TATA Safari:
The Original Gangster SUV

In this blog, we have uncovered the captivating charm and outstanding features of a gangster SUV. From its history and evolution to a detailed comparison with its competitors, we leave no stone unturned. Get ready to be amazed by the TATA Safari.

Introduction:

If we heard the term ‘luxury SUV’ the names 1^st come in our mind are BMW – X5, Audi – Q5, Mercedes – GLS, Lan Rover – Discovery, Lexus – NX and the list can go on and on. But in India, this term was 1^st used for TATA – Safari but not for the current one. This was used for the previous gen Safari when it had 4×4 with its old design.

Starting of Safari:

Tata already had a better understanding in the utility vehicle segment by their Sierra & Sumo. But they were raw in nature. Now Tata wanted to target the premium segment customers.

1st Gen Safari:

So, in 1998, Tata introduced ‘Safari’ along with their little hatch back car named ‘Indica’. The Safari had 2L telcoline Peugeot XD88 from the Sierra which used to produce 87 PS of power. This SUV had mechanical differential lock. But the problem was the power was too low to handle the weight of this SUV. The weight of 2WD Safari was 1920 kg and the 4×4 variant was used to weight around 2030 kg. The price of this Safari was around ₹8.25 lakhs Ex-showroom India for the base model. Tata started to export this Safari to Europe in 1999.

In 2003, Tata introduced a 2.1L petrol engine which produced 135 PS of power and priced it around ₹9.35 lakhs Ex-showroom India.

Special Edition - Safari:

In 2003, Tata made only 600 special edition Safari which had PS-II, fridge, rear seat LCD screen, 10 cassettes with 5 speaker audio system, 130^o rear camera and this was priced around ₹11.35 lakh Ex-Showroom India. 150 out of 600 units were sold to Sri-Lankan government.

1st Facelift:

In 2005, Tata introduced a facelift of Safari. In this facelift Safari got new front grill, new alloys and most importantly a 3L Dicor engine that can produce around 116 PS power. This engine from TATA 407 pick-up.

The most important thing is this time the price of Safari was starting from ₹6.4 lakh ex-showroom India. In the history of Indian automobile industry this was 1^st time when the price of any car was dropped around ₹2 lakhs after 6 years of its launch.

Launch of Safari – Dicor:

In 2007, Tata launched Safari – Dicor. This Safari – Dicor was equipped with 2.2L diesel engine which can produce 140HP (Horse Power). This Safari – Dicor also has 2 airbags, new interior and Dicor badging. And all this at just ₹6.52 lakh ex-showroom India.

The Dicor engine was in use from 2005 but the badging started from 2007 as this engine was exclusively for Safari.

Launch of Safari – Storme:

In October 2012, Tata launched a new Safari with over 100s of changes and named this Safari – Strome. Major update was the engine other changes like new headlights, new alloys, new interiors were also there.

Safari – Storme’s New Updates:

In 2015, Safari – Strome got some minor updates like new Range – Rover inspired grill, much tuned engine. The base variant was priced around ₹13.25 lakhs ex-showroom India & the top variant was priced around ₹15 lakhs ex-showroom India.

Around the end of 2015, Tata launched Safari – Storme Varicor 400, which was the top variant of Safari – Storme. This variant used to have – Harman 6 speaker audio system, steering mounted controls, electronically foldable & adjustable mirrors, remote locking, bluetooth, reverse parking sensor etc.

Note. – Till July 2017 Safari – Dicor was still in production along with Safari – Strome.

Safari – Army Variant:

In 2018, Tata got an order from Indian army for specially built Safari – Strome under the code name GS800 (General Service). This variant produced 265HP and 800NM of torque which can carry 60% more payload, with bullet proofing elements. Around 3192 units of this specially built Safari were handed to Indian Army.

Launch of 2nd Gen Safari:

In 2019, Tata launched Harrier a monocoque – chassis based SUV. In March 2019, at Geneva Auto Show Tata showcased a 7-seater version of Harrier named as ‘Buzzard’. Around the end of the 2020 the speculation and spy shots were getting out that time Tata named it ‘Gravitas’.

On 6^th January 2021 Tata announced, forget about ‘Buzzard’ & ‘Gravitas’ this 7- seater Harrier will be named as ‘Safari’. And on 22^nd February 2021 Tata launched this new ‘Safari’ at starting price of ₹14.69 lakhs ex-showroom India. This new Safari is also a monocoque – chassis based SUV that built on the Land Rover D8 platform. The new Safari doesn’t have the 4×4 option.

Rivals of Tata – Safari:

Safari was doing great after its launch. In just 20 months they delivered 1 lakh units. But the main competition Tata – Safari faced that is after the launch of Mahindra – Scorpio in June 2002 (Click Here to read full story of Mahindra – Scorpio).

Mahindra – Scorpio launched around ₹5.5 – 6 lakhs ex-showroom India. Where as Tata – Safari’s base variant was priced around ₹8.25 lakhs ex-showroom India that too in the year 1998.

In 2012, when Tata reduced the price of Safari and brought it down to a justifiable price then Mahindra introduced XUV500 in the market, with lower price than Safari. Not only Mahindra but Toyota also launched their 2^nd facelifted Fortuner (Click Here to read full story of Toyota – Fortuner) in the Indian market. And we all know Toyota carries a badge of reliability all over the world.

So, not 1, not 2 Safari had to deal with 3 rivals at same time. The people with high budget were going for Toyota – Fortuner because their reliability and people with low budget were going with either Scorpio or XUV500 for Mahindra’s after sells service.

Safari Storme vs New Safari:

When Safari – Strome was discontinued many Safari lovers were hurt. But they were even more hurt when Tata launched the new Safari.

Some alleged that this new Safari doesn’t justify its name, it doesn’t have 4×4, ladder frame chassis and it is also not capable of doing offroad.

Despite of all these criticism, new Safari’s sales report says another story. The sales report of this Safari is quite good.

Why Tata stopped Safari Storme’s Production:

Well, there can be several reasons but according to my analysis I have found 2 main reasons and they are following,

Low Sales: Tata targeted premium customers so the price of Safari was little bit high and the after sales experience was not so good for the customers. As a result, the sales were way to low. For instance, in the year 2018 Safari’s sales was up by 42% from the year 2017, and the number of units were 6138. This number was near to Scorpio’s monthly sales. So, you can understand how the sales of Safari was.
BS-VI norms: By the end of 2018 Indian Government declared that from April 2020 BS-VI norms will be applicable. To make the Safari Strome’s engine BS – VI compliant Tata had to do heavy investment in it. And at that time, that engine was only used in Safari – Storme so due to low sales Tata decided not to do that heavy investment. So, Tata discontinued Safari – Strome.

My take on Safari:

If you guys ask me, I still love the Safari – Strome. That SUV had some other kind of charm. New Safari is no doubt a good car with advance features like ADAS, radar etc. but for me it looks like Tata – Harrier on steroids.

The old Safari’s body line, shape and the height it had those were a magical combination. A well-maintained old Safari – Strome is still have better road presence than the new Safari.

Thanks for tuning in. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post as much as I have enjoyed writing it. There’s still so much more to explore in the world of cars and bikes, and I’ll be back soon with more exciting content that’s sure, to get your engines revving. So don’t forget to subscribe our newsletter and stay tuned for our next instalment. Until then, keep on exploring all the thrilling adventures that the open road has to offer!

— by Shubhradwip Paul