Tata launched the Safari Storme in 2012. Although the Storme was thoroughly updated with new hardware such as a lighter chassis and a new engine amongst others, it did not make much of a mark as far as sales were concerned. This was mainly because Tata hadn’t made many stylistic changes to the original Safari. There was a dearth of features, and the sitting arrangement was old school.
To address this, Tata Motors is coming up with an updated Safari Storme that is expected to hit showrooms by mid-2015. The updated Safari Storme is expected to get minor changes on the outside — notably an updated fascia with a Land Rover-inspired honeycomb grille, an all-new bumper with a prominent chin, and updated fog lamp inserts.
However, it’s the interiors that get the big changes. First, the dashboard is expected to be all-new, and will feature a slot for a large touchscreen unit (the same one as seen on the updated Tata Aria). This screen will also double up as a display for the reversing camera. Another big change is the seating arrangement; the updated Safari will ditch the opposite-facing twin jump-seat arrangement in favour of a front-facing third row. The higher variants will also get captain seats for the second row.
Mechanically, the refreshed Safari Storme will get a more powerful 148bhp Varicor motor that also does duty in the Tata Aria. Basically, this engine is a re-tuned and free-revving version of the one on offer currently. Power delivery with the new engine is expected to be smoother.
With the aforementioned updates inside the cabin and under the hood, the refreshed Safari Storme will be better armed to take on the recently launched all-new Mahindra Scorpio.
Akbar Merchant
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
