Reference Auto

The new SUV, Tata Safari Storme, could give a fillip to Tata Motors earnings in a lean season as the SUV has already logged bookings of 6,000 within a span of 30 days and has really stormed the market during its initial push.

Tata Safari Storme is priced in the range of Rs 9.9 lakh-Rs 13.66 lakh, which is on the economical side. The SUV comes in four variants - LX, EX, VX, and VX 4X4/4X2.

The Safari Storme features a 2.2 litre engine and comes with 142 ps power, 320 Nm torque along with a five-speed manual gearbox.

It also comprises ABS, disc brakes and sharper and shorter turning radius.

The Variable Turbine Technology (VariCOR) technology used in the car ensures a smoother and steadier drive even at very high speeds. 

The fuel efficiency is around 14 km to a litre, which is commendable for an SUV.

The rectangular body and headlights of the SUV indicate that the Storme has been inspired by the Range Rover.

The inside of the new Safari Storme is very snazzy with wooden interiors on the dashboard and door trims give a fillip to the overall look of the car. The interiors somewhat are similar to the Tata Manza.

Head of Tata Motors utility vehicle group Ashesh Dhar was upbeat on the Storme, saying, “We are eyeing to seal our slot in the SUV market. We, currently, have a 12 per cent market share and we are definitely seeing it grow.”

Another Tata Motors official said that customers are today looking for style, technology and performance. And the Tata Safari Storme has the best of these, he averred.

The new Tata SUV comes in seven colours - Urban Bronze, Sardinia Red, Pearl White, Pearl Champagne, Astern Black, Arctic White along with Arctic Silver.

The Safari Storme will be available across 282 dealers and 32 exclusive UV dealers of the company.

The SUV Storme is a major upgrade compared to the previous Tata Safari. It is also attractively priced and will take on the likes of Mahindra XUV, Scorpio and Toyota Innova. It may eat into the market of Tata’s own crossover, the Aria.

After launch of the XUV by the Mahindras, buyers were being weaned away from Tata cars and to get them back from the XUV euphoria (which has turned out to be a very popular vehicle in a short span of time), the Tata Safari Storme was born.

Tata Motors, seeing the initial response of the Safari Storme, is likely to storm the market (with the SUV) even in the middle term and give a fillip to its earnings by becoming a big threat to Mahindra’s XUV.