Engine and Performance
That brings us to the engine and performance. As of now, Tata Motors have only launched a front wheel drive, manual gearbox version of the Harrier. The 2.0-litre Multijet has been sourced from Fiat, and we’ve already seen it on the Jeep Compass. On the Tata, the diesel engine makes slightly less power of 140 PS but the same 350 Nm of torque. The idea here is to give it an edge in terms of fuel efficiency. The character of the engine remains the same and it isn’t high on refinement. It’s noisy right from the time one cranks it up and remains audible throughout its rev range. Throughout the drive, the vibes can be felt on the gear level and even the six-speed gearbox (part of the Fiat powertrain) has an unpleasant coarseness while shifting from first to second gear.
Things improve as you gather initial speed, as the remaining shifts are fairly smooth and the clutch feel is reasonably light for an SUV of this size. The good throttle response and low-end torque make it quick off its feet. There are three driving modes – Eco, City and Sport; as seen on other Tata cars. Eco mode squeezes the fun out of acceleration to make it more frugal, while the City mode doesn’t feel much different either. Sport is the most spirited and the mid-range in this mode feels strongest. It has just about enough grunt for overtakes, though at times you do desire more punch especially on the highway. Power starts to taper once it crosses 3,000 rpm leaving you wanting for more top-end burst. Cruising at three-digit speeds isn’t an issue at all, as long as you aren’t in a hurry to get there.
Off-Road Ability
Being an SUV, albeit a front wheel drive, the Harrier also gets three terrain modes – Normal, Rough and Wet which can be accessed using a rotatory dial on the centre console. These aim to provide better traction on tricky road surfaces. This is further supported by features like Hill Hold, Hill Descent Control, off-road specific ABS, stability control, corner stability control, brake wipe, roll-over mitigation and hydraulic brake fade compensation. These give a great sense of confidence and comfort while driving on a bad patch of road. For a front-wheel-drive, it does pretty decent off-roading.
Ride and Handling
A big reason for this feeling also is the new platform and its suspension setup. Moving to the monocoque construction has given this Tata a new-found body stiffness and driving dynamics and it remains their lightest SUV till date. The front suspension is carried over from the Land Rover’s D8 platform while the rear is a more cost-effective non-independent torsion-beam setup which has been designed by Lotus Engineering UK. It takes broken patches of roads with great poise and without getting nervous or out of hand. The occupants hardly realise as it sails through large pot-holes and uneven road surface.
On tarmac, driving at low speeds the suspension feels slightly firm, but it settles down with speed. There’s the unavoidable body-roll which only a fancier suspension could ward-off. The hydraulic steering feels a tad heavy, though it gets better at higher speeds, it can’t match up to modern electrically powered units. For a large SUV, the handling is very predictable which gives a sense of confidence to the driver.
Verdict
Compared to its current competition like the Mahindra XUV500 and Jeep Compass, the Tata Harrier is a fine SUV, no doubts about that. It looks bold and uncommon, is based on a proven platform, has good on and off-the-road dynamics and the engine is pretty efficient too. But it needs to iron out issues like NVH, uneven panel gaps and it could also have been more ergonomically sound. It also desperately requires an automatic version because there is a substantial demand for it in this segment. And an all-wheel-drive variant will only make the SUV more appealing. The Tata Harrier base XE variant costs Rs 12.69 lakh while the top-end XZ is priced at Rs 16.25 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), making it another attractive product in the Tata Motors line-up.
