Tata Safari Dicor, the popular SUV from the home-grown automaker has been discontinued in India. Tata Motors has removed the model from its official website, while its modern iteration - the Safari Storme, will now solely represent the Safari moniker in the Indian market. Both the company as well as Tata Motors dealers have confirmed that the Tata Safari Dicor is no longer in production. Until Tata Motors pulled the plug on it, the Tata Safari Dicor was available in two variants - LX 4x2 and EX 4x2. Some of the dealers we spoke to said that they might have a few units in stock, so if you were planning to buy the Safari Dicor anytime soon, then you could get one at a discounted rate.
When we contacted the company, a Tata Motors spokesperson said, "Phasing out a variant is a common phenomenon in the auto industry. Over the last two decades, the Safari has been well-regarded and awarded for its masculine stance, drivability and ruggedness. While we have discontinued the production of one of the variants - Safari Dicor, the Safari Storme, the new generation model from the family continues to sell as part of our product portfolio, carrying forward the Safari legacy."
First introduced in the Indian markets in 1998, the Tata Safari has been one of the most popular SUVs to be sold in the Indian car market. An icon in its own sense, the Tata Safari initially came with a 2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine that used to churn out 86 bhp and came mated to a 5-speed synchromesh manual gearbox. While the 2003 facelift of the Safari just included cosmetic updates, in 2005, the company introduced a new 3-litre Direct Injection Common Rail engine (Dicor) and added the Dicor suffix to the name. Power output was bumped to a good 115 bhp and 300 Nm of peak torque. The engine came mated to a new 5-speed manual gearbox. Two years later the company introduced the now on use Euro4 compliant 2.2-litre Dicor turbo diesel engine which is not only more powerful but also more efficient. On the Dicor, the new engine made about 140 bhp of max power and 320 Nm of peak torque while mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox.
In 2012 the company introduced the second generation model of the Safari Dicor christening it the Safari Storme, which is currently on sale in India. This one was based on the new X2 platform that underpinned the Aria and came with a stronger chassis, improved styling, quality equipment and better features. Despite its introduction, Tata Motors continued to sell the Dicor simultaneously owing to market demand, while the Storme co-existed with it as a more premium version. The powertrain, however, is the same in both the models. Having said that, towards, the end of 2015 the company introduced an improved version of the engine exclusive to the Storme that makes a segment-best 154 bhp and 400 Nm of peak torque and was christened Varicor 400.
While it might be hard to believe now, the Tata Safari has been an aspirational car for many of us, including start cricketer and current Indian skipper - Virat Kohli. In fact, during a special interview a couple of months back, Kohli told us that the Tata Safari was his dream car too at a point and was one of its first cars he bought as well.
