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Safari on the wilder side

The Tata Safari gets the muscle to transform it from a lazy giant into a purposeful leviathan. Ashish Masih takes a good, hard look at the new DICOR

CHANGE OF FACE The Safari looks new and promising when viewed front-on, freshened up from behind_ and simply a bit too familiar in profile

Ever since its launch in 1998, the Tata Safari has been the only true-blue, large-sized SUV in India, this side of Rs 10 lakh. The car has always demonstrated key SUV qualities - tough looks, great presence and an awesome cabin. However, from the beginning it was fraught with problems, and like most Tata products, wasn't perfect out of the box. Over time, many of the Safari's flaws have been ironed out, and the only big ingredient that marred its success potential till now had been its rather puny 2000cc indirect injection diesel engine, which produced only 90 bhp.

Things have changed today, and after a spot of R&D, Tata Motors has finally rectified the problem. What's under the hood of the Safari today is a 3000cc common rail diesel engine, which packs in a whole litre more of displacement than the previous unit. While the basic engine block has been borrowed off the Spacio/ Tata 407 pick-up, the addition of a common rail head, and then a bit of tinkering around with the combination has ensured that power is up by 25 bhp from earlier - a decent 115 horses are available today. But more on this later.

Plastic surgery

The Safari's spacious interiors have always been one of its biggest strengths. It's no different in the DICOR, where seat comfort has actually improved, making this one of the most comfortable SUVs at any price. Sitting at the rear is a treat, with the new comfortable armrest, perfect seat height, spot-on backrest and sufficient legroom. The new leather seats on this version are well finished, have better padding and are more supportive. The evolved instrument panel now uses legible circular dials - similar to the Indigo and Indica. The tachometer is calibrated only to 4,000 rpm, in nice, large 1,000 rpm segments, the redline starting at a low 3,000 rpm.

The rear jump seats are unfit for human use over a period exceeding five minutes. Flipping the rear seats forward releases a huge amount of space, more than in most estate cars, making the Safari one of the best load-haulers around. The new Safari also gets video screens in the front headrests. Tata has loaded the Safari with other thoughtful details like puddle lamps and an extra electrical socket for the rear, which add up to equipment and a features list as long as some SUVs that are more than double the price.

Run of the mill

Start the motor up and it shudders to life. Idling is lumpy - you can feel considerable vibration as you release the heavy clutch, and this only tails off when the engine finds its breath at around 1,500 rpm. Power delivery below this engine speed is not impressive and that ready tug you normally associate common-rail diesels with, as in the Scorpio, is somewhat missing. This means that the DICOR is not all that effortless to pilot during bumper-to-bumper crawls, where instant throttle response is a boon. But spin the motor faster; get the turbo on boost above 1,500 rpm, halfway up the short powerband, and the Safari quickly ditches lethargy.

The motor is definitely in shove mode now, with the 30 kgm of torque nicely overcoming the pavement-crumbling 2.2-ton kerb weight. But before you know it, you have to upshift quickly simply because the engine runs out of steam at 3,500 rpm and there is a fair amount of vibration when you near 3,000 rpm.

Beyond the three-digit mark, the DICOR doesn't give up easily either. It gallops steadily to 120 kph in 27 seconds. In contrast, the older Safari wheezed past the same figure a whole 15 seconds later! In-gear acceleration is also far superior, which makes the DICOR easier to drive than the earlier Safari. Where it particularly excels is on the highway, with its very tall gearing and generous supply of torque. The low-revving unit feels unstressed and relaxed and noise levels too, while cruising, are very acceptable. The best part is that overtaking is no more an exercise that needs a month's planning.

A mere flex of the right foot produces an immediate step up in pace to take you past slower vehicles. The DICOR can cruise effortlessly at 140 kph in fifth gear all day long, with the tacho registering a lazy 2,700 rpm.

Another huge improvement is the gearbox. The quality of shifts is much better and finally Tata has exorcised that horrible grating sound at low rpm, a longstanding gearbox glitch.

Needless to say, under the skin, Tata has effected changes as well, most of them to help deal with the 100-odd extra kilograms of the DICOR engine. But handling and body control are not the car's strengths.

A very useful gimmick only available on the top-end VX version is the rear-mounted camera which gives you a good view of the road behind via a small screen on the rear-view mirror that comes on when you select reverse.

Safety comes first

Keeping with the recent trend of offering customers a variant with active safety features, the VX version we tested came with ABS and dual front airbags.

However, the Safari's brakes need to be seriously improved as they do cause you some anxious moments. More braking power, better pedal feel and linearity are certainly called for.

The DICOR is available in three trim levels. The base LX at Rs 8.7 lakh is competitively priced and is a mere Rs 1.1 lakh more than the original version.

The top-end VX comes with all the bells and whistles earlier found in Limited or Special editions of the Safari, but this pushes the price up dangerously into Ford Endeavour territory. The warranty package on the new Safari is the same as before - 18 months with unlimited mileage but for a nominal Rs 3,950 you can buy an additional 18 months' peace of mind.

This is something we would strongly recommend that you consider, as you step towards that Tata showroom.

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