Nov 21, 2006 09:58 AM
18350 Views
(Updated Nov 21, 2006 10:04 AM)
I came back to India after nearly 13 years in the Gulf, reluctantly leaving behind a Landcruiser V6 that I had driven over 5 years. On reaching shores in 2004 the first task was to get to my car. I drove all the SUV's around including the Scorpio, Terracan, Forrester, Pajero (Indian version), Vitara and finally ....hold your breath I selected the Tata Safari - EXi (Petrol version) 4x4. Simply this one is for those with more heart than head!!!!
What I liked about the car was that it came with everything I wanted, ABS with EBD, SRS, on-the-fly shift 4x4,etc which I was used to. The critics had demolished this car for its fuel guzzling habits - but for that solitary factor I didnt want to reject it. To me the petrol vs diesel decision occurs at the point where your estimated daily mileage is about 80kms (roughly 2500kms a month). My choice was to have the car help me rediscover India. My test drive revealed that the car was a beauty. When I walked into the Tata Motors office asking for the Petrol version they thought - well here's a nut!!! Now let me tell you all why I am writing this review after 2 years and 27000kms of driving all over India. Heres what I have logged in the car so far.
Chennai - Bangalore- Mangalore- Udipi-Karwar-Goa - Hubli- Chennai.
Chennai - Coimbatore - Thirussur-Guruvayur-Calicut-Mysore-Bangalore-Chennai.
Everynook and corner of Tamilnadu (upto Kanyakumari in the south, down the east coast coonoor in the west and all around central Tamilnadu)
and finally the mother of all road trips - Chennai to Leh and back.
InJuly this year we did
Chennai-Bangalore-Pune-Mumbai-Udaipur-Jaipur-Delhi-Chandigarh-Manali-Jispa-Leh-
PangongTso-Nubra Valley-Srinagar-Jammu-Amritsar-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Pune-Bangalore
-Chennai.- 9200kms in all at one go.
(you can see the photos at: https://picasaweb.google.com/chennai.to.leh)
Excepting for the Leh trip where I did with 3 of my good friends, the rest was just me with wife and kid. So after all this what did I find in the car
The vehicle did not let me down in any manner whatsoever during my entire road trips. We didnt have even an electrical failure in all my trips.
I have not done any breakdown maintenance excepting for the regular maintenance runs prescribed in the manuals.
Ride comfort and quality is at pecking order - I have clocked 14 hours and 1000+kms in a day only to have a relaxed evening and fresh start the next day.
Its like driving a car, and despite all the critics IT IS A KING on the road. All vehicles give it respect.
Absolutely safe and secure and a great cruiser.
The only short coming is the fuel consumption from the perspective of my peers. To me you cant get a great mileage when you drive a 2 tonner, 135ps petrol engine with all the stuff and weight it carries - but what you get is the vibration free ride quality, lesser maintenance and a great drive. There is not a time when I have left people on the road gaping as I whizz past them.
So I think from my own perspective I am getting bang for the buck. I know a lot of drivers think I am raving mad......but at the end of the day this car belongs to my heart........
