Tata Harrier SUV will go on sale in January 2019 in India and ahead of which the world premiere could be hosted in December
Having introduced the JTP versions of Tiago and Tigor with much fanfare, Tata Motors now focusses its attention on bringing in the long anticipated Harrier. Confirmed to enter the market in early 2019, most likely in January, it will be unveiled beforehand in December according to the latest rumour mill circulating on the internet.
Tata has indeed sped up the lengthy teaser campaigns of the Harrier while short Youtube videos emerge often showcasing the capabilities of the five-seater. Tata says the premium SUV has been tested in different surface and weather conditions for about 2.2 million km and has good water wading capacity as well as providing best-in-class cabin cooling.
Based on the OMEGA Arc (Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced Architecture), the monocoque SUV is derived from Land Rover’s D8 platform that underpins over a million SUVs worldwide. It will likely share the same wheelbase with Land Rover Discovery Sport and in fact Tata for most part of the early testing days used the Discovery’s body to hide the actual production Harrier on roads.
The mechanical influence of the legendary British SUV maker on the Harrier will be evident on the beaten path. The Hyundai Creta rivalling SUV will have top-notch off-roading capabilities aided by the multiple driving modes from the 2.0-litre Kryotec four-cylinder diesel engine, which should be good enough to produce a maximum of 140 horsepower.
The Mumbai-based brand will equip the Harrier with standard six-speed manual and optional six-speed torque converter automatic sourced from Hyundai. The first new generation Tata model to be based on OMEGA Arc will also be the first model to adorn the Impact Design 2.0 philosophy with segment-leading wheel sizes, a spacious interior and intuitive in-car technologies.
The Harrier won’t just stop by and compete against Hyundai Creta as the alleged on-road price range of Rs. 16-21 lakh will make it a firm contender for Jeep’s successfully running Compass as well. Bookings for the Tata Harrier have already commenced across dealerships for initial deposit of Rs. 30,000 since mid-October.
The upmarket interior with large touchscreen infotainment and Harman audio is supported by the alluring H5X concept based exterior that leaked online recently.