2005 TATA Safari LX review from UK and Ireland

This car has been a nightmare since I bought it.

I knew it was not going to be a fast model, but I didn't know that it doesn't go uphill.

The wheel tracking/alignment was not right since purchase, but the dealership claims that I probably drove over a stone or a pot hole and caused the fault... it's a 4 X 4, with two settings and a two wheel drive setting. It's meant to be driven off road (not that it has), but would I even consider chancing that in this vehicle?

It has to be serviced every 5000 miles according to the manufacturer, because if you don't the thing will die of respiratory failure.

It has leaked oil since its 1st service, mostly form the turbo charger. At one point I was putting up to 5litres of oil a week into it just to stay on the road.

There is a problem with the gear box, not my diagnosis but their dealerships, and TATA are refusing to replace the gearbox even though its still under warranty.

The air bag controller is faulty since purchased, despite having a new one fitted.

Buying simple spares such as an air filter is impossible. My nearest main dealer is over 90 miles away. So I tried to get my car serviced recently, but the garage couldn't source the air filter locally.

Now I am waiting for both TATA and the dealership to tell me that I could have gotten a new gearbox under warranty, in 6 months time, when the warranty is up.