[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by man_of_steel

I am planning to get a pre worshipped Safari Dicor either 3.0L (Preferably 4X4) or the 2.2vtt.

This thread might be of use to you:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-m...safari-25.html

Cheers,
Vikram

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

This thread might be of use to you:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-m...safari-25.html

Cheers,
Vikram

Thanks for the link Vikram. Going through it.

@Mods, please go ahead and delete the post. I will post the query there.

[NST440]

Dear BHpians i shall be getting my Storme serviced this week, it is running in her third year but has run just around 16k kms since i own multiple vehicles and drive occasionally. Just wanted your advice on the following:

1. Which filters should i get changed in this service?

2. Are the oils like brake fluid, gear oil, power steering, coolant etc required only to be topped up or an entire replacement is required?

3. What engine oil is recommended ? Should i go as per T.A.S.S or go for a fully synthetic one?

4. Any other recommendations please.

[ISO]

Safari Storme, the best proven SUV from TATA. But not able to sell in four digits.

What do you think is the reason? What is your analysis? Please share.

2015 updated Safari: Link


What you’ll like:

• The best Safari till date. Tata continually upgrades & tweaks this SUV
• Solid body-on-frame construction. Substantial size & strong presence
• Competent 148 BHP engine. Excellent driveability & superb refinement
• Improved interiors, comfortable driving position & a much lighter clutch
• 1st & 2nd seat rows have enormous space. Nice seats too
• Good ride quality. Also, the X2 chassis brings better road manners & braking ability
• Low range 4x4 transfer case, limited slip differential and sufficient rear wheel articulation
• Additions such as a bigger 63 liter fuel tank, steering-mounted audio controls, double-din ICE, flippy key & LED cabin lamps

What you won’t:

• The same old body style. Surely shows its age
• Effectively a 5 seater. The 3rd row jump seats aren't suitable even for kids
• Not as dynamically accomplished as the XUV500, Duster or its sibling, the Aria
• No MID, navigation, climate control, reversing camera or dead pedal in a Rs. 15 lakh car
• ABS & all-wheel disc brakes removed from the base LX variant
• Niggling issues & problems (as per the many Safari ownership reports)
• Tata's after-sales service experience remains a gamble
• 4x4's critical electronic bits & fuel tank are placed too low. No protective plate against splashes either. Massive size & kerb weight negatively affect its offroad performance


Note to Mod: This is my first new thread on TBHP. If this is not appropriate section, pl. feel free to move it to correct section.

[ToyotaFan]

There are 3 primary reasons for storme's failure

1. Lack of equipment (Single DIN HU without any parking camera in 2012 storm). This car isn't even as well equipped as the manza was even at 15L OTR price.

2. Looks similar to the old Safari even after having a completely new platform. People associate unreliable bad bits with the new storme.

3. Launch of the XUV 500 with an extensive feature set. Tata got the timing wrong. Should have launched an year earlier.

[iceman7]

I'll explain this in the most simple way I understand it.

The Storme has HISTORY. 17 years of it. Some perceive this history as baggage which needs to be lost, while the others view this history as the pedigree that the Storme has. Sadly, the former outnumber the latter, hence the answer to your question.

In pure marketing terms, TATA could never leverage the massive following the Safari has.

[sumeethaldankar]

I think when the old Safari was launched it had no real competition. It was a one of a kind vehicle made by a Indian manafacturer with the only thing close to it was the Mahindra Armada which was rather crude. Storme however however had to compete with the likes of the XUV,the Fortuner etc is what did not make it such a success.

Just like the Sumo lost the battle to the Bolero's and the Innova/Qualis , the Indigo CS to the Dezire i guess the Safari lost out to the XUV/Scorpio. However Tata should be given credit for creating a market for such vehicles and showing other manafacturers that there can be demand for such products.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by iceman7

In pure marketing terms, TATA could never leverage the massive following the Safari has.

It's quite sad in a way since the people who own the Safari swear by it and it indeed is an excellent vehicle And that fan following is somehow not translating into bigger sales numbers.
But overall, Tata needs to do some of the small things better especially on the service front - just last week a friend had to wait for 4 days to get a spare part as it wasn't available in Navi Mumbai and they had to source it from Pune (4 days, really ?) and an additional delay of a day due to insufficient workforce on account of absenteeism

[raj_5004]

In my opinion, the answer is the Scorpio and the XUV.

XUV competes with the top end of the Storme and offers a lot more for a little more.

Scorpio competes with the base model of the Storme and is perceived as a far more reliable UV when compared to the Storme.

By far, even Mahindra's A.S.S. is said to be superior when compared to Tata's. Storme is not a bad product but it is let down by the company's lacklustre brand image.

[Sheel]

IMHO, an XUV can't be compared to a Storme. The similarity ends at both being big and having multiple seating options.

They are just so different,
# body on frame vs a monocoque
# 4WD vs AWD
# RWD vs FWD

And then, there is just so huge a difference in the way they both drive, XUV drives like a big car, the Storme drives like a proper ladder on frame chassis based SUV. A minute in either and you would know they are different.

Storme vs Scorpio, yes, top ends maybe compared. But lets leave that aside.

Thread maybe moved to the sub forum Indian car scene.

[sourabhzen]

The Storme never got the publicity it deserves. Tell somebody that you are buying a Storme and look at the reaction. People who never owned a TATA will use all their weight to convince you to stay away from it. I was trying to sell my K10 by putting up ads on various sites. I got an inquiry from somebody who was apparently working with an insurance company. We got into chatting and he tried to persuade me away from TATA by saying that they don't even insure the Safari as it is black-listed. He even said that Tata insurance does not insure a Safari. I never bothered to check, but that is how a Storme is perceived in the market.

[WorkingGuru]

What done in Storme was : Timing.

The Safari had a legacy, which TATA could've carried provided they'd finish the development of Storme/Merlin within the stipulated 18 month period.

They took 42 months instead! That too, I personally believe Karl Slym would've taken up the botched project halfway & fixed it to the extent he could.

By then, the market was bombarded with pretty decent products (for their time), at affordable prices (XUV5OO).

M&Ms' branding had caught the imagination of many. Too many.

There was a good LONG period when TATA didn't come up with new products across its range to compete with Mahindra / Maruti / Hyundai.

Then there were too many genuine cases where TASS wasn't able to satisfy customers. Sales Execs STILL aren't well informed about the product & can't properly demonstrate their features.

Eventually, TATA is now a brand that most have almost written off. The select few who DO shortlist them are well informed enthusiasts who're willing to spend despite the risk of bad resale value. There are good many people who've lost faith, and I doubt the current generation of customers will be as brand loyal as previous ones.

Anyway, they haven't given up & I believe their deep pockets will keep TATA Motors running. Let's see if the Hexa & Zica really take off in the market.

[Shreyans_Jain]

There were only 2 real reasons for the Strome not being the success it should have been. The fact that both of them happened almost simultaneously proved to be a double whammy.


1. The glitch prone but gizmo loaded XUV offered never-seen-before kind of features. This managed to grab it a lot of attention and suddenly made the Storme's old school honest engineering seen inadequate and irrelevant to the common buyer.

2. The launch happened at a time when brand Tata was taking a severe beating with the Nano and Aria tanking and the Indica/Indigo becoming national cabs. The name Tata had become a bad word as far as private buyers were concerned and nobody wanted anything to do with it.


The typical 'Sharmaji kya kehenge' herd mentality of Indian buyers played a major part but then, that's the way it is. Only Tata/Safari loyalists or those who actually knew what they wanted bought the Storme. TASS's reputation also played its part.

Kudos to the company for keeping its chin up and continuously improving its products through tough times.

[vinit.merchant]

In summary

1. Very Subtle changes to the old Safari. Too little too late.
2. Niggles
3. XUV5OO
4. Dearth of Mini SUV launches.

Hardly anyone takes the Safari on actual offroading, so option 2 above gave the buyers a more modern looking better handling car and option 3 above saved the buyers a couple of lakhs (minus 2 seats).

PS: Are you looking to buy one or want to know the alternatives? Or just want to know why it failed so miserably?
I do not think this needs a separate thread in itself.

[sourabhzen]

Though bit OT but this might be of some interest to people visiting this thread:

http://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topst...cid=spartandhp