[sumithb]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Probably, someone already did.
I suggest you to take a look at ARIA before concluding on XUV. Its not because of a fan boy attitude, but ARIA is far more superior in every aspect including the fact that ARIA does NOT have a "BLING" look but has all the real need for all road conditions except the no-road condition !

The only irritating factor now is we are expecting HEXA anytime this year or early 2016 that could put you "on wait" for few more months. But, I guess, its worth a wait considering the investment you are planning to make on 4 wheels anyway.

Prem.

Had checked with Concorde, they only have 2014 manufactured models. Anyways, Aria is too big for me. The approach to my parking is going to be tricky with XUV let alone the Aria.

[varunanb]

Finally had made to the Concorde motors, which was the only showroom in Chennai to display the facelifted storme. My wife did like the vehicle especially with black interiors. Then, we took a test drive on the old storme VX 4X2. This was mainly to convince my wife. She felt our Civic's RR bench was comfortable. But did mention that the seats are definitely better than its competition which we drove a week before.

Finally we have decided to go ahead with the vehicle , but still I did insist on test driving the new Storme and Concorde has promised to get vehicle within next couple of days .

Im content with the features on offer in Storme, but one thing I need is a RR camera and navigation.

Coupe of questions,
can we install a stand alone display screen on the dash like what we have in Audi? It doesnt have to pop out.
Is there any such screen available?
If so, can it be paired with the HK system in the vehicle?

[rajneeesh]

In Delhi, the state budget will be announced today. I hope they do not increase the tax on Diesel powered SUV's. With all the bad publicity about Diesel pollution and the NGT order, the government may want to tax the people who use "cheap diesel" to run polluting SUV's and luxury cars. My Storme is yet to be delivered and I certainly do not want to pay extra for my ride.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by rajneeesh

In Delhi, the state budget will be announced today. I hope they do not increase the tax on Diesel powered SUV's. With all the bad publicity about Diesel pollution and the NGT order, the government may want to tax the people who use "cheap diesel" to run polluting SUV's and luxury cars. My Storme is yet to be delivered and I certainly do not want to pay extra for my ride.

Hahaha. Would you have changed your decision and bought a vehicle with cleaner fuel had u not booked your polluting suv.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Probably, someone already did.
I suggest you to take a look at ARIA before concluding on XUV. Its not because of a fan boy attitude, but ARIA is far more superior in every aspect including the fact that ARIA does NOT have a "BLING" look but has all the real need for all road conditions except the no-road condition !
Prem.

When I was purchasing my car recently which ended up being XUV, the problem I had with Aria was that its neither a SUV nor MUV and its big. For daily city usage its extremely bulky and thats where XUV trumpedd both Storme and Aria. My main driver for XUV over Storme was mainly the safety on offer and also more car like handling due to monocoque chassis. Offroading was anyways not a requirement for me.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by supertinu

On road performance comparison in my opinion esp on Indian roads is purely based on how crazy the driver can get . Only way to get real comparison between different cars would be on a race track with same driver. My point here is not to disagree with you guys but to contest whether that we come across on roads is very subjective, nor cause I own a XUV. I easily get trumped by swifts and dzires on the highway because I am not ready to rev the hell out of my car's engine and dont feel safe driving beyond 120-130kmph on Indian road conditions.

As I said supertinu, in my previous post, it "could" be argued that in the 2+ years I have been driving the Storme, I have by a quirk of coincidence and fate always come across below average Scorpio and/or XUV drivers.

Or, as you have added now, drivers not sufficiently crazy enough.

That said, once you reach a reasonable age and number of years riding and driving, you know when the other guy is pulling and when he is easing up.

Sitting in the cockpit of your own vehicle, its really difficult doing a long distance psych eval of the other guy. But his actions on the road are pretty clear in terms of whether he's simply driving along or actually trying to get ahead of you.

And on an Expressway, you definitely know.

[himanshugoswami]

OT:

for all those who are buying an XUV because of its safety features, here a thought.

XUV fenders are made of plastic. in the event of a head on collision, these simply disintegrate like paper and hardly accord any protection to the occupants. now ask yourself this question- what would be safer- plastic fenders or steel fenders with crumple zones?

Airbags are definitely good to have, but they are SRS, i.e. Supplementary Restraint System.

Before airbags come into play, what is critical is primary safety features- ABS brakes and structural strength of the body shell. On both these counts the storme is way ahead. In fact, the Safari was perhaps the first, and for a long time the only india car that had passed European crash test norms. To date, TML is the only car manufacturer in India that has an in house crash test facility.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

steel fenders

Are you implying that our Stormes have steel fenders?

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Are you implying that our Stormes have steel fenders?

they dont? if not steel then what metal are they, certainly not cast iron

[karthick_b]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

OT:

for all those who are buying an XUV because of its safety features, here a thought.

XUV fenders are made of plastic. in the event of a head on collision, these simply disintegrate like paper and hardly accord any protection to the occupants. now ask yourself this question- what would be safer- plastic fenders or steel fenders with crumple zones?

Airbags are definitely good to have, but they are SRS, i.e. Supplementary Restraint System.

Before airbags come into play, what is critical is primary safety features- ABS brakes and structural strength of the body shell. On both these counts the storme is way ahead. In fact, the Safari was perhaps the first, and for a long time the only india car that had passed European crash test norms. To date, TML is the only car manufacturer in India that has an in house crash test facility.

Even though the XUV has plastic fenders, it got a 4 star NCAP rating. Hence the XUV's safety is pretty good. Most cars nowadays have plastic front and rear bumpers as they save weight and are less costly than metal ones to replace.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

they dont? if not steel then what metal are they, certainly not cast iron

I'm confused. Aren't the side cladding and bumpers made of fiber? I thought those were the fenders.

[jaysmokesleaves]

I got back from another test drive of the Storme sent by Wasan motors. This was a proper long testdrive on the highway. With triple digit speeds, primarily to check external wind noise in cabin.
High speed external wind noise still persists at speeds above 110kph, though marginally lesser than my Dicor.
Also noteworthy, the tachometer was malfunctioning, at any speed and any gear it showed 500rpm. This on a vehicle with 4k something on the odometer.
Test drive vehicle was unregistered.
Today i got to see the car from inside since it wasnt raining. So i opened the rear left side cover behind the brakelights. The manual fuel lid opener is positioned there. There is a foam type cover piece with glue stuck on it to cover the brake light assembly from inside.
That foam was dislodged and was lying below leaving the brake light exposed on the inside.
Same was observed on the right rear side.
I pointed it out to the Tata sales chap,who frowned too. When i bought my Dicor 2.2 in 2008 it was just like that. Its still like that, no improvement. Its not an openly visible thing, but shows Tatas attention to detail for the smaller not visible things.
Sorry Tata, you wont get my money.

I also test drove the Fortuner automatic back to back with the Storme. I found the suspension too stiff and not worth 32 lakhs, not to mention the lack of many basic features too.
Sorry Toyota. I was hoping to buy one but your existing Fortuner sucks.

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by ebonho

I'm confused. Aren't the side cladding and bumpers made of fiber? I thought those were the fenders.

fenders are what you get if you strip the side claddings away- there's solid sheet metal underneath.

Originally Posted by karthick_b

Even though the XUV has plastic fenders, it got a 4 star NCAP rating. Hence the XUV's safety is pretty good. Most cars nowadays have plastic front and rear bumpers as they save weight and are less costly than metal ones to replace.

I said Fenders and not bumpers. Fenders are the portion that extends from teh bonnet to the wheel arch and the headlamps to the A pillar.

[verditer]

Excellent review to the detail of the latest Safari! Thanks TBHP!

Having driven a Dicor for 120,000 kms, I am very very convinced that the Safari is a very safe car, inspires a great deal of safety and confidence in you. Its something you can trust your family with.

Well done Tata. I will buy a Storme when the time comes, but my current Dicor seems to say she can go another 100,000 kilometers and more without blinking!!!

[sumithb]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

OT:

for all those who are buying an XUV because of its safety features, here a thought.

XUV fenders are made of plastic. in the event of a head on collision, these simply disintegrate like paper and hardly accord any protection to the occupants. now ask yourself this question- what would be safer- plastic fenders or steel fenders with crumple zones?

Airbags are definitely good to have, but they are SRS, i.e. Supplementary Restraint System.

Before airbags come into play, what is critical is primary safety features- ABS brakes and structural strength of the body shell. On both these counts the storme is way ahead. In fact, the Safari was perhaps the first, and for a long time the only india car that had passed European crash test norms. To date, TML is the only car manufacturer in India that has an in house crash test facility.

The fenders are technically made of Noryl GTX [blend of Polyamide (PA) and modified Polyphenylene Ether Polymer (PPE) made by SABIC Innovative Plastics, Pittsfield, Mass.]. Details here.

They are considered to be cutting edge and manufacturers around the world such as Mitsubishi, Renault, Ford, GM, Land Rover (others) use it to design fenders to increase pedestrian safety and reduce weight.

M&M happens to be the first Indian manufacturer to use them. See here.

Good read this if you are technically inclined