Jan 16, 2006 09:01 PM
10345 Views
(Updated Jan 16, 2006 09:01 PM)
It's nearly a year since I wrote anything for MS, sorry folks, just lost interest, but I really wanted to write something about this car...
The Safari was India’s first true blue SUV, but Tata had rested on its laurels for too long, and they delayed the new Safari for a long long time… Finally when the new Safari came, it wasn’t really ‘new’… imagine… one model without much changes, not even a freshening up for 8 years, and finally after 8 years those misers give it a new engine and a face, that is it. The Safari no longer looks modern; neither does it feel very modern. Just look at how they have messed up the new Safari. It still looks acceptable, despite the tacky facelift, thanks to the good style of the original. But quality is utterly useless. It is unbelievable how a car can be made out of such thrash. The engine- Tata have spoilt the job big time. They took an ancient rugged engine from their rural workhorse, the Spacio, added a dose of botox (CRDi technology). But, well, like most botoxed 50 year olds, the new product sucks. Torque is 30 kgm, which is very good, and power is 115 hp. But two major factors spoil the party. The Safari weighs 2.1 tons… and feeding it just 115 hp is like asking an elephant to live a year on a tiny packet of peanuts. So there you are, pressing the throttle with all the effort you can, and after a long wait of 20 million years, the speedo shows 100 km/h. But wait, don’t get too excited! You will need to have the muscle power of King Kong to make it accelerate so quickly… But the brain of King Kong is certainly not enough to drive this mammoth… the reason?? Well, the engine redlines at 3000 rpm. Overtaking is a mind-boggling problem, and requires a year of planning. While your head is bursting with the struggle of maneuvering this heavy beast around the traffic, you realize that you have reached the redline…and then the steering wheel comes off… Reclaim your life??? Yeah right…
Notable points-
· The Safari doesn’t look rugged at all… on the other hand it looks soft, and disproportionate. Smooth chromed headlamps trying to look sophisticated look out of place in an SUV.
· The previous Safari looked handsome… but now, Tata has added flat straight headlamps to an otherwise curvy design, and this spoils everything.
· All they have done is changed the headlamps, grille, and the tail lamps… this is in no way a ‘new’ Safari.
· Instead of making a full-fledged ground up version 8 years after the old Safari’s launch, they gave it a tacky facelift and a new engine… too bad.
· The interior is very comfortable, spacious. Loads of features on top end versions. Quality sucks though…
LOOKS- 6.5/10
QUALITY- 4.5/10
INTERIOR- 6.5/10
ENGINE- 6/10
POWER- 5/10
PERFORMANCE- 4.5/10
RIDE- 8/10
HANDLING- 5/10
FUEL ECONOMY- 6.5/10
VALUE FOR MONEY- 6/10
Okay guys, I’ll tell you something… I know I have been too harsh and all that, but I don’t have any preconceived notions or any such thing. I so much wanted the Safari to be a world class product, and that amazing ad campaign bowled me over… but it is so damn disappointing…
