Earlier this year, Tata Motors introduced ADAS features to the pre-facelift Harrier and Safari with features like forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, blind spot detection and lane departure warning. Lane-keep assist, however, was not part of the suite. The feature detects when a car is drifting out of its lane and actively intervenes in the steering even if the driver has given no input.
Tata Motors says steering intervention was not possible earlier as the SUVs were equipped with a hydraulic power steering setup. However, as the facelifted SUVs have switched to an electronic power steering system, the company says lane-keep assist is now possible.
Curiously though, Tata Motors has not introduced the feature with the recently launched Harrier and Safari facelifts. The carmaker says it’s still working out its calibration but in what will be a relief to early buyers of the new SUVs, it will be later added to the initial lot of cars via a software update.
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The presence of lane-keep assist will further up the Safari and Harrier duo’s safety quotient, which recently not only secured a 5-star Global NCAP rating for adult and occupant protection but also netted the highest scores so far for any vehicle tested under its Safer Cars for India programme.
Besides the software update to the steering system, Tata Motors also indicated that it will periodically roll out OTA (over the air) updates for the new advanced infotainment system that it has introduced on the facelifted Harrier, Safari and the Nexon line-up.
Dipan Sur
Dhruv Dhaka
Viraaj Bhatnagar
