At last a replacement for the Lada . . . and basic motoring doesn't come more basic than this, unsophisticated, cheap and very rough at the edges. As a starting block for Rover's relationship with India's largest conglomerate, Tata, it would suggest that they've a long and bumpy road ahead. Michael McAleer reports.
The range features two pick-up versions and a mainstream budget entry Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), which is most definitely a misnomer given its complete lack of sportiness.
The Safari could be the dream SUV of the environmentalist - if it were to become popular it would surely drive most motorists back to the saloon market. A bargain basement offering, it's aimed at people whose wallets are tighter than a thong on a hippo. It's hard to see why, even with its bargain price, you would not opt for even a used Discovery or suchlike. There are those who always want to buy new, of course.
Talk to anyone involved and they'll freely admit the weaknesses. For that they are to be admired. But then again, there's no point in trying to hide the obvious - the Safari would have seemed basic even back in 1980.
The promise is that new models will follow in 2005, with a new petrol engine already available in some southern hemisphere markets.
According to Stuart Adam, director of Phoenix Distribution, the parent company of MG Rover, they've gone to Tata with several alterations and found themselves pushing an open door - a revolving one, presumably, if this product is to be shipshape for 2005. Whether Rover, with all its own financial problems, can wait for Tata to get it right remains to be seen.
Founded in 1887 by Jamsetji Tata, patriarch of the dynasty which still owns the company, Tata is India's largest conglomerate, involved in everything from textile mills to hotels in Bombay and London, information technology and even Tetley tea. For all its great business acumen and strong product range, the Safari suggests that as cars go Tata makes great tea.
The gearbox churns and groans, particularly at low speed, and changing gear is like guiding a spoon through porridge. There's a large 1970s dial that lets you change from two- to four-wheel-drive and then to low gear ratios. In fairness, the Safari has had compliments on its off-road ability, and one insane woman in Britain drove one the length of Africa.
Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to take it off-road. However, given that it had problems mastering a steeply inclined slip road, we have our questions. It offers the sort of performance that makes JCBs look sporting. With only 90 bhp, it has an impossible task pulling a vehicle that weighs more than 2,000 kg. Tata claims the Safari will do 90 mph, but it seems to run out of steam significantly earlier. With a claimed 0-60 mph of 19 seconds it's one of the slowest-accelerating cars on the market.
Of course, it's not intended for tearing around, but it struggles to keep up with normal traffic on a motorway.
Steering is perhaps the Safari's worst feature, though there are several contenders for that title. It's loose and unfeeling and feeds no information back to the driver. On a typical winding country road there was far too much play. We were never sure if we had turned the wheels too much or too little to make the next corner. It takes quite some distance for the front wheels to even register a change in direction. The last time we drove something like this it was in a soapbox race using a rope to steer the wheels.
Inside, the layout is basic, right down to the door handles and locks which remind one of the sort of workmanship which came out of the Soviet Union before the end of the 1980s.
For those who enjoy driving, the best moment in a Safari is when you park it and walk away. It's got one thing going for it - price. At €29,495 it's €15,345 less than a Land Rover Discovery, but it's a world apart.