[FrodoOfTheShire]

I see many BHPians here saying that -

GTO's "good" = Normal folk's "good enough"

But its important to note that, even though he feels its a "good" car, he has still recommended to wait.

In a nutshell, the Harrier is a “good” SUV, not “great”. It certainly didn’t impress me as much as say, the Hexa did at the time of its launch, or the Nexon. IMHO, it feels like Tata has rushed into launching the car. I’d much rather they’d have taken another 6 – 12 months and launched a perfectly sorted car (if you are considering buying one, I recommend waiting for the 2020 Harrier with all its rough edges ironed out).

As is obvious, the product has positive attributes, although there are a LOT of loose ends that need to be tied up. The issues are all related to tuning or attention-to-quality and Tata should’ve taken another 6 – 12 months to tidy things up. If I were a potential Harrier customer, I’d wait for the 2020 car, if not 2021. If Tata irons all the wrinkles out, it could be promoted from a “good” car to a “great” one.

Whether anyone feels satisfied with the current Harrier and think its "good enough" for their money is a personal choice and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But doesn't mean that anyone who feels differently needs to be compelled to change their opinion!

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

What is "good" for GTO is half-baked for you. Clearly, not everyone sets the same bar. That's the trouble with words and standards, right? We can read the way we want and perceive the way we like.

He just says that when the next version comes up he is likely to be in the market for one. We may not agree among ourselves, but we can very much agree with GTO that the car is a basically good car, but has a few short points, and the next version of the same is likely to be perfect.

In my opinion if this car had come before Hexa and Nexon we all would have praised it a lot, but the Hexa and Nexon showed us that Tata can really make world class cars, and combined with the media blitzkrieg before the launch our expectations went to a level that the final product felt like a let down.

My Terrano is due for a change within a year, and I have ruled out Harrier and put Hexa XTA at the top of my list, only thing I'm waiting for is whether current engine comes back in a BS VI version, or the car gets a new JLR engine or whether the 2.0 Ltr Fiat engine in the Harrier does the duty here.

Rahul

[lifebuoy]

Originally Posted by GTO

Full details will follow in our Official Review (as always).

IMHO, it feels like Tata has rushed into launching the car. The car definitely has the potential to be “great”, but for that to happen, Tata has to really polish the car & pull the weeds out.

Tata has been careless here and should have made it light + smooth (no rocket science in accomplishing that).

The engine is quick on the open road and you can make fast progress (not Compass fast though).

Grip levels from the 235 mm tyres are satisfactory, yet this isn’t an SUV that I’d call a corner carver at all. The Compass will run rings around it.

If Tata irons all the wrinkles out, it could be promoted from a “good” car to a “great” one.

Well written by GTO, as always. However:

- The engine quickness, cornering abilities, etc are compared with the Compass, whilst Rear suspension is compared to an independent one as in the XUV 5OO. Although ride is reported as compliant, yet the Compass is better, quicker, etc. In short, a better performer.

- I don't see what is crooked in the numbers on the gear shift !

- What has steering performance dislike got to do with the safety rating for it to be mentioned in the same line?

[diwa]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

Hey GTO, thanks for the brief review.

Quick question, which would you pick between the XUV 500 and the Harrier? (irrespective of the 3rd row of seating)

I feel the direct competition to the Harrier lies not with the Creta but with the XUV 500. A potential customer of the Creta is bound to take into account the XUV 500 and the Harrier since it is in the same price bracket however the Creta caters to a different demographic (i.e. one who is more brand conscious and wants a relatively smaller vehicle with the consequential benefits), whereas a buyer who is ready to shell out decent money on a XUV 500 will diffidently give the Harrier a try.

Best,
Enigmatic

I was in a similar dilemma, XUV500 or Harrier. I am looking to upgrade from an Ertiga.

I am going with XUV500 for the following reasons:

1. I felt comfortable from the moment I got into the driver seat of the XUV500, Harrier lacked under thigh support and felt little claustrophobic. I am 6'2 and bit on the heavy side.
2. I really liked the Harrier cabin, XUV500 is still not a bad place to be. I can live with it, I think the new soft touch dashboard is pretty good if I opt for W11.
3. I felt XUV500 easier to maneuver in the city, visibility all around is damn good.
4. For my height, the headroom in Harrier was not that great in the 2nd row.
5. XUV offers the additional flexibility of the 7 seats (am coming from an ertiga)
6. XUV was peppy to drive than the Harrier
7.My personal opinion is that the headlights in the bumper looks great, but is bound to be the first to take impact on any small front collision and replacing the headlights is going to be expensive or bumper alignment is going to be a pain.

I loved the Hexa, but its too bulky to drive and manual is not that great compared to XUV500. We also have a Hexa XTA in the family so XUV500 it is. I am contemplating between W9 and W11 (O), surprisingly there isn't much discount offered in March.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Simple reason. They've got quite a few backlogs. The XUV300 has been with them for sometime now yet the review is not yet out. By providing a snippet, atleast potential buyers and fence-sitters can have some idea about the car. Atleast I wholeheartedly appreciate such a snippet before a full review, hope they could've done that with the facelift EcoSport as I had to endure price hikes in the wait of the official review!

3. I don't see what is crooked in the numbers on the gear shift !

Agreed. I too squinted hard at those numbers. Maybe someone can point that out. Or maybe it would be clearer in the full review

TATA is already late to the party, so it could've done its homework better. They say they're not introducing AWD as there's not much demand for it. If they could do that market research, they could certainly research the market's growing preference for AT! That too when they already have the HEXA AT. They've even missed the sunroof when they're giving aftermarket sunroof in the Nexon! If you're late to the party, then better do your homework properly and come out with all guns blazing and destroy the competition!

6. What has steering performance dislike got to do with the safety rating for it to be mentioned in the same line, other than rob TATA of their hard work in getting an excellent 5 star rating on the Nexon ?

As mentioned by him, the steering "is too light & sensitive at expressway speeds" which might be a potential hazard. We'll know more when the full review comes out. No one is robbing TATA of Nexon's 5 stars, due praise and appreciations have been given in this thread -

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ndian-car.html (Tata Nexon: Global NCAP’s first 5-Star Indian car)

[amit_mechengg]

Originally Posted by lifebuoy

Well written by GTO, as always. However

Your observations are bang on, but you miss few points.

1. Compass is 170 hp not tuned for ecomony - hence its refined, quick and sporty than harrier. If i buy a harrier i will spend 25k on remap and get the compass tune. Also tata has a habit of updating ECUs for customers and they will get a better tune for sure after owners reviews.

2. Rear independent suspension on Xuv ? the worst pathetic suspensions on a car this size. Mahindra has a legacy of poor suspensions and ride quality and xuv galores on it. Hard upfront suspensions with ill damping and bouncy swaying rear which is a perfect combo of nausea machine. I can list many cars with pathetic independent suspensions and many with torsion beams great ride and handling. So your point is perfect here.
Infact a person thinking of Xuv should drive benchmark suvs like Hexa

3. Compass has niggles and so does each and every modern car, toyota included. Visit any fb page of manufacturer and you will get to see what i mean. But yes soft target is always Tata.

4. No one is robbing Tata for the due credits in manufacturing a 5star rated car that too with just 2 airbags. But then we expect Harrier to have a similar rating too. Steering performance at high speeds is very important in terms of owners safety. Few of owners who are driving harrier at high speeds haven't complained yet. But if the reviewers found it bothering its worth mentioning and critically examining.

5. If you do high speeds on a xuv on a non-smooth tarmac or with roads having ups and downs or flyovers where suspensions play important role you will never dare to drive this unsettled piece of engineering again at those speeds. The best part of Xuv is its refined butter smooth engine and performance, nothing else.

[spindoc]

Originally Posted by lifebuoy

3. I don't see what is crooked in the numbers on the gear shift !

The numbers do seem to be misaligned, as observed by GTO. Please see image below.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by MAS

Just wondering why the driver did not shift to 6th Gear? The top speed achieved could have been easily higher and quicker.

6th gear will be useful for cruising but to get there quickly, it will not have sufficient torque (because of the tall gearing).

[ph03n!x]

The Harrier's DRL + Indicator has one weird (for me) side effect - this is at about 6pm, not too dark nor broad day light.

While I was admiring a Calisto Copper in my RVM, it had it's right DRL turn into right indicator - amazing, so I thought. The driver of that car flashed the right indicator to change lanes. After that, there was a good 2 to 3 seconds where the car neither had the DRL on nor the indicator.

For an instant, it made the drool worthy car look one-eyed. Not sure if anyone else noticed or felt the same way like I did. Would have been better if the orange indicator turns white (back to DRL) instead of going dark...

[condor]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

..., there was a good 2 to 3 seconds where the car neither had the DRL on nor the indicator.

For an instant, it made the drool worthy car look one-eyed.

Good way to bring in to effect the change in function of the component. Imagine if there was no pause/gap. The mind would not that consciously or sub-consciously register that the indicator has been switched off and it is a DRL again.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by spindoc

The numbers do seem to be misaligned, as observed by GTO. Please see image below.

Thanks spindoc! This is much clearer. I do see it now. I was looking too hard and closely at the numbers themselves but missed the alignment part!

Reminded me of Jesse Eisenberg's dialogue from the movie Now You See Me: "the closer you think you are, the less you'll actually see"

[AirbusCapt]

Originally Posted by spindoc

The numbers do seem to be misaligned, as observed by GTO. Please see image below.

Attachment 1863931

Now that we are discussing this minutely, is it possible this alignment is on purpose? It's angled towards the driver, plus the font needs to be smaller to align it perfectly straight, then it may be not in the clear line of sight of the driver. Also the gear knob is rounded and a straight alignment may have lead to the text wrapping

[Guna]

Originally Posted by spindoc

The numbers do seem to be misaligned, as observed by GTO. Please see image below.

Attachment 1863931

Sharp eyes. Entire printing is tilted towards the left side (may be like 5 degree)

@AirbusCapt, if it is intentional, it would look deliberate by incorporating more angle/tilt (ex:25 degree). In fact the best design would be to tilt the knob itself so that the angle makes it convenient to grip it from the driver's seat. Numbers are there just to indicate the gear pattern for the first few times and it is not something driver keeps looking at like in case of a infotainment screen and I don't think Tata engineers would have worried about giving it a 'tilt by design' when they have 100 others things to look in to.

[asingh1977]

Well I was bullied off the road (and into the dust) by a white one. This thing sure does have road presence and commands a pecking order slightly below the Endeavors/Fortuners' on the road. Seconds afterwards I was crossed by an XUV and then 2-3 Endeavors/Fortuners'. Yes, GGN is SUV paradise! Coming back: car is meaty, bulky, and shows muscle on the road.

Though when the vehicle was around10-12 meters away, the brake light cluster looked quite diminutive. Maybe I was too far away. When I saw it at Cybercity the backside looked decent. I wish TATA had spent more time in the design of the rear. That totally makes/breaks a car for me. Irrespective of the front! Just my view

[ihrishi]

No word on the AT's yet? :(
If they are planning for Sep types launch - then I would prefer to wait till 2020 Jan to buy it!

I do wish they launch some nice bright colors (red) and a panoramic sunroof to go with it..