Two Enthusiasts Go Storm Hunting - Tata Safari Storme Test Drive Review

[Raja]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

So many guys on the forum have posited their initial views and test drive reports ( Gurralla , Arvi , mr ranger , myself , tornado ,sanjaysg to name a few ) , since you have done a test drive report by yourself today do you find some differences and common things in your and other views about look , fit , finish , paint quality , perfomance of the car ?

Iam asking because readers can see a common theme and factor here about the car . Which helps sometimes in forming atleast a initial opinion .

Beside this do you find the storme a vfm product , specially the lx model . As a buyer ( I know its not your type of vehicle ) assuming you are in market to buy a SUV in range of 11 lakhs which will you opt for Scorpio sle or storme lx model ? ( taking the whole picture into consideration .)

 

[TSIVipul]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

@Vipul,

Wonderful effort and a good TD report !!

Thanks buddy.

1. Why somebody need to refer physics to understand. See we need to write and speak bit of a layman terms, I mean we should explain and present in simple mans way, please do not expect the viewers of this forum are buyers are Automobile/Mechanical engineers are Physics Phd's. So please try and put your view which is very simple to understand

Sorry sir, but I guess I said something else and it's being taken some other way. DON'T YOU KNOW ABOUT PM SERVICE?

 

[mercedised]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

Nice review! The lazy behavior of the older Safari (when picking up from 1K rpm) has been carried over to Storme too according to what you felt and wrote. This is due to the fact that the Storme has got 4x4 in higher variants and to compensate for that they have to keep first 2 gears short. This might get worse with full load, as the current 3.0L I own too struggles in this regard.

 

[TSIVipul]

+100, I guess you got me right and know the reason too.

@Vipul,

3. The 3rd gear turbo-lag ?? Can you elaborate bit on this please

Actually buddy,the first and second gear are a bit too short for checking the power delivery and hence we pulled from 1000 to 3500 rpm in third gear to see how the engine delivers power in any rev range.
And turbo lag has nothing to do with gears, it's independent of it and will be there until the revs or enough exhaust pressure is developed to run the turbocharger.

So many guys on the forum have posited their initial views and test drive reports ( Gurralla , Arvi , mr ranger , myself , tornado ,sanjaysg to name a few ) , since you have done a test drive report by yourself today do you find some differences and common things in your and other views about look , fit , finish , paint quality , perfomance of the car ?
Iam asking because readers can see a common theme and factor here about the car . Which helps sometimes in forming atleast a initial opinion .

Looks: They are subjective, for me they are good.
Fit and finish: Best in class, it's better than even Aria.
Pain quality: Nothing special, same as any other car costing 14-15 lac.
Performance: Disappointing, it's far below the segment benchmark.

Rest initial opinion always depend on readers on how they wanna take the vehicle, in a positive way or negative way.

Beside this do you find the storme a vfm product , specially the lx model . As a buyer ( I know its not your type of vehicle ) assuming you are in market to buy a SUV in range of 11 lakhs which will you opt for Scorpio sle or storme lx model ? ( taking the whole picture into consideration .)

Storme LX any day, even in front of Scorpio vlx too.

 

[MrRanger]

Actually buddy,the first and second gear are a bit too short for checking the power delivery and hence we pulled from 1000 to 3500 rpm in third gear to see how the engine delivers power in any rev range.
And turbo lag has nothing to do with gears, it's independent of it and will be there until the revs or enough exhaust pressure is developed to run the turbocharger.

.

though you are ignoring fellow TAI im still enthusiast enough to point out your tests and claims.

You pulled STORME at 1000 RPM to 3500 IN 3RD GEAR do you think you done a great job ?
100% not. you would have followed companies recommendation for perfect gear shift. you are pulling STORME in 3rd gear at almost from idle.

So please justify your claim again. I want proper explanation.

turbo lag has nothing to do with gears, it's independent of it and will be there until the revs or enough exhaust pressure is developed to run the turbocharger.

My friend for some extent i agree with you but you forgot the principle of turbocharger, by pressurizing more air entering and increasing oxygen supply and adding more fuel is result to more engine torque and power, turbocharger also helps in redirecting partially burned fuel(black smoke)by supplying back to engine to maintain airflow. ok.
now the turbocharger worked well and delivered more torque but who is going to handle this torque????? once again its your GEAR brother, if engine produced more torque but vehicle is in wrong gear the inertial pull power is wasted to gain momentum or some time jerks.

i hope you did TD for those who are potential buyers of this car and IM one of them.

 

[Raja]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

Vipul wrote -Performance: Disappointing, it's far below the segment benchmark.

Can you explain this in more elaborate way ? Benchmark in what exactly ?

 

[Raja]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

@ vipul - thanx for your "subjective " opinion concerning Scorpio and Storme .

Now 1 more question

If you have to choose between a xuv and storme what will you choose and why and on what parameters and reasoning .?

@ Mr ranger - what is the correct way of finding turbo lag in a car then ? And why you find vipuls way not correct .?
I for myself did find the storme a bit lazy I have mentioned that in my mini test drive report too . And according to you what is the correct way of overcoming it ?

 

[MrRanger]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

even i never claimed storme as sporty, it is bit lagging until turbo opens(i mean upto some rpm), Here I noticed that vipul try to pull the vehicle in 3rd gear from almost at its idle (1000 rpm) this is not a very good strategy since even if you push pedal hard to higher RPM the power delivered by engine goes wasted and you cannot feel it. even scorpio also shows some laziness for this test.

If you what to feel the turbo charger then you must also follow gear switching, since modern turbo charge uses turbine to direct more oxygen inside engine if you are not pulling your car with right gear then this turbine will be bit jerky and results in less airflow into engine at this point even the RPM is at its pick due to lack of Oxygen flow lot of combustion goes wasted.
{correct me if im wrong at any point}
remember STORME didnt have a dedicated supercharger ( but supercharger also consume power generated by engine so no use)

I think my explanation makes sense, it is more practical than paper copy

 

[Nowden]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

Dear Vipul - Thanks very much for the great review. I have kept my booking on hold till my family get to take the TD in Pune. Till then, your review gives some additional feedback.

 

[babsmatter]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

@TSIvipul Thanks for the review, you have cleared most of the doubts and opened up even more new important set of doubts.

 

[TSIVipul]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

You pulled STORME at 1000 RPM to 3500 IN 3RD GEAR do you think you done a great job ?
100% not. you would have followed companies recommendation for perfect gear shift. you are pulling STORME in 3rd gear at almost from idle.

Buddy, now for once try to understand my words and the way I did it.
Have you seen the torque curve of any diesel car? All the diesel cars have enough torque to keep them moving at idle rpm even if they are in top gear and hence I did used 3rd gear for the job. Has the car stalled? Were any jerks felt? NO, because the torque delivery of 2.2 VTT Varicor is more than enough to keep the beast moving, though without urgency, it still keeps moving. I know what I did was wrong, and my own gearshift pattern is start, push till 2500-3000 and shift up and if revs fell below 2000 then shift down and my dear, I am quite used t keeping nay car in it's power band. You name the car and I'll tell you the shift style..nearly every car in the 40 lac price bracket. I guess you have understood me to be a pure novice, then let me tell you I have been driving from the time I was 15 and have already kept cars like Scorpio, Safari, Armada, Innova, Swift, Indigo, Laura and Corolla.

So please justify your claim again. I want proper explanation.

Do tell me what sort of explanation you want and I'll give you a pure technical explanation. Nothing copied from Google or Wikipedia, only everything I myself know...and if I fell short of knowledge then I guess you are there to help me out.

My friend for some extent i agree with you but you forgot the principle of turbocharger, by pressurizing more air entering and increasing oxygen supply and adding more fuel is result to more engine torque and power, turbocharger also helps in redirecting partially burned fuel(black smoke)by supplying back to engine to maintain airflow. ok.

Well, I used to think it's called 'EGR'(Exhaust Gas re-circulation), will you please explain it to me as I am short of knowledge about it and I hope you will answer some typical questions related to it for me.

now the turbocharger worked well and delivered more torque but who is going to handle this torque????? once again its your GEAR brother, if engine produced more torque but vehicle is in wrong gear the inertial pull power is wasted to gain momentum or some time jerks. [/B]

Wrong gear means the net drag or whatever you call it when balances the torque produced by the engine then the power delivery stops at the moment and vehicle then moves at a constant speed. Look at the curve shown below(X axis is rpm and Y axis is torque), this curve depicts the torque delivery of a typical turbo diesel engine. The red line represents the torque produced and the green line represents the load or say 'load torque'. Then point where these two meet is the equilibrium point or say if the load is further increased then the engine revs will fell to attain a torque which is enough to keep the load moving. All what you are mentioning is right to an extent, but not completely. MERE BHAI, HUM BHI GALTI SE ENGINEER HI HAIN!!(By mistake, I am also an engineer)

​

i hope you did TD for those who are potential buyers of this car and IM one of them.

Then bring your questions, though I have a lot of work to do, but since you have awoken a sleeping engineer hence I am ready to answer all your questions and doubts and in turn will expect a piece of your experience in every reply...please feel free to ask and answer my questions too. I love technical discussions and with you on-board I am happy now.

Vipul wrote -Performance: Disappointing, it's far below the segment benchmark.

Can you explain this in more elaborate way ? Benchmark in what exactly ?

Buddy I took the XUV as benchmark, else Storme is perfect if XUV wouldn't have been there.
See my dear, XUV five double OH, has got a different torque delivery and a wider torque spread. Where Storme seems to be running out of torque after 3000 itself, the XUV delivers good torque from 1500 to 3500 revs and mated to very finely tuned gear ratios, it has that feeling of urgency in fact performance too that's simply unrivaled in the segment. And not to forget the power to weight ratio of XUV too. I hope I am clear, please feel free to ask any more questions, I'll be free in afternoon.

@ vipul - thanx for your "subjective " opinion concerning Scorpio and Storme .

Well, practicality says it, not me. I don't need 7 seats and since I drive with one hand on gear lever, so shifting is also not an issue for me, in fact I love keeping shifting so Storme easily makes a far far better SUV as compared to Scorpio for me, at least it's stable at elevated speeds and can make my full night drives comfy and quicker as compared to Scorpy.

Now 1 more question

If you have to choose between a xuv and storme what will you choose and why and on what parameters and reasoning .?

Though I won't buy any of these, but since you have asked then. before speaking anything in favor of one or against another, let me for once check the Storme thoroughly. I never kept XUV, but only TDed it some times and I was biased towards Aria. When I drove XUV for a month I found it perfect for me and now I'll be in a state of answering this question once I do a good long drive in Storme. Till then XUV is the car which feels more suitable for me. Why? Because IT SUITS MY DRIVING STYLE, IT SUITS MY DRIVING POSITION AND FOR URBAN MOVERS LIKE ME. XUV MAKES FOR A GOOD CHOICE OVERALL.

@ Mr ranger - what is the correct way of finding turbo lag in a car then ? And why you find vipuls way not correct .?
I for myself did find the storme a bit lazy I have mentioned that in my mini test drive report too . And according to you what is the correct way of overcoming it ?

+100, I too want to know the correct way of checking the turbo lag and I am sure the vast experience of our MrRanger will help us here.

 

[dharmesh]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

Nice review mate. Detailed and self explanatory. Will definitely help many prospect buyers.

 

[Gurrala74]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

Vipul,

I am really glad to note this for the first time due to this thread that

Test Drive can be in two ways..

1) To know what is this vehicle is upto and what all it takes !
2) To see and find out what are the failure points in a vehicle !!

So both the approaches do have lot of different outcome and at times which really confuse the poor non-technical buyers !!

Please do not take this as an offence, but only observation

You are just a sedate rash driver who has more interest in higher rpms, higher speed, rash braking, rash turning, you really want to see the end of the vehicle and if it is strong enough will sustain otherwise get killed in few months !!

and the difference between your and our review is the same reason of driving style as we test the vehicle to know it, but drive in safe and proper limits always and never would like to reach the extreme ends !!

Why I said all the above, yes the TD reports can differ based on these points and make things clear to the potential buyers who now think on their own what type of drivers they are and take a call on this vehicle.

These are just my observations and not to offend anybody and please take them in a lighter and sportive way !!

 

[Raja]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

@ vipul

Benchmark of the segment is a relative thing , you give priority to power delivery were as many give priority to ride quality and comfort . If xuv has a better power delivery in low revs ( which I agree from day 1 ) it loses by a huge margin in ride quality to the storme .

As far as gizmos goes then one must not even look at storme as the xuv comes loaded with it, but we all know there have been reports of power steering failures, clutch failures and gizmos going crazy at times and rather then providing utility they are actually pain which makes service station visit quite often ( nothing serious here but still a pain )
.what happens after warranty finishes and how expensive will be the xuv to maintain with those gizmos is also yet to be seen .

Your report itself tells interior quality , fit and finish is segment best so the storme wins there too I hope ?

4x4 option the storme has a clear superior advantage over the xuv right ?

Beside being a Bol construction the storme will be more abuse friendly then the xuv here .

Warranty wise its 3 years and 1 lakh Kms plus add on warranty of 1 year and 50k . A clear ad vantage in maintaining the car over the xuv .

High and moderate speed handling (100-150) you gave more points to storme then the xuv ( here being a monoqoue xuv should have run circles around the storme ) so if the xuv can't handle as good as the storme then what is the use of superior power delivery when the car itself can make the driver nervous at high speeds ? .
important - I have never tried handling stunts on high speeds with xuv or storme iam just relying here on your report , I myself still belive xuv must handle better then storme being a monoqoue and beside its quite low slung compared to the storme .

So as per your report and view what I can gather is the storme loses on gizmos , low rev power and eagerness in acceleration compared to xuv .

But wins in comfort , ride quality , abuse friendly nature , better interiors ( subjective ) , better handling , better sound insulation then xuv ,

So iam not able to understand why did you claimed that storme is a over hyped vehicle and had disappointed you and you rejected it in first look ? ( if its subjective opinion since you like yeti type of mini SUVs more then its fine )

But to be honest kudos to you for making your review more proffesional , precise and expansive and yet very entertaining with your typical style of writing and as Dharmesh said it will help many .

 

[TSIVipul]

Re: 2 Enthusiasts go Storme hunting - TATA SAFARI STORME test drive review!!

Nice review mate. Detailed and self explanatory. Will definitely help many prospect buyers.

Thanks a lot buddy, I am humbled that you people found it useful.

Vipul,

I am really glad to note this for the first time due to this thread that

Test Drive can be in two ways..

1) To know what is this vehicle is upto and what all it takes !
2) To see and find out what are the failure points in a vehicle !!

Well buddy then you are quite late in knowing the fact. For me any TD is meant to test the vehicle every way. C'mon yaar, how can you buy a vehicle for your usage of lacs of kilometers without knowing it's true character in every condition? So for me a TD report means a report which consists at least these points:

• Good bits
• Bad bits
• Limits of the vehicle
• All it offers and the omissions
• How the vehicle behaves under various conditions?
• What is the provision for safety?
• Is the vehicle tiring to drive?
• Is the vehicle fit as per my requirements?
• And at then end, I just sit and write all I have observed..in the points where the vehicle deserves appreciation, I do it more than required,but then it's the criticism which makes the thing better, so how can you people expect me to not criticize a vehicle for what it deserves criticism?

And I guess my points have covered both the expects, and I try to cover all type of customers. By mentioning comfort, we have answered the queries related to comfort and all, by covering performance we have answered the performance lovers.

So both the approaches do have lot of different outcome and at times which really confuse the poor non-technical buyers !!

For the very same reason we use a very DESI type language and of course I am open to any kind of questions. I have tested the behavior of car from 20 kph to 120 kph or say from 150 kph on highway to 15 kph off the road. At 4300 rpm in first gear to 1300 rpm in fifth gear just to cover all the car has on offer and trying to cover every field I guess some confusions will be cleared at least. Rest you people are there to clear all other doubts and all because I can't understand what a person with a wife and two kids will want as much as you people know. What I know is how the car suits to me and hence you people can expect slight deviation between the requirements and preferences of you people and mine.

Please do not take this as an offence, but only observation

Was there anything offensive? In fact you have put up a very valid point. 100% right you are, a single TD can never give the results which are applicable to everyone.

You are just a sedate rash driver who has more interest in higher rpms, higher speed, rash braking, rash turning, you really want to see the end of the vehicle and if it is strong enough will sustain otherwise get killed in few months !!

Buddy you called me sedate driver or rash driver??
See buddy, the inputs like rash braking, rash handling etc are something which you can never ignore in India as the pedestrians or cows here are expert in giving drivers goosebumps and hence I test the vehicle if it is up to the mark for extreme situations. Considering higher speed, well this is something which is done for my own joy else speed testing has no significance in TD, only testing upto 150 kph is enough as a lot of drivers to this speed on highways in such cars. But yes, high speed and high rev testing tell a lot of hidden facts about the vehicle which you can never know if you are driving at lower speeds. The behavior of a vehicle drastically changes with speed and every driver must know how his vehicle will behave if he drive it at elevated speeds any day.
So this type of testing is also as much important as low speed testing it.

and the difference between your and our review is the same reason of driving style as we test the vehicle to know it, but drive in safe and proper limits always and never would like to reach the extreme ends !!

Buddy actually emergency situations always get the vehicle in extreme situations and I test the vehicle considering the same. To check the engine and gearbox it's important to push the vehicle in every gear upto the overdrive shows its effect.
To check the steering response and body control of vehicle it's important to do it all at a specific speed where you can get exact idea of the vehicle.
Example: You are doing 130 kph on highway and suddenly the sedan moving in front applies full brakes. Now if you also apply full brakes of your Safari then you will be riding on the sedan in a second but if you give a good steering input to change the lane with hard brakes then either your car will change the lane or will overturn and as per my knowledge if the input is okay then Storme won't overturn and if input is extremely high then it will, but then which UV won't?

Why I said all the above, yes the TD reports can differ based on these points and make things clear to the potential buyers who now think on their own what type of drivers they are and take a call on this vehicle.

+100...