Tata Harrier Review
I wrote about the launch of Tata harrier few months back you can read that here. Today i will give you detailed review of the new Tata harrier, which is according to me a great vehicle. As it is a Tata car build on a land rover platform. In fact, without the Tata batch you would not say it is a Tata car. It is a car which everyone will give a glance to. Weather they hate it or love it, still this design catches the eyes of many folks on the road.
Exterior
This new unconventional design is good when compared to all the other Tata cars. You can see the headlamp which is inspired by the Nissan Juke. The lights which you see on top are DRL’s with indicators and the headlamps are at the center.
The side looks very sexy with lots of interesting elements to it. The black C-pillar at the end gives the car a floating roof effect. The slick tail lamps give the rear end a sporty look.
Only thing that bothers me are the wheels, which are only 16 and 17 inches, which are quite small compared to the vehicle. But they are small so that you can have a better ride comfort. Also the alloys look very ordinary when compared to the extraordinary design of the car. You definitely want to swap theses wheels for an 18″ wheels with a sporty alloy, of course in the aftermarket.
Interior
Now the cabin, which looks very classy for a Tata car, if you remove the Tata logo from the steering you cannot say it is a car which is priced at this range. The material used are very rich. The wooden finish looks very classy which creates an ambience of a car which is a segment higher to it. Overall finishing is very good with excellent chrome finish compared to the other Tata cars. The handbrake is aircraft throttle styled, which is quite unique and gives an extra pleasure while driving.
The great pleasure is in the rear, the leg room and the sitting is great, the seat is quite flat and it could fit a third person. The comfort level is good, but there are few ergonomics issues like USB port are not easily reachable. But there is lot of cup holders, bottle pockets and a smartphone holder on the door.
The 8.8-inch touchscreen can be more responsive with brightness adjustment, because on bright sunlight there are reflections. It has an apple car play and android auto. The thing to notice is that even while the smartphone interface is active on the screen you can access the car native settings. There is a rear camera and rear parking sensor and navigation map.
The 7-inch screen which makes up of 2/3 of the instrument cluster. It displays power and torque digital meter, shows instant mileage, fuel gauge, current drive mode. It has 9 speaker JBL stereo system, auto climate control, cruise control, automatic headlamps, automatic wipers, driving modes, electric boot. But it misses out on driver seat electronic adjustment and sunroof.
Safety
Harrier gets 2 airbags are standard across the variants with ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) and EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribution), with 6 airbags on the top variant. Other safety features are TCS (Traction control system), ESC (Electronic stability control), Hill hold assist, hill descent control, rollover mitigation, corner stability control, off-road ABS.
Engine
There is only one engine option i.e. 2-liter diesel with a manual 6 speed transmission. There is no petrol option nor an automatic transmission and also no 4-wheel drive option. It is powered with 140 BHP and 350 Nm of torque, which when compared to other SUV in this section is bit underpowered. The same engine is used in Jeep Compass.
But when cruising around 2500 rpm it feels adequate and does the job. There is a bit of turbo lag when compared to the vehicle in its class. The engine could have been more refined, you can hear engine and transmission noise around 3000 rpm. The best part is the clutch is quite light with easy gear shift which is quite a surprise for a vehicle of this size.
When driving on rough roads you would not feel the bumps and potholes much, as Tata has done a great job in making the ride very comfortable. They have used a Lower Wishbone (front) and Twist blade (rear) suspension that does the job brilliantly. Though it still not at par with Jeep compass, but quite good.
Vairants
- XE (15.22 Lakh)
- XM (16.47 Lakh)
- XT (17.88 Lakh)
- XZ (19.42 Lakh)
Specification
| Dimensions & Weight | |
|---|---|
| Length | 4598 mm |
| Width | 1894 mm |
| Height | 1706 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2741 mm |
| Ground Clearance | 205 mm |
| Capacity | |
|---|---|
| Doors | 5 Doors |
| Seating Capacity | 5 Person |
| No of Seating Rows | 2 Rows |
| Bootspace | 425 litres |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 50 litres |
| Engine & Transmission | |
|---|---|
| Cylinders | 4, Inline |
| Displacement | 1956 cc |
| Valves per Cylinder | 4 Valves |
| Valve Configuration | DOHC |
| Fuel Type | Diesel |
| Engine Type | Kryotec, 2.0L Turbocharged Engine |
| Max Power (bhp@rpm) | 138 bhp @ 3750 rpm |
| Max Torque (Nm@rpm) | 350 Nm @ 1750 rpm |
| Turbocharger/Supercharger | Turbocharged |
| Turbocharger Type | Variable Geometry |
| No of gears | 6 Gears |
| Transmission Type | Manual |
| Drivetrain | FWD |
| Dual Clutch | No |
| Sport Mode | No |
| Manual Shifting for Automatic | No |
| Driving Modes | Yes |
| Engine Start-Stop Function | No |
| Alternate Fuel | Not Applicable |
| Compression Ratio | 16.5:1 |
| Suspensions, Brakes & Steering | |
|---|---|
| Suspension Front | Independent, Lower Wishbone, McPherson Strut with Coil Spring & Anti Roll Bar |
| Suspension Rear | Semi Independent Twist Blade with Panhard Rod and Coil Spring |
| Front Brake Type | Disc |
| Rear Brake Type | Drum |
| Steering Type | Power assisted (Hydraulic) |
| Wheels | Alloy Wheels |
| Spare Wheel | Steel |
| Front Tyres | 235 / 70 R17 |
| Rear Tyres | 235 / 70 R17 |
Overall it is best suited for our Indian roads, with great design and an interior which can give its competition run for money. We have to appreciate Tata for taking a huge step and giving us the Tata harrier. Only flaw which really bothers me is the powertrain, which can be improved.
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