Black color theme, silver inserts and a new steering wheel heighten the perceived quality of the cabin.įront and rear seats, which have always been supremely comfortable, continue unchanged but we would’ve liked an improved driver ergonomics. The faux wooden inserts have been replaced by silver elements to blend better with new color theme and the subtly revised centre console now incorporates a new HARMAN audio system console (pre-facelift version’s music system had an after market feel in the way it was incorporated into the dashboard). The new multifunction steering wheel which is inspired by that of Zest do spruce up the dashboard’s overall appearance. InteriorĬhanges on the inside are relatively more noticeable primarily because of the new all-black color theme. The roof rails are no more color coordinated and that’s where exterior visual changes end. So what has changed? The front grill and secondary air dam receive new black honey comb meshing instead of chrome finished vertically-oriented rectangular elements and the ‘STORME’ typeface on the chrome grille headliner is now black in color. Unless both pre-facelift and newer versions are parked side by side, one would be hard pressed to point out the visual differences. Unfortunately, with the facelift, the company has missed another great opportunity to impart a fresh appeal into the off roader. The grille and secondary air dam get different meshing and that’s pretty much it. In short, we think not being distinctive enough is Safari Stome’s Achilles heel. In their defense, Tata Motors officials stated that the core character of the design was kept intact to retain the loyalty old car commanded from off road enthusiasts. This strategy may have given the new gen SUV a reasonably stable monthly sales figure but it never really helped the bottom line. When it was launched in 2012, Tata Safari Storme was clearly a next generation product in its own right with an all-new hydroformed chassis, improved engine and new interiors but the designers settled for a philosophy that was too close to its predecessor (which is being sold alongside). In an attempt to bring it to the fore, Tata Motors has introduced a minor refresh for the 2015 model year and we lived with one for a good part of a week to find out if the brawny SUV gained the X factor which was missing before. Tata Safari Storme offers all the above and some more but, much to the company’s annoyance, it’s sales figures are nowhere close to the segment leader.
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