Tata Safari unveiled; launch scheduled for February

Tata Motors has officially unveiled the three-row SUV – Safari in India today. The bookings for the Safari will commence from 27th January across dealerships in the country. Customers will have the option to choose from six trims– XE, XM, XT, XT+, XZ, and XZ+ and three exterior shades - Royale Blue, Daytona Grey, and Orcus White.

The Safari name plate has been resurrected with this new model which mimics the stepped-up roof and raked up rear quarter glass from the older model. Besides these similarities, the overall design has been taken over from its younger sibling, the Harrier. The front fascia features the glistening front grille with tri-arrow pattern flanked by LED DRLs on both sides. The bumper houses the projector headlight units, fog lamps, and black cladding with silver bash plate at the bottom. The plastic cladding continues on the side around the flared wheel arches with diamond-cut 18-inch alloy wheels. The rear profile resembles the Harrier with sleek split tail lamps united by a gloss black belt. The number plate is boot-mounted which also gets the ‘Safari’ badging.

The cabin of the new Safari looks well laid out with the use of Oyster White and Ash Wood colour theme. The 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system is stacked at the centre along with the aircon vents and the control buttons. Other highlights include 7-inch TFT driver display, a panoramic sunroof, mood lighting, and JBL stereo system. The talking point of the Safari is the extended length accommodating the third-row bench along with the captain and bench-type seat layout for the middle row passengers. Another useful addition is the electronic parking brake with auto-hold function.

On the safety front, the Safari packs in six airbags, hill-descent control, ISOFIX anchorage points, tyre pressure monitor system, and all four-disc brakes. It also features iRA – the connected car tech from the Indian carmaker with services such as vehicle diagnosis, over-the-air updates, location-based services, and gamification.

When launched next month, the Safari will step in the three-row SUV segment which presently comprises of the MG Hector Plus, Toyota Innova Crysta, and the Mahindra XUV500. We expect Tata to price the Safari approximately Rs 1 lakh over the five-seat Harrier. Stay tuned for further updates on the Safari.

The Safari is powered by the potent 2.0-litre Kryotec diesel engine making 168bhp and 350Nm of torque sending power to the front wheels. The transmission duties are handled by a six-speed manual transmission and a six-speed torque converter automatic gearbox with ESP based terrain modes – Normal, Wet, and Rough. Apart from that, the driver can switch between three driving modes which include – Eco, City, and Pro.