Earlier this month, Tata Motors shocked the automobile industry by announcing that it is ditching the Gravitas name in favour of an iconic one – Safari. And now, the homegrown automaker has commenced production of the upcoming SUV. As revealed earlier, bookings will open soon, and Safari will reach showrooms in January 2021 itself. If you want to see the car up-close without leaving the safety and comfort of your home or office, you can do so via Tata Motors’ Imaginator AR (Augmented Reality) platform.

Now, there’s no denying that the Safari is, essentially, an elongated Harrier. To accommodate an additional row of seats, the Safari is about 6cm longer and approximately 8cm taller. Look closely, however, and you’ll spot some differences in design as well. The Safari flaunts a different grille draped in chrome, faux skid plates in silver, a stepped roof, chrome surrounds on the headlamp enclosures and a more upright tailgate. Even the taillamps are new.

Interiors? Well, Tata Motors hasn’t revealed them yet. But, it has mentioned that the Safari will boast an Oyster White theme with Ash Wood inserts on the dashboard. In all likelihood, the rest of the recipe will be shared with the donor car – the Harrier. That means the list of features will include a panoramic sunroof, an 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Tata’s iRA (intelligent Response Assistant) with connected-car features, a JBL sound system and a 7.0-inch colour TFT in the instrument cluster. Stuff like automatic climate control, auto headlamps and wipers, cruise control, power-adjustable driver’s seat and auto-dimming IRVM will also be on the list. Expect Tata Motors to offer both a six- and seven-seat layout with the Safari. And, going by the official images, expect it to have new colour options as well.

Powering the new Tata Safari will be the 2.0-litre Kryotec diesel engine, which produces 168bhp/350Nm. As standard, it will come mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, while a 6-speed automatic option will also be offered. Tata Motors could also introduce the convenience of AWD (All-Wheel-Drive). The OMEGARC platform that underpins the Safari and the Harrier can accommodate an AWD system and electrified powertrains.

The all-new Safari will become a direct rival to the MG Hector Plus (2021 models recently revealed) and the Mahindra XUV500 (all-new version coming later in 2021). Later, Hyundai will join the segment with a three-row version of the Creta.