Tata Safari Storme or the Renault Duster? Both coming this July

Tata Safari Storme and the Renault Duster, launches of both are due in July. The Duster with its compact dimensions has already become the talk of the town. Those waiting to buy a diesel SUV in the price bracket of Rs 8-11lakhs, will have to hold on for a few more days, as two new exciting options are on their way. The Renault Duster will come with three engine options, one being a 1.6-litre petrol and the other two being differently tuned versions of the 1.5-litre diesel (85bhp and 108bhp). The Duster is a compact SUV, when compared to the Safari Storme and it can sit five people with comfort and not seven.

The Duster being a new model is likely to attract more audience as it is a brand new product in India. Even though the Safari is based on the X2 platform, looks are similar to the old Safari and it could work in the favour of the Duster. Priced between 8-11 lakhs, the Safari Storme might be sold along with the old Safari. The Storme is based on the X2 platform, like the Aria making the car lighter, as its chassis is made up of hydroform chassis. Tata Safari Storme fills in the gap between Safari and the Aria. The Safari Storme is in its 2.2-litre 16-valve common rail (DiCOR) engine (138bhp power; 320Nm torque) with a variable geometry turbo, mated with a 5-speed manual transmission.

Electronic shift-on-the-fly (ESOF) enables shifting from 2WD to 4WD even on the move. With 5.4m of turning radius, Tata claims it have best-in-class ground clearance of 200 mm; other brownies include electrically operated ORVMs and a reverse parking system makes driving convenient. It is also believed that the interiors of the Safari Storme are likely to receive a sea of change and there could be some extra bells and whistles on the new SUV, when compared to the one that was showcased at the Auto Expo, earlier this year.

Read More on : Tata Safari Storme detailed review