Tata Storme vs Mahindra XUV5OO - Which One To Choose?

[Superbad]

Except ABS, EBD & music system (Which now days people prefer getting after market) i guess there's nothing that they can shed from the LX version because things like Engine immobiliser, body color bumper, ORVM's can be found even on the lower variants of car's like EON, Alto 800, K10, Beat, Indica V2 etc.

We bought EON D-Lite+ in April and it has Body color bumpers, Engine Immobiliser, Tubeless Tyres, Headlight height adjuster, Power Steering, Rear Spoiler with stop light etc. And the OTR was 3.50 Lacs.

I am not against Storme, what I am trying to say is that these things are very common now days and won't make much of a difference. And if someone is paying around 8-10 Lacs then he would definitely want all these things present in the car especially in todays world which is full of competition.

And just imagine LX version without all these things that you have mentioned and suppose TATA prices it around 8.5-9 Lacs.
Now see what are the other options available in that price bracket !

In this scenario one of the most important thing will go missing and that is VFM factor.

Instead TATA should either decrease the price of Storme or provide more features.

+1

dont know why they feel high handed to reduce the sticker price.

remove the stereo and launch the LXat a much attractive price and i am sure it will sell in much better numbers.

in a storm , flexible trees survive, the stiff get uprooted.

 

[Raja]

@ all

A lot has been said about how the experience is in T.a.s.s . And mahindra a,s,s . I don't know how mahindra a.s.s is as I have never been there .

But I had a oppurtunity to see how the latest t.a.a.s is in Mumbai under " horizon next " strategy looks like because of our member storme 911 through pics . Which I think will be implemented across India .

Intrested members/ readers can check here

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ckles-up-horizonnext-strategy.html#post315092

Post number -10

 

[Tornado]

+
remove the stereo and launch the LXat a much attractive price and i am sure it will sell in much better numbers.

LX is already almost featureless. And suggestion to strip it off the stereo , reminds me of a dialogue between Shahrukh and Sunny deol from bollywood movie Darrwherein shahrukh says, " ek mare huye ko aur kya maroge ?

PS : Don't take literal meaning . I don't want to say that LX is dead product but stripped off product.


The buyer will have to spend the amount thus saved on aftermarket ICE. So ultimate effect is ` null and void ' for the buyer. Muncipal city buses also come with FM radio now a days , how a million bucks spender would manage without the ICE.?

And the automakers will loose whatever commission they are getting from Alpine for OE provision of their system.

Tata's poor bussiness is due to long standing bad impression built over a period of years and it won't improve by reducing price by 25 odd grands .
And non internet savvy buyers would take a lot of time to perceive the good changes associated with the storme and its ASS.Moreover they have retained a old tag ' safari' , in its name.
So for layman it is difficult to understand that storme is all new product.

 

[suhas]

In principle there are no issues with TATA team but in reality see them lacking passion or aggression which is a must to have for any winning team.

Why can't the GOVT make Ari Bags a mandatory for all CARS instead of focusing much on ground clearance?

Welcome thoughts!!

 

[Tornado]

Why can't the GOVT make Ari Bags a mandatory for all CARS instead of focusing much on ground clearance?
Welcome thoughts!!

Discussion is already going on this thread, let's do it there. http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...-sense/1550-should-airbags-abs-mandatory.html

 

[Raja]

Here it goes guys .

Here is the Story :-

On the 3rd Day after delivery , My Strome was standing on the road side and One of the passing by truck (Tata of course) tire got busted due to overweight. because of Burst force , one flying Stone Hit My Qtr Glass and my heart sank.

I take to Tata Garage within next one hour to replace , but they said they don't have qtr glass and they have to order it . Now the Story Starts from here.

1st Encounter:
As i take out the Strome from the Gate of showroom after taking the delivery, Driver Side door start making huge noise and very next day i taken back to ASS for making that door keep Quite. they said, they have fit all the doors and all nut and bolt is tight and door will not make noise again.


2nd Encounter : 8 days in Workshop for Qtr glass replacement

Day by Day Event: -

Day 0 : They don't have Qtr glass, they need to order and it will take 4-5 days
Day 4 : Qtr Glass didn't came yet.
Day 8 : ASS told, Tata send wrong side Qtr Glass and it will take another 3-4 days to come.
Day 12 : ASS told , please bring the strome. and it will take 2-3 days to repair it.
Day 14: Sorry, Tata again send Wrong side Qtr Glass and it take more 4-5 days to come.
Day 19: Finally they received ,Qtr Glass and now you can can take delivery next day.
Day 20 : ON delivery Day, The bumper got big scratched in workshop. They need one more day to repaint the bumper.
Day 21 : Finally got the SUV with Qtr glass replaced.

So after 7-8 Days standing inside Workshop, finally my qtr glass got replaced.

Height Of Patience.


3rd Encounter :-

On 10th Aug, I was going to Bhangar / Sariska though Jaipur Highway . Its started raining , i switched on my wiper leaver in slow mode and to my surprise it not working, and after that i tried 2nd mode (continuous mode) and that is also not working and i pray to GOD and move to 3rd mode(high Speed) and to my relief , this mode was working and in the entire 700 km journey i was praying , that this mode do not get failed .

IN Sariska in notice all 5 doors making huge noise which make all the jungle safari into nightmare.


Total Strome RUN 2000 KM

Very next day, i taken strome to same ASS and told them about door noise , and window making noise while moving up and down. They advise me for 2nd service and rectify door noise by replacing capture locks. Door is now all right and not making any noises.

But the entire Interior got dirty with mechanic grease hands be it seat, inside door side cloths or ceiling carpet. all was dirty. I was pissed off and they promise me dry-cleaning.

At home, i opened the back door and found that my entire back Carpet was wet . I immediately call the ASS adviser and he replied me, " no need to worry it might happened during washing and he will send the Driver to pick up the strome next day".

Forget about driver , Not even got a call from them, asking about the problem.

I decided to take my Strome to Concord Motors , delhi, they are next to my office. I shown the adviser wet floor carpet (back) and asked him to check where is leakage from, He immediately pointed out it might it be coming from Qtr glass gaps and might be the qtr glass is not properly sealed .

In evening he called and said, Qtr glass is not properly sealed and they will reseal it again and dry the water from side (below the Qtr Glass) . They cant open the Floor Carpet so i dont what damage the water done to carpet or car Interior.

Finally i got strome back today , let see if seal work this time.

 

[raj_5004]

^^^ More than the irresponsibility of the A.S.S., I am bothered about the issues which the car had. I have had bad experiences with Tata's A.S.S. and I am well aware that they take a lot of time to source parts which are not "fast moving".

Why were the doors and windows making noises? Why were the wipers not working in a brand new vehicle?

By the way, what about Tata's 'Horizon Next' strategy?

 

[Raja]

^^^ More than the irresponsibility of the A.S.S., I am bothered about the issues which the car had. I have had bad experiences with Tata's A.S.S. and I am well aware that they take a lot of time to source parts which are not "fast moving".

Why were the doors and windows making noises? Why were the wipers not working in a brand new vehicle?

By the way, what about Tata's 'Horizon Next' strategy?

I think mukul brought his car much before " horizon next " . Doors making noise was in initial batches which every tata a.s.s has to change or check .

I had a oppurtunity on Tuesday to spend a good 4 hours with storme 911 in wasan motors tata a.s.s and they too checked the doors even if storme 911 had no problems in his storme .

And the entire expreince was more then pleasurable not only did they pamper us but also were prompt and extremely helpful .

Doors in storme having problem is same like countless nigggles in xuv . ( and both being solved )

On the same grounds you can ask why did xuv had wiper problem , power sterring problem , brakes making noise problem and brand new xuv pulling to left problems and so on so forth , doors not getting closed , . you must ask that too .

The fact is both car makers are different sides of the same coin and same boat .

The above example is posted to show the inconsistent a.s.s from tata across the nation read the qoute below from décool you will see what I mean .

And " horizon next " is started to fix that , same like " with you hamesha " from mahindra to stop dealers taking owners for ride . And both will take time to get implemented across the nation .

And which was the last car tata car you owned in which year ?

I seem to be among the fortunate ones to own a nice ride and the service to back it up.

Thinking back, by 10000 kms the Honda City had bigger problems (bad clutch plate, oil leak, etc.) than STORME but I never felt uncomfortable about the support from Honda Service. I knew Honda would fix it and I feel the same way about TATA service also at this point.

Guess TML's goal would be to make every customer feel the same way. For sure, this is going to take time and definitely TML cannot ask customers to be patient while they move towards this goal from the current mess - interesting situation. Wonder how the management would solve this.

A couple of customary pics below - the top view reminded me of a blue whale (though doesn't look very good).



Sorry to know about the problem but the mileage figures are impressive. Mine is giving around 12 to 12.5 kmpl.

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.

10000 kms Update

Dealership had notified of some retrofits recommended by TML to reduce vibrations in the gear knob and to fix the issues with the rear door not engaging properly. As the dealership could not get in touch with me on the phone (had changed phone number) they showed up at my home one fine morning to fix up time for the retrofit – was quite impressed with this.

The gear knob vibrations have significantly reduced since the retrofit but no noticeable change with the rear door. (they have been working fine for me since they were fixed after the first service)

Mileage and engine smoothness seems to be improving – gave an average of 12 after a drive to Ooty and back. Very satisfied with the number, given the nature of terrain and the speed in the highways.

 

[raj_5004]

I think mukul brought his car much before " horizon next " . Doors making noise was in initial batches which every tata a.s.s has to change or check .

Ohh, my bad.

I thought these were recent experiences.

On the same grounds you can ask why did xuv had wiper problem , power sterring problem , brakes making noise problem and brand new xuv pulling to left problems and so on so forth , doors not getting closed , . you must ask that too .

I dont deny that XUV has niggles. I do say that the newer batches have lesser niggles. But then that is just a personal observation, not necessarily a fact!

And which was the last car tata car you owned in which year ?

Tata Safari 2.2, many years back.

Recently had experience with Tata's A.S.S. when I needed spares for Punto. I did not receive the parts for weeks and when I complained to the higher ups in Fiat, I got the part within 3 days by courier. I was hinted that apparently the A.S.S. delayed in ordering the parts. Do these guys wait for batch orders??

Another example of uncle's Aria in Bellary, Karnataka - had to wait for a month before he could get a replacement for his tail light and power window motor... The part arrived soon after it was escalated to the higher ups.

 

[Raja]

Ohh, my bad.

I thought these were recent experiences.



I dont deny that XUV has niggles. I do say that the newer batches have lesser niggles. But then that is just a personal observation, not necessarily a fact!



Tata Safari 2.2, many years back.

Recently had experience with Tata's A.S.S. when I needed spares for Punto. I did not receive the parts for weeks and when I complained to the higher ups in Fiat, I got the part within 3 days by courier. I was hinted that apparently the A.S.S. delayed in ordering the parts. Do these guys wait for batch orders??

Another example of uncle's Aria in Bellary, Karnataka - had to wait for a month before he could get a replacement for his tail light and power window motor... The part arrived soon after it was escalated to the higher ups.

See local a.s.s and their antics are well known for almost all car makers in India .

And this is certainly a area which tata and mahindra has to get a grip on .

People say tata a.s.s ruined the interiors which might be true too .

But with my own eyes in wasan tata I saw plastic covers fitted to seats before starting the work . ( see the polarity )

Taking full control on a.s.s pan India is something both mahindra and tata must do .

And most imp high level quality control while manufacturing the cars in first palace . Which is imp because cars must only visit a.s.s on scheduled service intervals .

But tata and mahindra as we have seen have to come upto that finnese which atleast at this point they are not 100% .

Your expreince about tata a,s,s is like you said is many years back .

I recently I mean on Tuesday went to wasan tata and I found it no different then Chevrolet . Infact better then chevorlet . A good ac loungue , coffee offered without even asking ( multiple times ) Polite staff which even allowed to see the work they were performing on cars on the floor .

My point is not show that tata is mindblowing or anything its actually far from truth . The point is inconsistently and polarity . Which I hope is with every car maker but much more pronounced with tata and mahindra .

And hence for every positive review about a.s.s of tata and mahindra there are equally negative reviews .

 

[Tornado]

Recently had experience with Tata's A.S.S. when I needed spares for Punto. I did not receive the parts for weeks and when I complained to the higher ups in Fiat, I got the part within 3 days by courier. I was hinted that apparently the A.S.S. delayed in ordering the parts. Do these guys wait for batch orders??
Another example of uncle's Aria in Bellary, Karnataka - had to wait for a month before he could get a replacement for his tail light and power window motor. The part arrived soon after it was escalated to the higher ups..

I am well aware that they take a lot of time to source parts which are not "fast moving".?

Glad to know that your XUV is serving well.
The last time I had gone to my A.S.S., I had requested them to change the brake pedals in my car, since I wanted to improve the brake bite. They claimed it was out of stock and would call me in a week when its available.
Then I flew back to UK and they havenever called. I have decided that I will mail the customer care of m&m, to make this a bit easier and faster for me.

Mahindras or TATAS, stories appears to be same for you .So similar stories and true to your present TAI signature that ' My Life is full of Stories'.

@Raja , some times I wonder why there are so many green dots bellow your avtar , thanks for being neutral and bringing forward the similarities between Tatas and Mahindras.

 

[suhas]

On the same grounds you can ask why did xuv had wiper problem , power sterring problem , brakes making noise problem and brand new xuv pulling to left problems and so on so forth , doors not getting closed , . you must ask that too

I have been told by the Dealers that Mahindra had rectified Suspension, Brakes, Clutch problems and CARs manufactured after March 2013 are free from these issues.

Is that a Typical sales pitch by dealers or there is some truth attached to this? Since I am on verge of making my decision I am more curious to get some updates on the lines. Not that I wanted to have the safest buy but would also help future buyers like me.

 

[Superbad]

the latest batches has no issues to speak of.

as it goes with indian manufacturers , they will have niggles on the (new) product launch.

they would do their rectification within a year or two.

by that average , you should be good

 

[raj_5004]

Mahindras or TATAS, stories appears to be same for you .So similar stories and true to your present TAI signature that ' My Life is full of Stories'.

@Raja , some times I wonder why there are so many green dots bellow your avtar , thanks for being neutral and bringing forward the similarities between Tatas and Mahindras.

Dear Tornado,

Where have I mentioned M&M is any better? If I criticize Tata, does that automatically mean M&M's A.S.S. is any better? I may have compared Tata & M&M on a case to case basis, but that's about it! If I need to prove that M&M is so good, why would I update my ownership thread with negative stories of them?

When it comes to A.S.S., my personal experiences with both of them have been average to poor.

If you are saying that I am biased, I am nobody to challenge your personal views!

Regarding the green dots below Raja's avatar, he sure does deserve that!

 

[suhas]

On the same grounds you can ask why did xuv had wiper problem , power sterring problem , brakes making noise problem and brand new xuv pulling to left problems and so on so forth , doors not getting closed , . you must ask that too

I have been told by the Dealers that Mahindra had rectified Suspension, Brakes, Clutch problems and CARs manufactured after March 2013 are free from these issues.

Is that a Typical sales pitch by dealers or there is some truth attached to this? Since I am on verge of making my decision I am more curious to get some updates on the lines. Not that I wanted to have the safest buy but would also help future buyers like me.

Thanks Superbad.

I am waiting to see more comments from the team.