Tata Safari Storme to launch late June or early July

Good news for all Safari lovers! Tata Motors is planning to launch the Safari Storme by the end of June or early July. The Safari Storme will be offered alongside the present Safari.

The price of the current Safari (Rs. 8.15 – Rs. 9.79 lakh) is expected to be brought down to make way for pricing the Safari Storme. Expect the Storme to be priced in the range of Rs. 9 lakh – Rs. 11 lakh.

 

Tata Motors unveiled the Safari Storme at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. The Safari Storme differs from the regular Safari in many aspects such as styling, chassis, suspension, short turning radius and improved interior quality. Watch our Safari Storme walk around video:

With regard to styling, the Storme has a Land Rover-like look, a honeycomb grille, new headlamp cluster with projector headlamps, new bumper and fog lamp housing. The side profile has subtle changes in the rear fender, foot step and door handles.

The rear of the Storme has a prominent grayish band above the chrome strip, integrated roof spoiler and chrome-tipped twin exhausts. In terms of interiors, expect the Storme to come with better plastic quality than the Safari. Fit and finish is also expected to be consistent and satisfactory. Also read: Safari Storme vs. Safari DiCOR

The Safari Storme is built on the Tata Aria’s hydroformed body-on-ladder chassis which is expected to return better ride and handling characteristics than that of the present model. The Safari Storme and the Safari are same, which means both have the same wheelbase and same body length. Therefore, the interior space in both the SUVs will almost be the same.

The Storme is a bit more urban friendly, thanks to the 5.4 meter turning radius unlike the Safari which has 6 meter turning radius. The Storme is powered by a 2.2-litre DiCOR motor that puts out 140 Bhp of power and 320 Nm of torque. This engine (similar to the one in the Aria) has been tweaked and the gear ratios have been altered in order to provide better acceleration than the present model.

With regard to fuel efficiency, expect the Storme to be a bit more fuel efficient than the Safari which has an ARAI-certified mileage of 13.93 Kmpl.

Summing up, the Safari Storme seems to be a better alternative to the Safari and if you are in the market looking for a Rs. 10 lakh SUV, it is worth waiting for a few more weeks for the Storme launch.