Didn't I tell you guys, didn't I promise you guys that we'd have these two cars back
on this channel. Well, here's me keeping my promise because this is part two of our mega
comparison test between the new XUV700 and the Tata Safari, we started off with
the desi superstars’ theme, and it sort of continues because these two cars are the big deal.
Now, both of these are diesel and this is going to be predominantly more about a diesel versus diesel
test because we didn't do a direct comparison test between the two engines because the XUV was a
petrol and of course, Safari was a diesel, because you can't get one in petrol, so this one is a lot
more, well apples to apples. But before we actually get into that, there's something about Safari that
I've realised just recently that I think we need to talk about in a little bit more detail, but for
that I need to get inside the car and not sit here as if I'm having a bit of a picnic.
Okay, so the Safari in its top spec variations, uh actually no, it's got many, many top spec
variations, you've got the standard car, then you've got this, which is the Adventure Persona,
you've got the Black Edition, you've got the Gold Edition in like the white gold and the black gold,
so you've got essentially, five different top-of-the-line cars to choose from
and what Tata has done and I don't know how they'd managed to pull this off,
because it's not that they've got economies of scale on their side with each variant,
but they've given five different interior options or five different interior colour options
with each of those five different variants. So, if you want to buy a top-of-the-line XUV700, for
instance, you get a standard sort of beige-ish, ivory-ish interior and that's all you really get.
If you want to buy a top-of-the-line Tata Safari, you can choose between five different versions and
get five completely different interiors and as a choice to customers, that is incredible. That's
not something you see generally in the auto industry in like a mass market scenario. Sure,
Porsche can give you a Paint to Sample exterior and Bentley can give you whatever colour leather
you want on the inside, but a mass market brand and a 25 lakh-ish rupee range doing five different
interior options on a mass market SUV, that is something that we should tip our hats to for Tata
and unlike the XUV, on those top-of-the-line versions, you now get ventilated seats,
not only in the front, but also in the rear and if I was buying a car,
especially in a place like Delhi, or Rajasthan, for example, which gets really hot, or somewhere
in central India, which gets really really hot, and I was being chauffeured around, I'd
just buy this because it has mid row ventilated seats and what else in this category or even
three times more expensive, gets that? Nothing short of maybe a BMW 7-Series or an Audi A8,
I can't think of something cheaper than that, that gets ventilated seats in the rear. And again,
that's something that Tata's giving mass market and that's something that should be appreciated.
Right and now that I've done my monologue for the day, I think since we're in the Safari,
it's time to take this out on a bit of a quick drive and to see how it compares versus the XUV700,
which of course we know drives really really well. What do you think,
what do you think's gonna come out on the top? Stay tuned.
You know, everybody on the internet who says that the Tata Safari is not an SUV has absolutely no clue
as to what they're talking about, sure, it's front- wheel drive but you don't need all-wheel drive in
an SUV, it's more of a body style thing and it's more of bulk and girth and you know what, the only
thing I can describe the Safari with is maybe a nautical reference, you know what this feels like,
with all this metal in front of me, it feels like I'm piloting a big, massive aircraft carrier.
It actually feels that huge. There is incredible presence that this thing has on the road
and that's just, it's just something that it does it just something that it has over even the XUV700,
but let's talk about the engine because that's the point of this video and that's what we really
are making this video for, the diesel versus the diesel now,
this is of course the 2.0-litre Fiat sourced multi-jet engine, which makes a 170hp and makes
350Nm of torque and we've of course driven this engine across various platforms in the past and in
the current present and we all know how responsive and how well, how do I put it, how responsive, how
up to date, how modern and how much fun this engine actually can be, handles bumps well too.
350Nm of torque is a lot of power and a diesel power, diesel torque is what sometimes we tend
to miss when we drive all these new turbo petrol smaller engine cars, but,
when you do need to
get a moving on, all those torques come in, in a nice big surge, typical of a big diesel engine,
another speed breaker, god there're speed breakers everywhere, no wonder people are buying these
big SUVs all the time to get over these bumps that are literally everywhere, I mean, look,
there's another one that's literally right there about 200 metres from where the last one was.
Nonetheless before I start going into a rant, as I was saying there is so much torque that
this engine has, there's so much absolute driving ease that this engine brings to the table and if
you are buying a Safari, I strongly suggest that you skip that manual gearbox and you go straight
to the six-speed automatic because this is a really, really well sorted six-speed automatic
and with a car this big, honestly, as I've always said in so many videos now on this channel,
do you really need a manual? Come on, who are you kidding? This isn't like an enthusiast's car where
you're going to prove anything to your friends, get the automatic, save yourself the trouble,
ease of driving is better, the way it puts down his power's better.
But, is the XUV that step up? Because of course the XUV does have a slightly bigger engine.
Do you know what the great thing about Mahindra is? They will sacrifice
that one or two kilometres per litre to give you an engine that drives just so much nicer
than almost anything else. Now this of course is the 2.2 CRDe and it makes a 185hp
and 450Nm of torque. 450, do you know what I call that? I call that yummy levels of torque because
when you put your foot down,
you know what this does? It does the same thing
to my brain that a big bar of chocolate does, as Rohan likes to call it all the time,
the endorphins have been released, ladies and gentlemen.
I have a big smile on my face and I am a happy Cyrus. This is what the car makes me feel,
makes me feel happy. It is a great car to drive, it definitely drives better than the Safari, doesn't
feel as cumbersome as a Safari either. It feels light on its feet, it is faster, it's nimbler,
even though it is almost as big, it doesn't feel big, it feels sort of shrunken around you.
Does it have the same road presence as the Safari does? No absolutely not. The Safari will always have,
speed breaker, god, the Safari will always have that better road presence because it is,
at least by the look of it, a bulkier, bigger car, in fact, I would say, speed breaker, god,
you know what, this should be a drinking game, every time I go over a speed breaker you guys take
a drink. Nonetheless, as I was saying, the Safari will always be a big bulky car, in fact short of
a Fortuner, it is the biggest baddest, brawniest affordable SUV out there. But this this feels
chic, it feels modern, it feels tight around you,
it feels like it's been engineered really well too.
So, driving dynamics to driving dynamics,
I think it's a no brainer, better road presence, better road manners.
So how should we sum this up then? We think it's a straight set win for the XUV700 here, unless of
course your main need for an SUV is to bully other road users in which case the Safari
is the better option. The XUV clearly has the advantage over the Safari in terms of tech
and interior quality and now we know that the diesel is superior to drive too.
Yes, the verdict is pretty much simple, the XUV is the better, bigger, more hit inducing desi superstar.
No wonder it has a waiting list that stretches into mid 2023
or has dealers asking for absolutely absurd cash premiums for it. So,
if you want one, you better be lucky or rich or very, very patient.