Enough has already been reported about the upcoming edition of the popular SUV- Tata Safari. The soon to be launched version of Safari will carry some dramatic upgrades and the changes are more than being skin deep. Recently, our friends at Goa On Wheels caught the new Tata Safari in Pune. Various reports on the web say that the 2012 Safari will be christened as the Safari Storm. This simply means that the vehicle won’t be called the Safari Merlin, as we had been speculating. Tata Motors plans to launch the Safari Storm at the upcoming Expo.
From what can be made out from the spy images, the Safari Storm gets new wraparound projector headlamps, a new grille garnished with chrome and a new front bumper with fog lamps. More features include Aria like Dual exhausts and a chrome insert on rear hatch. and a set of Aria like sporty looking mag wheels. Inside, Tata Safari Strom gets a beefy four spoke steering wheel and the top end variants will get an airbag housed inside it. Tata has tried giving the SUV a premium feel by providing wooden dash inserts and neat round dials.
The 2012 Safari is based on the Aria crossover platform and will be powered by the same 2.2 litre Dicor with 140 Ps power and 320Nm of torque.
The company says that the Safari Storm has been developed by setting Mahindra XUV500 as the benchmark. However, we feel that Tata should price the car aggressively to attract potential customers.
Images source: Goa On Wheels