[PrasannaDhana]

Hello my dear fellow BHPians, this is my third ownership review in TeamBHP. This time, it is my 2012 Tata Safari LX DICOR 2.2 VTT, which has just clocked 1,00,000 km milestone in 4 years.



A gem of an engine!



Prelude

We always had a rugged MUV in our garage. We were Mahindra loyalists in the 90s, when Mahindra had wonderful raw products in their portfolio.

MUVs/SUVs owned

We owned the following MUV/SUVs:

Mahindra MM540 (90s)
Mahindra Commander (90s)
Mahindra Armada (95-99)
Tata Estate (2002-2004)
Tata Sumo DX (2008-2010)
Tata Sumo Grande GX (2009-2012)
Tata Sumo Gold GX (2013-2015)

We still have the Tata Safari 2.2 DICOR LX (2012-till date)

I was a kid when we had the Mahindras. I learnt driving in my wonderful Armada. So, I dont have much memory about the first 2 vehicles.
I will share the owner's point of view on the other cars above.

Mahindra Armada

Pardon me for the pic quality



Pros:
1. Sturdy vehicle: It saved 5 of us from a 30 foot fall off a bridge. None of us got injured.
2. Looks

Cons:
1. Space
2. NVH (did not matter in those days)

Tata Estate

Pros:
1. Very comfortable car
2. Space & boot
3. Power windows (a premium feature in the 2000)

Cons:
1. Engine
2. Handling
3. Reliability - MTBF was too short, the car spent more time in the service center than in our garage


Tata Sumo DX



Have you experienced the awesome feeling of seeing your last car on road after selling it ? This picture was snapped from my Sumo Grande when I saw my Sumo DX on road.



Pros:
1. Space
2. Very abuse-friendly - a proper truck

Cons:
1. Performance
2. Fuel efficiency
3. Reliability
4. Ride quality - bounce baby bounce

Sumo Grande 2.2 GX

The D-day, the tall guy is me getting the keys.


A big tata indeed


Pros:
1. A very underrated, value for money 7-seater SUV
2. Performance- 120 BHP, 250Nm torque, a detuned version of Safari's 2.2 DICOR
3. HVAC: All passengers get individual roof- ac vents. AC was a chiller.
4. Tyres- Brilliant Bridgestone Dueller H/T, the stock tyres lasted till we sold the car, 93000km and 3 years later!
5. Reliability: it has not been to service center other than the routine maintenance.

Cons:
1. Looks: At some angles it looked like a rhino without a tail and horn
2. Ride quality
3. Fuel economy: it delivered lesser than my Safari, 9-10 kmpl
4. Weight: Not very easy to expect efficiency when the vehicle is over 2 tonnes

I really liked the Sumo Grande, it served us 93000 km in 3 years, without a single issue.

Tata Sumo Gold GX

This was our second sumo, bought later, in 2013, just an year after we bought the safari. It was a pre-owned car, bought at 40000km. We wanted a beater car and thought sumo gold would be the best.

Taller than the safari, sumo gold was as aerodynamically gifted as a brick



I liked the looks of sumo, right from the 2000s



Pros:
1. Abuse friendly
2. Torque- though the 3.0 litre CR4 engine made just 85 BHP, it had good pulling power because of its 250 Nm torque rating. Climbing up hills was a cake walk.

Cons:
1. Space: Yes, it was meant to be a 9-seater, which means, no legroom at the second row at all!
2. Fuel efficiency
3. Ride quality: We bought the sumo gold as a beater car, it did beat and break our backs.

We finally exchanged it 2 years later @ 65000 km for a brand new Ciaz ZDI.

Why Safari DICOR?

During the start of 2012, We had a Suzuki Swift and a Tata Sumo Grande. The swift was at an odo reading of 91000 km and the Grande was at 93000 km. We had the habit of changing cars after 3 years of ownership. So, both the cars were due for replacement.


The swift was bought in 2007. The brilliant 1.3 DDIS impressed us so much that we had the car with us for 5 years. We would have kept it with us but I met with a tyre burst incident on the highway. The right rear tyre (165 section width) burst at 120 kmph. The reason being,- our driver was too lazy to fit back the 185 section punctured tyre, the other three tyres were 185 and the rear right was a 165. I did not check that and drove from Chennai to Trichy. I was lucky enough to decelerate and get the car into the lawn, off the highway lane. Thanks to the ABS!



The very next week, my dad met with an accident involving another swift which banged ours on the front left door. My dad was fed up, and superstitiously we decided to sell it off (I regret the decision even today) once the new vehicles arrive.

The tyre burst incident






Vehicle hunt for Sumo Grande replacement

Cars considered:

1. Mahindra Scorpio: Dad rejected it saying it was a thug car, blame the kollywood movies. LOL

Pros:
Engine
Rugged Ladder on Frame construction
Resale

Cons:
Space- I did not expect Scorpio to be short on space. If you are someone taller than 6 ft, scorpio is definitely not for you.


2. Chevrolet Tavera : Dad's favourite. It was a very popular car then.

Pros:
Engine- Fuel efficiency
Captain seats on the LT model

Cons:
Price- too expensive for what it offered

3. Sumo Victa:
Yes, you read that right. Dad wanted a value for money vehicle. He was not ready to shell out more than 9 lakhs on a car. So we went to Tata dealer to test drive the Sumo Victa, which i clearly disliked.

At the dealership, I asked for the Safari test drive. Dad reluctantly joined. But once he got into the vehicle, he was impressed, big time!

The Safari DICOR LX (base model) was 9.6 lakhs on road. It was a matter of 60k and I was able to convince my dad to buy the safari.

What bells does Safari ring to a late 80s born kid:

Safari is the Enfield of four wheelers

The poor man's landrover

Those days, big shots, actors, and politicians used Safari. Safari was the official patrol car at the PMs/President's motorcade. Hon'ble CM of TN, Ms. J. Jayalalitha had one in the 90s. Mr. Chandrababu Naidu had one, still uses one. To this day, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi use the Safari.

When we were teens, Safari went synonymous with "power", "luxury" (remember people who drive Range Rovers today drove Pajeros/CRVs then) and "speed" (blame all those absolutely awesome, cliff jumping, tyres screeching, water wading TVC of Safaris back then).

It was one of the dream machines to own, along with that era's greats - Mitsubishi Lancer, Herohonda CBZ, Maruti Gypsy and Old Honda City.

So, I was very very happy that I get to own my dream car, 12 years later.

First pic of my Safari, after PDI



Accessories added

The base model Safari DICOR was bare bones. No ABS, airbags, not even a stereo. I bought a pioneer stereo, front bull bar and artificial leather seat covers, all costing around 27k rupees. I should have avoided the bull bars. Safari looks classy without them.

Back home in our garage



Now, after a lot of boring introductions, let us get into my ownership review of the Tata Safari LX 2.2


What I like about the Tata Safari DICOR


Looks and Road Presence

You know they say the cars should suit you. Lol! This one car suited me. It was meant for big people who would cringe if they heard "Maruti 800".



Coming to road presence, the Safari is massive. Here is a picture of my safari with another favourite mini-SUV, the Ford Ecosport.



It had the proper SUV looks, with the spare wheel mounted on the tail gate, the roof rails, side cladding and a massive bonnet.

The big boy with the other two darlings of our home



Ride Quality

The best thing about the Safari is its ride quality. Good roads, bad roads, no roads, not a problem. It glides over everything without the passengers feeling anything beneath. We have been on 700km road trips non-stop, and still felt fresh once we were out of the car.

On bad roads, I have felt that the safari is best doing medium speeds of about 30-50kmph rather than going very slow. The car does make you feel the road beneath if you are very slow over bad roads. That said, it is way better than other cars at that speeds. For example, certain roads does not allow me drive faster than 20kmph in my Ciaz/Beat, whereas Safari can comfortably be driven at 50kmph on the same roads.
Driving over smaller speed breakers without noticing them, you would not even feel that you have driven over the speed breaker.

Safari is a mile muncher and rides best on highways, provided you dont drive past 110kmph, as tyre noise and wind noise get prominent. The best riding car below 40 lakhs!, how true!

Performance, Drive-ability and Fuel Efficiency

The 2.2 DICOR is a tested mill, putting out 140 BHP and 320Nm torque. The Safari is not a scorcher, but it can cruise at 120kmph all day. The Safari doesnot like to rev, just like all other Tata engines. The best rpm band to work the engine at, is 1500 - 2500 rpm.
The Safari does 80 kmph at 1500 rpm and 100kmph comes at 2100 rpm in the 5th gear. Though the red-line starts at 4300 rpm, the engine hates to rev beyond 3000 rpm. You can still take it to 4000 rpm, which sees illegal speeds, intolerable NVH that will scare your passengers so much that they will never get into a Safari again.

Urban drive-ability is brilliant. The car can move in bumper-bumper traffic without any accelerator input. The clutch and brake is sufficient. After driving Safari, my Ciaz feels irritating to drive within city limits. There is no turbolag in the Safari whatsoever. There is adequate push right from 1000 rpm. Climbing up the hills is where Safari feels absolutely at home. But fly in the oinment comes in the form of the big turning radius that takes away some pleasure off hill driving. The gear travel distance is large. If you are used to slick gearboxes with minimum gear travel, you will feel the difference, big time.

On the highway, if you are doing 80 kmph in the 5th gear, you are bang at the start of the power band. Overtaking is effortless if you are in 1500 rpm and above.

I have used the car to carry heavy loads from my farms, upto 700 kilos. The safari drove like it was not strained at all, not a bit. Being a heavy 2+ tonner, the Safari still returns a very respectable 11-13kmpl on the highway and 10kmpl in the city conditions (with AC ON always).

Space

One of the few cars that can accommodate five 6 footers without a fuss. The car is super spacious, with adequate under thigh support, enormous legroom and headroom. Forget about the last 2 seats. Not even kids will be happy on them. Let us just consider it as a 5 seater with a big boot. Lol.

This is how pampered the front passenger will be, with acres of space



Legroom for the middle row passenger (6'2") with the driver's seat set to the farthest setting. A good 3 inches of space left.



The mid row



The front row



The big boot:

Safari is not a true 7-seater. Last row fold seat is a torture device. So we fold them all time, just using the space for luggage.

Be it farm stuff,



Or like the pic below, during Chennai flood relief:



Ground Clearance

Indians love ground clearance, as our roads are not well-paved at 60% of the locations. Safari's 205mm ground clearance is a boon while going on places where there isnt any road to drive on.





Reliability & Service costs

Over the 4 years, in all the 1,00,000 km, the safari left us stranded only once, when it was at 80000 km on the odo. But it was not a major issue though. OBD readings threw P0115 error and it was resolved in a day's time. Some issue with the wiring harness that costed 1300 bucks to resolve.

Other than that incident, the safari has been completely reliable. I would have sold it, but since I went over a thread on TeamBHP (On retaining cars for more than 5 years), I was convinced that I will have it with me till 2,00,000 km.

The 15000 km once service costs around 10-15k. 90000 km service costed 35k, as there were many replacements like- timing belt, suspension overhaul, filters replacement, AC coolant replacement etc

Solid Build Quality

Now, dont expect VW/Skoda type thud sound while closing the doors. The Safari is a very solid car. I am not talking about the frontal/side impact test ratings here. Concerning the minor hits we tend to get in city traffic, Safari is just invincible.

I had one accident in Safari all through the past 4 years. I was exiting a toll booth on the expressway, gaining speed at a good pace. After 200 meters from the toll, while driving at 80 kmph, out of nowhere, a buffalo jumped right onto my path. I swerved the car to the left and slammed the brakes. The buffalo still got brushed by the right side of my car. Its head banging on my right ORVM and body, slamming the rear right door. I thought there would be a big damage. To my surprise, the ORVM did not even fold after such impact, and the buffalo stood up after a minute and walked away.

The impact on the right door, just a small streak if you notice closely:



View of the Road

One of the best things in the Safari,- you feel like you are riding on an elephant. The view from the cabin is excellent.




What I dont like in the Safari

Turning Radius

Drive a Safari (not Storme) in the city, and try taking an U-turn. Then you will know how irritating big turning radius can be. 6 meter turning radius, it is almost same as the Tempo Traveller van. Good that Safari Storme has a smaller turning radius.

Brakes

I hate them. Period.
Most horrible brakes ever. If you have to panic break, the tyre screeching sound comes first before any deceleration happens. Safari is clearly not a car to be driven very fast.

Interiors

Toyota etios will feel premium. That is how spartan the interiors on Safari Dicor were. Hard plastics everywhere, that too in monotone dull grey. Cheap button switches and stalks.





Air Conditioning

Second worst part of the Safari, after the brakes, is the AC unit. It is inadequate during summers, with blower putting out a lot of noise rather than any substantial air flow. Too bad that the base model does not get the roof mounted rear-ac.

Handling

It is a tall car, with a lot of body roll. Over 100 kmph, the car does not inspire confidence around corners. The steering, though well weighted at slow speeds, gets vague at triple digit speeds. Even if you are familiar with the dynamics of the Safari, the passengers wont like the ride if driven enthusiastically around corners.

Off the road, you can feel each undulation/stone in your hands through the steering wheel. The steering has a mind of its own. It has a tendency to under-steer at corners if driven at a fast pace. I have had hard time maintaining the lane on highway at speeds above 100kmph during initial days of ownership. With time, you will learn to give small constant and frequent steering inputs to make the car go within the lane, in the exact direction you want it to go while doing highway speeds.

Tyres and NVH

The 2.2 litre diesel makes its presence known above 2400 rpm. The stock tyre was Apollo hawkz, which lasted only 75000km. The bridgestone duellers in my Sumo grande lasted 93000km. I had replaced the stock tyres with apollo again as bridgestone was unavailable at that time. There is also tyre noise at speeds above 120kmph.

Hush, avoid the slush - Not a good off roader in 4x2 version

True that the car can move around dry places off the road, be it mud or rocky terrains. The highway tyres are pathetic for wet terrains, add to it, the heavy weight of the car. I had an experience of getting into slush, just to see the rear tyres getting dug, deeper and deeper, until we had to use wooden slabs to take the car out.

Wiper and Wash

It is as good as not being there. The wipers dont last long and the washer spray doesnot cover even 50% of the windscreen.

Head lamps

Night driving with stock headlamps is best to be avoided. It is useless. I replaced them with Philips H4, still, it isnt any better.

Spare tyre removal and replacement

The 235 section R16 tyre is heavy. And if you are short, and not strong, you will have a terrible time lifting the spare tyre off the tailgate and replacing the tyre back on it.

Conclusion

Though there are a lot of things I dont like in my Safari, it still wins my heart when the question arises whether to replace it or to retain it. It runs as good as it ran when it had 100km on the odo. It gives decent fuel economy, rides brilliantly, takes miles like nothing, looks good, feels solid and can take the worst roads of India like a walk in the park.

Safari is 80% Toyota Fortuner at 50% its cost.

To think of it, I spent 9.6 lakhs for the vehicle, around 5 lakhs for fuel, around 2 lakhs on maintenance, it sums up to 16.6, approximately 17 lakhs- for owning a brand new SUV, travelling 1,00,000 km in prime comfort and peace. What do I get for that money today? A safari storme, or a Hyundai Creta, or an XUV W6, and that is just the vehicle cost. So, I think my safari will see another lakh km before I think of a new SUV.

Thanks for patiently going through my big ownership review. Thank you TeamBHP for teaching sense by that awesome thread on retaining cars over 5 years. Cheers, happy driving!

Some more pics

[PrasannaDhana]

Contd..

The plastic cover on the tailgate still intact after 4 years and 1 lakh kms of usage


One of the most beautiful parts of the Safari DICOR,- the spare tyre cover. One of the reasons old-school Safari fans dont like Safari Storme as much. My driver once banged a compound wall while reversing, there is a small streak of black line on the grey part of the tail gate, and that was all the damage it took.


Towering over an average C segment sedan


The ORVM is wide enough to capture all the action behind, quite sturdy too.


The big guy posing with no-nonsence off-roading grandpas


That is how an A-segment superstar looks like, from Safari's cabin


A happy owner


I was expecting 1,00,000 from this point in time, a fancy odo reading in that cool-blue dials


Proudly wearing the LTD sticker


Parting shot with a fancy odo reading

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Long-Term Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ISO]

Awesome!

Enjoyed each and every word. Your safari still looks brand new

[DrANTO]

Dear Prasanna,

Excellent review and nice write up also. Congrats

I am a proud owner of a Tata Safari 2.2L VX 4WD (2009 model which has 145k on the ODO). I completely agree with your observations regarding the beast. It looks good, rides well and abuse friendly. Weak air conditioner ( even with roof A/C) and poor turning radius are the sore points about Safari. BTW, I feel that turbo lag is there in my safari. Below 1500rpm engine struggles to maintain momentum and I have to either down shift or rev up to 1800-2000rpm.(someone told me that post 2010 safari's have better driveability than 2007-09 batch.I don't know whether it is true.)

[satrikon_454]

You've covered some really practical points, Prasanna. And rightly said. Safari was the perfect butch budget-SUV back then. And despite all the challenges and abuses thrown at the car, it still looks in an immaculate condition. Good job!

Was reading your CBR250R post just yesterday, and it actually got me thinking that a vehicle should suit one's personality.
But still, would love to get a Nano's review from you.

[Skyline_GT]

Amazing thread. A True Blue SUV indeed! TATA Safari has been an epitome of reliability and economical on the pocket too. Safari is still any day better than the Storme! It can be aptly called poor man's Fortuner/Endeavour!

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by DrANTO

Dear Prasanna,

Excellent review and nice write up also. Congrats

I am a proud owner of a Tata Safari 2.2L VX 4WD (2009 model which has 145k on the ODO). I completely agree with your observations regarding the beast. It looks good, rides well and abuse friendly.

Thank you! Your Safari looks beautiful!

Originally Posted by satrikon_454

Was reading your CBR250R post just yesterday, and it actually got me thinking that a vehicle should suit one's personality.
But still, would love to get a Nano's review from you.

Haha! My Chevrolet Beat is at 85k on the odo. End of this year I will post 1 lakh km review of it, and the Beat is smaller than the Nano.

[biggrin]

HUGE people, HUGE cars, HUGE reviews!

Nice review mate. You have covered every point. Congrats on achieving the 1 Lac km mark on the Safari. This colour is one of my favourites on SUVs, be it the Scorpio, Safari or the Duster! The condition looks immaculate even after 4 years of intensive usage.

One observation I made in traffic a few days back was that a Safari and Fortuner have identical dimensions, and the Scorpio looks smaller in front of the two! Do give a thought to replacing the bull bar (too big, would suit a Qualis/cab better) with a simpler one (like what people have on Fortuner, with a plastic cladding) and getting one or two sets of auxiliary lamps fitted on the same.

As someone has already said, Safari is one true-blue SUV. In earlier times, Safari and Scorpio used to rule the roads with their immense road presence. Scorpio for the city, Safari for the highways! These were the two cars which screamed 'S-U-V'. This crown has been taken over by SUV-looking hatchbacks now, due to the increasing traffic on roads and the consequent want of smaller blueprint.

Good luck for the next 1 Lac kms on the steed. Keep the thread updated with future developments!

PS. It really surprises me that your OEM tyres have lasted so long (on this one as well as the Grande)!

[doc_zeus]

Excellent report "PrasannaDhana". Detailed review based on real world usage. And great mile munching too.

The things like weak Air conditioning, windscreen washers, headlamps, and most of the other things you've mentioned are carried forward to the current gen Storme too. Guess Tata should update these minor things to make the ride even more memorable.

I too wish you another 1lakh km trouble free journey with your Safari.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by doc_zeus

Excellent report "PrasannaDhana". Detailed review based on real world usage. And great mile munching too.

The things like weak Air conditioning, windscreen washers, headlamps, and most of the other things you've mentioned are carried forward to the current gen Storme too. Guess Tata should update these minor things to make the ride even more memorable.

I too wish you another 1lakh km trouble free journey with your Safari.

I have a completely opposite view. All negatives of the Safari are rectified in the Storme. Plus the economy grade interiors have been upgraded and feel quite plush. I have had no issues with the headlamps, didn't feel the need for additional lights. The first plus I found when I bought the Storme was the wipers. After the jeep type squeaky and non aligned wipers in my dicor, the car like smooth and aligned wipers on the Storme was a boon.

[condor]

Nice write-up, PrasannaDhana. Having had four Tata vehicles including a Sumo Victa and now the Storme, I can relate to at least some of what you have shared.

Reg the braking - next time you could change the tyres from BS to something better. It makes a difference.

The Gold did have some niggles, and the Grande lost out on weight & cosmetics. But yes, the Sumo has a timeless kind of design and I miss it to this day, even 3+ yrs after getting the Storme.

[Herbie98]

Glad to see a nice happy ownership with the Safari for 100K kms. Since it has given you a trouble free service it makes perfect sense to retain for another 100k km. I am sure it will perform well, with just wear & tear items needing replacement.

On the tyres, please try Yokohama geolanders A/T. These will immediately improve your brakes.

I have a Bolero, had Bridgrstone Duellers H/T from the factory. Very durable tyres but pathetic brake feel and horrible wet grip. After 87k kms (Bridgrstone still had another 20k life left) I changed to yoko geolanders A/T, and brakes had an immediate improvement. My first set of Yoko ran 90k, now on second set done 44k kms and lot of life left. Very Good tyres.

I have also heard good reviews about michellin latitude, doesn't come in Bolero's size so never got to try it. It's available in the safari 235/70R16.

[STraiTDriVE]

Excellent thread and the passion reveals in every aspect of the coverage. This is really special.. Many congratulations on completing the 1Lakh figure and wish you many more in the coming years.

I always felt the dicor had amazing road presence with the masculine looks it used to carry. You have maintained it really well.

[sunil_k_u]

Congratulation PrasannaDhana on completing this milestone. Owning a 2008 Safari 2.2VTT Lx and with the ODO reading 104000KM, I can very well relate to many points what you mentioned. Nice write-up and nice pictures too.

Just got the clutch replaced last week on mine and the vehicle runs as new. I too am planning to keep it for some more years. A random pic taken during one of those many long drives...