[amolpol]

Originally Posted by roadjourno

A stupid question. Will VSC lead to early brakes wear and tear ?

In the longer run and a lot of spirited cornering it would cause premature wear when compared to vehicles without VSC. But I wouldn't think it will be that evident in normal driving situations. This is since the VSC will try and adjust each wheel speed separately when it detects slippage and that will be a combination of reduce or cutting off the power to that wheel and applying some amount of braking as and when needed.

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

You are amongst the few people who have been a happy Safari owner and are now driving a Fortuner, happily I guess.

Accordingly, if you could list the pros and cons of both the vehicles (Storme Vs Fortuner), it would benefit all.

Your wish is granted!

Here's a quick summary of the differences between the Fortuner and Safari/Storme as requested. I couldn't create a table so have attached images of the sheet instead. You'll need to click on individual images to make it readable, hopefully the TBHP watermarking won't affect readability.

PS> Please keep in mind that this is a user review and may not be perfect on all technical counts, viewer discretion is advised

[roadjourno]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Why do you feel so??

Because VSC maybe applying brakes around turns corners to keep the stability intact?
Sorry i am no expert on these matter but only youtube videos which suggested so about VSC.

If you or someone knows more, please share.

[amolpol]

It's soon going to be time for the second free service at 5000kms. I'm thinking whether to go ahead and get the fluids changed now or wait for 10k service. Could someone share what is the average cost of a oil change during a free service. The beast may be required to go on a mission in December so I wanted to be ready for it.

The left side footboard has taken a slight beating from the off the road driving attempt in Pune. Will have to check if the ASC guys can straighten it out without much effort. I won't be changing it for sure, its got to take a lot of beating before it is retired.

On the fuel economy, its been showing 10.5 to 11kmpl on the MID so far, much better than what I expected. I'm waiting to see if that's gonna change after an oil change.

Over the past 6 weeks of ownership, I've got no real complaints which reaffirms my decision to have chosen the Japanese reliability over the American muscle. I wouldn't have had any time left with a parasitic jeep in the garage already.

[V12Doc]

the Average cost it just around 2000 odd bucks if for mineral oil and more if you go for synthetic. Go for mineral oil in fortuner as synthetic wont really make a difference. My friends fortuner has run around 2 lac kilometers in 3-4 years and he has always been on mineral oil.

[himadrimondal]

Originally Posted by amolpol

It's soon going to be time for the second free service at 5000kms. I'm thinking whether to go ahead and get the fluids changed now or wait for 10k service.

Over the past 6 weeks of ownership, I've got no real complaints which reaffirms my decision to have chosen the Japanese reliability over the American muscle. I wouldn't have had any time left with a parasitic jeep in the garage already.

Should drop the engine oil after 5k since the engine is now settling in.
Use mineral oil now and shift to synthetic may be at 15k.

The 'parasitic jeep' !, are you suggesting not to go for it if one does not have loads of time to spare?
Really risky with so much negativity around the Thar.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by amolpol

It's soon going to be time for the second free service at 5000kms. I'm thinking whether to go ahead and get the fluids changed now or wait for 10k service..

No need to touch the fluids as they are factory filled and of superior quality. As you will notice when you will check them that they would have hardly darkened. Get them changed at 10k service.

[4x4addict]

amolpol: you comparision between the Safari/Storme vs Fortuner sums it up perfectly in an unbiased manner.

Basically this proves that if Tata had put in a little more effort into redesigning the interiors and improving QA/QC, they have a killer product on their hands. If I could get the LX in 4WD, I would seriously consider it but I find it difficult to a Tata product that costs 18 Lakhs on the road. I feel both Fortuner 4x4 and Safari Storme VX 4x4 are prices about 15% more than they should be.

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by V12Doc

the Average cost it just around 2000 odd bucks if for mineral oil and more if you go for synthetic. Go for mineral oil in fortuner as synthetic wont really make a difference. My friends fortuner has run around 2 lac kilometers in 3-4 years and he has always been on mineral oil.

I have no intentions to move over to synthetic oil. 2000 bucks is good to hear, I may just get it done at 5k.

Originally Posted by himadrimondal

Should drop the engine oil after 5k since the engine is now settling in.
Use mineral oil now and shift to synthetic may be at 15k.

I want to keep the subsequent oil change at service schedules, so I may change at 5k and another at 10k so that the future changes are as per the book. Keeps things simple to track. I'm not sure if synthetic is going to make a big difference, so will stick to the mineral oils only.

Originally Posted by himadrimondal

The 'parasitic jeep' !, are you suggesting not to go for it if one does not have loads of time to spare?
Really risky with so much negativity around the Thar.

If you baby it around and use it like a car, there are plenty of folks who are pretty happy with it. My usage pattern is much different since I don't drive it everyday and take it offroad whenever there's an opportunity. It all depends on what you're going to do with it, as BD has said in his posts, keep it stock and will behave as designed. So I'm guessing it was conceptualized to be a commuter with jeep like body panels for most buyers. Those who want to use it like a jeep, can always keep upgrading stuff on it and also suffer huge break-fix bills and that's why I call it the parasitic jeep.

Originally Posted by dkaile

No need to touch the fluids as they are factory filled and of superior quality. As you will notice when you will check them that they would have hardly darkened. Get them changed at 10k service.

The change is mainly a peace of mind thing, 2k is a small price to pay. The beast will soon be stretching itself on a long trip which will bring it to the 10k mark by the end of it.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

amolpol: you comparision between the Safari/Storme vs Fortuner sums it up perfectly in an unbiased manner.

Basically this proves that if Tata had put in a little more effort into redesigning the interiors and improving QA/QC, they have a killer product on their hands. If I could get the LX in 4WD, I would seriously consider it but I find it difficult to a Tata product that costs 18 Lakhs on the road. I feel both Fortuner 4x4 and Safari Storme VX 4x4 are prices about 15% more than they should be.

Tata has to understand that before they can enter the premium segment, they have to establish themselves as a quality focused brand in the lower to mid segments first. I didn't mind putting in 10L for the Safari since I was getting a lot more return on investment based on my usage requirement at that time, but paying an 8L premium for a top-end 4x4 isn't something I'd do.

With the amount of ARIA owners ruing over their decision to pay 18L for a troublesome car, Tata has dug a new hole for themselves. The thought of paying 18L for the 4x4 DICOR actually forced us to move to the next option. Had there been a EX DICOR 4x4 still available at around 13-14L, I would have picked it up without a doubt. We may not have done that for the Storme though, but that's purely a matter of personal choice of preferring the Dicor over Storme.

[V12Doc]

That's the cost for the free labour services and the oil change is at 10k. Just go with the schedule. Toyota's are pretty robust cars and have well tolerability to Indian Conditions. I have had only free services done yet for my Fortuner and cost was around 2k. Don't know about the labour. Shouldn't be a lot though.

[TheARUN]

Excellent comparison between the Storme and the Fortuner. What I took away was, for what each vehicle offered, the Tata offered more bang for the buck. If only Toyota was to introduce a stripped down Fortuner at a stripped down price, they could double sales, but Toyota might have thought about it a long time ago and their current product mix must be part of some larger grander plan

[dean5545]

Originally Posted by TheARUN

If only Toyota was to introduce a stripped down Fortuner at a stripped down price, they could double sales, but Toyota might have thought about it a long time ago and their current product mix must be part of some larger grander plan

How much more sales do you expect from this monster?It is the car with the highest sales inthe 25lakh+ market leaving behind cars like the Superb & Passat and that too by a very huge margin!Heck some months even the XUV5OO records lesser sales than the Fortuner!

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by TheARUN

What I took away was, for what each vehicle offered, the Tata offered more bang for the buck. If only Toyota was to introduce a stripped down Fortuner at a stripped down price, they could double sales

Tata definitely needs to provide confidence and reliability in their products, they can then justify the price easily. I don't think they're priced wrong when compared to competition but its about whether people want to puy in 18 big ones on Tata quality.

The Fortuner doesn't have any bells and whistles to strip it down any further for a price relief. And Toyota is already cashing in on it without too much effort on marketing/advertising. So I doubt they have anything to worry until of course there's another wild card entry in that segment or Mitsubishi takes the Indian market seriously and improves their network.

[behaln]

great comparison , would appreciate if you could also elaborate on service costs as well as the spare parts costs involved , as they would definitely be helpful in the long term maintenance of the car.

[vinaydas]

Good review, any plans on upgrading the headlamps?


Keep us updated on the same