It hasn’t been long since Tata rolled out the 2021 iteration of the Safari. The Safari remained in news even before its official launch as its spy pictures kept washing up on our shores. The bouts of spy pictures generally stop with the official launch of the vehicle but this time around, the 2021 Tata Safari has been spied again. The test vehicle is draped in heavy camouflage and that raises a lot of questions.
More details
Of all it could be, why would Tata continue testing the Safari after its launch? Is Tata testing a new variant? Is Tata testing a new powertrain ( which could be a new petrol motor )? There surely are a lot of questions.
Tata could have followed Mahindra’s suit here as M&M was also testing it’s Thar way after its launch, so it could be a possibility as well that Tata too is testing the Safari after its launch to get a bit more feedback from the car and further test the reliability. Although, a noteworthy point here is that the Thar that was spied testing after launch, was without any major camouflage and this Safari here is still quite heavily covered in camouflage.
Furthermore, there could be the possibility of Tata testing a new variant of the Safari to add to the already impressive Safari’s lineup. But again, if its simply a new variant, such a heavy camouflage seems a little over the top for a new variant.
Apart from that, Tata could be testing their all-new in-house 1.6L turbo petrol engine on the Safari for a future launch. In November, a Harrier was spotted testing with a test apparatus that could support the claim that Tata might be testing a new powertrain apparatus. Nothing is official though and all these possibilities are simply nothing but a few educated guesses.
The Impact 2.0 design language of the new Safari is proven to be reliable and safe. The Safari’s tall stance has been enhanced in the new avatar like the elegant grille, the stepped roof and the tailgate have been given some cool finishes. A strong stance, wheel arches and some accenting of chrome gives the new Safari a refreshing look. The interior of the Safari has an Oyster White interior theme, paired with an Ash Wood dashboard. The grille is similar to the Harrier but is all chrome on the Safari instead of piano black finish on the Harrier.
On the inside, it houses an 8.8” touch infotainment system with iRA that supports voice commands. It also gets an e-parking brake, automatic climate control, 9-speaker JBL system, terrain response modes, ambient lighting powered driver’s seat etc.
Mechanically, the Safari is powered by the same 2.0L fiat sourced 4 cyl Kyrotec turbo diesel engine which puts out 170PS of peak power and 350Nm of peak torque. It is mated to a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic gearbox unit. It shares its platform and architecture with the Harrier is 63mm longer and 80mm taller than the Harrier.