Tata Safari DiCOR 2.2VTT-To Di(COR) For?

Below 1600 revs the motor is dim-witted but cross this and the heart-transplant starts making sense. All of those 140 horses and 320Nm torques the 2.2 delivers, endow the Safari with much needed verve. Despite having the aerodynamic characteristics of a bread-box, the sprint from a naught to hundred took 16.2 seconds which is on the better side of the spectrum when compared against the 3.0-litre DiCOR. The stop watch was sufficient to time the run to a hundred but do not even ask me about the top whack. Please. I will have to make use, of not a vehicle-testing equipment or a stop-watch, but a calender to see how much time the Safari takes to reach its top speed of 152 kays per hour.

No, I am not kidding. Hundred is fine. 120 is a pain. 140 makes it ache to the unbearable limit and beyond this, the car simply gives up and falls on its knees. Perhaps it would have gone a little further than 152, but we did not try it out. Why? We have a heart too. We are auto-lovers, and could not see the motor crying out loud. No, dear readers, not with this engine shall we explore the limits. Boring down the rev range, exciting onwards 1600 to 3200 revs, begs for mercy byond. This 2.2-litre common-rail diesel engine is a whole lot better than the outgoing 3.0-litre DiCOR, and we can vouch for the performance advantage. But this one should have been the engine of choice when Tata decided to introduce the DiCOR tag in the Safari range. Things would have been much better that way. But as I always say, if wishes were horses!

The engine delivering power to the car is one thing. You driving the car is something altogether different. You like to have a comfortable time behind the wheel, yes? Even I like to. One thing that glowered many a forehead was the placing of the pedals. When you sit on the captain's seat, you expect the pedals to be placed in a way that the clutch falls naturally under the left foot and the gas-pedal under the right foot. Irritating to say the least, the pedals are placed slightly towards right. Still, it's not a serious bother and you get used to it after a while. And you will not think about it a lot owing to the comfort value that the car offers. But it is kind of usual when the name happens to be Tata Safari. So it's business as usual. Seats are large and cushy, space is in abundance.

Handling? Let's not talk about it, shall we? The Safari pitches beautifully to scare you and the rear jiggles when the brakes are applied suddenly. Ride quality, fortunately, is super and does not induce any " I want to throw-up" sort of feeling even when you are pushing the car really hard on a winding road. The steering wheel transmits the irregularites of the road that the suspension encounters to your palm and the gear-shift quality is not something that you would boast of to your friends. Vague and heavy in nature, both the steering and gearbox could have been better. Much better.