Diesel Kids: Swift vs Getz

Diesel hatches are quite a popular option these days. Take the case of the Swift, which enjoys a waiting period of two months, it is now almost worth its own weight in gold. Hyundai has been working on a diesel Getz with a 1.1L engine too, but recently they realized that by the time they could get it rolling, everyone will be driving a swift. Something has to be done quickly to grab their piece of pie. So in a bit of a hurry, they went back to the insides of the company store room and took a look at all the diesel engines lying around. They couldn’t find anything small enough for the Getz, so they decided to shoe-horn the Verna’s rather big 1.5L engine into the tiny bonnet of the Getz. So the end result is a Getz that looks like a Getz and goes like a Verna and handles like something in between. But will it be able to make a dent in the thriving sales of the Maruti Swift?To find out, we brought them together for a duel so that you don’t have to. Now, at this moment I must admit that almost all the car magazines have done this comparison test before us and come up with a winner except for OVERDRIVE magazine who came up with two. They said ‘the Swift is quite good but if you can spend more, the Getz is good too’. Where is the point? Anyone can say that by looking at the price list. So we didn’t give any of them an ear and went on with our test, to pick one car that can better the other.Looks are subjective but I could not differ when almost everyone said the Swift looks better than the Getz. It is now a popular sight almost everywhere, but still the design has got its own charm. The Getz has a much more restrained design and is more appreciated by elder folks who think that the Swift is too youthful and modern. But when it comes to the interiors, the Getz can rival many a larger sedans, let alone the Swift. There is decent amount of room for five and a boot that is large by small car standards. The Swift on the other hand is not as spacious. The rear seats owing to the tall waistline of the car makes you feel like sitting in a cave, but if you are about to say that it gives a sense of security, I’m not arguing. The Swift makes up with better ergonomics and seating postures. The dashboard design of the Swift looks and feels better even though the swooping design makes it less practical. The front seats of both the cars are very comfortable but with a slight difference. In the Swift, the seats hold you tightly in corners, as the car slides. But in the Getz, it is you who will be sliding about, since its seats are larger.The Swift has just 76bhp and 19kg-m of torque against the Getz’s 110bhp and 24kg-m. So the Getz is a rocket dismissing the 0-100kmph run in 11.3 seconds while the Swift gets there about two seconds later, which is also not too bad. But for all that power, Hyundai does not provide ABS even as an option which is pathetic. Surprisingly the Swift is faster in the 20-80kmph run in third gear which shows how driveable the car is. Add to that the instant throttle response of the engine which makes it better to drive in stop and go city traffic. When it comes to ride quality the Swift diesel though better than its petrol counterpart, is no match for the Getz. The Getz can glide over potholes while the Swifts lets you know a little about what is going underneath. But there is a downside to this good ride quality; the Getz does not like the corners. There is a noticeable amount of body roll and the steering lacks feedback but the wider tyres help when it comes to grip. The Swift meanwhile is a taut handler with a thoroughly communicative steering but is otherwise spoilt by tyres that are too skinny for the car’s potential. So if you buy one and plan to drive fast, invest in wider tyres.The Swift itself is a bit overpriced, but compared to the Getz it looks like a bargain. The Swift is about a lakh cheaper than the Getz and it sips diesel through a thinner straw which makes it more fuel efficient-almost 2kmpl more. For the enthusiasts we are, we would have always voted for the faster car, but this is diesel world and economy is the operative word here. Running costs and list price make up the purchase while performance takes the back seat. So the Swift Getz the crown even though the Getz is Swifter.

Hyundai Getz CRDI

‘Hot hatch’ is a term loosely describing a hatchback car with a big engine. Besides having a big engine, these cars are usually built very light and hence have loads of performance to put many a bigger cars to shame. In addition they offer better practicality than regular sports cars and in countries like Europe , these qualify as small cars and entail for tax benefits which is another big plus. My wish list of hot hatches include the Ford Focus ST , Honda Civic Type R and the Renault Megane.Sadly in India , a hatchback is perceived as a car that is meant to be economical to buy and run. The idea of a hot hatch which trades fuel economy for performance is seen to be ridiculous and we saw the fate of the utterly desirable Fiat Palio 1.6 and the not-so-sporty Opel Corsa Sail 1.6. Poor fuel economy of the larger engines didn’t let either of these cars find many takers and even though the Palio 1.6 is still in the market and is still the hottest hatchback in India , I wonder how many actually leave the showrooms.However, you are in for a fresh change in the form of the new Getz CRDI. This hot hatch has loads of power and being a diesel, is economical to run which means you can have the cake and eat it too. The Getz CRDI with the Verna’s engine was a bit of a surprise for me too, since I was expecting it to come with the smaller 1.1L CRDI engine that is in the pipeline. The result is a diesel car that put a smile on my face within the first ten minutes of driving it.For the numbers, it has 110 bhp which is 10bhp more than a Honda City VTEC and 24kg-m torque which is 2kg-m more than a CR-V's. It does 0-100kmph in about 11.3 seconds which is remarkable for a hatchback which sips diesel. And it returned about 12.4kmpl in the city and about 17kmpl on the highway making it quite fuel efficient but you’ll love it, even if it wasn’t. That engine is a gem when it comes to darting the tiny Getz forward and you feel the surge of power each time you depress the accelerator within the powerband. A Variable Geometry Turbo enhances the throttle responses but still there is a slight delay before power really kicks in. This I suppose is because the VGT is tuned to perform at its best at high rpm, which it does. Overtaking is kid’s play and out-running your mates is just another party trick. The way in which the steering feels pulling anticlockwise on torque-steer is something to be experienced in a hatchback. I saw the speedo go effortlessly up as 130, 140, 150 and 160kmph before I eased off. I didn’t need further proof to justify the existence of this car. This is a pocket rocket.As for the handling this car is better than the petrol version. The heavier engine up front and the stiffer springs has ensured that it no longer has the pitchy motion of the petrol variant. There is still a degree of body roll and the steering lacks sufficient feedback but the Getz is immensely enjoyable to drive. It is when you power out of corners with your inside wheels spinning that you really admire the prodigious amounts of torque on demand. Hyundai should have included ABS atleast in the options list. The ride quality is outstanding with tall profile tyres and the springs are soft enough to cushion most road bumps. Even though these can blunt the handling, Hyundai has thoughtfully provided wider tyres which offer sufficient levels of grip.Well, I got carried away with that scintillating performance without mentioning a word about the looks and interiors of the car, but this is not a mistake since there is nothing new to rave about. The car still looks fresh, thanks to a mid life facelift. The good old virtues in the Getz Prime- the excellent seats, the brilliant packaging and the airy cabin- remain. The boot is big for three soft bags and has good depth. The plastic quality is quite ok but the centre console is finished in a shade of wood that you will never find in any botanical dictionary and could have been avoided. For a car of this sporty intent, Hyundai could have used a mock carbon fibre finish or sticked to the silver console of the Getz 1.3.As for the price, this one retails at about Rs. 6.2 lakhs which at first may seem quite a lot for a small car. But make no mistake about it- this is the biggest small car on sale today even bigger than a Palio. Inside you get more space than a Ford Ikon and you have a boot big enough for most holidays. And think of it as a hot-hatch with decent fuel economy and it all begins to make more sense. This is a seriously fast car which you can enjoy on an everyday basis without worrying too much about fuel costs. It was great to see the faces of many a premium-car drivers turn green as you accelerate away. How many of them would expect a Getz to go this fast? This is real wolf in sheep’s clothing !

Hyundai i10

There are different ways to name a new car. For one, you can use words that sound pleasant, enthusiastic, adventurous and those which ignite passion. Like when you hear Esteem, Fiesta, Endeavour or Swift. Another idea is to use names that form abbreviations like the SX4, CR-V or U-VA, for a cluster of words that generate the same sense as mentioned above. Yet another idea is to dive into a sea of Latin or French vocabulary and come up with words that sound better than when using their English equivalent. There you have the Zen Estilo and Palio Stile for a start. One of the least imaginative ways to name cars or anything for that matter is to use numbers for names like you have in hospital wards and prisons. This effortlessly allows the model range to have ‘names’ beginning with a low integer and going right up to the maximum for the top models. Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Peugeot and almost everyone except Hyundai has already done that. Now Hyundai not to be left behind has joined the bandwagon and announced the names for their future model range to be i10, i20, i30 etc. And then they bought an Oxford English dictionary, searched for all the words beginning with ‘i’, removed words like INSIPID, IDIOCY, IGNORANCE and ICEBERG and prepared a press material which ‘I’ was made to go through. There is every single word beginning with the letter ‘i’ to describe each aspect of the i10. They say it’s intelligent, innovative and that it has i-seats and i-gears. Well, ‘I’ had to find out.

Frankly, I cannot understand the need for the i10 neither did I think that there was a space for such a car until Hyundai pointed that out. Initially they had the capable Santro with a 1.1 litre engine and the Getz with a 1.3 litre engine which nicely rounded off the small car range. Then they detected a space between the two and introduced the Getz 1.1 which was a large car with a small engine. Not content with that, they have now introduced the i10 with the same 1.1 litre engine, which is basically a Santro left connected to the compressor, stretched and widened as a result. And that it has been developed and first shown in India and that Sharukh is the brand ambassador must help sales if the marketing people are right.

The rationale behind this exercise has to be the wide range of Maruti small cars like the Estilo, Alto and the Wagon R which share the underpinnings with each other and Hyundai hopes to take on the soon to be launched Splash, with the i10. The i10 looks like an imitation of the Santro but looks more purposeful. It is slightly larger in all dimensions and has an air of freshness all around it. The angular lines and the chiseled tail lights are noteworthy. The kink in the rear door and the black chin are design highlights that make the i10 different from everything else. Inside you get better quality plastics and good quality seats, i-seats according to the marketing team, which are seats with headrests neatly integrated into the backrest. The gear lever is mounted at the centre console which eases the operation. The steering and the dials remind you of the Santro and the centre console of the Verna. It comes with a very large boot as well.

Driving it is like the Santro itself, but it feels slightly more planted thanks to the wider footprint. The steering is very light which is a boon in city driving. The Santro engine has been tweaked to produce slightly more power which helps while overtaking, and the gearing is also adapted to city driving. It goes down to 20kmph in third gear. And the funny ‘on pogo-stick like’ ride quality of the Santro is gone. This one rides quite well over the potholes. So for all the improvements, this one has to be a Santro replacement. But it isn’t. The Santro will continue as such. Hyundai says this will give the customer ‘choice’ but we think it will give him ‘confusion’ instead.

The market has grown up to such a level that people are no longer interested in a particular model if it is more than three years old. So manufacturers resort to facelifts or replacements. Now, we can see that the manufacturers are trying to explore the possibilities of introducing new models which should ideally have been replacements for their older ones and selling them side by side. The Fiesta, Verna, Cedia and the Laura are all examples for this trend. As for the i10, it is an indigenously developed, iteration of the Santro if not a slightly illogical addition to the already invincible Hyundai range.

Hyundai Sonata Embera CRDI

There is nothing that I dislike more than an unplanned stop during a journey. Be it for getting a soft drink or a chocolate bar or for something that needs to be urgently attended to…you know what I mean. But then, I would keep my left leg on the accelerator and the right leg on the clutch and drive for another couple of hours until it becomes absolutely necessary. So the only thing that can disturb me on a drive then, is the fuel tank running dry which forces me to have a pit-stop. Last week, I was all singing praises for the Honda Civic when its low fuel warning lights came on at about 440kms, just 40kms short of my destination. At this point I dismissed the thought of trying my luck further and decided to have a fill-up at the nearest station. And I pulled up at a fuel station where a million mosquitoes surrounded me and filled up their tanks as well.

Just not something that would have happened with this Hyundai Sonata Embera CRDI. Despite the big proportions, the car manages around 14.5kmpl on an average and this coupled with the 70litre tank gives it a range of about 1000kms before you need to look for a fuel station again. So it is economical and has a very good range which is great for those interstate runs when you find that all the flight tickets have been sold out. And it is fast enough to be used at times when you have missed your flight. All you have to do is find a chauffeur and sink to the backseat which is the place meant for the owner. It is on the backseat that you notice the width of the car. The front seats are so apart that they are on two edges of the road, quite literally. It is the widest car in its segment. In fact, it is wider than the Mercedes E class and even the Ford Endeavour which is one of the reasons why I said that a chauffeur would not be a bad idea.

But it is not to say that the car is not great to drive. In fact it is, once you get to a fairly empty road and get an idea of where on the road do the corners of the car lie. Then you begin to enjoy the delightfully light steering, the neutral handling and the brilliant suspension setup which despite being soft, has great levels of grip. To give you an idea of how soft the Sonata’s suspension really is, I advise you to look around (to make sure no one is watching) and press down on the boot-lid of a Sonata parked somewhere and compare the effort to the car nearby. It is almost American level of softness in its suspension and this is best experienced on the highways where it feels like an ocean-liner in serene water. The ride quality is outstanding even on bad roads and soaks up potholes like a bloating paper on ink.

One thing I like about the Sonata is its looks. It looks typically European with its Audi inspired headlights and bold shoulder line. There are splashes of chrome which adds to the elegance and the way in which the taillights and headlights complement each other at their edges is superb. The wide tail-lamp cluster and the twin exhaust pipes give the rear an unmistakable look. The engine is the same 2.0L CRDI unit in the Elantra and Tucson but has a reworked ECU that enables it to produce more power at 142bhp to cope up with the additional weight. The result is a 0-100kmph time of 11.6 seconds and a top whack of 200kmph. There is a hint of turbo-lag but this has more to do with the gearing of the car.

Coming to the interiors again, the seats are brilliant. Like the cars in its segment, only the driver gets powered seats. Finding a good driving position is quite easy with the steering wheel adjustable for reach and rake. The rear seat is wide and has acres of shoulder room and legroom and even with the tall seating position; there is a lot of headroom to spare as well. The main features include two airbags, ABS, adjustable head restraints and a cassette and CD player with a built-in subwoofer. To sum it up, this is a car that is best suited to cruising all day at triple digit speeds while being comfortable even when the road gets rough. And it is surprisingly economical for a big car, making it a better and more practical choice than the hottest selling Skoda Laura which is a segment lower and a full size smaller. This car is an opulent yet economical chauffeur driven limo and if you have to drive yourself, get the automatic which is even better.

Honda Civic Long Termer

Now those readers who know a thing or two about long-term test car may move on to the next paragraph. For others, here goes what a long termer is. We get a car or two every week as soon as the launch takes place . We drive them over a considerable distance for many days before giving you a reasonably accurate review. What we cannot tell you however is how the car will be like after a couple of month’s usage, whether it will still run effectively or will it break down whenever you are in a hurry to reach somewhere, how much fuel economy you can expect from it over the time and whether servicing and taking care of it burn a hole through your pocket. It is to know these cars better that we get long term test cars from companies. These cars will be in our fleet for a considerably long period, and we’ll be using them as our own cars, doing regular stuff that you would do if you were to buy them. Depending on our experience, we suggest you to buy one tomorrow or perhaps today afternoon itself, if you have the time or to keep your money in a safe and hand over the keys to your mother to be taken care of.

Over the years we have had quite a big number of long termers, some of which have done no more good than consume valuable parking space at the garage. So when the decision came to have a new fleet of long termers, it is the idea to have only the very best ones in their respective segments that won most applauses. We didn’t want to know what the weaknesses of the ‘average Johnies’ were. Instead we thought it much better to retest and highlight the real talents and flaws of the best in the segment. Also, a long termer is always under the threat of being called ‘useless and seriously flawed’ at any moment and for this reason only the most confident companies send us their long term cars. So when Honda sent us the Civic Automatic, we were more than happy to make way for it. The Civic is a highly desirable car and we wanted to know more about it. And the best part is that it looks dramatic.

Honda has achieved a very slippery body which also looks special. The style looks more futuristic than contemporary with sharp creases and a flowing body line. The short bonnet and the cab forward nature are well hidden by the fluidity of the design. Despite being nearly a year old it is still like a powerful eyeball magnet attracting glances from the young and the old alike.
Stepping inside makes one feel like an aircraft pilot. The tachometer dial has a fluorescent blue backlighting, white lettering and white needle which looks great. The speedometer, fuel gauge and temperature gauge are digital affairs which are at line of sight with the base of the wind screen. The advantage is that you need not look down to see them. But in fact, they are so clear and large that you are kept informed from time to time without having to look at the gauges every now and then.

The Civic is a low slung sedan which means getting in and out of the low seats is a small problem as most people pointed out. You need to exercise your calf muscles to get out of it which means you need to spend only less time in the gym. The seats are quite comfortable once you settle in. The back rest angle, the additional thigh support and the well padded central arm rest make life comfortable at the rear. The rear armrest comes with audio controls within the armrest, great when you have a chauffeur.

The 1800cc engine, is mated to a 5speed automatic gearbox, is a perfect combination. It puts out 130bhp which is adequate. The paddle shifts work wonders too when you are in a hurry. The automatic gearbox with provision for manual override allows the engine to be revved right up to the red line. When driven carefully, the Civic auto is almost as fuel efficient as the manual version. We manage to get around 11.8kmpl under regular 50:50 highway / city use which is commendable for a 1800cc automatic weighing 1.2 tons. More on the engine - performance and driveability later.

The Civic was showered by many awards including the ‘Car of the year’ by several magazines. Even Autocar crowned it as the ‘Car of the year 2006’. But all of them did miss out something. What they really wanted was to pick the best car launched during the year, but the Civic was more than simply being the best for that year. Nothing this brilliant has come our way until the Civic and nothing will, atleast for the next two years. They could have called it the ‘Car of the decade’ or something like that.

Volkswagen Passat 2.0TDI DSG

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway. 160kms of bitumen-coated tarmac stretching across the heart of Maharashtra and connecting two of the busiest metros in the country is surely a motoring enthusiast’s paradise if ever there is one, in India. There is no speed limit in all except the most winding sections which means you can go ‘pedal to metal’ and see what your car’s top speed really is. It is best enjoyed with a sportscar, perhaps a Bugatti Veyron or even lesser an Audi R8. Interestingly, I was in the Expressway, driving a front wheel drive diesel sedan with an automatic gearbox and four people on board. The only thing I had in common with the cars mentioned above was the famous DSG gearbox and the Volkswagen DNA that runs through the brands of other cars that are under the VW ownership.

I must remind myself that the Bugatti and Audi are too far off in my career but I was not disappointed with the Volkswagen either. Firstly don’t be fooled by that diesel engine. It may be slightly noisy and the 140bhp output may not give you any bragging rights, but it is more than adequate when it comes to making the VW rocket off the line. Secondly the VW is capable of cutting distances so fast that before I knew it I reached the end of the 160km expressway. And thirdly, it is an expert at disguising speeds that 150kmph felt like 100 and no one was complaining when I was bettering 180kmph.

The Passat comes with all the equipments that you can possibly think of in a car and has more. For a start it has six airbags, 12-way adjustable front seats, ESP(Electronic stability Programme), cruise control, cornering headlamps, rain sensors, parking sensors and two zone climate contol. It is the attention to detail that interested me more than these. For instance, the vehicle manual is stowed away in the glove-box and is accessible by pulling a strap. The front door has a thoughtful umbrella holder with holes for draining away water. The rear door has curtains that can be neatly tucked away, when not in use. The front cup holders have a unique revolving design that is not only good for accommodating containers of varying sizes, but also feels tech laden. I can go on…

The greatest thing about this car is the brilliant DSG gearbox. Not only does it take the load of shifting gears off your shoulders but it also lets you shift gears at will and have fun by allowing shifting in four ways. One in the sedate Drive mode, another in the quicker Sports mode, a third by pushing the mushroom like gearknob back and fourth and finally a fourth one by operating the paddles (think Honda Civic) behind the steering wheel much like in a Ferrari. This last one was my favourite since it reminded me of the Veyron again and this proved to be faster in the hills of Mahabaleshwar as the big VW was darting from corner to corner.

The engine produces 140bhp and 32.6kg-m of torque. The fun part is that this torque is concentrated at a narrow powerband. When you hit this, it immediately catapults you forward while the DSG gets the next appropriate ratio ready for you. The surge is so enjoyable that you will be looking for gaps in traffic to shoot the VW arrow. The engine is also very fuel efficient which offsets the only concerning parameter, the noise it produces.

The ride may appear slightly stiff when you hit the road, at first. It is stiff, but the ride is not anything to complain about except when you have a broken patch of road. In fact the ride quality only gets better with speed and at very high speeds it was quite well damped and the car goes in a serene way much like that of an ocean liner. And the upside to that stiff suspension set up is the handling which is very sporty and involving had it been not for that slightly numb steering. The steering loses precision and feels vague at the centre position but this is probably there to minimize the need for frequent corrections at high speeds. The body control is excellent and the car feels eager to change directions. The brilliant chassis fools you into thinking ‘rear wheel drive’.

And its talents didn’t stop just there… it went on to become one of my favourite sedans sold in India right now. It is much more capable than that 3series or C class but a lot cheaper. I can forgive the noisy engine and the stiff ride quality of this car. I can even see myself waiting with a bag filled with a lot of money, at a nearby dealership…but wait, as of now, there is no such VW dealership as the one nearby. The nearest one is in Bangalore and the farthest one in Delhi and in between, you have one in Mumbai as well. There are only three. And that is the only fault I can find with it.

Tata Safari 2.2

It is SUV time this year. Last week, we had the Montero which is a plusher version of the good Mitsubishi Pajero and is primarily meant for American markets. At Rs.40 lakhs it was way beyond the reach of many. So here is the Tata Safari which many call as the 'Poor man's Pajero', reborn with a new 2.2 L common rail diesel engine. Starting from Rs.7.5 lakh onwards, it is more of a ‘Sensible man’s Pajero’. For the price, you get a lot of well painted metal and glass. And unlike the Montero, you can take this for some great off-roading without worrying about the scratches and minor damages since it costs nowhere near those horribly priced SUVs out there. Even if you damage something, you can fix it at a fraction of the price as well.

Thankfully I didn’t break anything. The Safari can take a fair degree of beating in itself, thanks to the strong ladder frame and supple suspension. It took the rough terrain in its stride and didn’t complain a bit. See the pictures of the jumping Safari which was a demo vehicle and had only two wheel drive. It was doing this stuff all day in front of the camera and still didn’t show any signs of fatigue. The capabilities of the chassis and the battle tank like rigidity did impress us a lot and we think that the sticker ‘DEMO vehicle’ should have read ‘DEMOLITION VEHICLE’instead. It handles quite well for its size, despite the vague steering lacking consistent feedback. But care should be taken not to unsettle the vehicle and it is advisable to scrub some speed when there is too much wallowing when going over rough terrain. Tata has improved the suspension and consequently the ride quality with this vehicle and it shows.

Now the heart of the matter is the new 2179cc Direct Injection COmmon Rail(Hence Tata calls it the DICOR) engine developed in collaboration with AVL, Australia . It produces 140bhp and 32.6kgm of torque and incorporates a DOHC 16valve cylinder head and variable geometry turbo charger to minimize turbo lag. What amazes really is the refinement compared to the previous version which had the agricultural 3L engine from the 407 truck. The new engine is now sweeter sounding and more silent than even the Scorpio’s.

Despite the Variable Geometry Turbo, there is a slight turbo-lag until 1800rpm after which it pulls cleanly. The urgency of the previous 3L engine or the Scorpio will be missing but this is decent stuff indeed. This engine can pull the 2200kg Safari from standstill to 100kmph in about 15.4 seconds and haul it to a top speed of 156kmph and still remain fuel efficient. The car in its latest iteration has one of its serious flaw addressed - lack of power. Overtaking is now easier as the Safari does not run out of power as before. It has power band between the 2000rpm and 4000rpm which can be efficiently tapped by the five speed gearbox. As for the shift quality, it is smooth but precision could have been improved.

The Safari has the best rear seats in the business and that involves not just the other SUVs, but also some luxury sedans. The reason is the perfectly reclined back rest and the upright seating position which is not possible in many low sedan cars. The front seats are also quite supportive and come with individual arm rests. The middle row gets a roof mounted blower and the top end variant comes with Blaupunkt DVD player with LCD screens on the back of front head rests. It also has dedicated air conditioning vents and a 12 volt dc adapter that can come quite handy when you spend time in the backseat. The inside rear view mirror hides a small LCD screen that comes active once you slot into reverse. The reversing camera is mounted low in the rear bumper and has a good field of vision. It works well even in the dark but was tricky at times when the lens caught mist and dirt.

The Tata Safari 2.2 is an SUV that you cannot ignore if you are shopping around for one. There are various attractions like the immense road presence, great ride quality, a proper diesel engine, good rear seat accommodation, reasonable equipments and a very friendly price tag. This new engine is the result of a three year effort and will feature for the export markets as well. So you can buy it with your eyes shut. Quality has improved a lot over the past years but still leaves a lot to be desired. As for the new version, I would have liked to see a major facelift along with the new engine. But Tata has wasted this opportunity and restricted the facelift to a new double slatted front grill and spare wheel cover. But the design of the Safari still looks good and that for a ten year old design is saying a lot. The new variant may not be perfect but it is the best Safari yet.