Tata Safari Storme VX 4x4 (Pearl White) - Ownership Review

[decool]

@decool.

The pics you post of your storme are just mindlowing I mean seriously who clicked this pics ?

Thanks Raja - clicked the recent ones in a forest area between Ooty and Mysore. There are some more pics - will post after reducing the size. ( The beast is taking me places that would I would not have considered going otherwise )

 

[Raja]

Thanks Raja - clicked the recent ones in a forest area between Ooty and Mysore. There are some more pics - will post after reducing the size. ( The beast is taking me places that would I would not have considered going otherwise )

Eagerly waiting for the pics . Btw do you think your money is well spent on the storme ?

 

[decool]

Eagerly waiting for the pics . Btw do you think your money is well spent on the storme ?

Of course - I am so glad with the decision to go with the STORME. Though I tried to evaluate the options as objectively as possible, final decision was driven more by the 'FEEL' behind the wheels.

Perhaps this had something to do with the heart / emotions but even at the time of purchase there was some doubt in my mind about the niggles and TASS that many friends had warned about.

Today the doubts are gone and am truly happy with the STORME as a overall package (looks / performance / service / road respect, etc. ). Issues may come in the future but am confident now that TASS (SCHAKRALAYA MOTORS) will take care of them.

Some more pics from a forest trail and in the midst of a tea estate.

 

[suhas]

Excellent pictures.

 

[decool]

6 months update

Was planning to provide the next update at 15000 kms only. However today happens to be the 180 th of taking delivery of the beast and while waiting at traffic lights around 9:00 am there was a loud burst somewhere from the rear of the vehicle. I could see other vehicles moving away and then only I realized it was from my beast.

Thought i had a punctured rear left tyre. Got down to check out what happened and everything looked fine. After leaving the place and driving for a few kilometers I realized that the air con was not working. Have called TASS and they mentioned possible cause is leakage of a/c gas due.

What a coincidence for this to happen exactly after 180 days . Will post details after getting the issue fixed.

 

[makthegangster]

6 months update

Was planning to provide the next update at 15000 kms only. However today happens to be the 180 th of taking delivery of the beast and while waiting at traffic lights around 9:00 am there was a loud burst somewhere from the rear of the vehicle. I could see other vehicles moving away and then only I realized it was from my beast.

Thought i had a punctured rear left tyre. Got down to check out what happened and everything looked fine. After leaving the place and driving for a few kilometers I realized that the air con was not working. Have called TASS and they mentioned possible cause is leakage of a/c gas due.

What a coincidence for this to happen exactly after 180 days . Will post details after getting the issue fixed.

what happened further?

 

[hydsafari]

6 months update

Was planning to provide the next update at 15000 kms only. However today happens to be the 180 th of taking delivery of the beast and while waiting at traffic lights around 9:00 am there was a loud burst somewhere from the rear of the vehicle. I could see other vehicles moving away and then only I realized it was from my beast.

Thought i had a punctured rear left tyre. Got down to check out what happened and everything looked fine. After leaving the place and driving for a few kilometers I realized that the air con was not working. Have called TASS and they mentioned possible cause is leakage of a/c gas due.

What a coincidence for this to happen exactly after 180 days . Will post details after getting the issue fixed.

Waiting for an update decool.

 

[decool]

6 months update (contd ...)

Have been busy the last few days and could not update on the issue earlier.

So, I called up the dealership and they asked me to verify that temperature was not raising just to make sure the coolant supply was intact. ( the boot could not be opened after the burst occurred and so could not visually check that out ). The temp was nothing unusual and was able to drive to the dealership.

On checking, it was confirmed that a bolt connecting 2 a/c pipes had cracked that had led to the a/c gas escaping violently leading the our burst. I was very upset with a bolt crack resulting in another problem (the previous one related to left turn radius becoming wide due to another bolt crack).

Dealership connected me with TML South Region Head to discuss this - though TML had promised to get to the bottom of this issue, I did explain to them the disappointment with the issue.

Looks like the bolt had been supplied by TVS but TML is yet to ascertain if this is a one off issue or other STORME's may be affected. If TML concludes that a batch of vehicles may be impacted they will go for a pro active replacement of this part.

Dealership promised to get the problem replaced in as quickly as possible but asked for 3 days time as this part was available only in Pune and Lucknow.

The promise was made on Fri eve, I was called on Mon to inform that part had reached Bangalore and on Tue to confirm that the part had been received. On Wed, dealership picked up the car, fixed the problem, gave it a nice wash and vacuum and returned it back with everything in working order. More importantly the bill amount was zero.

Though not impressed with this problem happening, was quite happy with the way the dealership and TML responded to it. In fact, I was even offered a replacement car while the problem was getting fixed but I didn't take it as I had my Honda City as back up. (The STORME was also in working condition except that the aircon was out).

Here is how i feel now - My confidence on the product is somewhat shaken even though everyone I spoke to mentioned that a bolt cracking in the aircon line in a very exceptional case (aircon tube cracking happens more often, apparently ). Still happy with the way the problem was handled.

 

[smooth rider]

happy to note that Tata ASS has improved.

 

[rakeshkn]

Great pics, Storme looks awesome in white. BTW how is 4x4 experience?

 

[decool]

Great pics, Storme looks awesome in white. BTW how is 4x4 experience?

I was having a really good time with the 4x4 on the beaches until I got the beast stuck due to my poor handling. ( u can check out details in one of the earlier posts). Haven't used that much in the last few months except for once in yercaud when I got stuck on some slushy terrain and got out using 4H.

Sometimes I even think if I went overboard in going for 4x4. However, its only when there is some kind of a not so normal situation (which seems to happen pretty often for me lately due to heavy rains or somekind of detour to unknown terrain) , the 4x4 comes in handy.

Many times 4x4 may not even be required to get there but then without 4x4 i might not even try such terrains. For example, when in ooty, there was a look out point we were trying to get to and then we saw a number of cars parked about half a mile from where the actual spot was (as there was no road). Hesitated for a moment about using 4x4 to get there (as I was with family) and then decided to try out anyway and got there without any issues.

In the next 15 minutes most of the other cars followed the track to get to the spot. I was very pleased that the experiment worked and having the ability to try out things that would otherwise require lot more courage and risk taking ability.

 

[decool]

15000 kms update

Hard to believe it is already 9 months since “H” (that’s short for Hidalgo which is the name for my safari) joined the family. Still excited like the first day (I know, it sounds weird!) and in fact some people think I am going thru a mid life crisis. For the record, let me say, I just love my ride.

Was planning for a road trip with some colleagues and so took H to TASS for a general check up on a Saturday (30/Nov/13) afternoon. Though the ODO was not yet 15K, TASS recommended getting the 15K service – I was ok if they could complete it by end of day. Guess what, they obliged and the service was done and delivered by around 07:30 pm. This is one aspect of SCHAKRALAYA Motors that really amazes me – every single time they have exceeded my expectations, be it is regular service or an ad-hoc one.

On a slightly different note, had my brother’s Volkswagen Vento serviced in Pondicherry (STAR Cars) recently and they gave me a sense of reality – communication (regarding work done, cost, readiness for delivery), actually experience at the service centre, cleanliness of the vehicle post delivery – everything was a complete mess. Had to escalate the issue at multiple levels and finally to their GM. Suggested sending their staff to SCHAKRALAYA Motors, so they could learn how to handle a customer and service.

That’s how good TASS experience has been for me – after nine months, 3 free services and few more miscellaneous services with SCHAKRALAYA Motors, I really think TML is moving towards HORIZONEXT (at least from a services stand point).

Nothing major to write about the service itself – the regular draining of fluids, refill, rotation, wash, vaccum, etc. As such I had very few complaints,
1. A bit of vibration in the gear knob - fixed.
2. Front passenger door not engaging properly while closing – fixed.
3. Some air coming through the front passenger side window. TASS confirmed about a defect in the beading and have promised to replace it as soon as part arrived.
Should get this fixed during Christmas holidays.

Some pictures after the service. Road trip updates coming up soon.

 

[decool]

Road trip to Anantapur, AP

A colleague was getting married at Anantapur in Andhra and can there be a better opportunity for a family man to indulge in a road trip with some friends? So, we started on a Friday late afternoon on a trip that should have been around 420 kms and 6.5 hrs.

There was some unrest in Andhra due to the recent decision about splitting the state and on top of it we took a not so regular route to the destination – so it became one loooo..ng drive with a total time of nearly 10 hrs and more than 500 kms.

Of course, it was lot of fun but I will cover only aspects related to the drive.

Was able to confirm two more aspects related to the STORME in this trip,

1. Suspensions are just TOO good: I am yet to drive another vehicle that can handle pot holes and speed breakers better. As we were delayed due to detours and other stops, after a while started rolling over speed bumps without slowing down sufficiently and was really surprised at how well ‘H’ handled them.

Planning to check that everything is fine, next time I get the chance. As of now, there is not a single creek or vibration from anywhere. Actually, I’ve been sharpening my ears to hear something from the door, seats or wheels (with no music) – Nothing.

2. Disc Brakes / Steering work REALLY, REALLY well: Couple of unexpected situations occurred during the trip.

First one, a dog trying to run cross the road suddenly froze and had to brake suddenly and swerve to the right to avoid a roadkill. ‘H’ handled it just fine (at about 80 kmph) and it didn’t feel like I was trying to brake / swerve a 2.5 tonne machine.

In the second one, was doing around 90 kmph and accelerating, to pass a minivan - this was well in the night and it appears the minivan had slowed down considerably to handle a bad patch of road. Somehow, in the absence of brake light and the unlit road, failed to realize this till I got too close to the minivan. That was one massive brake and a massive swerve – without a bit of luck and a really good vehicle, things could have gone really bad. Except for marked increase in my heart rate (and perhaps of other friends) things went just fine.

In the return journey, was very tired and maintained the speed around 80 to 90 kmph and could see the mileage improve to 13 kmpl. ODO now is at 16800.

Below are some pictures from the trip. (the last pic is at the end of trip at home)

 

[vikyjoshi]

hi Decool, can you point me to the location where you purchased your Chrome trims? You have an eye for design. The Chrome highlights look just perfect and pass off as OEM ones.

 

[decool]

hi Decool, can you point me to the location where you purchased your Chrome trims? You have an eye for design. The Chrome highlights look just perfect and pass off as OEM ones.

Thanks Vikyjoshi. Bought the chrome strip rolls from the US - they are manufactured by a company called 'COWLES PRODUCTS' and they seem to sell them through online channel also - please check out their website.

Chrome trim would be awesome in Urban Bronze and you can also consider along the side claddings (as an alternative to around the windows). If you choose to do it, go for 1.0 inch width for exterior (what I have used in 0.5 inch) and 0.25 inch for interior.