Thread: TATA SAFARI Drscore 2.2 VTI

URE, AND WHY NOT? WITH A 2.2 LITRE VIT engine that pumps out a healthy r40ps, and meaty tyres, bad roads become good friends. But there is more to th new Safari DrCOR 2.2 VTT apart from more power. These come in the form of tasty design change tha give the car an even Better sophisticated-monste ook, tons of features and an admirable.

The original Tata Safari was a monster car and when it was launched, its on-road presence was unmissable. That doesn't change, because the current Safari retains all of that and more. rn its current avatar, christened the DrCOR 2.2 VTT, the car looks even more powerful if not menacing. The impactfull design can be felt from all sides, front and rear included. Tata hasn't gone in for a full blown cosmetic change for the new DrCOR Safari (pun unintentional) but opted only for minor touches that do the job. The front grille gets a simplistically stylish new look and while this may make the Safari look like it's lost teeth, is classy nevertheless. The 2.2 VTT DrCOR badge on the rear of the car is a nice addition. Other design elements have not been tinkered with, though we would have loved larger tailights, scaring the cars following it. The large 235/70 Rr6 tubeless rubber on the 6.5J x r6-inch alloy wheels devour rocks for meals and perfectly compliment the Safari's DrCOR-ously towering presence.

If you are short, no offence, you might need a ladder to climb in to the Dr COR. If you do try it, trust me it would be very much like trying to get to a machan set up for a hunt in the middle of a jungle. The footboard does help in climbing the DrCOR cliff and once you take over the throne, don't forget to call yourself, the King of the heap, er hill, r mean it. When you sit in this behemoth, the whole outside view changes. You can almost see eye to eye with trucks and those pesky scooters and irritating rickshaws seem like insects. rt is not me, but this is what happens, this is what the DrCOR does to you, once you get inside, it makes you feel like an Emperor, Period.

The door handle on the DrCOR leaves room for a lot of improvement, it does not offer enough grip. While opening the door from outside, the handle usually slips off, considering the size of the doors, we expected better designed door handles. The DrCOR's interiors are a mixed bag, the seats for example offer superb ergonomics, and support the legs, back and shoulders well, giving the driver a comfortable seating position. You can manually adjust the seats, though r would have loved to be spoilt with an electronic option. Seats in the middle row offer ample legroom and thigh support. The one plus one facing seats in the last row can seat two medium sized adults with difficulty or two tiny tots comfortably though that is not where we would recommend anyone to sit at all.

The four-spoked steering wheel is meaty and offers good grip. But if you like driving by holding more of the spokes rather than the circumference of the wheel, you might experience a little discomfort. This is because the edges of the center of the wheel are not evenly molded behind the wheel. This means, its edges come in contact with your fingers while you drive. Another bit, worth mentioning is a series of mysterious beep beep sounds that one hears within the car, once you insert the key. This sound might just make you pull your hair out because it is hard to detect and stops automatically too, spooky!

You will find a host of buttons on the dashboard to control various things such as the fuel lid opener, adjusting of the headlight angle, and there is a analog clock too, just in case you don't wear a watch. The buttons are large, and placed well within reach but, the fascia though would have looked better without the artificial wood finish. The air-conditioning vents are placed on the doors in the front along with controls for adjusting the RVMs, central locking. For middle row occupants the AC duct is placed on the roof and boy does it throw some cool air! The entertainment system in the DrCOR VIT comprises of a DVD player sitting snugly in the fascia. This means, rear occupants can enjoy a DVD flick via the two LCD screens fitted behind the front seats. These can be controlled via the two remote controls provided along with the system. Music lovers can play audio or MP3 CDs too, and the speakers offer sumptous sound that matches the car's personality. Turn on that track and get ready for some DrCOR thrashing!



As r inserted the key into the ignition slot and cranked up the 2.2 (which I must admit, took me some time to find) I could almost feel the 140 odd horses ready to take the lunge forward@4000RPM. The new DICOR 2.2 VTT accelerates well enough for its si2e and its 2-plus ton weight. The 320Nm of torque at its pilot's disposal will make for a surge-filled driving experience. The car sprints from 0 - 100 in 15.25 seconds and reaches a top speed of 159.26km/h. But when you are doing triple digit figures in this behemoth, your car better brake decently. The brakes on this car have good stopping power and can safely get you out of tricky situations until you reach speeds in excess of 140km/h. What is impressive is not the outright 2est or straight line thrust but the seamless surge of torque which can keep you motoring and mile munching all day long. One of the strong points of the early Safari was its ability to devour huge distances without breaking into a sweat and while this has been retained, it is further joined by smooth power delivery and silent operation. Sound deadening has been improved mightily and for sure the critical 50 kilos which have been lopped off (compared to its predecessor) seem to help in more ways than one.

In the retardation department there are better anchors but yet on occasion - under very heavy braking - the Safari does have a tendency to veer off line (to the left). The steering is precise and neutral though not very quick but for a vehicle of its class we can say that it is pretty positive. On the highway the DrCOR returned 12.8 km to the litre, while in the city the figure recorded was 7.8. The DICOR's suspension, remains faithful in configuration to what appeared a decade ago but spring and damper rates have been tuned for better wheel and body control and the effect is worthy of praise, as it is more than capable of taking on the most treacherous of tracks and coming out unscathed. The overall ride quality is extremely comfortable even on stone filled roads, but quite a bit of body roll can be felt while cornering at speeds in excess of 80km/h. Smooth steering inputs are of the order here rather than abrupt directional changes which could unsettle this top heavy SUv. Since this car offers the option to be driven in 4-wheel drive mode, you can take it to the inclines as well. The traction offered by the grippy tyres and the low-end grunt from the new powerplant satisfies, making even many of its detractors eat humble pie. Given its huge bulk and also its capability to hug the road and move at a very healthy rate of knots, the 2.2 VTT delivered I2,8kmpl in our highway runs while in our in-town mode this dipped to 7.8 kmpl. Makes the vehicle's 6s-litre diesel tank all the more worthwhile to keep the mile munching ability not make frequent stops to tank up.

The Safari DrCOR 2.2 VTT has to be viewed in context of its si2e, its positioning as a premium Indian SUV and its performance before factoring in its price and then relating it to the competition. On most counts the new burly Safari excells and makes its presence count, forcibly. Making the big package even more tasty is not a big price tag! Breaking with Tata tradition, the pricing seems to have been standardised rather than increased and that is a welcome sign of things. The DICOR 2.2 VTT is offered at a price of Rs 12,43,286, for the top end version with all the bells and whistles (all wheel drive, ABS, airbags, power this and that, etc) while the base version sells for a highly competitive Rs. 8,09,017 (OTR Pune). The performance is impressive for the specs and the feature list is stomach filling while the price is not wallet draining. Seems something did go right for the new Safari after all.