Tata Harrier was recently spied with a panoramic sunroof and 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels. Could it be the new top variant?
Tata is gearing up for competition in one of the most competitive segments in India today – mid-size SUV. With new entrants in the market Kia and MG Motor offering a healthy feature-list with their respective cars, the Harrier’s popularity in the market is in jeopardy.
Tata recently introduced a Dark Edition featuring an all-black interior layout and exterior paint scheme on the top of the line XZ variant. Seeing the competition, Tata also started offering an electric sunroof outsourced from Webasto for both new and existing customers at a price of Rs 95,100 (plus installation charges).
Likely to be be top-end ‘XZ+’ variant, the spy shots reveal Harrier with a large factory-fit panoramic sunroof. The Harrier will only be the second car in India to be offered with a panoramic sunroof under Rs 20 lakh, alongside its rival MG Hector.
The spy shots also reveal a new set of diamond-cut alloy wheels. The 17 inchers currently on offer look a tad bit too small for the SUV this size. The bigger 18-inch alloys are wrapped in a 235/60-section Bridgestone Ecopia rubber.
Tata might also go ahead and offer some new features with the XZ+ variant, including a tyre monitoring system. The current top-end XZ variant is priced at Rs 16.76 lakh (ex-showroom), and expect the XZ+ variant with all the changes to command a premium of around Rs 1 lakh over that.
The Harrier’s 2.0-litre diesel engine is also set to be made BS6-compliant, and it will likely be more powerful than the current unit. A 1.6-litre turbo-petrol motor is also in the works along with Hyundai-sourced 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
A seven-seat version of Tata Harrier, called the Buzzard was revealed at the 2019 Geneva motor show, and is set to hit the markets next year. It will rival the upcoming six-seat MG Hector, also set to be officially unveiled next year. The five-seat version of the Harrier currently on sale puts up against the MG Hector, Mahindra XUV500 and some variants of the Jeep Compass, Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos as well.