Launched two years back in domestic market, Tata Safari’s upgraded version, Safari Storme could not replicate the success of former and fell prey to snail paced sales. Needless to say, the company is developing a facelift variant of the SUV for obvious reasons. From what we have known so far, this tweak will be a comprehensive one. The SUV is expected to be better equipped and more agile. Tata Motors could bring forth new Safari Storme sometime early next year. Media reports opine that tweaks have been made largely based on the feedback received from customers.
External revivifications comprise of a redesigned front bumper and grille, while the semblance of the vehicle has been retained. Most of the modifications have been to the cabin to make it more upmarket. Inside the cabin we could expect a new infotainment system, restyled dashboard and new upholstery. Unlike the previous variant, Storme facelift is likely to come equipped with front facing last row of seats. Power will come from the same engine housed in Tata Arai. The robust engine is capable of generating peak power of 150 PS along with top torque of 320 Nm. The engine will be matched to a five-speed manual gearbox. Other mechanical revisions include tweaked chassis for improved ride and handling. There could also be a change in turning radius which otherwise is quite large compared to other SUVs in its segment. There is no possibility of an automatic variant for now. On the price front, since this has been one of the reasons for low popularity of the SUV, hence we expect that Tata will work on it and try to bring down the price a tad. As for the competition, the SUV will face contention from rivals including new Mahindra Scorpio, Renault Duster and Mahindra XUV 500.
