For the better part of a decade, the Tata Safari’s natural rival has been the Mahindra Scorpio. The Scorpio has clearly always scored the upper hand and for good reason – it has gone from strength to strength with substantial updates, which include three new engines and a suspension overhaul. The Safari, meanwhile, has been on the defensive. Despite its share of revised engines and facelifts, it has consistently lost to the Scorpio in our comparison tests. The only way the Safari could compete was with price and, over the years, it has gone from being significantly more expensive than the Scorpio at its launch, to finally undercutting it.
Now, the latest Safari avatar has got all-new mechanicals, fresh interiors and improves on the strengths of the old SUV while addressing a lot of its weaknesses. However, these advances come at a cost. The top-end Storme 4x4 VX costs a whole Rs 1.89 lakh more than the Scorpio 4x4 VLX mHawk, and this brings us to an age-old question: Is the Safari worth the extra money or does the Scorpio still have the stronger sting?
Uday Singh
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
