2019 Tata Harrier review, road test

Tata’s big SUV sure got people talking. But is it as good as everyone hoped it would be? Only an exhaustive road test can give the definitive verdict.

Published on May 07, 2019 10:00:00 AM

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The striking-looking Harrier stands out in the urban jungle and the real one.

Pinched glasshouse at rear looks sleek but rear window is small.

Thrust control-like handbrake lever nicer to look at than it is to use. It is fiddly to operate.

Make : Tata

Model : Harrier

We Like

Roomy and well-appointed interior
High speed manners
Value for money

We Don't Like

Ergonomic issues
A few rough edges
No automatic or AWD option

If there’s a model that repeatedly ‘broke the internet’ in 2018, it was the Tata Harrier. Right from the time the SUV was revealed as the H5X concept at the 2018 Auto Expo, there was unrelenting curiosity about what is Tata’s most ambitious SUV to date. And the interest only piqued when the final product’s pricing was announced in early 2019. Priced between Rs 12.69 and 16.25 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the near-4.6m-long SUV has single-handedly thrown established pricing structures out of whack. See it as a larger-than-average mid-segment SUV or an exceedingly well-priced premium one, if there’s one common thread, it’s that the Harrier is big on value.

The Harrier is also a landmark product, being the first model built on Tata’s new OMEGA Arc platform that’s derived from Land Rover’s D8 platform. In fact, the Harrier is the first new Tata built with subsidiary Land Rover’s know-how from the get go. In the pipeline is an automatic-transmission-equipped version, a higher-powered and BS-VI emission norms-compliant diesel that will come by April next year, a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol is in development and an all-wheel drive option is an outside possibility as well. Come 2020, a larger seven-seat version, previewed by the Buzzard concept earlier this year, will also go on sale. For the moment, however, there’s only one version – a 140hp diesel with a 6-speed manual – on sale and that’s the one that’ll be under the scanner in this test.