[PrasannaDhana]

Update :

Odo : 18,000 km



My ciaz odo is at 108k after 4.5 years while storme is at just 18k after 2 years.



I somehow have to force myself to use the storme. I guess it will be used very lightly until we have another driver to chauffeur my dad. Currently he happily drives around in our celerio.

[PrasannaDhana]

My ciaz has gone for 1,10,000 km service including clutch replacement and it will be 2 days that I will be using my storme.

Day 1 complete and Ciaz's daily workload of 129 km fell on storme.



Odo stands at 18,689 km

Posing here with my brother's rapid

[PrasannaDhana]

It has been 3 days since the ciaz is out of action.

Storme took the duty and has completed 332km. Thing to be noted is that Storme feels a lot more fuel efficient than my Dicor.



I filled diesel for 2000 INR and was able to do 332km. I wouldn't have been able to do that with the dicor.
It's a whole another story that I would have needed just 1000INR diesel in my ciaz for the same distance.

[PrasannaDhana]

Update :

Finally, crossed 20k mark. 20k km in 26 months


20020 km in 2020

[PrasannaDhana]

A sedan user's take on the Safari Storme Varicor 400

Though I have lakhs of km of driving experience under the belt from my previous SUVs (2 Sumos, 1 Sumo Grande and a Safari Dicor), the last 5 years have made me accustomed to my low slung sedan (ciaz diesel), having covered 1.2 lakh km in that car, which has been my primary car. And very often I do use my brother's rapid 1.6 TDI inside city.

The Storme is our Dicor replacement but it isn't being used even 40% of what our previous safari was put to. Result - Just 20.5k km usage in 2 years and 3 months now.

I wanted a change (and much deserved rest) from my ciaz. So drove the Storme v400 the last couple of days. I would like to highlight my observations from the point of view of a sedan user, transitioning to a big ladder on frame SUV.

Likes

Sheer Presence : The car has tremendous road presence and it is very obvious when you find the cars/autos/two wheelers giving way without even honking while they find the car closing in, from their IRVM.

Fills parking spots totally







Engine :



156 PS & 400 NM !!

Those numbers may not seem much considering the 2+ tonne kerb weight of this SUV. But boy oh boy, it's pure fun to floor it from 1750 RPM to 2750 RPM

It does feel "meh" till 1500 rpm, but beyond 1750 rpm, it definitely did remind me of our Polo 1.6 GT TDI when floored. The pace with which it closes gaps can take a traditional Safari Dicor user by surprise. And the way it builds speeds on the highways!! It pulls and pulls and pulls. I kept doing 2750 RPM to 3200 RPM in the 6th consistently and had total fun at that pace (speeds that cannot be mentioned in the forum )

Ride and sheer disregard for broken patches of road:

Nothing new when we talk about the excellent ride quality of safaris. But having driven a long wheelbase (for the C2 segment, 2650 mm) sedan with 170 mm GC, Storme was a surprise to drive over bad roads. I did twice the speeds I used to do in my ciaz over some broken roads.

And yes, some mild off roading too



Fuel efficiency

Yes, you read that right. For a heavy SUV with the aerodynamics of a brick, it did return fairly good fuel efficiency, considering the fact that I floored it when ever I had the chance.

A respectable 10.5 kmpl after all the hard driving



Ciaz's 2 days workload of 242 km shared by Storme.

Brakes: A revelation compared to Safari Dicor and even my ciaz. All 4 discs work rather well.

AC : it's an absolute chiller. Best among all my 4 cars. The rear roof AC works flawlessly in cooling the cabin within minutes.

Dislikes

Handling and Bodyroll :

As excellent the ride quality is, the handling is pathetic. Enormous body roll, and at those speeds it can become scary for the passengers (I drive solo) and for the drivers who aren't used to driving SUVs.

There are a lot of vibrations felt on the steering wheel beyond 110 kmph and you can feel every single crater and stone on the road from the steering wheel. Becomes irritating with time.

In car entertainment :

My humble 4 speakers + 2 tweeters setup of Ciaz feels much much better than the overhyped Harman 2 Din OE setup of the Storme. While the Speed sensitive automatic volume adjustment is awesome, there is nothing more to it.

Ease of driving :

This car has the same turning radius as my ciaz, and has a driving position so commanding that two wheeler riders level up below your elbows. But somehow I find sedans (ciaz and rapid) much easier to drive in city traffic. Storme feels like maneuvering a boat. And there is something vital that I miss in the Storme that I find in my ciaz (and rapid) - pleasurable, peaceful, comfortable driving experience.

Storme goes back to hibernation in my garage and the ciaz will resume the duties. Guess my fascination for SUVs have ended along with my 20s.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

A sedan user's take on the Safari Storme Varicor 400

Storme goes back to hibernation in my garage and the ciaz will resume the duties. Guess my fascination for SUVs have ended along with my 20s.

It is all a matter of perspective Prasanna. I have driven several cars including a Merc. When you dip the Accelerator in the smaller cars, Yes - the sudden surge which pushes you to the back, feels awesome - I agree. But I feel as if I am at home when I drive a Safari - probably because I have been driving one for the past 17 years or so. It is no slouch as you say. It always surprises you when you plunge the accelerator and it makes short work of overtaking other vehicles on the road.
And the sense of cocooning inside the thick steel metal in a safari makes you feel as if you are in your home. May be at my age I look for cues for a feeling of relative safety.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by Prowler

It is all a matter of perspective Prasanna. I have driven several cars including a Merc. When you dip the Accelerator in the smaller cars, Yes - the sudden surge which pushes you to the back, feels awesome - I agree. But I feel as if I am at home when I drive a Safari - probably because I have been driving one for the past 17 years or so. It is no slouch as you say. It always surprises you when you plunge the accelerator and it makes short work of overtaking other vehicles on the road.
And the sense of cocooning inside the thick steel metal in a safari makes you feel as if you are in your home. May be at my age I look for cues for a feeling of relative safety.

I think you got me wrong. I did not say that the Storme is a slouch, in fact it is a fast car! I have driven my Dicor for 6 years before Storme and the difference in performance is paramount.

What I meant was, I somehow don't connect well with that Bodyroll and excessive greenhouse area of the SUVs. Sedans give that cocooned effect to be seated in. Very true that Storme is a lot safer than my ciaz, but as a driver, I would rather spend time in a sedan than in an SUV. As you said, perspective matters, I feel right at home in my ciaz.

[PrasannaDhana]

Update :

Storme visited the A.S.S for the 20000 km service. All fluids were replaced. I was asked to send the car for the periodic service as the time period was over (shame that time period came before the km usage).

I used to replace fluids in my Dicor only once every 15000 km. These guys have told my driver that we don't have to change oil until 40000 km. I don't get their logic.

First oil change was at 10k, and they insisted oil change at 20k now, and the next is only at 40k!

Anyways, as I don't personally handle maintenance of 3 of my 4 cars except ciaz, I didn't yet look into the service bill. Will try to upload it in the coming days. Bill amount was 10,000 INR.

I drove it for a few km and every thing felt brand new.


A few pics

20,500 km



A pic from my ciaz cabin, storme driven by driver






That driver's seat view, which many people would love

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Posing here with my brother's rapid

Attachment 1974212

Two of the classiest looking cars. When I was in School, I used to drool over Safari, it had it's own macho charm. During my college period I got hooked onto teamBHP and learned the intricacies of driving dynamics and german engineering stuff, I started respecting sedans and now I own one(Rapid), I can totally relate with your experience of driving both the cars. Really great to see that you have two cars which are essentially enthusiasts choices in their respective segments.

[PrasannaDhana]

Update :

Odo : 22322 km



I went on a 570 km one day drive in the Storme today. 6 people + luggage. I was astonished by how easily this SUV munches miles. I was constantly doing very good speeds and the trusted 2.2 delivered effortlessly. The AC is a chiller too, we felt really cold despite the weather being hot. I drove the first leg of the journey, and exploited the comfort by getting sunk into the amazing rear seats on the return leg.



After I finished the trip, I still felt fresh like I haven't travelled 570 km at all. Now, that's the biggest advantage the safari has. You never get tired.

[PrasannaDhana]

Fuel efficiency update

I felt my ciaz was doing a lot of running (2100 km in 18 days of October) month over month and decided to use the Storme for a week.

Also decided that I do a Tankful to tankful check for the actual fuel efficiency of the Safari Storme Varicor 400. To think about it, I haven't done it so far, nor have I done that with my previous Safari Dicor.

Before the actual fuel efficiency figure, here are some stats for the last 5 days

5 days
Km run - 677.3 km



On a full tank (before refill, low fuel light yet to glow) - 566.4 km
Topped up fuel to hit auto-cut off again - 47.5 liters

Actual fuel efficiency - 11.92 kmpl



That's surprising, in a good way. I am in no stretch of imagination a sedate driver. I love the power on tap and floor the accelerator whenever I have the chance (even inside the city ). And I did some seriously fast highway runs in this 677.3 km. 12 kmpl for a 2.2 tonne tall SUV with 154 bhp & 400 Nm is an impressive number. If one is really sedate, I won't be surprised to see 13 kmpl consistently.

Usage - Highway 50% , City 40%, Rural 10%

Odo crosses 23,000 km

Some pics from the last 5 days









And the trusted, minimum 19 kmpl returning 1,26,000 km run champ is back on duty as the daily driver.



Storme will be used for an one day Vailankanni trip (350 km bothways) on Monday.

[PrasannaDhana]

Ayudha Pooja 2020

3rd Ayudha Pooja for Storme v400.

Love this tradition of dedicating prayers and thanking God for the things He has provided us.

Washed all 5 darlings of mine. And offered prayers.



I always wanted to know how it felt to have a flag flying above the bonnet. And today I got a feeling of it, and to say the least, I didn't like it.



The two favourite mile munchers of mine






A collage

[PrasannaDhana]

Finally the storme has crossed the 25,000 milestone.

Took the storme to work today as it was raining and I had to drive over really bad roads. I usually do it in my ciaz as I always have the patience to slow down and drive around every pothole. Today though, I was running against time and couldn't afford to watch out every pothole and slow down for them. Naturally storme became the car for the day. A good 120 km of driving today.





It was being driven by the driver the last few hundred kms (may be 1000km+). The first few kilometres I found the storme to struggle a bit under my usual driving conditions, like it's not putting out the power as freely as it used to do. After 50 km of regular driving, & a few km of aggressive high rpm driving, it came back to its original glory. Earlier the turbo lag was more pronounced and there was some hesitation with the power delivery after accelerator input.

Earlier this week, I noticed that my driver lugs the engine most of the times. I don't usually travel as a passenger and it was the first few times that I noticed it. Doing 50-60 kmph in the 6th gear And this continues in all gears. He doesn't seem to understand it how many times I tell him. He would drive properly for ten minutes and then go back to lugging the car. I suspect if this has to do with the car not doing well initially today.

We have decided not to let the driver drive the storme anymore. He is good enough for the Celerio and the Kwid. My ciaz is off limits to everyone except me, and now the storme will also be driven exclusively by me.

[PrasannaDhana]

Promotion to Storme V400 as the daily driver

Hello all,

I just sold my beloved ex-daily driver, the ciaz after 5.5 years and 1,33,000 km.

Now, the dormant storme gets to become the well-deserved daily driver.

2 years and 10 months, it had run 26700 km, and now since Feb 1st, it has touched the 27000 km mark.

The figure would steadily go up in the following months.



Meanwhile, I got an amazing 13.58 kmpl fuel efficiency with the first tankful.

I will update the following tankful details regularly like I did with my Ciaz ownership thread.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

...
2 years and 10 months, it had run 26700 km, and now since Feb 1st, it has touched the 27000 km mark.
...
Meanwhile, I got an amazing 13.58 kmpl fuel efficiency with the first tankful.
...

3 days and 300kms !

Good mileage there; my Safari still gives around 11kmpl at an average, going down to 10kmpl when pushed and 12kmpl when pampered. Seems to be the sweet spot for the 2.2 engine.