[unni.ak]

Congratulations on the Storme! Wishing you many miles of kicking up storms!!

I too agree with you on the marketing bit. Its rare to see a advertisement on TV or some aggressive marketing from Tata. They will keep waiting for a while, realize that sales have come down to a trickle (if it isn't already!!) and then offer heavy discounts.

[urajkumar]

Thats a nice review Narayan! It certainly looks best in Silver!

Was the picture was taken in the sparkling sands beach in ECR? it was our favorite haunt during college days and bought back fond memories!

[verditer]

Congratulations on the New Safari Storme.

Yes, she touches your heart, like no other. Keep revving.
Wishing you many many thousands of highway miles on her.

My 2010 Safari is 89000kms on the ODO, and I love her no end today also.
Long live her clan.
The Storme has given a new lease of life to the aging original Safari. If at all some day I have to buy another car, I will buy the Storme with eyes closed.

[kaviprem]

Congratulations Narayan on the STORME !
I agree with Verditer. I have a 2010 Safari having close to 50K and no regrets [touchwood]. I am sure, STORME is even better.

Happy and safe motoring !
Prem.

[narayan]

Update:

Installed Garware VLT70 for the front windshield. Based on recos from various BHP-ians and user experience, went for this. Its also absolute VFM at Rs3500 compared to 3M CR70. I read in some places that the CR70 is just a 3M branded Garware VLT70 ( not sure on this though ).

Looking forward to some sunny drives to check the performance

[shantanumishra]

Congratulations Narayan for the Urban Beast.

I also had a 2010 Safari and had to part with it after about 25K for some unforeseen circumstances but was simply in love with it for the 2 years it was with me.

On the Contrary, within less than 1 year of parting with it, I have already decided that my next vehicle is going to be the Storme as soon as I can gather some Vitamin M for it.

Happy and safe motoring! And Just Carry on raising the Storme!

[narayan]

FE update:
Got 10kmpl for a running of 150kms where 50kms was highway and rest city all with ac. Am not too happy but hope to get atleast 11-12 in city with limited ac usage and about 14-15 in highways with sedate driving. Am doing 850kms today. Will once again update post that

[srinath34]

Congrats on the silver beast. Very nice writeup. The Storme looks majestic in silver. Hope to see some interior pics too.
Hope you enjoy the nice roads via Madurai to Trivandrum with this beast.

How are the projector headlights illumination?
I see you are looking to add transparent tints but in the pics, the glasses appear pre-tinted/greenish? Does it come with with some percent of tint?

Wish you lots of happy miles with the SUV. Hope to drive when I come down to Chennai one day.

[narayan]

Completed a 800kms journey from Chennai to Trivandrum yesterday. Took around 12 hours. Kept the beast within 110kmph since it was the run in period. It was raining heavily in and around Chennai and so the first 3 hrs of the ride was in pouring rain. Some observations from the drive

1) Wiper speed : Earlier I thought it was unique to just the Vista but now I realise its again one of those Tata "features". The first wiper speed wipes the glass once in about 11-12 seconds and the second speed is once a second I wonder why Tata did not put an intermediate speed. So in the typical rain that you get in Chennai which is quite moderate, speed 1 will be really slow and you will even forget the wiper is on and speed 2 is super fast that the wiper blades start squeaking on the glass sicne its already getting dried up fast. Not sure why they cant think of such simple things

2) Since it was just 3 of us, we pushed the middle row ahead and converted the rest of the car to a nice comfy bed for the better half and kid to dose half. Feedback on ride comfort was

3) Havent checked the FE yet since I will tank up maybe tomorow.

4) On the way had a huge puncture on the right front wheel when the below object decided to park itself in the tyre. Looks like some fallen part from some commercial vehicle. Got a chance to try out the new spare wheel mounting mechanism and it was quite easy to get the spare wheel removed. The earlier tail gate mechanism would have been a pain to handle in such circumstances


5) Driving over huge puddles of water means the beast splashes water onto itself. This was very strange because I have not seen this in any of my other cars. For e.g if there is a nice big puddle in the highway and I speed over it, water was getting pushed up to the bonnet and to the windscreen. Maybe this could be due to the shape of the air that the beast is dragging when it moves.

6) Pronounced wind noise from the rear side kept bugging me. I am wondering if its air moving through the 2 holes in the black plastic grab handle type of fitting above the 3rd row glass.

[narayan]

Got the first service done at Kulanthungal Motors - Trivandrum

1) Ok service experience. Anyway the first service doesnt have much to be done. The recommended interval is 1000- 1500kms.

2) Reported a alignment issue with a moderate pull to the left and steering vibration at 100kmph ( possibly balancing issue ? ). SA said alignment is ok and he has swapped left and right wheels and asked me to recheck on my way back. Also balancing was not done since they felt its too early for wheels to lose balance since it would have been done during the PDI. Will need to see whether these issues crop up during my drive back

3) Met with a irate Nano customer while i was waiting there. The poor chap's car has been visiting the service center regularly for gear box and clutch issues ever since it crossed 2000kms. He has bought it only in Jan 2013 !

[ameaa]

Originally Posted by narayan

5) Driving over huge puddles of water means the beast splashes water onto itself. This was very strange because I have not seen this in any of my other cars. For e.g if there is a nice big puddle in the highway and I speed over it, water was getting pushed up to the bonnet and to the windscreen. Maybe this could be due to the shape of the air that the beast is dragging when it moves.

Congrats on your new buy..

I was hoping that this feature is out of storm. This is dangerous because it makes you blind for a second and if you are on high speeds and driving near medians it could be dangerous. Did the beast tend to change direction when you speed through puddle of water? How much you could run with a tank full. I have done 900 kms in a tank filled close to neck. Not sure if storm has any improvements in this area.

[ameaa]

Originally Posted by verditer

Congratulations on the New Safari Storme.

Yes, she touches your heart, like no other. Keep revving.
Wishing you many many thousands of highway miles on her.

My 2010 Safari is 89000kms on the ODO, and I love her no end today also.
Long live her clan.
The Storme has given a new lease of life to the aging original Safari. If at all some day I have to buy another car, I will buy the Storme with eyes closed.

Hi Verditor, We both seem to have the same usage pattern, since my is done 90K. 2010 Oct BS 4 model. Let me know if you have changed any major parts and their cost. Thanks..

[narayan]

Originally Posted by ameaa

Congrats on your new buy..

I was hoping that this feature is out of storm. This is dangerous because it makes you blind for a second and if you are on high speeds and driving near medians it could be dangerous. Did the beast tend to change direction when you speed through puddle of water? How much you could run with a tank full. I have done 900 kms in a tank filled close to neck. Not sure if storm has any improvements in this area.

Thanks Ameaa. Yes it does get a bit unsettled if you go over a pool of water. I guess that would be the case with most cars.

900kms in the Dicor would translate to a 15kmpl FE. I hope the Storme would also deliver the same because otherwise the range on a full tank wouldnt be that good.

[Strangerintown]

Originally Posted by narayan

1) Wiper speed : Earlier I thought it was unique to just the Vista but now I realise its again one of those Tata "features". The first wiper speed wipes the glass once in about 11-12 seconds and the second speed is once a second I wonder why Tata did not put an intermediate speed. So in the typical rain that you get in Chennai which is quite moderate, speed 1 will be really slow and you will even forget the wiper is on and speed 2 is super fast that the wiper blades start squeaking on the glass sicne its already getting dried up fast. Not sure why they cant think of such simple things

This is strange. My 2008 Safari 2.2 has pretty evenly spaced intermittent wiper speed settings and it is actually quite easy to find the appropriate speed for the given rain. I wonder why they would try to change something that does work!

[ameaa]

[quote=narayan;3210292]Thanks Ameaa. Yes it does get a bit unsettled if you go over a pool of water. I guess that would be the case with most cars. /QUOTE]

I haven't noticed this in other cars which i have driven. Anyway knowing this feature and being little careful should solve it. Have you felt any discomfort with your left leg on long drive? I noticed that the storm front seat sits slightly lower from floor than Dicor..

Happy Motoring..