So we wanted a vehicle which would double up as a holiday vehicle. Thus a good cruiser was essential.

BHPian chinkara recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Some of you may know that I have been a proud owner of a Storme VX 4x4 for 10 years now. But with the 10-year rule in NCR, I have also been an enthusiastic participant in the What Car threads for some time, and also discussing the dilemma in the Storme thread (Tata Safari Storme : Official Review).

So I thought I'll finally create a thread to discuss the options and the decision process. I will not go through detailed pros and cons but highlight what made us put a car in / drop a car from the shortlist.

Choices:

• XUV 700
• Scorpio-N
• Jeep Compass
• Jeep Meridian
• Skoda Kodiaq
• VW Tiguan
• Toyota Fortuner
• New Safari
• Innova Hycross
• Invicto

Then, the decision criteria. We already have a Tiago EV which is used mainly as a regular office commute by my wife, although I too use it for meetings within Gurgaon when she works from home. So we wanted a vehicle that would double up as a holiday vehicle. Thus a good cruiser was essential.

Do we need a 5-seater or a 7-seater? We used the 7-seat facility in the Storme well. We have gone on trips with my parents, in-laws, and SIL and her family as well. But now, with both our parents 70+, it is unlikely they would join us for long tours. A 7-seater is good to have but not essential.

Do we need a 4x4? As I have said in other threads, we have probably used the 4x4 thrice in 10 years, but those 3 times were fantastic. Also, my long pending Ladakh trip (which I and a friend who is currently in the UK promised to do together) would welcome a 4x4. Thus I would prefer 4x4 but not essential (hence the last 2 were added to the list).

Waiting for Godot redux... Last time I waited and waited for the Duster and delayed the Storme purchase by 2 years, only to conclude after the test drive that I liked the Storme more. (probably better as I got a more sorted, niggle free vehicle). This time I really wanted to look at the X-trail. I have driven my friend's vehicle in Dubai and wanted to snap it up if it was available around 40L.

But in spite of waiting for 2 years still no sign of it.

Now my vehicle was completing 10 years in 2024, so I could not risk further delays and impounding, as happened to a colleague of mine. So started the test drives from Oct 2023.

• XUV 700: We took a test drive and felt the suspension to be a problem - much like why we rejected the 500 10 years back. It simply did not have the handling, particularly in curves, that we were used to in the Storme.
• Scorpio N: I was really keen on this (the guy next to me in the parking lot has one, and I have taken it out for a spin). But ruled out by the home office. Scorpio has a bad image problem in the North with politico vehicles having Pradhan ji stickers all around. She felt the same would be the case with the ScorpioN and she refused to drive or ride such a car.
• Compass: A good friend was buying the compass. I took a test drive and liked it overall, but there was a small doubt about the turbo lag and overtaking from dead slow. Also, a colleague owned a Compass and had horror stories about both fuel efficiency and maintenance after 3 years. However, I overlooked such stories with the Storme and decided to stick the Compass in the list for now.
• Merdian: We had a good test drive. Kids liked the last row. Wife liked the suspension. I liked the driving ergonomics but gained the nagging doubt about the turbo lag and the overtaking power. We also loved the green colour and decided to stick it on the shortlist.
• Kodiaq: I have used the Kodiaq a bit in Europe last year and loved the car. The reported transmission problems were ok with me. It is a good car with good suspension as well. However, I had hesitation plonking 50 L plus on a car, similar to Poloman (Want to buy a 45 - 50 lakh SUV | How to get rid of the middle-class guilt?) -so decided to put it on the waitlist.
• Tiguan: Loved the drive. It is such a smooth car. No turbo lag as well. But we felt it is effectively a 4 seater and overpriced at around 40L. So dropped from the list.
• Fortuner: It was considered for being a 4x4, but the price, waitlist, and the fact that currently only white and black are available made us drop it
• New Safari: Now here comes a rant. Tata completely changed the Safari DNA. Just after they got it right with Storme and Hexa, they decided to vacate the 4x4 space. The new Safari is simply not there for old Safari owners. However, we decided to give it a shot as we were really happy with the Storme, and we decided that we would do without 4x4 if needed (there were no reasonable options except the Jeep duo).

So we took the test drive (actually it was the first test drive). And ended up with more frustration. Storme was a brilliant ergonomic car. I have done non-stop 16-hour drives with 2 kids, done Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Ahmedabad etc. several times. And drove extensively in hills, forests everywhere. Here, after 20 min, we all felt a lack of under-thigh support and I had a knee fouling problem. So we rejected it.

Then the 2023 edition was launched. I sat in the vehicle in the yard, and spent 30 min to find a comfortable driving position, but no luck. So with a heavy heart, dropped it.

• Innova Hycross: We were thinking of looking at the Thar or the Jimny when my wife spotted the Hycross and wanted to take a test drive. But they have been refusing to take bookings for the variants we wanted.
• Invicto As soon as it was launched, we wanted to explore the Suzuki twin. So we took a test drive and we liked it, including the space in the last row.

Then the decision. It effectively boiled down to Compass / Meridian vs. Invicto.

Invicto was the cerebral choice, but I was not getting the thrill in the heart that I had while buying the Storme.

Between the Compass and the Meridian, the Meridian was more refined, but it was also 8L extra. Additionally, I had nagging doubts about the pick-up and turbo lag. This, coupled with the FE were the doubts.

We spent a few agonizing days undecided. Both of us agreed that if we had a BS6 Storme available with comparable FE (I get 11-12 in the city, 15-16 on highways) for around 30L, we would simply buy it with our eyes closed. Also, we cursed the NGT ruling - our steed (solely driven by me, well maintained at Arya Tata) was good enough for another 3 years if not more.

Finally, we decided to go with the Invicto. The doubts were too much for the Jeep twins and we did not have the unanimity of heart we had with the Storme. Completed the payment on the 31st (year-end billing incentive) and will take delivery on our new year in mid-April.

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The car has returned around 14 km/L mileage over 6,800 km of driving.

BHPian rajneeesh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Its been almost 6 months since "Gabbar" my Scorpio-N Z8 L Diesel 4 WD Manual Transmission came home.

My garage had a 2015 Safari Storme and a Figo Diesel. A few years ago the National Green Tribunal restricted the life of diesel vehicles to 10 years in Delhi NCR to deal with the pollution. What difference this decision made to the air quality can be debated till cows come home but it did cause a lot of heart burn to Diesel Car owners who faced the prospect of having to let go their lovingly maintained rides which were in perfect condition.

However, much I may have disliked the thought of having to let my Safari Storme go, there was not much I could do about it. So in around end 2022 I started thinking of a possible replacement.

If your criterion is a Box On Frame SUV with 4 WD, you lave very limited choice. The vehicles in the fray were the Toyota Fortuner, Mahindra Thar and the Scorpio.

Since my Storme was 2015 model, I had quiet a bit of time in my hands. I just loved the Thar. It has a an ageless Classical design and the new Thar was much improved over its predecessor. The only limiting factor was the size . This vehicle is not for long road-trips with 4 people and their luggage. This is something we regularly do so despite the Thar pulling at the heart strings, the head prevailed.

Next in line was the Fortuner. This vehicle has huge road presence and is mechanically very capable. Added to it is the legendry Toyota reliability and fantastic resale value. On the negative side, it costs a bomb. Investing almost Rs 5 million in a vehicle, which I would not be able to use for more than 8-9 years in Delhi NCR didn't make any sense.

Around this time Mahindra confirmed that they were planning to launch a 5 door version of the Thar. It was news to my ears and I eagerly started waiting for the 5 door Thar.

In August 2022, Mahindra launched the Scorpio N and it was an instant hit with the waiting period extending to over 1 year. Sometime later in the year, they announced the price for 4 WD variants.

On one March 2023 Sunday morning, I accompanied by my Son visited the Mahindra Concept Motors Showroom in Noida and checked out the Scorpio N S4 , 4 WD manual and joined the long list of people who had booked it. The wait period was over a year. The idea was that I will join the booking queue and wait for the Thar 5 door launch in August 23 . If I liked the new 5 door Thar, i would cancel the Scorpio N booking and book the Thar, else I would wait for the Scorpio N delivery.

A couple of weeks later I took my wife to have a look at the Scorpio N. While my wife liked the vehicle, she was not ok with the variant which to her was too basic. She reasoned since we planned to keep the vehicle for 8-9 years, it will be a better idea to book a higher variant. I concurred and changed my booking to Scorpio N S8 4 WD Manual.

Mahindra had a huge order book of the SUV 700, Thar and the Scorpio N and decided to focus on fulfilling the demand for these 3 products rather than launching a new vehicle. This was not what I wanted as it meant that I would have to wait longer for the 5 door Thar.

Come October 2023, the air pollution started to go up again and the CAQM mandarins like the year before, banned BS IV Diesels from the roads. Since both my vehicles were BS IV Diesels, I was was in a quandary. I commute from Noida to Delhi Airport every day and the prospect of using a cab or metro was not at all appealing.

I called my service advisor and checked the delivery wait time for the Scorpio N. He told me that Mahindra was producing a large number of the S8 L variants and I could take the delivery of the vehicle in 1-2 weeks if I was open to changing my booking to S8 L variant and was ok to change the color from Deep Forest to Silver.

Earlier in September, Mahindra had rejigged the pricing of the variants. They had increased the price of the S8 and reduced the same for S8 L. The additional kit like alloy wheels in S8 L manual 4 WD made the proposition attractive. the immediate delivery also meant that I would not have to worry about any future price increase. I bit the bullet, and on October 24, 2023 on the auspicious Dussehra day, I took delivery of Scorpio N S8 L Manual 4 WD Diesel which was christened as "Gabbar" by my elder son.

The pros and cons.

Pros:

• A good engine and gear box combination.
• Space for 4-5 people + luggage. ( though the interior space is significantly lesser than the Storme.
• Feature rich and good safety kit . 5 Star safety rating , 6 airbags, ESP, Hill-hold make it reassuringly safe. The reversing and forward cameras are useful especially in cramped parking lots
• Good NVH .
• Good ICE by Sony
• Lots of modern day creature comforts like Car play, Alexa, Sun-roof, TPMS
• Mahindra after Sales network is better than Tata
• Front facing 3rd row seats with seat- belts are more practical than Storme's jump-seats in normal city conditions

The cons:

• The seating position is good but is inferior to the Storme's commanding driver's seating position
• Smaller door pockets
• A very small glove box.
• Space for the 2nd row is lower than that provided in the Storme. I cannot place an Ice box on the floor in front of the 2nd row centre seat as I could do in the Storme. This was a big plus on long road trips.
• limited luggage seat even when the third row is folded. The folded seat takes considerable boot space. Will have to explore removing the 3rd row seats on really long road trips to liberate more boot space.
• I find the absence of ventilated seats a big miss. These are especially useful NCR.

Living with Gabbar:

Unlike, the Automatic and the 2 WD variants which come with 18 inch alloy wheels, the S8 L Manual 4 WD comes with 17 inch alloy wheels. (the S 8 has steel wheels). The OEM tyres were Bridgestone 245 HT's. I had been using Continental Cross Contact AT's on the Storme and was pretty happy with them. The first stop that Gabbar made out of the Koncept Noida Showroom was at Tyre Shoppe Noida. Here I switched to Continental Cross Contact AT Tyres after trading in the stock tyres. These tyres don't come in 245 mm and I had to upgrade to 265 mm. I am pretty satisfied with these tyres. They have proven to be pretty silent and offer good grip. Other than the tyres, I went in for PPF treatment. Since I didn't want to spend too much, I got the front and rear bumpers, and the hood covered with PPF. ( 6 panels in all). Car Spa Noida, which is a sister concern of Tyre Shoppe Noida did the PPF work. Scruff plates and door mats were the only other accessories purchased by me ( Sector 16 Notor Market Noida).

I have spent a little less than 6 months with the vehicle. It is now my daily runner and does duties in the urban jungle with bumper to bumper to bumper traffic compared to the highways and the uncharted lands where i would like to spend more time. I have clocked a shade over 6800 Km in this period.

In the city, the SUV is a breeze. The electric power steering makes it easy to maneuver in traffic while the cameras help during parking. This is especially useful as my new office has basement parking with narrow ramps, and the stacked parking system barely leaves a couple of inches clearance on both sides. The visibility from the driver's seat is good though not in the same league as the Storme which has a lower dashboard and a higher seat. The vehicle SUV has great road presence and the two wheelers and the auto rickshaws give way and maintain a respectable distance.

The gear box is pretty slick with relatively short throws. The Dog eared reverse gear took a little bit of getting used to. The Scorpio N makes a decent amount of torque at relatively low rpm. As a result, the initial acceleration is good and the vehicle is able to run at higher gears than my Figo or the Storme especially in the city. You can move into 4th gear at 4o KPH and the 6th gear can be employed at 6o KPH.

The trip meter shows an average speed of 22 KPH in the city. On bad days or should I say evenings, it drops to below 20 KPH. I have done a few highway trips in the last 2 months. The longer one was to Amritsar and shorter one to Dehradun. Due to the road closures, on Amritsar route, I had to take detours from internal village roads. this added significantly to the travel time. I have touched 120 KPH although i generally don't exceed 100 KPH even on the highways. Gabbar has returned over 14 KPL over 6800 Km of driving. The DEF gauge shows the DEF levels at 42 %. This is a pretty decent fuel efficiency for a vehicle of this size and weight. It may fall a bit in summers with greater usage of the AC but I am very satisfied with the fuel average.

The ICE is pretty advanced ( in comparison with the Storme). The Car Play works well but I have had a few instances of it not latching on or disconnecting in the last 2 weeks. These instances were few for the first 5 months but have gone up in the last 2 weeks. Turning the vehicle off and restating it after some time cures this issue. Another issue that has started irritating me in the last few weeks is the push button start. I have to crank the vehicle a couple of times to start the engine. I have been driving a Ford Figo which also has a push button start for the last four and a half years and have not faced any such issues. The engine can also stall if you are not careful at low speeds. I would request other Scorpio N user's to share if they have faced any such issues. I do plan to visit the service Centre over the week end to have the vehicle checked.

Other than these small irritants, I have enjoyed driving Gabbar. I aim to do a lot more Highway driving and take the vehicle to hills and deserts where I can put the 4 WD to use. It is probable the last of a dying breed as more and more manufacturers abandon the body on frame architecture in favour of monocoque bodies and move to petrol/ electric power trains.

I have limited photography skills so please excuse the absence of any photographs. I intend to keep updating this thread from time to time . So siggning off till the next update.

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I was told the engine guard had signs of underbody damage, as in - scratches. I don't know which of my drivers did it. This somehow is pushing me again to stop making drivers use the storme.

BHPian PrasannaDhana recently shared this with other enthusiasts. 

The storme did throw a nasty surprise last week. I was getting down from the storme and noticed a metallic noise from the engine while the driver stopped the car. 

Asked him to start it again, and heard the metallic rattle:

Watch this, listen to the rattle.

Looked down below and found a broken bracket. It was the intercooler bracket. 

Called up Mr. Rajesh, the CRM at Kaveri garage and he confirmed its the intercooler bracket. I anyways took the car to the service center, to see any temporary fix can be done. Nothing could be done. 

I was told the part had to be ordered. I didn't have any hope really, as I experienced the parts unavailability for storme during the accident repair. To my surprise, the part reached on the promised ETA, and I sent my storme to get it fixed today. Total downtime was 4 days including the weekend. 

The part number

The new part (left) and the broken part (right)

The replaced part 

Total damage to wallet was just INR 1824

Great job by Kaveri Garage and Mr. Rajesh. 

The car is back in duty. I was told the engine guard had signs of underbody damage, as in - scratches. I don't know which of my drivers did it. This somehow is pushing me again to stop making drivers use the storme. I am also not sure if the impact broke the part or the part quality in itself was bad that 6 years and 75k km of usage has worn it out. 

The car turns 6 years old on 10th of this month. And all I can hope is to not have any nasty surprises in the future.

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I don't mind the new Safari, but as a 5+2 seater family SUV; not as a replacement to my Safari Storme.

BHPian zadoom recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Recently crossed the 93,000 km mark on my 2014 Astern Black Storme VX 4*4. At about 90,000 km encountered the clutch slippage in the 3rd / 4th gear one day and decided to finally give it for clutch replacement/servicing at my FNG. I knew it was due since the TASS and the FNG had recommended getting the clutch servicing since about last year. The entire work took a couple of weeks of downtime (initially because of parts unavailability and then the gearbox dismantling and all took a lot of time) but the result was just something that I hadn't expected. The first time I pressed the clutch I almost fell over it because I had been used to putting so much pressure on it earlier. Didn't know a Storme's clutch could also be so light. I mean I have exaggerated a bit but I was so used to and comfortable with the earlier clutch that most likely I would have delayed the clutch replacement for another few months, so the new clutch was a different experience. All the servicing plus replacements, oil changes and alignment balancing cost me around INR 25k.

The very next day went on a 2,800 km drive. Drove from Navi Mumbai to Ooty & Coonoor including a detour to Coimbatore airport on the way to Ooty. The car performed well on the highways giving me a tank full to tank full mileage of almost 12 km/l. We left on 21st Dec from Navi Mumbai and reached Ooty on 23rd Dec. Took 3 days to reach at a gingerly pace since on all the days effectively started my drive around noon or post that. This time of the year the traffic in Ooty was crazy so the mileage during the hill drive came to less than 10 otherwise I believe could have extracted an even better overall trip mileage.

While the Storme performed well during the entire trip, there were 2 – 3 occasions when I couldn’t manage the steep climbs even in the 1st gear. Once it was a steep climb up to a parking entrance on a near hairpin bend from the road and twice it was a straight but steep incline (narrow alleys or lanes) and even while in the 1st gear just couldn’t generate enough power to complete the climb. In both cases had to resort to using the handbrake plus revving up in neutral to be in the higher torque band when moving to 1st gear. In all the instances the car was at full load on both occasions (5 or 6 passengers plus luggage)

Not sure if it was the wrong way that I encountered the inclines or if there is something wrong with the clutch. In fact, started recollecting some posts from earlier on our forum where people had commented about front-wheel drive vehicles or lighter vehicles performing better in the hills. Maybe I should have used the 4H or 4L in these conditions. Not really sure and so till I encounter such steep slopes next, would appreciate the thoughts of other learned members here. Shall help me encounter these steep inclines better the next time.

Dashboard Storage area lid – This has been a pain for quite a few members that I recollect. In fact, I had got the locking pin replaced just about 1.5 years back but even the replacement pin broke a few months back. Have been on the search for the replacement part since then but for this trip managed a very crude jugaad to ensure the lid doesn't create a blind spot (Front Left corner of the car), especially on the mountains. Just created some counterweight on the lid using some marbles + stones from the highway and putting them in one of those small string bags. Has been working well for me till now (15 days and 3000 Kms later). In the picture attached, the lid is raised a bit more than usual because the car was parked on a downward incline and hence gravity working against it but otherwise, it works well and helps unblock the blind spot for me.

The Ooty trip also turned out to be a Safari get-together as the cousins had driven in their new age Safari (Pre 2023 facelifts – 1 was an XZA + Dark and the other was an XZA + Adventure persona). Unfortunately, due to the small space didn’t get a chance to do a proper photo and the attached photos are the best and only ones that I could manage. We (self and family) did get a couple of hours of ride in the newer Safari when we went from Ooty to Coonoor one evening. Feedback from self & family – the comfort level is amazing in the newer Safari, the ride quality seems to be better and more car-like but the feeling of spaciousness that the Storme provides is not there in the Safari. When I moved from my usual driver’s seat in the Storme to the shotgun seat in the Safari Dark Edition, I felt that I was sitting in a car and not an SUV. It’s not a bad thing but just an observation having been used to the high seating of Storme for so many years now.

So, will I buy the new age Safari – Mostly Yes, but as a car to fulfil the need for a 5+2 seater tourer and not as a replacement for the Safari Storme. For that, it will have to be something else. But in the 5 + 2 seater tourer category, the Safari does make a very very strong case for itself. I think the only area of improvement needed is the ASS experience which will remain the most important thing for TAMO till their quality and reliability reaches the Toyota levels.

Talking about reliability, I feel the only reliability issues that I have recently faced are with the central locking system, window mechanisms, front dashboard top storage lid and fuel lid opening mechanism. In the initial days, the ORVMs were replaced on a couple of occasions but all that was warranty replacements. Another issue that is bugging me is the brightness of the odometer console. When I spoke to someone at TASS he mentioned that the entire assembly would have to be changed and hence never thought of any replacement but am really looking for a solution. The readability of the odometer is almost 0 in the nighttime. Any suggestions here are welcome.

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We're now stuck waiting for the SUV parts, which are on "back order".

BHPian SoulDrive recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So, I took the plunge around August-September last year and after a lot of searching, bought a 2014 VX from Delhi. This is a story for another time. I'd perhaps like to write about it someday. The steed served us well in our road trip from Delhi to Bangalore and we did a few short trips around Bangalore.

However, last November, she started to show some signs of overheating noticeably after getting a full tank of Shell Diesel. I had by then made acquaintance with Pramod from Leo Carz. I had just about made a long list made for a complete overhaul, just before this overheating issue came up.

We started out by replacing the radiator cap and monitored the card under idle and the car ran fine for 5-7 fan on-off cycles without overheating. No coolant spillage was noticed. However, the issue came up again after a few test drives.

Meanwhile, Pramod also noticed the drive belt had gone almost bald and that the engine note was a bit irregular. The drive belt was replaced. We also replaced the HLAs along with the timing belt, auto tensioner, touch idler, idler pulley and water pump. The engine note sounded better, however, it was still not perfect.

We decided to get the injectors serviced. This turned out to be quite an ordeal. Future Diesel suspected fuel adulteration, some injectors were getting locked, otherwise, they didn't find any other issue with the injectors. Post servicing the injectors, the beast just refused to come to life. The engine was just not cranking even after multiple attempts.

After almost a month and a half with Future Diesel with all the back-and-forth injectors getting locked - serviced - refitted cycles, we decided to get the injectors checked through Nayak Diesel. Now, these guys found that the control valves and nozzles of 2 injectors were whitish due to bad filtration/fuel adulteration and needed replacement.

We decided to remove all diesel from the tank, flush the high-pressure lines, change the diesel filter and fill fresh fuel before refitting the injectors.

Once these were fixed, the car started in the first crank! Another lesson learnt!

The engine note was smooth now. I was all set for a test drive. To my dismay, I noticed the overheating issue yet again. This time, we replaced all the hoses suspecting any micro-crack that we may have not accounted for. Another test drive had the same result. We got the radiator serviced and found the same issue recurring after a test drive.

Until this point, we were hesitant to open the head as it had never been opened before and we wanted to exhaust all other options first. We opened the head and found it to be in not-so-great shape. We had a process called metal(Al) deposition done on it to bring it back in shape. Before putting it all back, Pramod noticed some of the hoses that became accessible after removing the head needed replacement. We wanted to be sure there was no other possibility for the coolant to leak.

We're right now stuck because we aren't able to procure these hoses despite multiple attempts, it's being sent back as "back orders" with the manufacturers.

It's been quite a long ordeal, but we can't wait to have our steed back with us in good shape.

We have 2 options now.

1. Procure these hoses from the scrap yard
2. Get silicon hoses manufactured for the right temperature/dimensional tolerances

Both are not ideal options and come with risks. The second option has the added disadvantage that it would be insanely expensive given that manufacturers would need a minimum order quantity.

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The 4x4 SUV has completed 9 years of ownership with 80,000 km on the odo.

BHPian zadoom recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

80k km / 9-year update

Just completed 80,000 kms a couple of weeks back and completed 9 years with my 2014 VX 4x4 today. Got it serviced at an FNG for the first time in its lifespan a few weeks back. Had last got it serviced about a year back and at about 73k kms (yes, due to the WFH the running has come down drastically). Happy with the FNG service since he resolved a few issues where the TASS would have simply changed the parts and the cost was much lesser.

Major things done:

1. Some denting & painting (front bumper, driver side door frame, rear bumper corner cladding panels) - Due to a temporary open parking spot suffered a dent on the driver side door frame (something from someone's flat fell) as the night prior there was no dent. Anyways since there were a few scratches here and there as well, got the painting done on the aforementioned panels. Set me back by around 13k for the painting.
2. Oil change - only top-up done as the FNG guy mentioned the oil is in good condition and doesn't need a change
3. Sealing of antenna - In the last service at the TASS while changing the antenna wiring, they didn't seal it properly and suffered water seepage on the glass area once in heavy rain. Sealing work done
4. Right rear window control from the driver-side control panel was not working properly (it would go down from the driver side but won't come up from the driver side) - opened, repaired and now it is working fine.
5. Wiper Blade replacement

Apart from that, ended up with 2 punctures on a single day (well the spare wheel had never been taken out in the last 9 years so not surprised). So ended up replacing 2 tyres (Yoko Geo ATs again).

The JBL component speakers that I had originally put up in 2014 were hardly in working condition so got them replaced with the almost cheapest components available - Blaupunkt so all is good now on the music front as well.

The next expense looks like the clutch assembly servicing and rear shocks, had last year got the front set of shocks and all brake discs replaced. And, going back for the replacement of the oil in another 10k kms i.e. at 90k.

The car is performing well apart from the regular and common Storme irritants like the fuel lid not opening at times, some creaking noise from the roof liner (this seems to be because the FNG guys opened it up for Antenna sealing), the rear left door not getting locked along with Central locking. These however are things that we have come to live with. Looking forward to the next year of ownership and much more longer drives with it.

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They only had to fix just one problem with my Safari Storme but they returned the SUV with 5 new issues!

BHPian viXit recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

TL;DR: Car goes for simple part replacement. Comes back with 5 more issues.

Only a Tata SVC can make a car drive out of the service centre worse than when it drove in.

Which is also funny because you never drive into them. Every TASC facility is jam-packed and I have had to leave the car outside the gate for them to take it inside later on.

My family has owned Tata cars for more than 2 decades now. I was brought home in one, I grew up in another, and learnt to drive and continue to drive another. I have always maintained that the cars are really good, but the entire brand is let down by the lousy workmanship of the Service centres.

It would be apt to say that every Service centre visit has been a compromise in some way or the other. And that they have gotten the advantage because I was too short on time to run behind the SVC for every damn thing they mess up.

I didn't mind this until recently.

Until it took 4 visits to change a door latch, that still doesn't work. And force a customer into signing forms that say "complaint has been taken care of to my utmost satisfaction" lest they hold the car ransom.

All this happened at a Tata service centre in Bowempally - one of Tata's biggest dealer networks down south.

Visit 1

We have been the proud owners of a Safari Storme since 2013. A faithful companion over more than 1Lakh Kms and a great deal of memories. Every effort has been made to painstakingly maintain the car in great mechanical shape because I often have to make highway runs on short notice.

Sometime back, the door actuator of the Safari Storme failed. The car was sent to the SVC for replacement of the latch. Because it prevented from the central locking and remote locking to not function.

The latch houses 3 parts

• Door lock actuator
• Door ajar sensor
• Door Latch

Even if one component fails, the entire latch has to be replaced.

On the first visit, they kept the car for a few days, dirtied it, sat and passed time in it, replaced some relays and called me to loot me and send me home.

I had 4 complaints during the visit.

• Doors not locking
• Rear wiper arm is to be replaced
• Middle row 12v socket to be replaced because it broke.
• Handbrake not holding on slope

Citing parts unavailability they did not replace the wiper arm. Because they were lazy, they billed me for anabond adhesive and fixed the broken 12v socket with it. Despite me instructing them to replace it with the genuine part. They tightened the handbrake cable and called for me to collect the car.

Went to the service centre.

Car was left on the road outside, New scratch on rear right quarter panel. Anabond smeared all over my rear left seat.

A professional service center, using anabond, which is nowhere in TATA's repair protocols. And an unskilled idiot who smeared the anabond over my rear seat. I was furious. A picture of the Anabond on my seat. The leather was SPOTLESS earlier, and now it is rough and dirty thanks to the adhesive smeared over it.

Here's a picture of the car at the SVC when I left it. Observe rear right bumper/quarter panel. No scratches.

Also attested by the form written up by the SA at time of handing over vehicle. No scratches/dents anywhere.

But on receiving the car there was a deep gouge although short on the rear right body cladding.

Door actuator was working. Doors were locking with the key as they should.

Took the car out the following day, the doors won't lock, the car still doesn't hold on slopes, and the 12v socket just popped out of the hole. Everything that I paid, down the drain. With more damage to my paint and interiors to boot.

Attaching invoice

But I knew better than that. This is just how the SVC functions. I got angry, frustrated etc. etc. But reminded myself of the Hanlon's razor and called them again.

Visit 2

After seeing how they treated the car, I did not want to leave the car at the SVC again. I waited for them to call me when they had a technician free to diagnose the car. Visited only when they said they can do that. Went to the SVC.

Sat in the customer lounge for an hour. Started asking them repeatedly about why work has not begun, and finally someone attends to my car. I stand with the car for 5 hours as they come and go as they please. By the time they close shop, the electrical guy comes and tells me the door actuator is gone, NO shit, Sherlock.

I tell the GM that I want that anabond stain off my seat, and that I will return when parts are available for my wiper, 12v socket and door actuator.

Took the car and went home.

They call me the following day because the Door latch assembly has arrived from their other branch.

Visit 3

I visit, made to wait some more time, by which I mean, a few hours.

The mechanic assigned did not know how to open the door panel. I had done it a few times so I instructed him. He was a new guy from another automotive company.

They installed the new part. Didn't work, they didn't know how to install it. I requested them to please refer the service manual several times. No luck.

After opening and closing my door pad 4 times, and breaking clips in front of me, which they shamelessly said they can't fix because they have no stock, they fixed everything back after a few hours. Ultimate trial and error.

Door locking well. But the cabin lights and puddle lamp won't turn off. The cabin lamp and puddle lamp turn on when the door is open. But despite the door being closed, they stayed on.

After the SA tried to tell me that's how it is, I had to remind him that I have owned this car for far longer than him. They make me wait for another hour or two before telling me they can't do anything now and have to close shop.

I gave up at this point. They took the latch from another Storme in the SVC and confirmed that the latch was indeed the problem. I verified. I requested my cousin to pick me up. Left the car with them and went home.

All this while, the Service manager tries to sell me some crap about some customer of his in Dubai who has a chemical business who can help them clean the anabond off of my seat.

Sometime after visit 2, I wanted to see the invoice of the visit and opened the TMSC app.

I logged in and saw that there was a feedback option enabled. I gave them good feedback in many categories, but IIRC, ease of driving into SVC and proper diagnosis was where the rating reflected my experience.

This feedback must have set some alarms off at Tata. I started getting repeated calls from the dealership in question. The anabond on my seat somehow slipped my mind. I didn't mention it on the Tata app. But I was assured by the GM that my SA will take care of it entirely and it would not even get escalated till the GM level.

A day after visit 3, when car was still at the SVC. I got a call from the SA. On progress of work, and tried to get me to close my complaint or report satisfaction. I told them to fix it. and I'll give them 5 stars or whatever as soon as it is done. Despite all the trouble I was made to endure.

This was followed by a call from the Service Manager who would just not shut up about how he was leaving no stone unturned to take care of my anabond stained seats and how the 3M guys will clean it and that I should commend him for his effort and report my complaint closed. I had to shut him down and tell him I was busy. He would not hang up unless I told him I was satisfied. First instance of forcing me to take my complaint down.

News flash, idiot. Anabond is not something a foam spray can clean.

I'm no chemical expert but if solvents like acetone can't clean something, it needs highly specialised chemicals.

I got a call yesterday, sometime after noon.

Car is ready, come and collect. Confirmed several times whether the work was done well, and a road test was done to ensure that auto lock was happening at 16kmph.

Visit 4

I went to the SVC:

• Doors locking and unlocking with remote key. I was thrilled!
• 12v socket replaced
• Bezel around 12v socket broken, but firmly in place, didn't want to mess further (another compromise)
• Rear wiper arm replaced, but not aligned horizontally on rest position. It was visible in IRVM. It should not be.
• Driver door panel dirty and the grab handle was not attached properly.

I removed the wood trim of the grab handle to reveal the main screw and asked them to remove the screw and refit it.

Went inside to pay, made to wait another 40 minutes while the Service manager clicks around on his computer. This is something that infuriated me. Every single time that I have come to collect the car, I asked them to keep everything ready, I just want to pay the bill and get the hell out of that wretched place. NO.

I very cool-ly asked the Service Mgr. why it takes so much time, he said, sometimes they have to remove items from the bill. I understood. I said ok. Waited.

Before I arrived, I checked and I was told that the anabond on my seat issue was not resolved, and he said he will mention it on the bill. And that they will take care of it at the earliest. I did not want the car to be standing around in the SVC waiting for a resolution, so I took the car and went home. The Service manager promised me that they are in the process of sourcing the chemicals to clean my seats.

Good enough. I said ok. Sucker for compromise, did I mention?

Bill was prepared, he wrote on the invoice "seat will be cleaned at next visit" while he promised it will be done at the earliest. And told me to close my complaint.

I refused.

Another lifetime of explanation followed. He wouldn't hand me the bill till I closed it.

In fact goes on to tell me, "I have done all this, you have not closed the complaint, and I am still keeping my cool."

Why the heck should I close/take my complaint back when It is not resolved?

But my neighbour who brought me to the SVC was waiting, so I wanted to go. I took it down in writing on the invoice and they made me sign several forms which were some form or the other of "I am the happiest customer ever, TASC has taken care of all my concerns and much more."

The security guard came inside to mention something to the Service manager who was attending to me. A very irritable man, blasted the guard for interrupting, almost like to intimidate me. Asked me a few questions about the Military stickers on the car, gave me the bill, I paid and left.

The handle was not fit, they just put the wood trim back. I said ok, I'll fix it at home, no big deal.

Defeated another time, forcibly closing complaints and accepting a car dirtied and damaged by TASC.

I paid and left with my car.

The repairs didn't last until I hit the main road.

I turned on the Stereo, Sound not coming from driver door speakers. I suspected one of the RCA cable must have popped out while they were cleaning, got down to check. Opened the door, the cabin lights wouldn't turn on. It was in off position. I put it back in "Door". lights turn on, I go check the cables, they are all fine.

I understood that they didn't reconnect my speaker when they opened the door panel, I was really frustrated but then it was Shivratri and they were closing shop, there was no one to fix it, I decided to go home and fix it myself.

Driving home, the cabin light wouldn't turn off. The puddle lamp in driver door wouldn't turn off and the door ajar warning in the instrument cluster kept blinking. Door was closed properly.

VIDEO

I had enough. I decided to drive home, get them to pick up and drop the car once they do the work. The cabin lights were all turned off so I wouldn't notice that door open signal is being received by them. Real geniuses. They never turned off lights in any previous services.

In fact, they left my car in IGN overnight once, I've got video proof.

The car kept thinking I was opening and closing my door hundred times a minute, the auto lock kept locking and unlocking. It was a frustrating drive back home, to add to the lopsided music coming only from one side.

I paid for every single remove and refit job, yet this is how I was given a car.

I got home and locked the car with the remote key, to my surprise it locked, I was relieved, started walking up the stairs. I just about reach home and I hear the anti theft alarm ring.

VIDEO

I didn't know whether to laugh at their incompetence or to cry at my plight. I went downstairs, disarmed the anti-theft. Locked the car with the key. IT KEPT UNLOCKING ITSELF repeatedly. I was perplexed. I couldn't lock it with a fob, I couldn't lock it with the key. I tried repeatedly , and luckily it stayed locked. for a few seconds. I left it and came home.

THIRD VISIT, STILL not fixed.

Next morning, here I am.

If someone from Tata ends up reading this, which I hope they do, please know this.

I don't want any special treatment, I don't want any discounts from you, I don't need anything which you think will fix this.

I just want you and your Authorised Dealers to value the money we invest in your product and its upkeep. I have spent upwards of 8000 rupees in these 4 visits. The door latch costs 2500. I can install it myself at home. Really is a simple job. I wonder how you screwed this up.

I in fact told the Service manager and the SA several times, that I will give you all the highest ratings as and when you fix my issues, no matter how long it takes.

But they just can't help being idiots and blowing a trivial issue out of proportion my making it progressively worse every single time.

I have spent enough time and money on this. I decided that I will not spend a single penny, or a single minute standing next to the car anymore.

I shall simply post and mail everything for everyone to see. The dealership is free to pick up the car and do what it can to do justice to the money they have notoriously taken from me. This is just one of thousand disgruntled customers. Varun_hexaguy attests to how irritable this SM is, another BHPian and fellow Tata owner, Naivedya, had this dealership dent his car inside the SVC while moving the cars around.

In fact, we bought another car from this very dealer on Diwali. Every penny spent on the upkeep has been at the SVC, and every visit has been where me or dad has accompanied the car. I wonder how Tata, who is supposed to be one of the best names in the world and is so highly revered for being a hospitable and trustworthy brand, runs Tata motors.

I can't help but chuckle at the difference in the way customers are treated at Taj and TASC. Who are you trying to fool, telling us it's run by the same folks. Unfortunately, you pay more, you get more.

I wrote all this but didn't publish the thread.

I decided to give one last try and mail customer care.

I got a reply, with the numbers of the GM, Service Manager, and Customer relations manager of the said dealership.

I mentioned specifically that these three people are the ones who screwed up in the first place, but they were the ones I'm supposed to work with again.

I thought it was an automated response since there was no context-specific reply in the mail. But the fact that the phone number of the GM in the mail had 11 digits was assurance that it was typed by a human, that too a TATA employee for sure.

After that weekend, they came home and picked up the car, another complaint was opened, they took the car to the SVC.

I mentioned my troubles with the Alarm, Door, and speakers.

They took a week's time and proceeded to call me and tell me that my music system is defective. The door was opened for the latch replacement and the issue was definitely at the door. And I instructed them not to touch anything else.

But they go on to remove my amplifier which is securely bolted under my passenger seat and try to check continuity.

I got a call from them again about how all the additional fitments in the car are the issue and that the CEO will get someone from outside well-versed with audio systems to fix it.

I am very well versed with how everything in my car is wired up. I offered to work with them to diagnose and find out why it isn't working. I called the Number of the Tata motors contact in the mail and mentioned what was wrong. I was put on conference call and again I offered to help diagnose.

The dealership said OK and never called. They got some audio expert from outside to come fix it.

I went to collect the car. The door lock and cabin/puddle lamps were luckily working fine this time. Took a small test drive to confirm. Speakers making noise in all doors. All ok. Collected the car. Almost left.

But then I realized that the bezel of my head unit was broken.

Service manager again tells me he will take care of it, I wonder how, since I doubt the bezel is available individually.

The key was left with the security as I was transferring personal belongings from my other car as I was going to leave it for service. When I returned to get the key, I was requested to meet the CRM.

I was again coerced into signing this form. I didn't want to sign it, but it was a mistake my gullible self made because I was so done with this entire ordeal.

This was the form. I clearly mentioned my gripes but since I signed the form, no one cares anymore.

I knew exactly what the audio sounds like in my car. Something was wrong. But my car didn't deserve to sit around with fools anymore.

I went home and discovered that my crossover was THROWN loosely inside my door free to be crushed whenever I lower my window. The Mid-Bass speaker was wired directly with no crossover, And the tweeter was just not even connected. I laughed a lot and spent 2 minutes to wire it properly, and everything worked instantly as it should.

I have no clue why the idiots couldn't manage, when everything was labelled so damn clearly. They cut the stock factory wires and spliced new wires to it shabbily. I ensured that all my audio upgrades were independent of stock wires and nothing was cut/spliced. But it went out the window when this dealership laid hands on my vehicle.

VIDEO

I spent some time cleaning out the interior after they messed it up.

I realised that one of the damping sheets from my door was missing. Here is a picture from Visit 2 where a mechanic is opening my door panel. Where the damping sheets are all present.

And here is the panel now opened in my parking. Sheet missing.

I have decided never to send any of our cars to TATA for maintaining them or repairing them. I have not had a single good experience with any of the Tata workshops.

And this is consistent with all TATA SVCs throughout the country. We have experienced multiple dealers. This specific one may be a shameless thug who took me for a ride. And I have been a bigger fool trusting that the TATA logo on the gate means something. But TATA motors is the bigger thief if they let businesses run like this in the country.

This is a major failure for one of the biggest Car Makers in the country.

Shame on you tata.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The Safari Storme eats bad roads without much drama & returns impressive fuel efficiency figures too.

BHPian PrasannaDhana recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Congratulations on the purchase!

The Storme is a very good car if you do a lot of miles. It is car-like to maneuver and pretty easy to drive. The engine is also a workhorse (I have 3.2 lakh km experience with it).

About the ride quality, there has been no other car that I have been in, which eats bad roads without much drama like the Storme does. I have done multiple 800km a day drives and came out as fresh as I started.

There is absolutely no vertical movement on pathetic roads if you keep the speed above 30kmph. Lateral movement, of course, will be there if you drive it like you drive a Baleno or any small hatch. It is a tall car and it definitely moves laterally.

Regarding fuel efficiency, Storme is one of those big 2+ tonners that actually return very impressive figures.

Though I don't think 12 kmpl inside Mumbai traffic is possible, the car definitely is capable of a very decent 15 kmpl on highways at 90-100 kmph cruising and 10 kmpl even in B2B traffic.

I have a Varicor 400 (6 gears, more torque and BHP, so quieter and more fuel efficient). Here is the actual Tank to tank FE data recorded over 35,000 km. My previous ride was a Dicor320 which was clearly 1 kmpl lower.

Quite impressive to return 13 kmpl for my kind of driving, which is a lot of 3000-3500 RPM cruising. It's quite impressive how easily the large Tata gets to silly speeds. Thanks to all the disc brakes, the braking is excellent and confidence-inspiring.

I also had an issue with the fuel button. And I almost made it a habit to open it via the physical string at the back. But suddenly one day, the button started to work again and it has been working perfectly for the last year fully.

Bridgestone Duellers easily last 75,000 km.

Take care of the periodic maintenance and use it well. It will turn out to be an absolutely incomparable choice a few years down the line.

A pic of my Storme, 62,000 km and as good as it was on day 1.

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In the hindsight, everyone wearing the seatbelts was the best decision. And not getting proper sleep the night before travel was the worst.

BHPian speed79 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

In mid-April 2022, me, wife and two kids (8 and 13) while going on a trip of over 5k kms from Bangalore - Delhi - Bangalore, I slept at wheel just after 200 kms from Bangalore and rear ended a truck at about 7:00 AM. I had been driving at about 100-110 kmph. As a result of the impact with truck, Storme was pushed to the left, it jumped the road shoulder, went into the field and stopped against a small tree. All of us were belted. It was seat belts, strong build of Storme and a lot of luck that we had survived the accident. I had fracture (meta carpels 3, 4 and 5) and a deep cut in my right arm (can't post the horrible picture of the cut) and some cuts and bruises on forehead, face and right hand. Kids and wife were thankfully unhurt except for the trauma of the accident and some hurt in chest due to seatbelt. Wife probably hurt her head against door and had sever pain for few days.

Now every time my daughter (now 9 years old) sits in car (on rear seat), she reaches out for the seat belt. In the hindsight, everyone wearing the seatbelts was the best decision. And not getting proper sleep the night before travel was the worst. I did not even realise and the sleep had me.

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Test drove the Mahindra Scorpio-N, which for me seems to be the only reasonable upgrade option.

BHPian viXit recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Few updates since this post.

I broke the pipe joints when I removed the cowl of the car.

I bought Y joints from Maruti Suzuki, fixed the plumbing and now the windshield washer is working as it should.

Want to replace it with a spray-type jet that Hyundai use. Really love it on my grand i10.

Replaced High beam with the latest get of Nightbreaker laser halogens at the time.

I have HID in High beam so can't flash. The Halogens were not worth the price, and it was a massive downgrade in light. But it was definitely a whiter colour than normal halogens.

The beam pattern was perfect, and I could flash my high beams, but the brightness of the high beam was terrible. Switched back to my HIDs.

I exchanged the low beam HID with High beam HIDs, to put the lower aged bulbs in the low beam, so the low beam is a little brighter now.

Amazon graciously refunded me my Life savings after taking the Osrams back.

Got rear-ended, and ended up with a new left tail light, new left rear bumper, and new rear bottom black bumper with exhaust tips. The car looks brand new in that corner. All work is done at Malik Bowempally, TASC. Top-notch Paint and paint job. Lovely finish.

Got all the scuffs and scratches on the rest of the car painted too, but at a cheaper place since it was not covered under insurance.

• Both side steps
• Rear right corner bumper
• Front bumper

The paint didn't match and the finish isn't great, but at least there are no scratches visible, so I don't mind. It was reasonably cheap too I guess. Nothing much to say.

The brake bleeder nipples disintegrated, need to order new, will probably order MGP.

Went to a concert with a bunch of friends, they broke my 12v socket. It was flimsy, to begin with. Having trouble finding the illuminated socket, I think I have to buy a non-illuminated one and reuse the old LED in the socket.

The LED keyring has gone kaput, it was flickering for a few days before eventually giving in.

The truck has crossed 1.05L. So the engine's just been run in. Will cross 2k rpm now.

Been using ring road a lot, and might sell the honda, so using it for its frugal engine. 30kmpl daily, who doesn't want that?

Oil in Storme is around 8k old. Will maintain 10k intervals for all filters and Engine oil now.

I spent Air Force Day on an Air Strip with the beast.

The fun continues 9 years down the line.

Was teaching some kids how to draw circles.

Took a good long TD of the Scorpio, Seems to be the only reasonable upgrade except for the Fortuner. Which I arbitrarily hate for many stupid reasons.

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