Tata Safari Storme facelift launched at Rs. 9.99 lakh

Tata has quietly launched the Safari Storme facelift in India. The Safari Storme facelift gets minor exterior changes, major additions to the interior in terms of design and features, an improved engine, and reduced prices.

“As India’s first SUV – the Tata Safari has constantly evolved catering to varied requirements of the Indian car buyer, inspiring them to not only think big, but to also think adventure with their families. The new Safari Storme launched today is based on Tata Motors HORIZONEXT, having evolved for a more engaging and connected drive, boasting added masculinity, with increased power. The new Safari Storme has a host of integrated connectivity features for a more complete vehicle experience, new design elements to the exteriors and the interiors, for added dynamism, boldness and aggression, along with a superior road presence,” said Girish Wagh, Senior Vice President, PPPM (Program, Planning and Project Management), Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors.

Tata Safari Storme facelift Rear Left Quarter

Tata Safari Storme facelift Headlamp and Fog Lamp

Tata Safari Storme facelift Grille and Badge

Tata Safari Storme facelift Alloy Wheels

The exterior design has been given a subtle upgrade on the Safari Storme facelift. These include new honey-comb like grille and air-dam design, as compared to the slanted-slat like grille of the older model. The new grille is also available with either in Charcoal Grey or Ocean Grey colour depending on the variant. The ‘Storme’ badging on the front silver cladding is now embossed in black rather than in silver, which is more legible and not as gaudy. The roof rails have also been subtly re-designed.

Inside, the Storme receives lots of changes, this has been done after receiving a lot of criticism from reviewers and customers alike. The beige-and-wood theme has been replaced with classier looking black-and-silver theme, the seat fabrics are also dark-grey to complement the new cabin theme. The centre console and the steering wheel receive major design changes.

The steering wheel is now smaller and is a three-spoke unit similar in look to the ones found on the Zest compact-sedan and the Bolt hatchback. This unit will be a common theme across the newer Tata models, though it may not fit the Safari’s butch exterior look. The new steering wheel gets multimedia and telephony controls which were not available on the pre-facelift model.

Tata Safari Storme facelift Steering Wheel

Tata Safari Storme facelift Instrument clsuter

Tata Safari Storme facelift Front Centre AC Vents

Tata Safari Storme facelift Centre Console In-Focus

Tata Safari Storme facelift 4WD Selector

The centre console and horizontal slabs on both sides of it are now painted silver. This complements the black plastic on the upper-, lower-dashboard and around the cabin. The air-con unit and a new Connectnext multimedia system by Harman are surrounded by a chrome strip and are very well integrated into the centre console unlike the previous model.

The analogue clock placed in-between central A/C vents on the centre-console has been removed, the slot for the clock remains though and it looks very odd.

New equipment on the Tata Safari Storme include the multi-function steering wheel, the new Harman multimedia system and the addition of reverse parking sensors. The Harman developed multimedia system is nicely integrated onto the centre console, is MP3/AUX/USB/Bluetooth compatible and also offers Bluetooth telephony. The steering wheel gets controls for the multimedia system and Bluetooth telephony. The reverse parking sensors are a great boon and the display is integrated onto the multimedia display screen. No other new features have been added to the Safari Storme.

Engine and transmission

The Tata Safari Storme is still powered by the 2.2-litre, in-line 4-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine. Tata engineers have been able to tweak the engine, it now delivers a maximum power of 150 PS @ 4000 rpm (gain of 10PS), the maximum torque delivered remains the same at 320 Nm @ 1700-2700 rpm. The engine is connected to a 5-speed manual transmission, there are reports which suggest that an automatic transmission will be offered soon. A self-adjusting clutch is also being offered for the first time on the Storme, the company claims that this will reduce the effort required to operate it.

The Tata Safari Storme is now more efficient, with a ARAI-attested figure of 14.1 km/l which is an improvement of 0.1 km/l. The Storme gets a larger 63-litre thank as compared to the 55-litre unit on the older model.

The VX 4×4 variant of the Tata Safari Storme gets a on-the-fly operable electronic AWD system with a 4WD low setting as well.

rices

The Tata Safari Storme is available in 4 variants, in which one offers a AWD drivetrain. Prices, ex-shworoom Delhi are as follows:

Safari Storme LX 4×2 : Rs. 9.99 lakh
Safari Storme EX 4×2 : Rs. 11.61 lakh
Safari Storme VX 4×2 : Rs. 13.02 lakh
Safari Storme VX 4×4 : Rs. 14.35 lakh

Tata has reduced the price of the base LX variant by about Rs. 42,000 by removing some features such as ABS, side- and rear-footsteps, front fog lamps, etc. The prices for the rest of the variants remain unchanged.

The VX trim gets reverse parking sensors at no extra cost while the EX and VX trim get the new multimedia system at no extra cost.