[PrasannaDhana]

Ending April 2021 with 36,040 km on odo.



That totals 9250 km of usage in 3 months of the Storme being the daily driver, averaging 101 km a day.



I enjoy driving the storme a lot more than I did driving my Dicor



Sometimes the large size can be fun to park



With the gorgeous altroz



With my soon to be sold KTM



With bigger brothers



Signing off April with 2700 km usage, successfully keeping monthly fuel expenditure <20k rupees. Let's see what May has in store.

[PrasannaDhana]

Update :

Odo : 37,000 km

Thanks to complete lockdown, the storme has clocked just over a 1000 km in May so far, that too because l have passes to move around.



Quite disappointed to see the bottom part of the steering get worn out. This is unacceptable. The car had just 37k on odo, and it's about 3 years old. If you attribute it to usage, my ciaz must have had much much more wear, being used for 6 years.



Anyways, the storme otherwise is excellent. The last 1000 km have been purely within town, and on rural roads like this:

https://youtu.be/UXbG9j3tA_8

Naturally the fuel efficiency dipped down to 11.6 kmpl.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

...
Quite disappointed to see the bottom part of the steering get worn out. This is unacceptable. The car had just 37k on odo, and it's about 3 years old. If you attribute it to usage, my ciaz must have had much much more wear, being used for 6 years.

Attachment 2160244...

Had a similar issue but on the part where we hold (9-3 position). Had it replaced under warranty.

[PrasannaDhana]

Bidding goodbye to the month of May 2021 with 37350 km on the odo.

Tamilnadu has been in full lockdown since 10th of May. I haven't been driving the car much either.

Closing this month with just 1327 km of usage. Lockdown continues and the car will remain lazy in June too.



The storme has been a great companion during these lonely times



Looking at the bright side, I spent just about less than 30% of what I usually spend on fuel every month.

[PrasannaDhana]

Reporting the worst fuel efficiency in the last 4 months, of all the 11,000 km I have driven the storme.

9.88 kmpl, with diesel prices skyrocketing beyond 91rs per liter, I am looking at 10 rs per km. Jeez!!





I have been flogging all the 154 horses to their limits oflate, cruising 3250+ rpm in 6th. Result of which is the obvious single digit fuel efficiency.

Below is one of the milder drives (2500-2750 rpm in 6th), enjoying the power of the Storme on empty highways. It's fun to experience the pace this heavy SUV builds despite its weight and height. I have come to terms with the traditional SUV body roll. I just wish I don't get to drive my brother's Vento 1.5 when he visits

https://youtu.be/MR1zaioV0OM

It's time to get back to the gentle, sedate driving style and get that 13-14kmpl from the SUV.

[PrasannaDhana]

Just a little time spent with my brothers ride- the storme's sibling- the Harrier Dark.

The storme has completed 38500 km. The Harrier has completed 3750 km.












A very respectable 14.2 kmpl in the city


Meanwhile the storme is being driven a bit gently, bringing the fuel efficiency figure up again. 12.66 kmpl.

[PrasannaDhana]

Bidding farewell to June with 39,950 km on the odo. A rather healthy 2650 km usage for the month despite lockdown for the first 2 weeks. The storme will get its 40,000 km service done by next Monday. I guess it will be used for atleast 500 more km by then.

Storme has been my daily driver for 5 months now. In that time, it has run 13200 km. Lowest is in May due to full lockdown in the state. The chart shows 3000 km in June and 800 in May, but it was 1100 in May and 2600ish in June. The app records the running as per refills. Guess I must have forgotten to refill on May 31st.



Last week of June had two contrasting performances from the storme.

Ferrying people and 300 kg load

I had a program that involved distribution of rice bags to the Needy. The last row easily took in 30 bags. I also drove with 5 on board including me. That's quite heavy but the car didn't struggle.

I had to follow a schedule and hence drove a bit enthusiastically. The overload + fast driving led to 10.74 kmpl actual fuel efficiency.



The majestic beauty didn't sag even with that load



The fuel efficiency did get a beating though. Also note that amazing 15 kmpl efficiency just a couple tankfuls ago.



Through thick and thin, the storme has been such a trust worthy companion. I have been driving around some horrible roads, but the storme has made all rides pain-free and effortless.

Trip to my wife's native - Peravurani

The last day of the month, we planned an one day round trip to my in-laws' place. A good 250 km round trip. I also had to do some work runs in the morning clocking about 60 km. Total of 310 km of peaceful driving today. Refilled the tank till auto cutoff in the morning, - same bunk, same pump, same nozzle.

The drive was mindfully made gentle. I just can't live with 10 kmpl fuel efficiency, given my usage and stupidly atrocious diesel prices. The storme again proved me that it can deliver excellent fuel efficiency if I drive it gently.

Got an amazing 17.15 kmpl for this 310 km trip.



310 km on a little less than quarter tank of diesel



This is the third tankfull I have gotten 17+ kmpl, of total 37 tankfulls. The highest still remains 17.95 kmpl.


Overall average fuel efficiency for the 13200 km usage in the last 5 months stands at 13.2 kmpl



My previous daily driver Ciaz 1.3 ddis would return 17 kmpl even if I drove it like I stole it. Storme though, is very sensitive to throttle input. Gentler, you become richer.


The roads were amazing, the scenery was soothing. I just relaxed and let the 2.2 mill be relaxed too, spinning not more than 1750 rpm.



The luggage for a 1 day trip was not light either



Mud roads and greenery











Looking forward to July, with the tank filled and the V400 primed & ready

[Prowler]

You carted around 1 ton of rice bags and passengers and still Storme delivered 10.x + km/l ? That is fantastic for a 2 ton monster. And when you baby it, it gives 17.x km/l. The 2.2 l mill is a frugal trustworthy one which makes one furious why Tata Motors abandoned the Safari/Storme clan.

[HappyWheels]

Always interesting to read your updates @PrasannaDhana

+1 to what Prowler said!

[PrasannaDhana]

@Prowler & @HappyWheels

Thank you! Definitely a wonderful engine engine 2.2 is.

The Storme had to be driven much yesterday, for work. Clocked 170 km in a day. The odo had crossed 40100 km. Left the car at the Tata service center. This is the first time I am taking it myself to the S.V.C. Usually driver did those duties.

Discovered that the last oil change was done at 205xx km. I was kinda disappointed with myself for not having checked it. I was under the impression that it was done at 25000 km. 20k km of usage between oil change. Damn, that's bad! But anyways, since it has become my daily driver, I will take it into my care like I did with the ciaz.

Felt a bit odd to see more hatchbacks than SUVs in a Tata service station.

Justified, I have not been into one since 2012. The storme definitely is the odd man out here



The service advisor did try to pull off a quick one , by charging wheel balancing and alignment an atrocious 1800 rupees. I asked him to strike that off as I will do it myself at a dedicated alignment shop I know. They charge just 750 for both.



Total estimate is 11xxx rupees. Pretty reasonable I would say.

I am using this cutie for work today. Quite a drastic difference in the driving experience. I do miss the torquey nature of the turbo diesels.

[PrasannaDhana]

40,000 km with the Tata Safari Storme Varicor 400

My views on the Storme from my ownership

Positives

1. Excellent engine - refined, powerful, superb driveability & frugal nature
2. Benchmark for space, comfort & ride quality
3. Tough construction, very abuse-friendly
4. Immense road presence
5. Surprisingly small turning radius and maneuverability
6. Excellent brakes
7. Reliability- no issues so far
8. AC - Superbly effective
9. Strong build quality

Negatives

1. Rear jump seats are useless, they also rattle on bad roads
2. Bare bones in terms of features- no Rear cam, ACC, Autodimming IRVM, smart ICE etc
3. Radio reception is below average and the antenna is spartan
4. Lack of storage spaces other than glove box and compartment on the middle of dashboard
5. Ingress and egress are challenging for old folks
6. Gearshift is rubbery, though clutch is very light and easy to use


The 40k service has been completed. I used to do routine service every 15k km with my Safari Dicor. It looks like Tata has started to recommend service every 10k km.

My storme had been irregular so far with the schedule. Due to very low usage, it was sent to service during 6 month / 1 year time intervals and partly because it was taken care by the driver, I did not focus much on the storme before.

This is the first routine service after becoming my primary ride. I will be sending it for oil changes every 15k km from now.

Coming to 40k km service, the bill exceeded the estimate due to disc pad replacement at the front.

Total bill was Rs. 17,518

Work done :

Engine Oil replacement
Gear Oil replacement (Tata recommends first change at 45k km and every 90k km then on)
Fuel filter replacement
Air filter replacement
Front disc pads replacement
Routine checks





They did sell me this "car care kit", ofcourse without my knowledge. Quite a nice method to make 350 rupees. I don't know how useful these are going to be.





I had told the service advisor specifically not to apply dashboard polish. I somehow hate the slimy look it always has after the application. But these guys went deaf I guess.



The wash facility at the SVC was nice too. It sprayed soap solution first and then water. Kinda nice to see your ride getting washed

https://youtu.be/HyvrMJ2gpDU

The car after the service





The engine feels smoother, or it might just be the placebo effect. Let us see how much better the fuel efficiency gets, now that the engine no more runs on old oil.

The journey continues

https://youtu.be/f-RSFY-ibzo

By the end of 2021, the storme would have completed 55,000 km. First 2.75 years, it had clocked just 26k km. Happy to put the car back to good use, since Feb this year.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

40,000 km with the Tata Safari Storme Varicor 400

Positives
Tough construction, very abuse-friendly
Strong build quality

I completely agree with your Pros & cons.
I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome these days. Last year I drove some 600 km at a stretch and after reaching the destination, decided to park in a narrow strip in the hotel backing up. I backed up too fast and rammed into the wall with a sickening crunching sound. Pieces of cement and a bit of masonry fell down. But there was only a small dent in the safari. A lesson learnt - never reverse when you are averse ( tired).

[PrasannaDhana]

A small change in routine- I am using my kwid 1.0 for gym runs and smaller errands into the city, making the storme purely a work car, to be used for highways and rural roads. Hence monthly usage of storme will come down by 600-700 km.



I am driving the kwid as sedately as i drive my storme when I experiment with max fuel efficiency runs. On the first tankful driving sedate now. Let me see if kwid gives good fuel efficiency. I will update it here.

Did another 270 km drive today, sedately, maintaining speeds between 80-90kmph. Got a very good fuel efficiency again, 16.74 kmpl. But driving this way is very different from what I have been used to. That's why you might find 10s and 11 kmpl figures in the other tank fulls. Sometimes, I just let my right foot go bonkers.




That's my Father-in-law's amby

[AirbusCapt]

Originally Posted by Prowler

You carted around 1 ton of rice bags and passengers and still Storme delivered 10.x + km/l ? That is fantastic for a 2 ton monster. And when you baby it, it gives 17.x km/l. The 2.2 l mill is a frugal trustworthy one which makes one furious why Tata Motors abandoned the Safari/Storme clan.

The 2.2 liter engine in the 156 ps/400 nm Avatar in the Hexa xta used to return almost 18 kmpl when driven sanely at about 80/90kmph under cruise control. Wonder what made Tata motors junk this engine instead of upgrading it to BS6 norms?

[emmenhr]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Tata Safari Storme VX Varicor 400 4x2
====
* Pearl white looks stunning, actually looks bigger than what the car actually

Thanks Prasanna for the detailed review. I have been contemplating buying a second hand vehicle either a 4x4 Storme or a thar. Your reviews will help me in making up my mind.
Happy riding and hope to see more of your reviews/ pics about the Storme.