1. Quality Niggles - yes they are there but none that are showstoppers or critical stuff that will prevent you from using the vehicle.
2. After Sales Services - is not poor, but inconsistent. The quality of service varies between different dealerships and you cannot take it for granted that so&so is an Authorized Service Centre and will therefore be good. My own dealership deteriorated from EXCELLENT to PATHETIC within the space of about 2+ years and I found another one.
3. Above average maintenance costs - I've owned one for 4.something years with very average maintenance costs. And for 4 years (while I was under warranty) their warranty policy has been very simple: if there is a fault, do not bother repairing - just REPLACE. In addition, they have also given - again FREE OF COST - all updates to the truck that could be retrofitted including a whole new steering column when there was nothing wrong with mine. Show me another manufacturer that does this sort of thing - consistently, over 4 years without question.
This maintenance cost talk is a myth. Take it from another owner.
4. Poor resale value - yes, resale on the Safari is not very good. This is a fact - I wanted to replace my 3.0 with a 2.2 at the end of the warranty period but decided to hold on to the truck because the market price was low and in any case I only use it when I am in India.
If you want quality, good after sales service and good resale value, get an Innova within the same priceband. The Scorpio is pretty similar when it comes to quality issues and after sales service, but has better resale value. The Scorpio is also underpowered by a whole 22 bhp, besides being less confidence inspiring as the speedo climbs and less roomy/comfortable - it is otherwise a very competent vehicle in its own right.
But if you're willing to forgive on minor irritants and niggles and trust your dealership/service centre then resale value be damned - the satisfaction of driving this vehicle beats anything else. It can stay ahead of most vehicles on good roads, and when the bad roads arrive the others will slow down - its business-as-usual for you. The positives you get are the best seats in the most comfortable vehicle on the roads < 25 lakhs, great power delivery, ability to take serious abuse and terrible roads in its stride without affecting passenger comfort and the ability to swallow hundreds of miles without any fatigue.
You cannot express the Safari experience in measurable terms - when you own one, you will know!
Keep those wheels turning!
