Opening
The Tata Safari needs no introduction. The big burly SUV has grown over the last two decades and has now become the Safari Storme. It has been a few years for that too and last year Tata introduced the new Varicor 400 variant of the Storme with the engine tuned for better output. Still, the old oil-burner manages to sell more units and looks like it is here to stay. So we decided to try one out again, the Varicor 320 which is now available only in 2WD and EX and LX trims unlike the top-spec VX 4x4 we have had before.
The Safari Storme is affable even with its bulk. The fascia is more smiley than point blank aggressive and the grille mesh somehow remind you of the yesteryear Land Rover Freelander. The Storme is tall, probably the tallest SUV around, measuring almost two metres in height. And then comes the view from the front row of seats which is just like a private balcony for an evening opera. The chair-like seating makes you feel in command all the time.
The Safari is an old-school SUV with the ladder frame holding the engine, drivetrain, suspension and the body together. The old 2.2-litre oil burner has proven itself over the years to be a reliable workhorse. The ground clearance is at par and you can crawl over mounds or through the deep potholes that our national highways offer aplenty, without you wanting to look twice. The cabin retains the old-school charm with a plain and chunky layout dressed in the plaid combination of black and grey.
So now that we have the Safari here, the team is already planning stuff that it will have to deal over the next three months. We will try and tell you what makes this old-school SUV click with details of what we like and what not in our monthly reports. So if you want to know how it is to live with a bug burly SUV in a metro like Mumbai, tune in for our monthly reports.
