It seems that Tata Motors has zeroed in on the name ‘Tata Safari Storm‘ for its Tata Merlin SUV. The auto manufacturer is re-launching its Tata Merlin again in India, but will be giving it a new name along with completely changing its looks both from the outside and inside. The probability that Tata Motors is adopting a name change for this SUV has come into knowledge from the fact that an advertising campaign is being shot for this vehicle at Pune. Major changes have been provided both to the interiors as well as exteriors of this new Tata Safari Storm. Tata has opted to go for a classier design so as to gift the car a premium look. This will be in sharp contrast to the shabby and slightly outdated looks that one related to the erstwhile Safari SUV.
The changes made are quite visible and prominent. Major alterations can be seen on its grille as well as headlamp design. At first sight, most consumers will be unable to find out any inherent similarities between the two cars. The interior of the car has been spruced up by providing excellent wood carvings. This gives the car a neater and cleaner look. One thing that is missing on this SUV is that audio controls have not been adorned on its steering as is being seen in most cars that are coming out in this segment in recent times. However, the car has been blessed with improved capabilities with respect to handling and driving. But the one thing that has been left common in the two cars is the engine. The new Safari Storm is going to feature the same DICOR 2.2L engine that had been provided in the erstwhile model. Hence, the car will be able to generate a maximum power of 140Bhp whereas its peak torque figure is going to be 320Nm.
However, there have been certain significant improvements that the new car has been provided with. The car engine is now perfectly mated to a five-speed manual transmission, which has taken the performance level of the car to an all new high. The only aspect that Tata Motors now needs to get right is the pricing at which the latest Safari Storm is going to be launched in the market. If the pricing strategy is proper, no one will need to doubt the fact that the vehicle is going to meet with instant success. The car is going to provide strong competition to its closest rivals, the Mahindra XUV500 and the Force One. In fact, market analysts feel that the two rivals need to come up with proper strategies to counter the imminent threat that the Safari Storm is going to provide to their respective vehicles. As per market indications, the other two car manufacturers are in fact gearing up for this battle. Mahindra is soon going to restart the process of accepting bookings for its XUV500, while Force Motors is already planning to launch two additional variants of its only representative in the passenger car segment.
