[CrAzY dRiVeR]

New video from TATA Motors -

https://youtu.be/TJBPLceEA3g

[GTO]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

Most posts here are contradicting what the Auto magazines/press reviews said, for example most auto journalists have said the interior quality is fantastic, but the postsers on this forum say the quality is bad.

The car manufacturers pay the bills of the car magazines. Do you expect them to be objective & honest? Would you criticize the one who pays to keep your lights running? It is IMPOSSIBLE. Let's stop dreaming & expect the impossible.

At the time of the EcoSport's launch, each & every car rag raved about its ride quality. Team-BHP's review was the ONLY one which pointed out its imperfect nature. Go read all the reviews from 2013, drive a pre-facelift EcoSport and then post your observations on the forum. Further, since we're in the season of the COTYs, go and watch one of the ridiculous COTY awards from the car rags & see what lengths they'll go to please & award every attendee (20 COTY awards, LOL).

I trust the opinion of BHPians over anyone else. And just FYI: a lot of the comments on this thread are spot-on. More details in our official review. We are currently twiddling our thumbs & waiting for the car in Bombay for our full test; Tata says it'll be here only post launch. Tata's PR department really needs to pull up its socks in terms of making new cars available. It has always been a problem - they are TOO SLOW. The gap between the media drive & us getting the car in Bombay will be like 7 weeks, if not 8 . Even the JTP Twins aren't a part of their media fleet yet . Such poor & shoddy support for their new launches.

Now, let's get back to the Harrier and avoid taking this thread off-topic.

[Th!ru]

Any idea where in boat club, chennai the harrier is on display? The location in the website justs points to the boat club road.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by Th!ru

Any idea where in boat club, chennai the harrier is on display? The location in the website justs points to the boat club road.

As far as I know, it's at the Boat Club premisis. You may want to call the concerned at +91 99415 44000 for more details.

[ihrishi]

Just back from my first meeting with the harrier.. Its nice i would still buy it for @18 onroad for the auto box whenever it comes...

My personal opinion, if Tata thinks its going to fly of the shelves by itself, maybe its time to reconsider.

PS: The front arm rest is useless. Its set too far back. Pls do something about it Tata!

[neoonwheels]

Visited the display event held in Pune. Below observations are purely subjective!! I have compared it to Compass and Jetta (Since I had one).

Event: So I reached the venue by 11:30 since 9-11 was reserved for people who have pre-booked as per their communication. I was surprised to see only around 70-80 people at the venue apart from their 30-40 strong staff. May be since it was a working day (even though weekend) for some or may be I was too early to the event. They had 4 counters - 2 sales,1 exchange and 1 enquiry I guess. Since I had registered for the event, I got a cap as memento. I was immediately assigned a sales person to show me around. After 5-10 mins of chat and knowing that I pretty much know almost everything about the car, he lost interest and left me.



Exterior: The car is long but not intimidating, thanks to its height and a bit squat appearance. I liked the front facia when viewed in person. The HID porjector has small dots on the lens, god knows why. The height of the headlight assembly is such that it is sure going to kiss other car's bumpers. The grill has big honeycomb pattern which meets the bumper at awkward angle. The bumper which is huge is made of fiber and changing it in an accidental repair means you have spoiled headlights too.






I liked its side profile even though the tires do not fill up the arches well. There is a huge gap and it would easily take a 18 inch wheel. They have opted for 17 inch either as cost cutting or the suspension has long travel. The roof meets the hatch pretty seamlessly and gives that floating roof effect.



Now, somehow I liked its rear more than front. The taillights look awesome and I can only imagine how beautiful those would look at night. The rear view camera looks out of place on the hatch door and they could have nicely tucked it in logo or in that thick black cladding.





Interiors: I spent around 15-20 mins in the car as there was not much rush that time. The rear leg room is huge and can rival Skoda Superb for real estate. As I am short, it only means better legroom for passenger seating behind me. The quality of leather is good and I liked the color of the seats. The USB at rear is at awkward angle and I can see people would just keep a small cable dangling there instead of going in for Yoga every time you want to make use of it. Overall very spacious rear seat and the under thigh support appeared good for me body type. The mobile holder given on the rear door has sharp edges and one should not rush while picking up the phone kept there. The rear side has map reading lights for both passengers as well as a center light.



Now moving to driver's seat, I was pleasantly surprised by the layout of the dash. I personally liked it over the Compass and Jetta. The top has soft touch material but below that its all hard plastic. The faux wood is soft to touch but had scratches on this brand new 150KM run car. The touch screen unit appears fast and responsive to touch. Thankfully, I can start the system and listen to radio. Trust me guys, this car has one of the best stock music systems under 20-25L segment. The speakers were crisp and the bass was punchy. Its mounted in the boot area on left side. The handbrake is gimmicky and would foul when you keep tall cups in the cup holder.

The view from driver's seat when adjusted to my liking is commanding. I could see the end of the bonnet easily and it would surely make you feel comfortable. The rear view mirrors mounted on doors are HUGE and create a big blind spot. You will have to get used to them but they provide excellent field of view.



Engine: Yes, I was allowed to crank up the engine!!! This thing needs good damping. The engine noise was entering the cabin even when you slight depress the accelerator. In Compass you dont hear that clatter up until 3K RPM, here it was audible even at 2K. Increase the volume of that infotainment system and you can live with that clatter. During crank, I could feel vibrations on the gear knob. Now, the thing which I was interested the most was its clutch. Its quite LIGHT when I compare it to Compass and Jetta. My only reason of selling off Jetta was its clutch. It was heavy and had long travel. Compass clutch sits in between Jetta and Harrier on the heaviness. I am happy to see this area being addressed in Harrier and would consider this car only for this reason .

Overall, I liked the car, It has it own flaws but then every car has positives and negatives, you weigh what makes your boat float. The TDs would be available by 23rd Jan when it gets launched. I have registered for TD and hopeful of this thing making its way in my garage.

[surjaonwheelz]

Hello TBhp-ians,

Seems Pune could have had a TBHP meet on the sidelines of the "Discover the Harrier" event at Balkrishna Lawns, Mundhwa.

I was not invited, nor registered but was aware of the event. I just walked in, in the afternoon. @neoonwheels has compiled a great write up, hence I'll try not to repeat those observations/details. I'll share some more details.

From the outside it's big, proportionate and stylish. Front end is futuristic and will be iconic. I'm glad this has come from an Indian manufacturer!


Headlight cluster with DRL and indicators.


The horizontal intercooler.


The big radiator.

I agree with neoonwheels the rear is much more likeable. The lip is superbly executed.



Any logo would sit here proudly!

The doors are heavy and huge.


The doors cover the entire height of the car, the bottom part is hidden within the door (no skirting).




There are enough rubber gaskets all around.




The doors are pretty thick.

There are nice touches to the leather wrapped handles on the inside. The chocolate brown leather will keep the stains away but our detailing friends will have lots of work in cleaning the perforated leather grab handles.




The rear bench is nice and roomy and can seat 3 comfortably (I think). With the center arm rest down, I can visualize many white Harriers with their owners at the rear seat in their white attire (If you know what I mean).


At the rear, the AC vent is on the B pillar.


JBL Speakers on the door.


The floor hump is quite prominent.

Moving to the cockpit, I found the steering wheel smaller car like.



The infotainment and cluster was great to use.


I'm not a fan of piano black finishes.


The terrain mode switch at the center. I wish Tata have proper test drive environment where these modes can be tested.


The hand brake lever is quirky! You need to get used to it. I wonder how it actuates the brakes being made out of plastic. The center armrest for the driver has a 12V socket and is cooled. Phones with heating issues can be charged too!

The clutch was soft but travel was long for me coming from a Honda. I couldn't spend much time inside as visitors were waiting and it was hot inside (afternoon). I so wished to check out the effectiveness of the HVAC system of the Harrier in such situation.

The boot was huge. There are nice touches here but also some unique features.



To keep the floor flat they have a nice compartment below the boot floor. It could be a nice place to keep your toolkit, portable inflator, etc.


There are some tie-down points for bungee hooks, nice feature.

The boot lid opens really high. I being 5'8" could barely touch (reach) the edge of the lid.


The grab handle on the inside was at the right place to pull down the lid. But again you have to switch hands to push the lid shut.

Let's pop the hood! Oh man that lid was heavy or it was time for lunch?



Neat engine bay.




Seems Tata has learned from the Shark (read Mahindra Marazzo) to have a removable piece of plastic to access the battery.


Ground clearance, anyone?

Signing off, I didn't register for the event but still requested for the cap! Submitted my objective feedback to Tata motors.



Enjoy your drive!

Note: These pictures are shot on mobile telephone.


--surjaonwheelz

[Sebring]

Good reviews there, coming for the Harrier. And the car deserves kudos. It was dark when I went to see the car and when I went up to the boot, did not see any grab handle to raise the hatch. We need to use the plastic logo unit to raise, I was told. Another sore point is the USB and AUX-in ports being too inset. I struggled to get down and then accessed these ports. I want to see this car in other colours, so badly

[GTO]

Thanks to Bharath Reddy for sending this in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

Hey Team-BHP,

There seems to be a change in the size of the Harrier badging on the tail-gate of the car.

Image one (pre-production car??) shows tighter, smaller badging.

Image two (final production I guess) shows a larger font used with an increase in width too.

[ihrishi]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Hello TBhp-ians,

Seems Pune could have had a TBHP meet on the sidelines of the "Discover the Harrier" event at Balkrishna Lawns, Mundhwa.

--surjaonwheelz

Ha! You can actually see me and The Kid in the door reflection in one of your pics

Got this on my Facebook page! Does it mean the launch is tomorrow?

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Hello TBhp-ians,

Seems Pune could have had a TBHP meet on the sidelines of the "Discover the Harrier" event at Balkrishna Lawns, Mundhwa.

I was not invited, nor registered but was aware of the event. I just walked in, in the afternoon. @neoonwheels has compiled a great write up, hence I'll try not to repeat those observations/details. I'll share some more details.

--surjaonwheelz

We could have met there Surja. I had messaged on our WA group about the event. You have nicely covered the details which I could not .

[nainan]

Originally Posted by ihrishi

Got this on my Facebook page! Does it mean the launch is tomorrow?

No Discover the Harrier is the terminology they are using for these events. I am sure they will come up with something new for launch like #pricelikenoother or #drivetheharrier. They seem to be raining hashtags.

[amrutmhatre90]

Originally Posted by ihrishi

Got this on my Facebook page! Does it mean the launch is tomorrow?

On a side note did anyone notice, this is a die-cast model photographed to look like a real car. The picture is clicked on a road pavement.

[84.monsoon]

Went to the Harrier preview in Chennai. Here are my initial impressions:

• The Bonnet is heavy. I could barely lift it with one hand. I remember when the Jeep Compass was launched, one of the main talking points was the bonnet's weight as a demonstration of build quality. The sales rep would ask you to lift it and feel how heavy it was. The Harrier's bonnet appeared even heavier and very robust. There is some cladding under the bonnet, perhaps not thick enough (based on reports of engine noise in the cabin). The engine bay is fairly neat and well laid out. It is quite recessed to the back due to the various massive front grill elements and so appears to be filled up quite tightly even in such a large vehicle.
• The panel gaps are not super-thin but are quite uniform. I could not notice any irregular fit areas, unlike what some others pointed out.
• The wood finish on the dash looks VERY authentic. One could not tell that it is not wood without actually touching it.
• The front doors are sturdy but not heavily built (unlike the Ecosport or Compass). They open wide. They close precisely with a nice "Tthakk" sound though not a "Thud"!
• The touch screen is quite responsive and the lag is minimal. The resolution is good and it is quite nicely visible in the daylight.
• The dash top is soft touch and well finished. Makes for a pleasing combination with the wood finish.
• The seating material is very good. It has a coffee colour. For reference, it is closer to the Mocha shade in BMW palate and much darker than the saddle brown shade. It is better than what I saw on Tiguan and approaching the level of quality of the material on the BMW X1 base version. It seems built to last.
• The seats are not too wide and have good side bolstering. The manual lumbar support adjusted through a knob on the left side of the front seat is very effective.
• The front seat has a terrific range of adjustments (although all manual). At first I could not get inside since the steering wheel was at the lowest position and the seat was at the highest. Once I adjusted the seat height and ensured the steering rake was adjusted upwards it was easy to get in.
• As others pointed out, the sweeping structure on the lower dash fouls with the left knee in certain seating positions. One has to push the seat back a bit more and lower it a bit and then it becomes better.It is though still not fully comfortable for tall drivers. This is the one big minus point I found.
• The footwell is quite narrow, although there is a dead pedal but it could have been wider. The spacing between the clutch pedal and the brake lever is sufficient.
• The absolute worst bit of the car is the plastic material around the centre of the steering wheel. Low quality, the plastic puffs out like a cheap Chinese toy and quite negatively affects the sense of classy ambience the rest of the cabin conveys.
• The passenger side vanity mirror comes with mirror and lights, the driver side has neither. The interior lights are LED and quite bright.
• The armrest is set too far back as others have said. When you have the front seat pushed far back it is OK, but for shorter drivers it is useless.
• The handbrake lever has only one up position and down position and is not graded like the traditional handbrakes, which makes me think this is electro-mechanical rather than purely mechanical.
• The rear set is very comfortable and has acres of room. The backseat recline angle could have been a bit more slanted in my view - it is not adjustable. However, the seat is overall very comfortable and should be great for long distance travel.
• The arm resting place built into the back doors could have been better padded. Although there is a little bit of cushioning it is not enough and the hard panels underneath can be felt.
• The Fuel tank lid is push type with locking mechanism. There is a nice toolkit provided in the trunk.
• One interesting tidbit the agent told me is that although the headlamp is at a risky position in terms of getting damaged with bikers and other hitting them, the damage during a typical corner hit should only be to the front transparent plastic cover of the outer lamp. The outer lamp housing, bulb and other electricals are built well-recessed inside, so that there should not be any damage to these expensive parts during the typical fender-bender accident. This is somewhat clear in the picture below.

The vehicle looks amazing from the outside, by no stretch of imagination does this look like a 20 lac car, it looks just as premium as the Compass, the Tiguan and the CRV which all cost 50-100% more that the Harrier's expected price point.

[concorde24]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

The vehicle looks amazing from the outside, by no stretch of imagination does this look like a 20 lac car, it looks just as premium as the Compass, the Tiguan and the CRV which all cost 50-100% more that the Harrier's expected price point.

Fully agree to the comment above. Incidentally I was also in the chennai display area at Boat club around 11:30 am. Not much people around that time and had a good look at the car.

The best part for me is the headroom space in both drivers seat and backseat (or should I call middle seat considering humongous boot ). I am 6'2'' tall and I did find good driving position quickly. Now eagerly expecting the pricing announcement.