The Tata Harrier five-seater SUV resembles H5X concept in a number of ways and will be launched in early parts of 2019
Tata Motors have been raving about the forthcoming premium SUV for quite a while and it is just months away from shedding its camo and enter showrooms. The Harrier will make its market debut in January or February 2019 and will address a new space Tata have been familiar with but with largely dissatisfied results.
Before the latest crop of vehicles based on Impact Design language, Tata Motors had primarily been known for its Indica and the big Safari SUV. The Safari Storme would have inspired Tata to sell a bigger SUV in the form of Harrier, as it rivals the best-selling Hyundai Creta with a competitive package.
Our rendering based on spy shots with red exterior paint job of the production model gives a close indication of what you can expect when Tata Motors officially lift the cloak, as advanced in-car connectivity and premium interior are also on the cards.
The Harrier five-seater is the first vehicle to be based on Impact Design 2.0 that was confirmed to have several segment-leading features and technology. Build on the all-new OMEGA (Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced) platform, a cost-effective derivative of Land Rover’s D8 architecture, the Harrier has an off-roading soul to start with.
With the exterior a thorough descendant of the H5X Concept, the Mumbai-headquartered brand have made necessary revisions, and as the test prototype evolves it is easy to see why Design Head Pratap Bose’s statement of production model replicating the concept by around 85 percent coming true.
The monocoque SUV features sleek LED Daytime Running Lights residing under the sweeping bonnet. The grille area is shrunken unlike other Tata models and has a new lighting housing in the bumper section with projector lamps and reflector lens. The overall silhouette and the compact rear end resemble the concept in more ways than one.
The Harrier SUV derives power from a 2.0-litre Multijet four-cylinder diesel engine sourced from FCA and is also used in the Jeep Compass. With the five-seater Harrier expected to develop 140 horsepower, the seven-seater SUV directly rivaling Compass will likely be tuned to produce 170 hp.
The Harrier will have two transmission choices as a standard six-speed manual will be accompanied by six-speed torque converter automatic reportedly sourced from Hyundai. With multiple driving modes and good off-roading capabilities, the Harrier’s top-end could get all-wheel-drive configuration to rival XUV500 AWD.