Was discontinuing Tata Safari Storme a mistake?
The early 2000s saw the boom of the rough and tough body on frame SUVs in India. Indigenous products like the Scorpio and Safari (later Safari Storme) were some of the major key players in this segment. Whilst Tata launched its flagship -Safari SUV in 1998, Mahindra got its legendary Scorpio after 4 years, in 2002. Time flew by and both of these Indian cars are now presented in a very contemporary manner. Though it’s the demand of time but Mahindra has kept the OG Scorpio same under the ‘Scorpio Classic’ moniker whereas it also sells the ‘Scorpio-N’ as its more premium offering.
On the other hand, Tata has completely axed its ‘X2 platform’(used in the Safari Storme) based car and brought the new gen which uses a monocoque chassis setup(based on JLR’s D8 platform). Do you think discontinuing the Safari Storme was a mistake from Tata? Let us find out.
What was the Tata Safari Storme about?
Tata Safari Storme was the updated version of the Safari. Launched in the year 2012, it was based on Tata Telcoline’s (pickup truck) X2 platform which also underpinned the Tata Hexa. This body-on-frame architecture which was designed initially for carrying heavy loads and commercial purposes was tweaked in order to adapt the multi-link rear suspension and better driving dynamics of the Storme.
Under the hood, the Safari Storme came with a 2.2-litre direct injection common rail diesel engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. This setup used to generate a power of 145bhp and 320Nm of torque. Later on, in 2015, Tata updated this 2.2-litre motor with a ‘Varicor 400’ update which boasted an updated turbocharger, extra rigid cylinder block, redesigned valve gear and a 6-speed manual transmission. This update resulted in mounting the power figures up to 154bhp and 400Nm of torque.
One thing to mention is that the Safari Storme was also a deserving successor to the Maruti Gypsy as the official vehicle of the Indian Army. It staved off its fierce rival – Mahindra Scorpio in the army’s ‘GS800 vehicle classification tests and came out with flying colors.
Safari Storme rivals – Scorpio twins
If we classify present-day conditions, many buyers are leaning towards the benefits of big SUVs. The market is also more favorable if we talk about the sales of body-on-frame diesel SUVs. Mahindra saw the love for this when they debuted the Thar 2 years ago and the brands move to sell the Scorpio Classic along with the Scorpio-N has enabled the brand to make heavy bank. It sells the Scorpio Classic to the buyer who just needs the rugged ladder frame SUV. On the other hand, the Scorpio-N is preferred by those who are willing to step for premium features with a good off-road 4×4 setup.
This is exactly what Tata could have done. It could have updated the Safari Storme and kept it as a natural rival to the Scorpio Classic and placed the current selling Safari with a different name (possibly Gravitas) placing it as its flagship car. Though Tata had showcased the current Safari named ‘Gravitas’ in the 2020 Auto Expo, keeping the Safari Storme could have added one more car to take on the SUV maker – Mahindra.
Also, if we put the Safari Storme head to head with the current Scorpio Classic, the Tata could have had an upper hand with the 4×4 setup and also a more punchy engine. Many Scorpio-N buyers would also atleast check it out. Moreover, there is not a single doubt that the Safari was a true beast in terms of road presence, muscularity and had the much loved Varicor 400 engine. If it could have been on sale, buying it over the Scorpio Classic could be sensible right? Let us know in the comments.
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