The Hindu Business Line : The Dicor Safari

THE Tata Safari was one of the first real, full-bodied sport utility vehicles — that the gentry could use with equal felicity to go for the business power lunch as for the weekend get-away. But with Tata Motors getting busy with its other vehicles, the Safari was tending to fade from minds of the SUV customer.

But the company's product team was bent over the the vehicle for the past two years or so, and come up with an upgraded version, including a new engine option.

The new Safari Dicor (short for direct injection common rail) will meet Bharat Stage III emission norms that became the standard in April.

The Safari upgrade was long overdue, though even the earlier version was never found wanting on rear seat comfort.

So, the partial redesign and the upgrades really had to focus more on improving the Safari's appeal and features than its driving dynamics.

Therefore, the mandate seems to have been clear for Tata's engineers — Modernise the Safari's looks and load it with gadgetry to give it an edge over its rivals in the market.

Further, by retaining its old turbo-charged, inter-cooled two-litre diesel engine too as an option, Tata Motors has managed to give the new Safari a fairly wide price spread — Rs 8 lakh to Rs 14.2 lakh.

The new Safari is surely more refreshing, but essentially sports the same old panels. Body panels, body side cladding and bumpers have all been retained with minor modifications. Panels have been given edges with a deeper curl to reduce the risk of injury to pedestrians.

The new Safari gets a redesigned, clear-lens type pair of headlamps, a new grille that sports chrome lipping and horizontal slats, and a new bigger central air-dam and clear-lens type fog lamps integrated into the front bumper. The outside rear-view mirrors have been changed and the new ones look sturdier and offer more visibility for the driver.

The tail lamps are also new, though the basic shape and dimensions have been retained. New, twin circular reflectors have replaced the older rectangular, stacked orientation of the brake light, reverse and turn indicator bulbs. Additional stop lamps have been integrated into the rear bumper and the high mounted stop lamp in the spoiler have been retained.

The other exterior features include a body-coloured spare wheel cover, which has a chrome finished Safari logo emblazoned on it in the higher trim variants, new roof rails and a camera on the bumper positioned below the spare wheel for assistance during parking and reversing the car.

Called the reverse guide system by Tata, the Safari's top-end variant gets this weather-proof camera, which puts out a 130 degree view of the rear compacted into a two-and-a-half-inch screen incorporated into the inside rear-view mirror.

The interiors of the new Safari have also been upgraded. Across all the variants, the changes include better quality dashboard plastic giving the new version a soft, non-reflective finish, anti-submarine seats, can holders in the middle console, spot type reading lamps, puddle lamps to light the area just outside the Safari's doors, an electronic instrument cluster and ignition key illumination.

The higher trim, higher priced variants also get other features such as analogue clock, manual seat height adjustment for the driver, scuff plates, side foot-step, alloy wheels, leather upholstery, designed gun-metal type finish for the centre console insert and an in-dash DVD-player with dual LCD screens incorporated into the front seat headrests.

Some of the other features, such as the tiltable, power-assisted steering, dual air-conditioning system with blowers for the second and third rows (roof-mounted), central locking and so on, have been carried forward too.

Of course, the biggest change in the new Safari is not visible from the outside. Inside the bonnet is a new 3-litre common rail diesel engine that Tata Motors has developed with help from Delphi's common rail injection technology. The new injection system incorporates a new 32-bit microprocessor for monitoring and controlling pressure, quantity and timing of injection.

The new engine generates a maximum power output of 115 PS, just a shade lower than the segment leading output of the Ford Endeavour. The new Dicor engine is also easily one of the most torquey in the segment with a peak output of 300 Nm within a low rpm band of 1,600 to 2,000.

The new engine has upped the performance parameters of the Safari, offering it a renewed focus in addition to its traditional positive attributes. But poor noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) packaging and the loud air-conditioner fan push up cabin noise levels.

The older 483 DL turbo-charged, inter-cooled engine has also been spruced up to meet the Bharat Stage III emission norms. However, this 1,948cc engine clearly trails the new comer on performance, with a peak power and torque output of 90 PS at 4,300 rpm and 190 Nm at 2,000 to 3,000 rpm respectively.

The 2.1-litre petrol engine also continues to be available. A four-wheel drive option is being made available across all the seven trim variants of the three engines. The gearbox quality is good and on a par with the best among SUVs in the segment.

The new Safari, like any other Tata passenger vehicle, scores in the key `value for money' parameter. With the higher trim variants also getting premium safety features such as dual airbags and anti-lock braking systems, the Safari should appeal to the more discerning customer.

But the factor that could prove to be the biggest drag on the Safari, especially for its higher trim variants, is its fit and finish quality.

Despite the Safari's improved paint job and better quality material for the insides, wide panel gaps and poor edge matching continue to mar the finish.

As such, the top-end variant will more than match the features offered by others such as Ford Endeavour, but not in terms of finish.

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