Safari owners would tell you their wage but never their mileage. It was heavy, very heavy and could give you a heart attack if you dare attempted a lane change at highway speeds. It had a tall floor plan riding on relatively narrow tracks. There was this feeling of unintentional exclusivity which brought us Safari owners together, and on the roads, we were the only ones who saw eye to eye, quite literally. It was built, like all stuff of legend, slow and steady by the old Safari owners, like this author, who put big bucks on a taxi brand and brought home a Safari and kept it on the road, despite more popular options that flew off the shelves. Speaking of which, we must remember that the legend of Safari was not made in a day. Maybe in a vain attempt, to somehow differentiate it from that legendary Safari. I am still not able to refer to the Safari'21 without a prefix or a suffix. It's a good three row car and seems to tick a lot of boxes for a lot of folks.īut there's a small problem. The New Safari has received a lot of traction in the market and our forum, especially after the Gravitas was rechristened the Safari at the last moment (don't try Tata, we know). In this season of vaccines, Tata has also got a shot in its arm with the launch of its newest flagship, the Safari '21. Today's Safari boasts twice as much of those figures, rides on bigger wheels and even lets you see the sky while you drive. Popping the hood of the first generation Safari, riding on 15" radials, we would find a 2 litre Peugeot turbo diesel XD88 putting out 90 PS and 186 Nm.
#TATA SAFARI OLD CODE#
And every Safari has lived by that code till date.
I cannot insist enough, how integral the 4x4 trait of the Safari is, to its very existence, so for the lack of a better superlative - This is how God willed it - Safari 4x4. The 'go anywhere, lifestyle SUV' was its core identity, its raison'd'etre. At this point, we need to convince ourselves that even though the utility and the exploitation of the 4x4 capability of this vehicle may not statistically suggest a large proportion of its sales, over the two decades and four generations, it won the hearts of people. Tata Safari, as the name unmistakably suggested, was sold with the promise and potential to go anywhere, in style, and people bought into that narrative. It was solely and squarely pointed at a particular kind of discerning customer. If it did, it wouldn't have been the icon it is today. The Safari was not cheap, it was not built to cater to the masses. It elevated Tata's stature, just like the car, to a new high. The name Safari was never meant to be the mass market cash cow for the company. It was even exported to the UK in the subsequent year. The 4x4 badge and hardware, coupled with generous ground clearance, completed the off-road package. The Safari with its contemporary European lines, tall stance and roomy interiors, instantly identified it as an aspirational SUV. The SUV was a breath of fresh air above the din of small cars flooding the market, both home grown and from overseas. 8.25 lakhs back then (this is 1998, petrol was 23 Rs/Litre). The Safari was launched at a whopping Rs. The Safari completed Telco's trident "Si-Su-Sa" (Sierra'91, Sumo'94). Tata launched the Safari, as the first Made in India 4x4 SUV in 1998. But to truly understand where it all started we need to wind back the clock to 1998. When the old Safari stands discontinued, everyone wants a Safari in their garage and are singing praises and fables, few bought it when it was available.
There are a few cars in India that command the kind of attention, respect and cult status like the Tata Safari does. And somewhere, it may, perhaps, shine a light on how this generation is an inevitable departure and areas where it is an improvement over the old one. This may also provide the rest of the world with some perspective as to why many old Safari owners raised pitchforks when the Gravitas got slapped with a Safari badge. Some points may echo with fellow Safari owners, as we sit at the same height. This is an honest effort to scrutinise the new, through the windshield of the old. This is purely my personal perspective, as an old Safari owner considering the New Safari. If you're looking for an objective review of the car, that's the thread you need to look up. Preamble Note: The Official Review of the 2021 Safari is up and running on Team-BHP.
New Tata Safari - Perspective of an old Safari owner BHPian vigneshkumar31 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
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