Tata has just launched the Safari Storme facelift and the vehicle gets just minor changes on the cosmetic front. The engine has been tweaked to churn out slightly more power too. Tata will be launching another update of the Storme next year and it is likely to get an automatic gearbox too. An automatic Safari has been caught on test and it is the EX variant, which is the mid variant of the SUV. The base variant is LX while the top variant is VX. The VX variant is offered with both 4×4 and 4×2 options while the other two variants get only 4×2.
The Safari Storme is powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder VTT VARICOR diesel engine. The oil-burner produces 150 PS of power at 4000 RPM and 320 Nm of torque between 1700-2700 RPM. Reports suggest that the test mule has a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Tata will be bumping up the torque of the Safari Storme to 400 Nm in its next update and this automatic tranny is capable of handling so much torque. Test mules that had the VARICOR400 badging are the ones that indicate 400 Nm of torque. The current manual transmission cannot handle this amount of torque. Tata will also offer the same gearbox and tune on the upcoming Hexa.
Demand for automatic vehicles is increasing in the Indian auto market. While a lot of hatchbacks and sedans are being offered with AT boxes now, options are still devoid in the SUV market, leaving aside a few expensive ones like the Toyota Fortuner. In the Rs. 10-15 lakh range, we get different SUVs like the Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano, Mahindra Scorpio and the Tata Safari Storme and yet none of these are offered with an automatic. So, with Mahindra and Tata gearing up to introduce auto trannies in their SUVs, it could very well turn out to be a market changer.
Source – Team-BHP.com