Tata Motors finally launched its much-awaited Harrier in India yesterday. This brings to an end an extended period of pre-launch build-up during which pretty much everything about the Harrier except the pricing and some specifications were known. That closing piece of the puzzle is out now.
Tata’s newest challenger is available in four variants. While the base XE trim level is priced at INR 12.69 Lakhs, the flagship XZ retails at INR 16.25 Lakhs. Sandwiched by them are the XM and XT variants, priced at INR 13.75 and 14.95 Lakhs respectively. All prices are ex-showroom Mumbai. That’s smart pricing by Tata, undercutting main rivals like the Jeep Compass and the Mahindra XUV500. At these prices, the Harrier is perfectly poised to pull in customers from segments above and below.
Featuring Tata’s Impact 2.0 design philosophy, the Harrier sports contemporary styling that’s in line with the global design trends. And by that, we refer to the split light clusters up front where LED Daytime Running Lights take up the spots erstwhile occupied by the headlights. The latter are placed below on a separate pod that also houses the fog lamps. The grille that merges with the DRLs is shaped to look like the ‘Humanity Line’ that’s seen on all recent Tata models. The silhouette has classic SUV cues with flared wheel arches and plastic cladding that runs the length of the car. The floating roof with chrome inserts and the thin wraparound taillights connected by a piano black insert give the Harrier a chic look from the rear.
The interiors mark yet another step forward for Tata Motors. Harrier’s cabin is minimalistic, classy and, if initial impressions are anything to go by, appears nicely put-together too. The Signature Oak Brown interior colour scheme that’s shown in the picture together with the Oakwood finish applied on the dashboard look rich and inviting. Other attractions inside include a 8.8-inch ‘Floating Island’ on the center console that houses the infotainment system as well as a host of other controls, a part-digital instrument cluster, JBL-tuned sound system with nine speakers and an aero-throttle style parking brake.
While most of the aforementioned goodies are exclusive to the XZ variant, standard kit across the line-up include power steering, central locking, power windows, dual front airbags, Anti-lock Braking System with Electronic Brake-force Distribution, tilt and telescopic-adjustable steering wheel, projector headlamps, rear parking sensors and perimeter alarm system.
If that’s bare-bones for you, Harrier XZ with exclusive features like Xenon HID Projector headlamps, front fog lamps with cornering function, premium Benecke-Kaliko Oak Brown perforated leather upholstery, outside mirrors with logo projection, Terrain Response Modes (Normal, Rough and Wet), six airbags, Electronic Stability Program, Hill Hold Control, Hill Descent Control, Roll Over Mitigation, Corner Stability Control and Electronic Traction Control is the one you should be looking at.
Harrier is built on Tata’s new Omega Architecture, a modular platform derived from Land Rover’s legendary D8 architecture. That’s the platform that underpins the Land Rover Discovery Sport. Expect the chassis to be robust and abuse-friendly, traits that Land Rovers are known and appreciated for worldwide.
Currently, the Harrier is available with a sole diesel engine under the hood. This 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder diesel mill is named ‘Kryotec’ and derived from FCA’s MultiJet 2.0 that also powers the Jeep Compass. In the Harrier though, it is detuned to deliver 138 horsepower and 350 NM of torque, significantly less than the Jeep. Paired with this is a 6-speed manual transmission driving the front wheels. Neither All Wheel Drive nor an automatic transmission is on offer. With premium car customers and urban population preferring automatics these days, not having one in the lineup is a glaring miss. Worry not though, an automatic option is headed our way later this year, we hear.
With bold styling, plush interiors, potent engine and proven mechanicals, the Tata Harrier was already a tempting package. Spot-on pricing makes it just irresistible. Let’s wait and watch what this turns out to be for Tata Motors.
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