One look at the sales charts and it is clear that we Indians love SUVs, so much so, that we want one as an option in pretty much every size. Recognizing this trend, almost every automaker sells an SUV across their price range and if you look at recent car launches, most of them are SUVs as well. But if we go back to where it all started then arguably, it goes to 1998 – the year when Tata Motors came out with the Safari. A mid-sized SUV by today’s standard, but when the Safari came out 22 years ago, it was seen as the ultimate form of luxury. Now, however, as India has moved to BS-VI emission norms – they became mandatory from April 1, 2020 – the Tata Safari has unfortunately driven into the sunset. And given how everyone’s caught up with news related to the Coronavirus pandemic, we thought that perhaps taking a look at the legacy of the Safari will serve as a good reminder about the ‘OG’ SUV as we could not give it the farewell it deserved.
