[surjaonwheelz]

Hello,

My thoughts on the variants:
The more the merrier - Give more features to justify the price tag in each variant. For me in this segment you need to "wow" the customer and they in turn wow their passengers (period)
Only in the XT you get the real things, (some may call these gimmicks)
+ Reverse camera
+ Push-button start
+ Climate control system
+ 8-way adjustable driver’s seat
+ Power folding and adjustable wing mirrors
+ Automatic headlamps and wipers
+ Cruise control
+ Cooled storage under the front center armrest
+ Rear armrest with cup holders

But these are minimum you expect in this segment, no? I think the only model one should go for is the top variant XZ as the gap is 1.3 lakhs only!

Some might still want to stay away from Tata electronic aids, for them it's the XM.

Coming to the point that who'll buy it?
Not the ones who are intimidated by size. We can try to understand this by seeing who buys the Creta and why?
Creta is the biggest investment of most salaried people. Peace of mind guaranteed by Hyundai. Size is manageable in traffic and in parking. Some city dwellers won't have parking space for the Harrier!
Decent engine and transmission options resulting in acceptable economy figures.

This group of people will not even test drive the Harrier as,
- It's bigger
- Has a bigger engine (less frugal)

According to me the target audience is the Scorpio, Safari users who were waiting for a big brawny SUV and dreams of the Fortuner or Endeavor.
They'll be ready to downsize (engine) for an overall better package (looks & features)

The XUV (500) buyers will consider the Harrier but they are still spoilt for options
- 7 seater
- AT
- AWD

Already there are assumptions that the Tata tuned 2.0 litre Kryotec is less efficient (read mileage), all those considering the AT Harrier have started to rethink Harrier as an option. (Assumption: AT economy will be even less)

No doubt Harrier will be a success, after initial hype, the numbers will be much much less than the XUV (500). Consider that XUV was ahead of its time and created a place in the D segment.
In-turn it rang the death knell for many D segment sedans for our GC (ground clearance) loving country.

Some wise man said, "In your mind you have already decided which car you'll buy. Car buying process is only about convincing yourself that you are right!"

Drive safe, cheers!

surjaonwheelz

[S.MJet]

Originally Posted by ashutoshb

Concorde Motors has invited customers who had pre-booked the Harrier, this evening. I will be going.

If at all, something is left to explore, please let me know and I shall take pictures or videos.

Thanks

We have seen instrument cluster with 7" color TFT display in various reviews of the top variant. Would be interesting to see how mid/lower variants' instrument cluster looks.

[srishiva]

I feel its in some unknown land looking at the price vs feature and size of the vehicle. And then that face !

How good the interior dimensions will be need to be seen. If its just 100 litres of extra boot space and lacking in features and same room for passengers compared to lower sized vehicles, I wouldnt be too tempted.

[BeantownThinker]

Went to the nearest showroom today to check out the beast in the flesh. Here are my observations:

1. Is surely big in size
2. Looks good in the flesh
3. Second row seats are very spacious
4. Good audio system
5. The art leather seats do not feel premium at all. They neither have the luxury of real leather nor the comfort of fabric.
6. My fingers kept getting caught between the latch and handle while opening the door from the inside. Problem only in front seats and not in the rear seats.

But.

I buy a car to drive it. And what is paramount for me is driving comfort. In the Harrier, no matter what I tried I could not find a comfortable driving position.

At first, my left leg was pressed against the console. Not just touching, mind you, but PRESSED. So I slid the seat back.

Now the steering and the dash buttons were too far away. So I pulled the steering towards me. But it still left the buttons too far away. So I slightly slid the seat forward.

Now my leg was touching the console again. I just kept going around in circles. And all the while there was oodles of space on my right hand side. I could very well NOT slide to the right. Then everything would be off center.

The same problem of my leg hitting the console was felt when seated in the front passenger seat as well.

Thoroughly disappointed with the ergonomics of the driver's seat.

For me, no matter what bells and whistles you provide in the car, if the driver's seat ergonomics are not proper then it is a deal breaker.

I am a 6-footer and felt cramped. My friend who came with me is 5'4" and he had the same problem with the driver's seat.

I have a soft spot for TATA. If I were in the market for a MT SUV, would I buy the Harrier? The answer is NO.

Now a bit on the dealership experience.

There was absolutely no festivity that is associated with the launch of a new car. The people in the dealership looked tired and uninterested. When we left they did not even bother to take our contact details. Very under-whelming experience.

[aniyo]

I quite like the Harrier and was waiting for its launch. I have been waiting for nearly 2 years to upgrade from my hatchback.

Within my budget I can manage the XM variant (budget is 17-18 max on road).
The only issue is this variant misses a lot of desired kit, Auto wiper, Auto headlamp, reverse camera, more than 2 airbags, all round disk brakes.

I can live without AWD though multi link suspension would have been great at this price, Duster provides it with AWD at 14.5L OTR Bangalore.

I may still make peace with the omissions. Will wait for 4-6 months to see if there are any major issues with the car.
Not a good idea to buy the first few lots off the production line.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by aniyo

I may still make peace with the omissions. Will wait for 4-6 months to see if there are any major issues with the car.
Not a good idea to buy the first few lots off the production line.

Be aware the prices will go north given that it appears Harrier has started smelling success. And also knowing Tata, don't expect the feature set to improve but they may actually delete some

[somspaple]

I received a call this morning from Prerana, BTM to check out the Harrier. Landed during the afternoon amidst chaotic traffic. I was warmly greeted by a SA who exclusively handles Harrier inquiries/customers it seems.

This was the first time I was checking out the vehicle in person. No matter how many times I've watched videos/pictures online - there is no denying that the Harrier looks butch, huge and imposing - almost like Fortuner. Probably being parked inside the showroom made it look even bigger. Tyres look big probably due to tall side profile albeit still not enough to cover the huge wheel arches.

Interior quality was pretty good - dashboard, switchgears, steering everything looked nice and of good quality [they could've better integrated the Tata logo on the steering though]. I happen to checkout a Jetta in the adjacent used car showroom and switchgear quality was on par. Of course Harrier[variant on display] is a 20 lac rupee car. Interiors are still covered in layers of plastic.

Exterior looks neat and the paint quality too looked fine. Shut-lines were uniform across. Only point of quality issue that I could note was when you close the boot door the plastic cladding along with complete tail light assembly kinda juddered a bit and made a bit of shaking noise - giving an impression as if they are not fastened properly. Not sure if it is limited to this car alone.

TD cars are available from Lalbagh showroom it seems - but I want to test drive this beast right in front their [BTM] showroom which always has heavy traffic. SA has confirmed that the TD car will be available in couple of days from this showroom. It was also easy to convey the message on the requirement of an AT variant by simply pointing to the road outside the showroom. Still I'll decide after a TD.

Couple of point of concern for me are:
1. Lack of AT
2. Huge size of the car itself [though Parking is not an issue ATM]

Few pics that I could click:

[shortbread]

Originally Posted by Ajay_Sensei

There must be something insightful that Tata Motors marketing department knows that lesser mortals do not understand. I was expecting a full page ad in the newspaper after the launch, but today's Mumbai TOI edition has a BMW X4 ad, an XUV 500 ad, but there is no single ad for Tata Motor's "game-changing" Harrier!

This would be true in the case of most car launches. But ever since the H5X reveal in Feb'18, this has been the most anticipated car launch in India for almost a year. The Harrier or 'naya Tata SUV' has been going around for a long while now. All this resulted in 16,000 bookings and a 3 month waiting period.

There are Harrier stories being run presently on almost every newspaper, tv channel, online media platforms, auto magazines etc....etc... so there is a lot of attention on the product irrespective of paper ads. So the marketing department has had their initial legwork done for them. So far so good then!

Firstly, I think Tata should focus on delivering the the 16,000 bookings in hand without any hiccups. Even if only 10k of them materialise into sales, the priority must be to ensure the customers have a good buying experience and build on the word of mouth. Secondly, follow this up with building word of mouth and managing expectations. If they pull this off over the next 2-3 months then the company has a success story they can market!

[manishk123]

Just read a statement in today's DNA newspaper by TAMO President Mayank Pareekh that Harrier is sold out for the next 3 months. Now what is the advantage of making a silly statement like that to the press. People who were considering the Harrier for an immediate purchase won't even bother going to the showroom to see it, and will probably go buy a Creta or something else. With marketing screw ups like these by top management, the competition must be laughing their way to the bank.

[kbishwa]

Harrier is a good car, and so were the Nano & Aria.

1. The question is, what is the value proposition?
2. What additional value is the product offering in the segment to the liking of its prospective buyers?
3. What are the wow factors? What are the important omissions in the product when compared to the main competitors?

There are few more questions, but before that, let's elaborate.

Tata Harrier belongs to the full-fledged SUV segment. So a customer should be clear if they require an SUV or just something like an SUV. Unfortunately, most of the time the customer is not clear and swayed by marketing or price of the product. And hence, they will buy anything which looks like an SUV (like Creta).

1. Value proposition: Now in the preamble itself, the pseudo SUVs are out. But this message should go to the target customer. Proper marketing would do wonders. Otherwise, the XUV500 and the Compass together don't provide the numbers required to be happy (do we want to share the market space of 2000-3000 along with a few others like Nissan and Renault, or Hyundai for Tucson...not really). So Harrier or any other capable SUV needs to create more aspirational value; away from Creta (around 10k per month number).

2. USP: Needs to focus on that and how it matters to the customers. And there are plenty in its favour. And, what is the compensation in terms of not providing few other features, and whether those features are really required for an adventure enthusiast? Boss, manual gives & always gives better control. And those who like adventures would really give a damn to convenience over excitement.

3. Wow factor. For Harrier, it is the look, the plush interior, the magical sound etc. And you will not get everything in everything. Prioritize and go for what matters most. If its sunroof, then go for it and if it is comfort of seating 5 people with a load of luggage, it's your call. And such things may not be necessary, but they make you happier. At the same time, some Wow factors must be there in Service, support and value added services like organising and facilitating team activities (at a cost) say a trip to Manali or Nathu-la.

Also, Harrier should not be confused about its competitors, like BR-V or Hexa. It may take time to build its segment, but the future is there. In my opinion, if you want a 7 seater, go for an MPV, for an SUV 4 or 5 is good. But we want our vehicle like a Bollywood typical hero who can do everything. Boss, your parents may not like to off-road. If they do, well, there are a few options!

Harrier is a great product - very competitively priced, in my opinion. To make it a great package, some service/support innovations are required. And a clinically accurate marketing strategy.

[aniyo]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Be aware the prices will go north given that it appears Harrier has started smelling success. And also knowing Tata, don't expect the feature set to improve but they may actually delete some

That's actually a concern seeing the state of Hexa. But I am averse to buy any new model from any manufacturer in the first 2-3 months.
Hopefully the price increase if any is still within my budget. Any further deletion of features from XM will push Harrier off my list for sure

[ihrishi]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

The other variants are out of bounds as of now. Its my heart that is asking my brain to stop thinking for some time

Go with what your heart says. Go with makes your heart skip a beat.
#NoRegret

[lemedico]

not sure of the source or if genuine, but received these from a friend who is just as crazy about this beast as I am.
There were similar niggles and issues with QC on the HEXA two years ago when I went to test drive it. Disheartening that QC issues persist with the Harrier as well

[kalleo4]

Orcus White HARRIER would be my Color, if I'll Pick one!

though I foresee 2 Mods to get done, for some Sportiness to the White..

1. Blacken Alloys, similar that of H5X
2. Hope I'll find Similar H5X Skid-Plate Designed Bumper (which would add little more Butch look to its Front)
& thats it.

[xjosephjacob]

What a Fantastic pricing ! I never thought TATA would position it against Creta as well. Should easily take a big pie from superstar Creta (assuming most of it's sales come from the 1.6 diesel), the ageing XUV and the Compass. Innova may remain unshaken thanks to the bulletproof Toyota reliability and peace of ownership.

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

Thoroughly disappointed with the ergonomics of the driver's seat.

For me, no matter what bells and whistles you provide in the car, if the driver's seat ergonomics are not proper then it is a deal breaker.

I am a 6-footer and felt cramped. My friend who came with me is 5'4" and he had the same problem with the driver's seat.

I've felt this in the recent Tata's that I drove- Storme, Tiago and Tigor. I'm 5'10' and maintains a reasonably relaxed driving posture, however even in the Storme I find the legroom to be insufficient despite the driver seat being pushed all the way back. Similarly my old innova betters the Crysta in this aspect. Car makers should look up on Suzuki to learn the packaging skills- despite the small footprint, I can literally stretch myself out sitting on my Swift's front seat.

Originally Posted by kbishwa

Tata Harrier belongs to a full-fledged SUV segment..
1. Value proposition: Now in the preamble itself the pseudo SUVs are out. But this message should go to the target customer..
2. USP: Boss, manual gives, always gives better control. And those who like adventures would really give damn to convenience over excitement.

I'm sure you are aware that without (even) an AWD, the Harrier remains a pseudo SUV and hence adventures is out of question. Manual gearbox matters to performance cars and performance enthusiasts. For a regular Joe, automatic solves their biggest pain point.