated for. So attaching a number on FE impact based on a road test result may be misleading.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by narayan

I am not sure how big a market there is for a base model 4X4 SUV going by the numbers the Scorpio Lx 4X4 does but worth checking with Mr Behram who is with TML now whether the Storme Lx 4WD is possible.

I sent a PM to Mr. Behram about a month ago. Heve not heard from him. I guess he can not disclose any detail due to privacy reasons. Will definitely wait for some time before deciding.

[rajneeesh]

Originally Posted by sourabhzen

What is your final decision then? Are you going for Storme or looking for something else? I am also waiting for LX 4X4

Sourabhzen,

It is not such a simple decision for me. My SX4 has just done 56 K and has a lot of life left in it. It is a typical Heart Vs head decision for me. While the Heart wants me to go in for a Storme, the head tells me not to decide in haste till all my needs are met. While I would like a LX 4WD, I can live with a LX 2WD. However airbags are something I am not willing to compromise on.

The Head also tells me to enjoy the EMI free status for some more time till I get a vehicle which meets my decision criterion. The resale value of a 2008 SX4 ZXI is not too great either.

This SX4 whole not an SUV has good ground clearance which enables me to do almost 85 % of what a 2WD SUV can and I not have to break my bank t do so.

So no new car for me for some time.

[YGarg]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

So no new car for me for some time.

Apart from LX 4x4, who knows TATA discovers the technology of proper in-dash infotainment system in coming months:-)

[narayan]

Originally Posted by YGarg

Apart from LX 4x4, who knows TATA discovers the technology of proper in-dash infotainment system in coming months:-)

I doubt they will discover that going by how the Storme dash is designed that too after so many years !

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by narayan

I doubt they will discover that going by how the Storme dash is designed that too after so many years !

It is just sad how little they think of these things. Even the entry level Indica comes with double din slot that can accomodate a NAV. They planned the Storme for so many years and no one thought of giving space for a double DIN system???

I think they wanted to replace Safari with the Aria and put a lot of effort into Aria and didn't think much of the Storme. I guess the Aria's failure may have forced them to give a little more attention to the Storme.

[narayan]

Just completed a 1800km trip taking the beast past the 9000km mark. This trip was spread over 1 week and the route was as under

Day 1 Chennai - Coimbatore - Palakkad
Day 2 Palakkad - Thattekad
Day 4 Thattekad - Vechoor
Day 5 Vechoor - Trivandrum
Day 8 Trivandrum - Chennai

Total Distance - 1850kms
Average FE - 13.2kmpl
TVM - Chennai - got 13.8kmpl

On NH sections - speeds was in the range of 100-110kmph

I definetly feel they could have done better to improve the FE in this speed range which is the typical speed in the highways. Maybe a 6th gear would have helped ?

Total toll in the last day was Rs685 ! Total tolled roads was ~685-700. Hence a toll fee of Rs 1 per km which I think is quite exorbidant for the good old GST !

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by amolpol

From my experience with the Safari, anything below 80kph speeds in 5th gear wouldn't have the engine running at the more than 1500rpm. So your experiment doesn't tell you anything new except that at lower rpm the engine power delivery is lesser vs higher rpms and not to forget the turbo range here. The test needs to be done in a wind tunnel to determine how much drag force is being created and subsequently calculate how much engine power will be consiumed to overcome it to establish the impact of the shape on FE.

A 2-3kmpl drop because of shape would not be an appropriate judgement based on your findings. The weight of the car itself is a deterrent to the FE but once in motion the momentum it has can easily negate the wind drag even at the top speed of 160kph that it is rated for. So attaching a number on FE impact based on a road test result may be misleading.

First of all these were 'my' findings, from my car, not a general statement regarding fuel efficiency of the Safari. As per my observations, a speed upto 80kmph (constant) produced much better efficiency than speeds upward of 120kmph (constant). The weight of the car IMO is immaterial for my test purpose since at both speeds, the car is doing constant speeds, with an almost constant throttle position. So by the interpretation of the OBD scanner's bhp on the wheel; far more power is needed to maintain 120kmph compared to 80kmph, example the power needed is about 65% at 120kmph versus 30% at 80kmph. A 50% increase in speed requires 100% increase in power. This can be purely attributed as power needed to overcome drag, i.e. wind resistance, since the other drag (rolling wheels over tarmac is almost constant).

Other information: At max rpm (about 3700 rpm or thereabouts) the power generated at the rear wheel is 120bhp. So the rest of the 18bhp is lost in air conditioning or transmission losses

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

First of all these were 'my' findings, from my car, not a general statement regarding fuel efficiency of the Safari. As per my observations, a speed upto 80kmph (constant) produced much better efficiency than speeds upward of 120kmph (constant). The weight of the car IMO is immaterial for my test purpose since at both speeds, the car is doing constant speeds, with an almost constant throttle position. So by the interpretation of the OBD scanner's bhp on the wheel; far more power is needed to maintain 120kmph compared to 80kmph, example the power needed is about 65% at 120kmph versus 30% at 80kmph. A 50% increase in speed requires 100% increase in power. This can be purely attributed as power needed to overcome drag, i.e. wind resistance, since the other drag (rolling wheels over tarmac is almost constant).

Other information: At max rpm (about 3700 rpm or thereabouts) the power generated at the rear wheel is 120bhp. So the rest of the 18bhp is lost in air conditioning or transmission losses

Speaking of speeds, am PM'ing you the top speed hit on my Storme. Recall you asking about it some time ago.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

It is not such a simple decision for me. My SX4 has just done 56 K and has a lot of life left in it. It is a typical Heart Vs head decision for me. While the Heart wants me to go in for a Storme, the head tells me not to decide in haste till all my needs are met. While I would like a LX 4WD, I can live with a LX 2WD. However airbags are something I am not willing to compromise on.

The Head also tells me to enjoy the EMI free status for some more time till I get a vehicle which meets my decision criterion. The resale value of a 2008 SX4 ZXI is not too great either.

I am facing the similar dilemma. My Swift has completed 72k in 5 years and has a lot more to offer. Using swift till it completes 150,000 kms on odo makes more sense than taking a plunge now. Also, I think that waiting for a couple of years more will ensure that I do not repent later. Hope my head keeps its dominating stance over my heart for some time!