Ritesh Madhok
The Harrier has been one of the most waited for car models of recent times, right since it showed up at the 2018 Auto Expo as the H5X concept. We were in freezing, but colorful Jodhpur to get our hands on the latest SUV from Tata Motors and here’s our detailed road test review.
Exteriors
The Harrier is designed on a very modern and trendy design language.You instantly relate the car with Land Rover models due to its similar character lines and styling. The vehicle has a proper SUV stance and looks very well-proportioned when seen from all angles. The face of the Harrier gets strip DRL light that is placed on the bonnet, sill line extending from the front fender to the center grill, below this is the projector headlights and under it are the round fog lamps. The center grill comes with signature Tata family humanity grill in piano black finish.
The high bonnet comes with neat design lines. The fenders which look beefy and muscular come with fiber protectors. The wing mirror also gets Harrier logo projection as puddle lamps. The windows get the blacked out masking on the pillars and a neat-looking chrome strip that runs on the top, starting from the wing mirror, and integrating into the chrome Harrier badging on the C Pillar above the fixed quarter glass. The sloping roofline gets bisected with the chrome strip, giving it a floating-like look. The Harrier comes with Goodyear 235/65 R17 spec Wrangler tyres, mounted on 5 Star design silver alloys. The rear profile comes with slim extended design LED tail lamps that are very well integrated into the body line.
Interiors
Step inside the Harrier and you notice the spacious cabin area. The dash gets a soft touch top section, while the middle section comes in Oak wood and satin metal inserts below. The instrument cluster is a mixed one with the left in LCD which includes the RPM meter.The right section gets the mechanical Speedo dial and needle. The chunky leather wrapped steering wheel is a 4 spoke design & getsall the control buttons along with Cruise control. The center dash gets an 8.8 inches touch screen unit compatible with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, telephony, FM, USB etc. The sound system is from JBL which is a 320RMS unit, has 9 speakers playing out. The climate control is a single zone unit with vents for the rear passengers.The dash also gets the drive control buttons (Eco & Sport). The center console comes with Terrain Response unit that lets you toggle between the Normal,Wet and Rough Roads modes. Behind the gear shifter is the Aero Throttle inspired hand brake lever.There are around 28 utility storage spaces in and around the Harrier’s cabin.The boot space is of 425 litres.
Engine – Transmission – Drive
Powering the Tata Harrier is the 2.0L 4-cylinder Turbocharged Diesel engine. This is the Fiat sourced 1956cc motor that Tata terms as the Kryotec engine with a power output of 140Ps and torque figures of 350Nm with a 6-speed manual transmission.
Start the engine using the push button and it settles to its idle rev in a few seconds, shift to the 1st gear and you notice the surge of power and torque brewing as the SUV moves ahead. The power delivery is quick, but in a more civilized fashion. Gear shifts are crisp. The clutch throw is slightly more than needed. The steering feedback is on the heavier side and perfect to highlight the SUVish brute feel. We did a bit of mild, off-roading too and the (Terrain Response) Rough Road mode worked flawlessly. Then for the highways you can choose between the Economy and the Sport mode. The suspension setup is brilliant and guys from JLR and Lotus must be commended for getting the suspension tune spot on for our conditions. At high speeds, the Harrier felt very much home which included speeds of 170kmph on open stretches.
Verdict
Well, in one line if you want to know how the Harrier is… The Harrier is the best ever Tata Motors produced car. It has everything in its favor, from exterior head turning styling to a very well appointed cabin along with a super potent 2.0L engine. Harrier is here and it is all ready to shake up the segment from the word Go!
