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27th October 2021, 00:06 | #1 |
BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Pune
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| Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast MY EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE WHEELI have been driving a 2010 i20 Sportz CRDI for almost 11 years and have already clocked a happy 130K kms in it. Prior to this, my family had a STD M800, which we owned for 10 years/70K kms, driven equally by me and my mom. So overall i have an experience of driving for more than 20 years and ~165K kms. This is my i20 after 11 years/130K kms EXPERIENCE WITH THE LITTLE BEAST - i20 CRDI SPORTZ Having graduated from a classic M800 STD, i20 CRDI initially felt like a jet. But the fact is, even today after 11 years it is the same beast. The 1.4 Ltr CRDI engine is one thar puts many bigger sedans to shame. It’s straight line acceleration brings a wide grin on my face every time the turbo spools up. Things which I enjoyed thoroughly with her
REASONS WHICH MADE ME LOOK FOR A NEW CAR
ASPECTS WHICH INFLUENCED MY DECISION
EXPLORING AND EVALUATING THE USED CAR MARKETThe used car market is complex. Apart from the conventional dealers, there are half a dozen online channels. I primarily used OLX, Car Trade and Cars24. There are more number of dimensions to evaluate a used car, than the new car. And to add to that complexity, most of the dimensions are interlinked. Below are few of the important dimensions which I considered
OPTIONS WHICH I SEARCHED AND EVALUATED
First Impression The vehicle had just arrived at the dealer’s place and seemed in a pretty good condition. There were couple of minor scratches, but the overall fit and finish looked intact. Tyres had 25% to 30% life left in them. Interiors seemed to be well maintained. In fact, the owner had removed the third row jump seats, and instead had put a nice cushion all over the third row space (refer the pic below). Looking at these, the owner seemed an enthusiast. To my eye, the vehicle did not looked accidental or flood affected. I verified the RC documents, all seemed fine. Also cross checked the vehicle details on the online RTO site, it matched the documents shown to me. The Test Drive I quickly asked for the test drive. The drive quality was good. Clutch was lighter than my i20. The engine was smooth. I took her to some rough surfaces and the suspensions also seemed to be in good condition. And most importantly, the criteria of prime importance among all other things, my wife also liked the ride. During the test ride conversations with the dealer he told me that the car belonged to a diamond merchant in Mumbai. He was selling the vehicle due to lack of parking space (vertical space) in his new residence, which had the vertical double parking system. Inspection in Detail The next day, I asked the dealer to get the vehicle to a nearby TASS. I got the vehicle thoroughly checked. The service advisor gave me a green signal to go ahead with the deal. Following were few things which needed attention:
Negotiations Arranging finances was not a problem, given the quoted price was well below my allocated budget. I started negotiating. We agreed on a number + the dealer taking care of the last six items (in the list above) and ownership transfer by himself Finally, The Moment Two things were kind of nagging me:
But then, as my heart had a slight weightage over my head, I took the call and booked the car by giving the dealer the token amount. I told the dealer that I would take the delivery the same day, so he started getting the car ready with all the points he had to take care of. Below is the first pic of the car just before I booked it And in the evening, the car was ready to be delivered While I am writing this thread, the car ODO stands at 64000KM. Having driven it for 4K in last two and half months, below are my impressions: What I am loving
Few niggles specially with my car
Enough of words. Let the pictures do the rest of the talking. This was after a nice 2 days of detailing. I did the detailing from CarzSpa Baner Pune. And IMO they did a fantastic job. The dashboard is neat and clean. The gear knob has some scratches and the leather wrapping it is slightly worn out -> the diamond rings effect probably (it was owned by a diamond merchant) The front row seats The middle row seats The third row redesigned. Look at how neatly the side cushions have been customised to fit the cut out where the jump seats are attached. My son loves his small room. A rare praise for the old gen third row seats The rear profile Driver's front view. You get to see the top of almost all the cars from this hieght. Driver's rear view - Combined from all the mirrors. Would anyone still require a 360 degree camera feature? The stock bridgestone duelers, as of 64K kms - The sisters smiling together ENDING NOTE - Why my heart lead me to take this decision ??? -Sometime back in the year 2001-2002, during my college days, me and few of my friends (7-8 of us) were just chilling out at our usual hangout place. We were known for being a very noisy group, and at that moment we were actually giving utmost respect to our reputation of being that way. While the decibel levels were at the peak, suddenly a Safari (Dicor then) passed by. And for a split second, there was an eerily silence around. This silence would have been more prominent for the people who wouldn't have noticed the car. But for us, who just loved the beauty, the stance and the road presence of this beast, it was a kind of a subconsciously agreed pause. The very next moment we were back to our business and the decibel levels were again back to the previous level. No one spoke anything about that momentary silence, until couple of hours later, only when we were heading back to our homes, little exhausted, I whispered to one of my friends to whom I was the pillion rider - "I will have that one in my garage at least once in my lifetime" ! Last edited by Aditya : 4th November 2021 at 22:46. Reason: Typo; Number plate masked |
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1st November 2021, 05:30 | #2 |
Team-BHP Support | re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing! |
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1st November 2021, 08:36 | #3 |
Distinguished - BHPian | Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast A man after my own heart!! That college incident was the same for me, in terms of the central idea. That car looks absolutely amazing. I was in the same boat from last year before the lockdown. However I had to have the 4x4. Didn't find it and bought another car. The yearning for that car is still there, and I'm hoping to satisfy that base urge some time in the future. Enjoy that car, it's the only true Safari. |
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1st November 2021, 10:40 | #4 |
BHPian | Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Always have a soft spot for Safari (the real Safari). I was in school when I had seen the Safari in flesh for first time outside my school and I was speechless. I just couldn't get my head around it. It had a massive road presence. This is how my love towards cars started. Your vehicle looks mesmerizing. 60k on odo is nothing for this beast, it is just getting warmed up. Congratulations on this great find. The color also looks very good. Just slap in a nice touch screen and you are good to go. Wishing you many miles ahead. |
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1st November 2021, 11:23 | #5 |
Distinguished - BHPian | Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Congratulations on buying a legendary car It's a no-non sense workhorse. As you have said, the turning radius is unbelievably small for a 4.7 meter SUV. The Varicor 400 came with a 6 speed MT, which had even better fuel efficiency & driveability. You can easily get 16 kmpl provided you cruise at 100 kmph. I have gotten upto 17.9 kmpl with my Varicor 400. Urban bronze was the color of my choice in 2018 when I bought my Storme. Unfortunately for me, the SUV was nearing the end of its life cycle and white was the only colour we could book. Urban bronze was made to order and there was a 3 months waiting period to it. Enjoy the car, and keep it for a long long time. The 2.2 diesel mill is a very reliable unit. I myself have used it for 2.9 lakh km over 3 SUVs, in 3 different states of tune. Last edited by PrasannaDhana : 1st November 2021 at 11:28. |
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1st November 2021, 12:37 | #6 |
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| Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Storme looks absolutely mesmerizing in all the pictures you’ve captured. Bronze color looks apt for the mammoth. Congratulations, sir! Happy and safe driving and please do keep this thread active with the beasts’ pictures. Now this is seriously weirdly motivating me to look at pre-owned route for bigger SUVs. I’m pretty spoilt by the comfort my Brezza offers I’ve the taste for bigger SUVs. Buying new is not going to be working out for me. So preowned route it is for sure! Never know I could end up with a Storme too in the coming years as I’m dearly wanting an upgrade over 1.3 DDiS already after the diesels are now an endangered species in automotive world right now because of impending EV revolution :( |
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1st November 2021, 14:11 | #7 | |
BHPian | Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Quote:
For the AC chillness, you mentioned that you put on Level -1 which I believe you are referring to the blower level. Please adjust temperature by the thermostat and you will be comfortable as you would like. Most people rarely use it and adjust cooling level by the fan speed For the bottle rattle, stick a Felt cloth available at stationery shops in the bottle holder inside and it will be sorted for life. Enjoy the 400NM | |
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1st November 2021, 16:04 | #8 | |
Newbie Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Pune
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| Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Quote:
Safari Storme was actually a gem of an SUV. I was also looking for a used Safari Strome couple of years back to replace my Tata Tiago; however at that time I could not find a good option in the market. Hence, had to drop that plan. After reading your review, all those memories again ran through my mind. Wish you a very enjoyable, long & satisfying ownership of this beast | |
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1st November 2021, 16:38 | #9 | |
BHPian Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Delhi
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| Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Quote:
I remember saying something similar to my friend when we used to wake up at wee hours just to catch a glimpse of the only superbike club in NCR, the GODS. Happy miles with the beast, mate! | |
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1st November 2021, 19:15 | #10 |
BHPian | Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Congratulations on the beast! Welcome to the club. lucky you, you've got the facelift with the better clutch. I'm only 19 years young and have developed an affection to my mom's grand i10 auto thanks to the safari's hard and heavy clutch. And believe me you, except for the mileage, you won't miss much in the 320nm tune as against the 400nm engine. Please please please keep a watch on where you fill her up from, the injectors are one problematic pain in the tailpipe. tak tak tak noise like a tractor. Many safari owners have had no problems due to usage of addons like system D. Please do try. Hope you enjoy the ownership for lakhs of kilometres to come! Replacing this one when the time comes will be one hell of a task! Allow me to show my car off too :P 2013, VX 4x2 explorer Last edited by viXit : 1st November 2021 at 19:27. |
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1st November 2021, 23:10 | #11 |
BHPian Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Pune
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| Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Very nice write up! I particularly love the 3rd row setup. We have been wondering about a nice option where the dog can sit on longer road trips and this looks good! But I guess the luggage will have to go in a roof rack. Was thinking of innovas but this seems like a good alternative! |
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2nd November 2021, 07:52 | #12 |
BHPian Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Navi Mumbai
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| Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Congratulations on living up your dream. Little emotional touch at the end makes heart warm. I remember that it was a great looker in early 2001/02/03 and warrented a second look and third and the fourth whenever it passed by. That character is also possessed by your car. I wish you many happy miles behind the wheel. |
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2nd November 2021, 13:09 | #13 | |||||||
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| Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Quote:
Quote:
Thank you for your wishes ! Quote:
I was actually looking out for the 400 one. But very difficult to get it in the used car market. Quote:
All the best for your search ! Quote:
For AC, I am still getting used to the manual temperature control setting in the Storme. My i20 has ACC, so it hasn't been such a fuss. For the bottle vibrations I had similar idea. Will get it done during coming holidays. Quote:
Tata made the clutch a lot better i guess in the Varicor models (2015+). On the additives part, I am a bit fussy on adding anything which is not recommended by the manufacturer. Thanks for your wishes ! Quote:
However, Innova's are relatively easy to maintain, given the Toyota service. Also, getting a used Innova in the market is easier than that of Safari (of-course if you are looking for a used one). Totally depends on your liking. All the best for your search. | |||||||
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2nd November 2021, 13:45 | #14 |
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| Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast In a flash of a moment , you have become a SOUL member which is a enviable stuff itself . Legends never die , so will this iteration of Safari for decades to come . One of my friend bought the storm with same colour last year and smile on his face every time I see him narrates all the story so far . Congratulations for your grand purchase . |
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4th November 2021, 18:56 | #15 |
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| Re: Tata Safari Storme Varicor 320 4x2 Ownership Review | Bought a pre-worshipped beast Loved reading every bit of it. I think I saw this car parked at a used car dealer in Wakad, Pune. Also the style of the number plate suggests it's from the same place. Been using a storme for the last 7 years and let me tell you, nothing can match the supreme comfort of this behemoth on the highways. I've done 1200 kms in a single day without any fatigue later. Wishing you trouble free miles with the beast. This is my beloved beast. |
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