Tata Motors has unveiled the new Safari for the Indian market, the new Safari now in its second generation is slated to go on sale in mid 2021 while bookings starting on the 4th of February 2021.
Built on the same Omega arc platform as the Harrier which is ideally the vehicle the Safari is based on, the new second generation Safari is longer by 63mm and taller by 80mm.
Buyers can choose between as many as 9 variants in the Safari’s line-up. These include XE, XM, XMA, XT, XT+ XZ, XZ+, XZA and XZA+.
The new Safari rides on 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 235/60 rubber in top trims, while lower variants get 16-inch steel wheels wrapped in 235/70 rubber.
Tata Motors says the new Safari offers 889mm headroom, 832mm legroom, 463mm thigh support, 315mm floor to seat cushion height and 23 degrees backrest angle in the 3rd row of the vehicle.
The new second generation Safari shares its basic design with the Harrier especially at the front. That said however cannot be the point when viewed from the side, rear three quarters and rear where the Safari differentiates itself.
The side profile gets a different c-pillar with larger glasshouse for the rear door, quarter glass and rear. It also gets silver roof rails with Safari branding imprinted into them, large roof spoiler along with thick body cladding and flared wheel arches. A redesigned or rather newly designed tailgate along with different LED taillights and dual exhausts complete with cladding and skid plates are also part of the package.
The interior of the Safari borrows a lot from the Harrier, but gets black and beige dual tone upholstery. The Safari’s all important 3rd row of seats can be had in two iterations – 6 seater with captain chairs in second row and 7 seater with bench in middle row.
Talking about features, the new second generation Safari comes loaded to the gills with kit such as Xenon HID projector lamps, dual function LED daytime running lights which also double up for the turn indicators that are also LED fog lights with cornering function and twin light LED taillights.
There’s also a shark fin antenna, Pananormic sunroof, 6-way power adjust driver seat, keyless entry & go, auto headlights & wipers, automatic climate control, ambient mood lighting, power fold and adjust function for wing mirrors, auto dimming inner rear view mirror, rear wiper along with tilt and telescopic steering wheel.
The 8.8 inch infotainment system comes with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, video playback and view images through UBS function, USB, Aux-in, Bluetooth, voice recognition & SMS readouts and voice alerts for driver assistance. Music lovers will be pleased to note that the Safari comes with  a 320watt JBL audio system  with 9-speakers which include (4 Speakers+ 4 Tweeters+ 1 Subwoofer and external Amplifier).
Connected car tech is also part of the Safari this time around and it evokes IRA intelligent real time assist to keep the customer connected with the car. The functions are as follows –
Mechanically the new Safari comes powered by the Kyrotec 2.0 litre turbocharged diesel engine; it makes about 170ps of power and 350Nm of torque and comes mated to a 6-speed manual/ automatic transmission. It also gets multi drive modes with Eco, City, Sport which are married to the ESP system. Also on offer are Terrain response modes Normal, Rough and Wet for taking on difficult terrains.
Talking about safety, the second generation Safari packs in ABS, EBD, Corner stability control, hill descent control, roll over mitigation, brake disc wiping, off road ABS, Electronic traction control, hill hold control, electronic brake pre-fill, hydraulic brake assist, hydraulic brake assist, hydraulic fading compensation dynamic wheel torque by brake and more in its kit.
Tata Motors is also offering a new paint shade known as Royal Blue that will be sold alongside many other paint schemes. Talking about competition the Safari will go up against the Hyundai Creta 7-seater, MG Hector Plus, current & next gen Mahindra XUV500 and many more that are yet to come in the near future.
