[rohansachar]

Since the last 3 months now, I was considering buying a new car to replace my 2010 Manza. My wife was hinting toward an upgrade of another sedan, specifically the Nissan Sunny or Honda City; however I was stuck on looking for SUVs. The primary contender to be honest was the Safari Storme, however I chose to not just listen to the heart but give the mind a chance to play the routine of considering all options & taking test drives of all contenders. The reason why the heart has been on Safari since the last 10 years has been simply one thing, a line, to “Reclaim my Life”. Tata stopped saying so since a while back I guess, but that line, along with the visual of the Safari doing what does best it hasn’t escaped my mind. :-)

In the initial consideration, I had the following options in my mind:
1. Tata Safari Storme
2. Mahindra XUV500
3. Mahindra Scorpio (Old & New)
4. Ford EcoSport
5. Renault Duster

Before heading to the TD phase itself, I decided no mini SUV; hence the last two options got filtered. The first car I checked in detail was the Storme, a vehicle given to me by TM team. Had the car with me for around 2 weeks. Loved it! But I didn’t let it stop there. Below are all the TD experiences taken over the course of 3 months:

1. Tata Safari Storme:

• a. PROS:
  • Undisputed road presence, it’s truly a beast!
  • Engine had good power for the weight of the car
  • Amazing suspension & spacious interiors
• b. CONS:
  • The most basic interiors, I mean even my Manza had steering music controls & a 2 DIN music system
  • Since I was considering EX, it was shocking to hear even a 13.15 lac car did not have a music system given by default!
  • Years behind others in features such as Automatic Transmission, Cruise Control & many others.

2. Mahindra XUV500:

• a. PROS:
  • Very stable car with good handling(monocoque design)
  • Loaded dash with tons of features(having tried the W8 variant)
  • Cruise control for those long highway drives definitely pulled me towards the XUV
• b. CONS:
  • Linear power, no raw feel of engine, perfect for city driving but didn’t give an SUV feel
  • Average suspension

3. Mahindra Scorpio(New Generation):

• PROS:
  • Amazing front redesign with DRLs(but I wasn’t considering the S10, S8 or maybe S6 Plus, both lacked DRLs)
  • Interiors felt better than outgoing model, with tons of loaded features like the XUV has
  • Good road presence
  • Power felt good, despite stats being lower than XUV & Safari, I felt the Scorpio was tuned to deliver its capacity.
• CONS:
  • Bad rear design! Would have had looked good in black color option but for the Scorpio, I was going to go for the Silver in which it would look ugly.
  • Not spacious enough, felt both the XUV & Storme had more interior space than the Scorpio

Surprisingly, a direction where my mind RANDOMLY diverted was toward the new Elite i20! I know it’s a different league altogether and has nothing to do with the options I was considering, but two thoughts made me drift towards the i20:
1. Light on pocket in terms of financials (I was consider the Asta)
2. Asta variant was heavily loaded (in comparison to my Manza)

Hence it seemed like an upgrade worth considering. I called the Hyundai Shreenath Showroom for a TD. But the response I got really put me off the car. Firstly, I was told there would be a minimum wait of 2 months for the Petrol Asta, plus even for a TD, the sales person told me you’ll have to come down since they had limited amount of TD vehicles & they won’t be able to send someone to my office or home. Mind you, this was not immediately after the launch, but a month later, sometime middle of September. That really was irritating & I asked the SA to forget about it since in the consideration stage itself, the Team-BHP Official i20 Review was helpful enough.

After thinking about i20 or SUVs for about a week or so & being super irritated in both home & office (yup, got feedback from office & wife!), my wife simply told me “Your heart is set on buying an SUV, so just forget about the i20 & close on which SUV you want!”. Couldn’t agree with her more, I did want an SUV, at the moment itself, I completely let go of the touch of the i20 & only focused on the Storme, XUV & Scorpio.

Then came the moment of nirvana, when at 2:30 am one night I was down in my building for a smoke. There was one thought constantly in my mind, “The giant Storme, loaded XUV or new Scorpio”. 1 ~ 2 cigarettes later, I had my answer. It didn’t make me happy imagining myself driving both the XUV for the new Scorpio. Hence the answer was clear; it was time to “Reclaim my Life”!

The next Saturday, I went ahead and booked the Safari Storme EX variant.

Buying Experience:
The dealer where I booked the Storme was Wasan Motors, Chembur, Mumbai. The procedure was smooth. All documents & processing went smoothly, the EX Urban was available in ready lot. Post giving the booking amount, in 2 days I was sent the engine number of the Safari.

An interesting thing, there was a Diwali offer scratch card offer going on, where the only thing I got was a Flipkart voucher for Rs. 3,000/-. However, the Wasan guys told me, in a span of 6 days, 3 people got a Nano, Indigo eCS & Safari Storme FREE as part of the offer. Which made my Flipkart voucher look even worse.

ALSO, not that I was expecting, but not even a single value add(in terms of accessory) from the dealership.

The color was entirely my wife’s choice since I had picked the Silver color of her Micra. She picked well, we booked the Urban Bronze. The car was delivered on 13th October, 2014:



Couldn’t be happier, driving the beast around for 3 weeks now. First service pending this weekend.

BTW, the great feeling of removing plastic from your brand new car:


Few pics of the beast:
Beast at Night:


Interiors:




Initial Impressions:
The beast handles itself beautifully!!

For the first few days the gear was a little hard going into the first gear, but it's smooth now. Suspension is great & so is the pick-up. In traffic too it feels great to be driving the Safari.

Right now, I've not maxed the car over 2000 RPM & have maintained a speed limit of 100 km/hr.

Initial Driving Experience:
- One peculiar thing I've noticed while driving, the Storme while it handles bumps, potholes & uneven surfaces very well, it jumps from the rear when I don't slow down over minor speed bumps. Initially I thought it was due to a slightly higher tyre pressure I keep (33 PSI over the recommended 32 PSI for unladen vehicle), but I noticed it in 32 PSI as well.
- The steering feels perfect for the Storme. It's NOT smooth, but instead slightly on the heavy side, which I believe gives me a better handling at higher speed. As I've mentioned, I've not taken the Safari over 100 kmph, so can't really say if it'll be same feeling at higher speed.
- Traffic driving is not as painful as I had imagined. It took a while getting used to, especially since upgrading from a sedan to a SUV, but it isn't something that took long to get used to.
- Specific mention of ORVMs, EX doesn't have auto folding, but manual folding internally adjustable mirror. This has been a problem in Mumbai traffic. My Manza had two way folding mirror so you didn't need to be bothered if a bike hit it, but I am much more conscious in the Storme.
- The braking of the Storme IMO varies depending on the driving condition. At high speeds, I've seen it handle really well i.e. with minimal jerking. HOWEVER, a couple of instance in typical traffic, I panicked a couple of times since minimal braking, the car did not come to a stand still in bumper to bumper traffic. This might even be because of me still getting used to the Storme, but I still feel there is a lot of traveling of the brake pedal(& clutch too).
- The body roll is VERY NOTICEABLE. Especially after having driven the XUV. The most I have noticed it while driving at 80 ~ 100 kmph & suddenly changing lanes. But it doesn't bother me. To be honest, gives it a huge beast feeling.
- The pickup is good, especially post the kicking the 1600 RPM mark, but the lag is noticed in the first & second gear. It's taking a while getting used to shifting from a sedan to an SUV, to top that, the first diesel car I have ever driven.


Fuel Efficiency:
Have done the first refuel of the car & it's currently giving me a FE of 9.8 kmpl. I hope this will go up after the first service.
Does anyone use System D in their Storme for improving FE? I used to add System G+ in my Manza every 10k KMs & used to see an improvement in FE by 1~2 kmpl.


THE TATA NOISES:
I've always had Tata cars, from Indica v2 in 2006, to Manza in 2010 & now Storme, to my evaluation & expectation of NVH levels are to TM benchmark. However, hearing the Storme from outside & inside cabin is good to see the efforts put by TM to reduce cabin noise. My Manza despite having a quieter engine, had not that great insulation of outside noise in cabin. But the Storme is better in that perspective.

HOWEVER, the Storme is giving me an encounter of a whole new levels of TM noises:

1. Whistle Sound from the Engine:
- This was my misconception & was clarified by narayan,Storme_on_d_way & sasi405 that it's the sound of the Turbo Whistle

2. Rear Door Squeaking:
- Started approximately in the 2nd week. Contacted my SA in Wasan Motors Deonar(who used to service my Manza) & he will look into it during the 1st service.

3. WIERD NOISE that started yesterday:
- A vibration noise (very minor) from the center dash when the RPM is EXACTLY at 1500 RPM. Again, same advice from my SA, will look into it during the 1st service. My only concern was if it needs urgent attention which he dismissed.

The MOST IMPORTANT PERSONS(Wifes) Opinion:
My wife loves the beast! I'm tall & she's tiny, which makes it really funny to see her climb & get down from the Safari :-) But she loves it! She had recently gone to the Mahindra Adventure Spice Challenge & had driven a Scorpio Automatic, from that day itself, she's made a resolution that she will learn manual(the first car purchased for her was Nissan Micra XV CVT) just to drive the Storme & to have her next car an SUV.

Comparing Past to Present (Manza to Storme):
- It's a great feeling to upgrade from a sedan to an SUV, but I guess that entirely depends on a persons want. I know some friends who will upgrade to more premium sedans, but not me. I always wanted an SUV!
- The fit & finish has definitely improved. A simple example, the rubber door stoppers in my Manza would come off every time the doors were cleaned, to a point where all 4 had been dropped & fallen off.
- The electrical system currently seems more stable than that of my Manza. Case in point, when my Manza was less than 2 weeks old, the front right side fog lamp has short circuited. Too soon to comment for Storme, but it feels more stable &/or I have more hopes.

Current additions to the beast:
1. Regular universal rubber mats (Smoke Grey)
2. Door Visors
3. Rear Camera with parking sensors
4. A small set of DIY mats for the door pockets & dashboard [will post details with pictures soon]
5. ICE [Details later, but is a monster ICE]. Images FYR:




Planned upgrades in the next 1 ~ 2 months:
1. 3M Exterior Cleaning & Polishing
2. Explorer Edition Decals
3. Alloy Wheels [Maybe, maybe not since I am liking the default wheels]
4. Seat covers after a few months of using the original (like to run them a little)

Thanks for reading!

[extreme_torque]

Congratulations on the car!! It remains my dream car as well. Did you get any discounts on it given that an updated version is on the cards and could be out any moment now?

[rohansachar]

Update on 23 days of ownership:

The clutch has started squeaking out of nowhere. Maybe a simple greasing will fix it but one doesn't expect it on having a brand new car which run is 23 days!!!

On a better note:

Today morning, I got the Explorer Edition decals & Chrome fittings for the headlamps & tail lights installed. Below are the details:

I ordered the kit from Wasan Motors Chembur on 1st November, Saturday. The items were delivered within the mentioned time i.e. yesterday. Total costings were:

Decals: Rs. 4,700
Chrome Garnish: Rs. 3,200
Total: Rs. 7,900 [including fitting charges]

The decals were well packaged with instructions included:


Instructions were a relief since I didn't expect the Wasan guys to know exact orientation, hence was ready with online images, but the instructions were well detailed:


Fitting procedure:



And the awesome final result:



The Chrome Garnish came with a 3M strip to simple glue on the parts. Was a relatively simple procedure, and the result looked great!:



Fine look of the beast:

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line section. Thanks for sharing!

[Reinhard]

Hey! Congratulations on the great acquisition. Had seen this thread pop up some days ago when it was fresh, but got pulled into assembly line before I could wish .

Wishing you unlimited safe & happy miles with the Storme. Awaiting more details about the ICE. Looks good with JBL speakers & SW. The EE Decals also look nice. They've done a good job of applying them.

As for the clutch, you mean the pedal or the noise comes from the engine bay?

And - the Storme's mirror also folds both ways just like the Manza. Don't worry about the unguided missiles (bikers) dashing the mirrors.

[narayan]

Congrats Rohan

Quick feedback on the clutch spring noise - its very common - I have reported it in my ownership thread as well. Just needs regular greasing. No other option. Anyway you have a nice music system installed - that should also help

[hyper-VTEC]

Congratulations! Wishing you million happy miles with your beast.

What kind of discounts did you get from TML/dealer? Were the ICE taken from Tata?

[rohansachar]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Hey! Congratulations on the great acquisition. Had seen this thread pop up some days ago when it was fresh, but got pulled into assembly line before I could wish .

Wishing you unlimited safe & happy miles with the Storme. Awaiting more details about the ICE. Looks good with JBL speakers & SW. The EE Decals also look nice. They've done a good job of applying them.

As for the clutch, you mean the pedal or the noise comes from the engine bay?

And - the Storme's mirror also folds both ways just like the Manza. Don't worry about the unguided missiles (bikers) dashing the mirrors.

Thanks Reinhard! Will post more details of the ICE installation.

About the EE decals, saw the entire procedure. Done very professionally.

Originally Posted by narayan

Congrats Rohan

Quick feedback on the clutch spring noise - its very common - I have reported it in my ownership thread as well. Just needs regular greasing. No other option. Anyway you have a nice music system installed - that should also help

Thanks narayan, have been following your ownership review very closely. Must have missed out this detail.

Originally Posted by hyper-VTEC

Congratulations! Wishing you million happy miles with your beast.

What kind of discounts did you get from TML/dealer? Were the ICE taken from Tata?

Thanks hyper-VTEC! The discount was the 40K cash discount. Apart from that the scratch & win card.

ICE was installed from a showroom called 4WheelWorld in Chembur.

[inomad]

Congratulations on your new Storme. I'm sure you will have a great time being on the road with a perch that high.

Wishing you some awesome and safe miles ahead

[al pacino]

Congratulations brother for buying the king of Indian roads . Iam sure you will love the Safari Storme for what it has to offer you and your family . Please keep the thread updates and if possible kindly post some pictures too .

[rohansachar]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Congratulations on the car!! It remains my dream car as well. Did you get any discounts on it given that an updated version is on the cards and could be out any moment now?

Sorry extreme_torque, forgot to reply to your post since the thread was in the assembly line.

Regarding the discount, it was only the 40k cash discount.

Originally Posted by inomad

Congratulations on your new Storme. I'm sure you will have a great time being on the road with a perch that high.

Wishing you some awesome and safe miles ahead

Originally Posted by al pacino

Congratulations brother for buying the king of Indian roads . Iam sure you will love the Safari Storme for what it has to offer you and your family . Please keep the thread updates and if possible kindly post some pictures too .

Thanks inomad & al pacino!

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by rohansachar

Does anyone use System D in their Storme for improving FE?

I do not own a Storme but have driven it extensively and I have been able to get around 11kmpl on the highways at 110-120kmph. The use of System-D pushed this up to 11.75kmpl.

I have also used Sys-D in Hariya (My Scorpio CRDe) and Chetak (My Pajero Sport) and have noticed an increase of around 1kmpl.

[condor]

rohansachar : Does anyone use System D in their Storme for improving FE?

@Rohan, Please do not use Sys-D. In case of a failure of the CR unit, Wty on the CR unit will be void if the supplier finds out about usage of Sys-D
Inputs from a TASS)

[rohansachar]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

I do not own a Storme but have driven it extensively and I have been able to get around 11kmpl on the highways at 110-120kmph. The use of System-D pushed this up to 11.75kmpl.

I have also used Sys-D in Hariya (My Scorpio CRDe) and Chetak (My Pajero Sport) and have noticed an increase of around 1kmpl.

Thanks for your feedback n.devdath. I did notice a increase in FE in my Manza.

Originally Posted by condor

@Rohan, Please do not use Sys-D. In case of a failure of the CR unit, Wty on the CR unit will be void if the supplier finds out about usage of Sys-D
Inputs from a TASS)

Hi Condor, in all my cars that have gone to TASS, they have always recommended System G(for Indica & Manza). Matter of fact, I have always purchased it directly from them during 10k service.

Haven't asked them about System D for the Storme, but since my first service is scheduled tomorrow, I will definitely bring up your point.

[condor]

@Rohan, I have used Sys-D earlier too, in my Tata cars (Turbo Diesel) & Ford Ikon (Common Rail), and hence familiar with the usage.

While TASS does sell the product, please remember that the Owner's manuals specifically say not to use the additives in the Common Rail engines.