If you are aware of the trend from the late 90s and a decade after that, then you might remember the craze of the Tata Safari in those days. Youngsters dreamt of having the beast in their garage when they grow up. Tata Motors was the trendsetter in the automobile industry for making the best ads back then.
However, nowadays the youngsters have changed the definition of SUVs since the trend of new age urban SUVs. The compact SUVs have taken over the market with their long list of features, car like dynamics and affordable price. You can imagine the situation of the SUV market in India considering the fact that even the tiny Mahindra KUV100 is being considered as an SUV.
To get a good dose of a real SUV, we have been living with the Tata Safari Storme facelifted version for a while now. After discovering many interesting traits of this desi SUV, we think nothing can be more SUV in this segment than the Safari Storme. You drive it for a while and it simply makes the new SUVs feel like soft roaders or mere crossovers with fancy interiors and features.
The first SUV thing to notice about the Safari is the way it looks. It has retained its silhouette even after almost two decades of its launch, which has its pros and cons both. The missing spare wheel on the tail gate takes away the Safari charm a bit but it has been removed to address the squeaks and rattle issues. The plain vanilla styling of the Safari grows on you with time. The typical SUV proportions exhibit its sheer size, which makes its presence felt on the roads.
Yes it looks dated amongst the competition having more hunkered down styling and sharp creases but the old school charm of the Safari still rocks for enthusiasts. Enter the cabin and you have a commanding view all around with a great seating position. You feel confident driving traffic since the bonnet is visible and you have a good sense of its proportions.
The updated Safari Storme comes with Harman system that offers good quality music. The display screen of the audio system is small though and doesn’t offer rear parking camera but proximity parking sensors with LCD that is accurate. Apart from the rear parking camera, auto climate control and touchscreen infotainment you won’t feel the need of more features.
Some of the useful features include power foldable and heated ORVMs, lumbar support, front arm rests, all windows one touch down, projector lights, approach lights, flip key, etc. The cabin is very spacious as the front and second row of seats offer great room for tall adults but the jump seats at the back are meant for kids only. Air conditioning is very effective that quickly chills the cabin.
Powering the Safari Storme is a 2.2-litre diesel engine that produces 150 PS and 320 Nm of torque and if that is not powerful enough for you. Tata Motors is now offering the Varicor400 that produces 156 PS power and 400 Nm of torque. However, our long term test car gets the lower tuned 350 Nm engine which has more than enough punch to put a grin on your face.
You have to deal with little turbo lag until 1800 RPM that you won’t feel at slow speeds because of the well stacked gear ratios. The new clutch is extremely light which makes the beast of an SUV easy to drive around city traffic. The engine offers good grunt in the mid-range and great drivability on the highways. However, it feels loud above 120 km/hr and you feel the need of an extra sixth gear to stretch the legs of the Safari at high speeds, which is now addressed in the Varicor400.
The Safari has massive body roll if you push it around the corners but it has improved to a good extent compared to the outgoing model. The ride is very pliant on all kinds of terrains keeping the passengers in good comfort over rough roads.
The overall quality of the Safari Storme feels much better and there are very few issues we've discovered compared to the last time we got our hands on the SUV. You just have to drive it to feel the emotional connect the Safari offers. It provides a raw and mechanical feedback that a typical SUV should provide and it can make you rethink if the rivals are real SUVs or no.
SOURCE: www.motorbeam.com