Tata will keep the Safari badge alive by honoring all their SUVs with an all-wheel drive system with the ‘Safari Edition’ badge. The first of them will be Tata Hexa ‘Safari Edition’ we saw at the 2020 Auto Expo.
The Tata Safari has been an iconic vehicle not only in Tata’s lineup but in the entire Indian automotive scene. It was only recently that Tata discontinued the Safari in India. It was one of those SUVs which had an almost cult status. Tata Motors is however not done with the Safari badge just right away. No, there’s not another Safari coming up but the name will be used as a badge on some other Tata cars.
What it essentially means is that any Tata car with an all-wheel drive system will eventually be christened as the ‘Safari Edition’. We saw a glimpse of that at the 2020 Auto Expo with the Tata Hexa Safari Edition. The Hexa Safari Edition gets an all-wheel drive system and a little more rugged look with blacked out alloy wheels and all-black body cladding all around as opposed to the silver and black cladding on the regular Hexa.
That aside, there was obviously the ‘Safari Edition’ badge on the outside and also on the inside on the dashboard. This initiative is similar to Jeep’s Trail-Rated badge, which is present on its off-road vehicles. Its a rather nostalgic and a special way to pay tribute to what has been a really iconic vehicle. And this ‘Safari Edition’ badge will just not be restricted to the Hexa.
Also Read : The Tata Sierra Concept Could Actually See Production
This badge will also be put on other Tata cars in the future like the Gravitas and the Harrier. The all-wheel-drive variants of both SUVs are expected to hit showrooms soon after the petrol variants of both SUVs are launched. The AWD Gravitas and Harrier will most likely utilise the 170PS 2.0-litre Multijet engine. We expect it to be offered with both manual and automatic options.
Also Read : Here’s All You Need To Know About The Almost-Production Ready Tata HBX
Tata gave us a huge surprise at the Auto Expo by bringing back the Sierra nameplate. And just like the original Sierra, the Sierra EV Concept had the audience absolutely dazzled at what it was. Perhaps, in the future, if the Sierra actually makes it to production, we might even see a Sierra with a ‘Safari Edition’ badge. Wouldn’t it be a great thing to see these two iconic nameplates together? It may be a distant dream, but we do hope atleast the Sierra makes it to production.
