The Tata Harrier: Is it Land Rover enough?
It has been 11 long years since Tata Motors bought the iconic Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford. Ever since, every model that Tata Motors has launched has been eagerly anticipated to share technology directly from the JLR stable. Unfortunately, very little technology has actually trickled down and all Tata cars even today feel just that: Tata! That is about to change now. What Tata has done this time is made a brand new SUV based on what practically is a hugely popular Land Rover platform and called it: The Harrier! From a tried and tested Fiat sourced engine to suspension tuned by the legendary Lotus, Tata Motors this time have given it all. What's more? All of this at a price which is a fraction of what you would otherwise pay for Land Rovers that share this platform. Have they finally got a winner this time? Lets find out.
It is no secret that the Harrier is based on Tata's all new OmegaArc platform, which is a re-engineered version of the Jaguar Land Rover D8 platform adopted by models such as the Range Rover Evoque, the Discovery Sport and the Jaguar E-Pace. Confirmation of the same can be found by comparing the dimensions of the Harrier with that of the Discovery Sport. The Harrier is a few millimetres short of the Discovery Sport in length and width while it stands marginally taller and the wheelbases of the two vehicles are exactly the same. What that translates into is space. Acres and acres of space in the first two rows of seating.
The cabin itself is very well laid out. Ingress and egress is stress free. You just walk into the car, without the feeling of having to either climb or squat into it. The driver's seat is very SUVish and gives you a nice commanding view of the road ahead. You can also clearly see the edges of the bonnet and that gives you confidence to squeeze through tight spots quite easily. The steering wheel feels chunky, premium and well laid out in terms of the control buttons. The front row seats are supremely comfortable and come with manual adjustments for reach, height and recline. There is also adjustable lumbar support and it adds to the overall comfort that the front seat wraps you in. The rear seats are also extremely comfortable and the sense of space is prevalent all around. There is enough width for 3 adults to fit in. The headroom is massive. The legroom too is generous, rivalling that offered by most premium luxury SUVs more than twice the price of the Harrier. The trade off here is the boot space which at 425 litres is kind of a cramp even for a typical Indian nuclear family of 4.
Coming to the way it looks on the outside, to me the Harrier is a handsome looking SUV. It is tall, strong and well proportioned from all angles and doesn't look like it's a hatch on steroids. Most of the credit once again goes to that brilliantly engineered OmegaArc platform. The dual function LED DRLs that also double up as LED turn indicators, the Xenon HID projector headlights, the Jaguarlike 3D taillamps with piano black finish around them all make the Harrier look like today's car that is designed for tomorrow. Ten years down the line, the Harrier would still look relevant. The interiors look nice and premium with clever use of piano black and faux wood giving a simple yet elegant appeal. The dashboard looks neatly laid out with a BMWish 8.8" floating touch screen infotainment system. The system comes with voice recognition, Android Auto, Apple Car Play and has the acoustics department developed by none other than JBL. The sound quality is crisp with clear highs and punchy lows making the system apt for casual listeners and audiophiles alike. The instrument cluster has analogue RPM and speedometers and comes with a 7" coloured TFT display in the centre giving you a host of data, including navigation. Nicely done. The seats and door pad inserts come wrapped in premium Benecke-Kaliko perforated leather upholstery, adding to the touch of premiumness. The overall feel, fit and finish of this cabin feels from a segment higher and is full paisa vasool for the price you pay.
Now the heart of the matter. The reason why most of you are reading this: How does it drive? The Fiat sourced 2 litre diesel engine is a familiar one. We have seen it in the Jeep Compass. It will also be the one powering the MG Hector and I'm sure, like the 1.3 litre multijet, many manufacturers will be featuring this engine in their future models in different states of tune. Does the Harrier feel exactly like the Jeep Compass then to drive? Absolutely not! What Tata have done with this engine is very clever tuning. This engine in the Compass makes 170 PS of power while in the Harrier, a mere 138 PS. Where the Harrier trumps the Compass is in terms of driveability. Unlike the Compass' engine which wakes up suddenly once the turbo kicks in, the Harrier’s engine is powerful enough from the word go and there is enough firepower in its midrange to make it a tractable, yet fun car to drive. The car also comes with 5 riding modes like rain, rough road, city, sport and economy. Honestly, since it's a manual gearbox these riding modes are pointless. All you want to do is put it in sport mode and ride the car the way you want it to ride. The cabin is otherwise hush and insulates you well from the external din. However, a good part of the engine’s sound filters in especially when you’re trying to have “fun” with the car. To me that’s a good thing. It just makes the drive… well.. livelier!
What adds to the fun further is the way the ride and handling is set up. The turn ins are sharp, the hydraulic power steering weighs up well and the car feels extremely planted mid corner. What's even more commendable, is that this planted feeling does not come as a trade off for comfort. Show the Harrier a set of potholes and it will make a mockery out of it. A small thud is all that filters into the cabin. The rest is all gobbled up by the independent suspensions with aluminium bits. This is high end componentry in a mid segment car. Full marks to the guys at Land Rover and Lotus for tuning this chassis and suspension set up so so well. If there's one reason why you should go ahead and put your money on the Tata Harrier, this would be it. The ride and handling package is way superior to what you have or will see in a car in this segment.
That's it then. Tata Motors finally have a winner with the Harrier. Finally! Errr.... Do they? What robs the Harrier of its riding pleasure is its transmission. The gearbox is notchy and the throws are long making you reminisce Tata's truck lineage once again. The clutch travel too is extremely long and not something that I would call progressive. It disengages with an abrupt thud as the car judders into motion. The clutch itself is very hard and once again reminds you that Tata is the leading truck manufacturer of India. The overall driving experience is mentally pleasing but physically tiring to say the least. Thanks to the looooong travel clutch, one needs to sit very close to the steering wheel and hence, the A pillar. That, coupled with the high and gigantic rear view mirrors leaves a big fat blind spot for the driver on the right. Despite weighing in at a respectable 1.6 tonnes, the Harrier comes with drum brakes at the rear and the brakes just don't inspire enough confidence to push the car harder. There is no bite and just about decent progression and this once again robs you of the confidence that the chassis and suspension set up inspires. These are safety issue Tata. One just cannot ignore them. The hand brake is shaped like an aircraft lever and takes a bit of getting used to. There are ergonomical challenges in reaching USB and charging ports. And when Tata has thrown in so much of pointless stuff at this car, they could have easily thrown in a sun roof as well!
All in all, I've come back disappointed from the test drive. There's just so much that Tata could have done with this beautiful platform and all they could do is this. Give the client a Land Rover like experience but keep reminding him at each stage that what you're driving is a Tata. And Tata makes trucks. Good trucks. Why Tata why!? There may be some light at the end of the tunnel though as there is news that Tata will be bringing in an automatic variant very soon. If they can bring in the right kind of gearbox, maybe a dual clutch or a tried and tested torque converter, most of their issues will be sorted. The glaring blindspot too will be taken care of to some extent. So like any other Tata product, with the Harrier too there's only hope. A multi decade long hope of a billion people for Tata Motors to get it right this time.
