Look,' I explained patiently to Srini, 'I have good friends at both M&M and Tata Motors, and in the months to come, I am bound to get terrible phone calls, sulking sessions and death threats from that community... Shreenand is growing up to be a brilliant motoring journalist with great evaluation and writing skills, and his mentor Shumi, as we always knew, can be quick behind the wheel as well as a keyboard,' I politely added. 'So why on earth are these guys not writing this story? Grrr...'
Assistant editors can be a troublesome lot. He decided that these are important cars that I have spent considerable time with and it is imperative (big words, you see) that I compared them. Not fair, I say, but someone has to get his hands dirty, right?
Looks
The Safari is the older car here, but when parked next to the younger Scorpio, the facelifted Tata looks more contemporary. The Safari was designed by IAD, Sussex, UK before the firm was taken over by an ambitious Daewoo. It was a well designed product for its time and that has helped it age quite nicely. Plenty of curved windows and surfaces meant Tata had to go through a tough learning curve when it came to productionising the bits. The problem area today, as it was when the Safari was launched, is the stance – this car is way too tall for its track. The team that gave the facelift should get a raise since they had to operate under severe restrictions and yet came out trumps – the Dicor does look handsome despite panel gaps that can put piggy bank slots to shame. Clear-lens lights help things a bit, while brighter, simpler five-spoke alloys would have been a good idea. The smooth body panels cut from Korean dies way back in the last millennium deserve better fit and finish, which Tata fails to deliver even today.
On the other hand, the Scorpio is not part of the spit-and-polish brigade, and wears its panel gaps and the odd door hinge with pride. Mahindra had seen the Safari enough when they were developing the Scorpio and they refused to take the bait and went for a more down-to-earth approach to build what is essentially a common man's SUV. And that they did rather well. It is much more civilian than most Jeep clones, but it can never be seen in the same queue occupied by CR-Vs and Tucsons. The end result is a butch machine with straight-drop windows and a near vertical windshield. The seven-slat grille reflects Jeep genetics, but the clear-lens lighting (added at the last minute) easily brightens things up. The Scorpio does have a nice stance with fat wheels that fill up those plastic-clad wheel arches. But it is still Air Deccan while the Tata Safari is Jet Airways. You get the drift, right?
Tata Safari Dicor: *** Three stars
Mahindra Scorpio CRDe: ** Two stars
Interiors and comfort
The Safari has lot of goodies going for it but we were not impressed with the quality of plastics and surfaces in use. The second tone that covers the centre console is irritatingly staid and would have looked bad even in an eighties dump truck. There are switches and knobs scattered all around the console itself and the mess becomes complete with the mismatch of an audio system. Maybe Taco should have stepped in at an earlier stage to improve things inside the Dicor. And no, adding an analogue clock does not make it a Maserati by any stretch of illusion. The seats are good news – they are supportive and the leather-clad version looks and feels top-notch. I am not a big fan of DVD screens behind the headrests, but if it works towards getting a few new buyers, nothing wrong with it either. Yes, the rear view camera works well and is a boon when you are parking between your boss's Accord and your colleague's Santro. And the top-end models get split airconditioning, pioneered in India by the Qualis.
The Scorpio received new dials recently and a bit of improvement in the trim. Ergonomically, the Scorpio interior is a step behind the Safari, though the seats are supportive and good for long hauls. The arm-rests are not a good idea, since they sag and feature poor stitching. However, they are well executed in the Safari – you can wear your seat-belt even with the hand-rest lowered, which you cannot do with the Scorpio. Despite the efforts of Mahindra to soup up the interiors, it looks like it can do with a thorough overhaul sooner than later.
Tata Safari Dicor: *** Three stars
Mahindra Scorpio CRDe: ** Two stars
|
