CARVERSAL

Tata Safari first made its debut in India in 1998 as a more Competitive, Luxurious, and practical alternative to the 2-door Tata Sierra SUV for ₹ 8.25 lakhs Ex-showroom India. This SUV created a segment of its own and quickly became a status symbol for many upper-class Indians (as the price was pretty expensive).

 

Tata marketed it as a lifestyle vehicle that not only is capable of performing well on city roads but can easily conquer any other off-terrain thrown at it. People aspirated this freedom well but in 2002 Mahindra launched their Scorpio in the same 7-seater utilitarian segment at a much lower price of ₹ 5.5 Lakhs Ex-showroom India, making Indians quickly shift their Focus from Safari to Scorpio. Scorpio kept on eating Safari’s Market share due to lower cost of ownership and better product mix.

 

Tata Did a lot to regain their market share – from launching a much more powerful diesel option to offering a lower spec variant at almost the same price as the Mahindra Scorpio, but till now Scorpio had strengthened itself as the No.1 in the segment.

 

The sales difference between the Scorpio and Safari kept on increasing and went on to such a point where Tata Safari Storme’s yearly sales were less than Mahindra Scorpio’s 2-week sales (that’s crazy).

 

 

Safari for Army

But even though our Indian consumers did not realize the real potential of the Tata Safari, our Indian Army did and gave Tata an order for over 3000 Safaris in 2018 for its GS800 armed vehicle category. The Indian Army tested more than 10 vehicles for their GS800 category but only found the Tata Safari Storme fulfilling all their requirements.

 

But after all this and the launch of the Harrier, Tata had to streamline their production and make Harrier their new flagship SUV and also due to BS6 coming in place, there was no reason to invest additional money on the Safari Storme project due to the sluggish demand, so in late 2019 Tata officially bid Farewell to the Tata Safari Storme.

But Mahindra is still making big bucks selling their 22-year-old Scorpio with some minor updates here and there, and people still are buying even though at the same price they can buy a New Generation well-built Scorpio-n (but still their stupid minds go towards the Scorpio Classic).

 

So clearly there is a big demand for these iconic old-school SUVs with a big legacy among the Indian audience, so Tata has some big potential unutilized by not launching a revamped version of their Safari Storme with more features, Power, Safety, and luxury.

2024 Tata Safari Storme Classic

To make a new updated version of the Tata Safari Storme, Tata should not touch the body lines, overall shape, and appeal of the vehicle but should try to play with the small bits here and there to considerably modernize their SUV.

 

At the front Tata can make subtle changes with new revamped LED Headlights with big high-beam and wide-beam functions and Tata can even go with the split light treatment where the high beam and wide beam will be placed at the lower parts of the bumper, and a new bigger grill with similar indents to those found on the new Generation Harrier and Safari.

 

On the side, Tata need not change much and keep the iconic design language unchanged, but can go with a newer set of 18-inch dual tone alloys which will sharpen the looks of the vehicle and make it more advanced,  and the fewer changes the better it would feel.

 At the back, Tata needs to keep the same upright looks but with newer LED Taillights, better more advanced-looking bumpers and that’s it, that's all we need.

 

On the inside the Tata Safari Storme had a decent interior but is not up to 2024 marks, so Tata can move forward by updating the interiors by placing a new Dashboard with better looks, fewer controls, and a big 10-inch screen at the center. A new instrument cluster with more information and visuals to make the driving experience better.

 

2024 Tata Safari Classic Price

Before getting discontinued in 2019, Tata Safari was on sale for ₹ 10-97-16.35 Lakhs Ex-showroom India (pretty high for that time). So if the Tata Safari Stome makes a comeback expect prices between Rs 12-18 Lakhs Ex-showroom India.