Take one look at the Tata Safari Storme and you’d be forgiven for thinking not much has changed. Aside from a few cosmetic changes to the grille, bumpers, headlights, and taillights, everything looks identical. But strip away the visible layers, and the Storme is a totally different car from its predecessor.
Until now, the Safari was built on the old Tata Mobile chassis from the late 1980s, but with the new vehicle, they have used the hydroformed body on the X2 platform. This is good because this new chassis is 50% more rigid and, at the same time, it weighs 35 kilos less. Other things cause the Safari Storme to lose 75kg in weight, but it is by no means a sylph as it still tips the scales past the two tonne mark.
The Safari Storme is powered by the same old VariCOR 2.2-litre 4-cylinder diesel engine (remember the DiCORs from the old Safari? It’s the same thing) making 138bhp and 32.6kgm of torque. Fuel economy is pretty decent; This SUV gets around 10 kpl in the city and a little over 13 kpl on the highway. This engine has a linear power delivery and can pull the car pretty well until the tach hits 4500 RPM; though keep in mind that things get pretty loud once you get past 3500 RPM. The short-throw gearbox feels real, but it takes a bit of effort to operate. If you’ve driven the previous Safari, one improvement you’ll immediately notice is the fact that the Storme feels much smoother and more refined. And thanks to new soundproofing features, the passenger cabin is also much quieter. Also adding to this sense of refinement is the new coil-spring wishbone suspension at the front. A wider track at both ends increases stability, but not as much; Go through winding roads at high speed and it feels like trying to run on a waterbed.
Safaris of old have been notorious for their quality of being extremely dubious. Tata Safari Storme reviews have been going on on this topic for a long time, but this has been largely addressed in the new Storme. The interior plastics, soft-touch materials, and chrome accents in certain parts feel really good. However, some other parts still feel like cut-price pieces; such as power window buttons, air conditioning control knobs, seat adjustments, old audio system, etc. While the center row of seats is very comfortable, the front and back rows are sadly not. The seat back is about as straight as chairs found in a school and with the back row essentially folding seats, they are best used only for (very!) short hops. But overall, the quality is much better than it used to be and so is the ergonomics.
Although the top-end variants are not easy on the wallet, the car is good value for money. With the Tata Safari Storme price range ranging from Rs 12.5 lakhs to just under Rs 18 lakhs depending on the variant and where the purchase is made, Tata Motors has unveiled a well-equipped SUV that is steps away leapfrogged from its predecessor in many ways.
