Your Safari review made interesting reading! Whilst you seem to display some technical mastery when it comes to anything on four wheels, your quite impotent when it comes to being politically correct.
Japanese don't like being called japs, but you could never see that beyond your English nose.
I have owned a Land Rover Discovery (1998), and a "Range Rover 4.6 HSE" (1998), both overrated, unreliable (electric's & plastics) English cars not suited for Indian conditions. Here in my country we have a lot of posers who drive these cars, and I here it is the same where you are at. The point is both cars mentioned above are only good for posing and motorways, thus loose out miserable on off road endurance. Despite the fact that the petrol and diesel engines in these cars are American hand me down V8's, and a German diesel (2.5 Tdi), what value addition have the companies made to the cars, apart from boxy bodies?
I now own a Tata Safari, and a Mercedes M 270 CDI. The Safari has out done itself whilst operating in extremely rough conditions out here, places where I would shudder taking any other car. From what I understand the Safari is targeted at farmers (in the UK) using single lane roads (b roads), country roads, and off road tracks, so you seem to have missed the point by comparing it to any thing at all. Even the retailing is done through farm equipment type outfits.
You are damned right in saying India is a hot bed of auto technology, we still have a chance of starting on a fresh piece of paper post WTO, I wonder where the English auto industry is headed, what with most local manufacturers going bust, and Germans on a buying spree.
Auto Enthusiast!
ginil@bom5.vsnl.net.in
ed: I'm so very sorry you find the word JAP to be insulting, but political correctness is the last thing on my agenda. For the record I hold the "Japanese" in the utmost respect, and in fact do spend a lot of my time in an Eastern activity which is full to the brim with Japanese philosophy. Strangely I don't take being called a Brit to be offensive, and I'm glad to see you assumed I was English.
Either way my point of view is still valid, The Tata is not suitable as a lifestyle 4*4 which is the market into which most big offroaders are sold in Britain. If its a competitor to the farmers Defender truck, fair enough, but for me the trim is just not rugged enough for that market either.
As for the Indian Industry I do wonder where it would be without the protection of huge import duties. But good luck to them.
To the Editor,
I was actually quite surprised at how you lashed out against everything. You should be writing in a skin head or Neo Nazi magazine instead of this one. I fully agree with the other guy that at least we can start fresh and make up for lost time. True most of the cars coming out of India are Japanese and European...but non of them are British marques. We have very capable off roaders like the Mahindra Jeeps, Tata's and the Tempo Trax's. The Landrovers are no more modern or comfortable then the ones mentioned above.
Having driven all of them and seen how capable they actually are, the editor couldn't be further off the mark in his opinions. Thank god at least all these companies are Indian owned and operated, the British Automobile industry is no longer British so you better call it something else. Stop holding on to the past, While you're at it, I advice you to go to India and find the dried up water beds for yourself.
javed121@hotmail.com <javed121@hotmail.com>
Mr Ed Brit English,
I drive a Tata Safari in Zambia and have taken it off road (not just the pavement) here and in Zimbabwe. It's quite unstoppable in low ratio (useful in towing out a bogged down Range Rover frolicking foolishly in the Serengeti). It looks quite good, and the lofty driver's seat lets you to look down your nose at most other 4X4's (although the competition has no idea that the power antenna won't retract and that the power mirrors are focussed permanently at the sky). Appearance, sometimes is (almost) everything, eh wot?
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