The Safari was launched in the year 1998. The Safari was an iconic car, and still the original Safari is the favourite of many SUV lovers. Later in the year 2019, the Safari was discontinued. In the year 2021, the second generation of the Safari was launched, which was earlier known by the name Tata Gravitas in its concept phase. The 2021 Safari is offered with a 6/7 seater configuration. Let’s do a thorough analysis to find out how much essence of the OG Safari this new Safari has.
Pros- Impressive Design, Spacious Cabin, Amazing Ride Quality
Cons- No AWD/4×4, Steering Feels Heavy At Low Speeds, Misses Out On Certain Features
Tata Safari Exteriors
Upfront, the Safari looks like it’s a derivative of the Tata Harrier. The split design of the headlights is the same as the Harrier. The blade-like designed LED DRLs at the top seamlessly flow into the grille and double up as an indicator too. The main headlight sets below the LED DRLs and it gets a Xenon HID projector setup. The only difference you can see is the new tri-arrow chrome grille instead of the piano black grille available on the Harrier. From the side, you can see the high roofline to accommodate the third row of seats. Adding some character to the car, the chunky roof rails with Safari badging on it give the car a stepped roof design which was a trademark element of the original Safari. The 18-inch alloys look nice, but they have the same design as that in the Harrier. The taillights have similar treatment to that in the Harrier, but they look different.
Apart from the regular variants, the Safari is also offered in the Adventure Persona edition. Unique elements to the Adventure Persona edition of the Safari are the Tropical Mist colour on the exterior, blacked-out grille, door handles, OVRMs, and roof rails, charcoal grey alloy wheels, and the Safari mascot on the bonnet.
Tata Safari Interiors
The dashboard design of the Safari is shared with the Harrier. The main difference between the Harrier and the Safari is that the Safari gets an Oyster White interior theme. The cabin feels more premium, but the buyers of the Safari will struggle to keep the white leatherette seats spotless. In the Safari you get an electronic parking brake with an auto-hold function which is more practical to use unlike the thrust like handbrake in the Harrier. The Safari comes with a 9-speaker JBL music system paired with an amplifier, and a subwoofer, which results in great sound quality. The infotainment supports Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Navigation, Voice Commands, Bluetooth, USB & AUX connectivity. The major flaw with the infotainment screen is that it occupies the controls of the AC and other controls on both sides of the screen, so whenever you are using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto the UI becomes tiny and sometimes it becomes difficult to operate. The instrument cluster is a semi-digital unit with a 7-inch TFT screen, which displays most of the info regarding the car.
Other features include a panoramic sunroof, iRA connected car tech, auto headlamps, wipers, keyless entry with push-button start/stop, cruise control, auto-dimming IVRM, mood lighting, 6-way power-adjustable driver seat, and many more.
On the Adventure Persona Edition, you get Earthy Brown interiors with an all-black dashboard.
Tata Safari Space
The front seats are comfortable and provide a good amount of support. Like the original Safari, the new Safari also gets theatre-like seating in which the rear seat is placed higher than the front seats. This gives good visibility not only from the side windows but also from the front windscreen. The rear seats are well-cushioned, and the bench is wide enough to fit in three people comfortably. You get an ample amount of legroom, and under-thigh support is also good. If you want more legroom, there is also a ‘Boss’ mode lever present which lets you adjust the co-driver seat from the back.
In the top-end trim, you also get an option of caption seats in the middle row. The seats are extremely comfortable. However wider people can find a bit of issue. To access the third row, you will have to access it from the passage between the captain seats. In the case of the 7 seater Safari, you can tumble the middle row seats with help of a lever. Talking about the third row, the space is decent enough for adults. The seating position is not as knees up as with most of the third rows. There are two USB charging sockets in the third row and there is also a blower control for the third-row passengers.
With all the three rows up, you don’t get much of the boot space. If you fold the third row of seats, then you can open up much space for the cargo. The second-row seats in the 7-seater version can also be folded in 60:40 format for more space.
Tata Safari Engine Performance
The Tata Safari is offered with a single fiat sourced engine option that is a 2.0-litre Kryotec, 4-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine which churns out 170 HP @ 3750 RPM and a torque output of 350 Nm @ 1750-2500 RPM. The engine comes mated with a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed automatic transmission. The mid-range of the Safari feels strong, and there is a sudden burst of torque past 1800 RPM. If you push beyond 3000 RPM, you can hear a lot from the engine, and you will tend to upshift to keep the engine at lower revs. There are three driving modes on offer – Eco, City, and Sport. The Sport mode responses to throttle input quite well when compared to the other two modes. In the manual transmission, the clutch is on the heavier side and the gear shifts are also not very smooth. The 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox is tuned very well with the gearbox, the gear shifts are smooth. However, they are not lighting fast when compared to the DSGs.
Tata Safari Mileage
The Tata Safari has an ARAI rated fuel efficiency of 16.14 km/l for the manual transmission and 14.08 km/l for the automatic transmission. In real-world conditions, you can expect anywhere between 10-12 km/l in city traffic and 13-15 km/l on highways for the manual transmission. In the case of the automatic, the range lies between 8-10 km/l in city traffic and 11-13 km/l on the highways. However, fuel efficiency depends on driving conditions, traffic conditions, and other such external factors.
Tata Safari Handling
The hydraulically assisted power steering is heavy and piloting this car in city traffic might be a task. Out on the highways, the Safari feels more planted and gives you a sense of robustness around the corners. The excessive brake pedal travel isn’t great and the brake bite could have been better.
Tata Safari Comfort
The suspension is tuned perfectly, as per the Indian roads. It could take bad roads and potholes with ease. Tata has tweaked the suspension and now it is slightly tuned on the softer side. You can feel some movement on the sharp bumps, but it does its job quite well.
Tata Safari Safety
The Safari is built on the OMEGA Arc platform, which uses lightweight and high tensile strength materials for structural rigidity. The build of the Safari is quite impressive and feels robust. In terms of safety equipment the Safari comes with dual airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability program (ESP), hill hold control, traction control, corner stability control, brake disc wiping, central locking, alarm system, and roll-over mitigation control as standard. In higher trims, you get six airbags, hill descent control, off-road ABS, and ISOFIX child seat mounts.
Tata Safari Service
Tata has a wide network of service stations across India. Tata’s after-sales service is quite impressive, and Tata cars come with a hassle-free ownership experience.
Tata Safari Price
Following are the prices (on-road Mumbai) of the Tata Safari
- Tata Safari XE (MT) – Rs. 17.70 lakhs
- Tata Safari XM (MT) – Rs. 19.25 lakhs
- Tata Safari XMA (AT) – Rs. 20.74 lakhs
- Tata Safari XT (MT) – Rs. 20.97 lakhs
- Tata Safari XT+ (MT) – Rs. 21.92 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZ (MT) – Rs. 22.99 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZA (AT) – Rs. 24.68 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZ+ (MT) – Rs. 23.99 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZ+ 6-Seater (MT) – Rs. 23.99 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZA+ (AT) – Rs. 25.69 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZA+ 6-Seater (AT) – Rs. 25.69 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZ+ Adventure Persona Edition (MT) – Rs. 24.44 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZ+ 6-Seater Adventure Persona Edition (MT) – Rs. 24.44 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZA+ Adventure Persona Edition (AT) – Rs. 25.93 lakhs
- Tata Safari XZA+ 6-Seater Adventure Persona Edition (AT) – Rs. 25.93 lakhs
Tata Safari Resale Value
The Safari is relatively new in the market but, because it is gaining sales figures, resale value is expected to be good. The resale value also relies on the condition of the vehicle and the total kilometres driven.
Tata Safari Colours
The Tata Safari is offered in the following colours:
- Daytona Grey
- Royale Blue
- Orcus White
- Tropical Mist (Adventure Persona Edition)
Tata Safari Specs
Following are the specifications of the BS6 Tata Safari:
- Engine:- 1956cc, Kryotec, 4 Cylinder, Turbocharged Diesel
- Power:- 170 HP @ 3750 RPM
- Torque:- 350 Nm @ 1750-2500 RPM
- Transmission:- 6-Speed Manual | 6 Speed Automatic
- Fuel Efficiency (ARAI):- 16.14 km/l (MT) | 14.08 km/l (AT)
- Fuel Efficiency (Real World):- 10-12 km/l (City Traffic) 13-14 (Highway) (MT) | 8-10 km/l (City Traffic) 11-13 (Highway) (AT)
- Dimensions (L X W X H):- 4661 mm x 1894 mm x 1786 mm
- Seating Capacity:- 7 Seater (All Variants) | 6 Seater (XZ+/XZA+)
- Wheelbase:- 2741 mm
- Ground Clearance:- 200 mm
- Kerb Weight:- 1825 kgs
- Fuel Tank Capacity:- 50 litres
- DEF Tank Capacity:- 15 litres
- Boot Capacity:- 447 litres (3rd Row Seats Folded) | 910 litres (2nd & 3rd Row Seats Folded)
- Turning Radius:- 5.8 metres
- Tyre Size:- 235/70/16 (Steel) (XE, XM, XMA), 235/60/18 (Alloy) (XT/XT+, XZ/XZA, XZ+/XZA+) | 235/70 R16 Steel (Spare Wheel)
- Suspension:- Independent, Lower Wishbone, McPherson Strut with Coil Spring & Anti-Roll Bar (Front), Semi-Independent Twist Blade with Panhard Rod & Coil Spring (Rear)
- Brakes:- Disc (Front and Rear)
Tata Safari Variants
The Tata Safari is offered in the following variants:
- XE
- XM
- XMA
- XT
- XT+
- XZ
- XZ+
- XZA
- XZA+
The Tata Safari Adventure Persona edition is offered in the following variants:
- XZ+
- XZA+
7-seater configuration is available with all the variants while the 6-seater configuration is available only with XZ+/XZA+.
Tata Safari Rating
We give the Tata Safari rating of 4.5/5.
Tata Safari Upcoming Models
The 2nd generation Safari is new in the market. No new model of the Safari is expected in the near future. Tata might give an option of an AWD or a 4×4 later with the Safari.
Tata Safari vs Mahindra XUV 500
The new generation of the Mahindra XUV 500 is going to launch soon. The new generation of the XUV 500 is going to come with many new features and updated styling. Currently, the Mahindra XUV 500 is offered with a 2.2-litre diesel engine producing 155 HP of power and a torque output of 360 Nm. In terms of dimensions, the Safari is longer by 76 mm than the XUV 500. Both cars are nearly the same in terms of width and height.
Tata Safari vs MG Hector Plus
The MG Hector Plus is offered with three engine options: 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol, 1.5-litre turbocharged hybrid petrol engine, and a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine. Talking about the diesel engine, you only get an option of a 6-speed manual transmission with MG Hector Plus. Power and torque output figures are the same for both cars. The Hector Plus gets some additional features like a 360° camera, wireless charging, a powered tailgate and much more that are missing in the Safari. In terms of dimensions, the Hector Plus is longer by 59 mm than the Safari. On the other side, the Safari is wider by 59 mm and taller by 26 mm than the Hector Plus.
