Spied Again - Tata Safari Merlin

Harldy a day after we brought you our rendering, Safari Merlin has been spied again in Pune. Over its lifecycle, the Safari has seen four engines under its hood and two cosmetic makeovers. With local and foreign brands eying the Indian SUV space with new products, the alarm bell has certainly sounded for Tata to redesign the Safari again.

Caught testing by our reader Bhuvan Chowdhary in Pune, the Merlin hasn't lost any camouflage. The same vehicle has been seen testing around Pune for over a year now. In the initial days, the fully camouflaged mule fooled many into believing that this was an all-new Safari based on the Aria platform.

The fact is that there is no Safari on the Aria platform. What we get instead is a slightly reskinned current generation Safari that's aggressive to the pedestrian and easy on the driver. The heavily worked front-end and dual exhaust pipes add aggression while a reforms in the gearbox, steering, and suspension systems will make driving easier.

The technologies from the Aria like dual mass flywheel will also find a place on the Safari Merlin. The Safari is expected to be an improved product in almost every department. A price revision is also anticipated. The new Safari will debut in the coming months.