Team-BHP - Tata Harrier : Official Review

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Originally Posted by Dr.Suraj (Post 4630026)

They have done this in the past with Nexon and Nano too IIRC. Some forum members had it installed. Haven't read of any issues till date of leakage etc. Those were by Webasto. One can assume the Harrier one would be by Webasto too.

I may be the only one here, but I like the idea of optional sunroof. 2 reasons, there are some like me who are absolutely against the idea of a sunroof in our climate - so why pay extra for something I won't use.

Absolutely - I am also totally lost about this liking of sun-roofs in India. I'm yet to find one real purpose for them other than impressing people that we meet only few times in a month or year. stupid: Its quite a costly conversation starter! And thats about it.

But then - more than 1 lakh for an after market option doesn't make a good image for the brand either. I'm not at all saying Tata MUST give a sun roof. In fact it would be great if they openly said we are against it due to safety concerns and it doesn't fit our ideology of car making for this country. (And then of course make peace with the fact that the customers want it and will buy other cars.)

People want it. People who start looking for SUVs with tall driving positions are ending up buying WR-Vs simply because they want the sun roof. Two of my close friends did this! If Tata wants to give it - it must be a proper effort and that needs to have 1 proper trim level. Perhaps XZ+ / XZ-O something. A trim that rolls out from the factory with a good sized sun roof as factory fitment, not as an "accessory". If Tata can't afford to sell it that way, then they better not at all.

The finish isn't looking too good. I don't see any good quality wind deflector, the glass is popping out rather than getting flushly inserted within the roof's slot internally. Dhuh!

This sun roof in my opinion amounts to a significant structural modification after-market to a homologated car design. How is it properly fitting the regulations of the RTO, insurance cover etc? Would that be a headache for the customer afterwards in case of any unfortunate scenario?

Regarding no reports of leakage on Webasto sun roofs on Nexon/Nano - I don't think we have heard too many reports of people installing them at all. So thats a small customer base sample anyway.

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Originally Posted by Reinhard (Post 4630184)

Indeed! A very expensive conversation starter! lol:
I completely get your point about it not being as 'neatly' integrated as say a factory fitted one. This is, at best, a knee jerk reaction. Typically Tata. Some guy up there said - NO we will not give sunroofs. & then some down there sent multiple screenshots of TeamBHP threads where people are screaming for a sunroof along with other publications where the 2 biggest negatives seem to be 'Lack of Automatic' & 'Sunroof' - so then the babu at the top gleefully rubs his hands and dons a half-wicked smile and says - 'Let's give the people what they want'. And... we get this!
(Instead of having done their market research BEFORE a product launch or instead of respecting the opinion of the young guy in the team who is more in sync with ground realities than the bean counters at the top who seem to be hell-bent on ruining the applaud worthy efforts of the designers and engineers).

The only consolation is - it does open! Because they DID, in fact, come out in the open and raise the issue of safety and sunroofs. Recently, in March. Where they even said, we will only offer fixed sunroofs!
Here's the link: https://www.outlookindia.com/website...-future/326869

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Originally Posted by pandabear (Post 4630955)

Hello members, was wondering if I can add an extra seat in the Tata harrier third row? How feasible is it? Is my thinking outlandish? I would like have a car which can seat 6 comfortably. Hate the roof rail on the buzzard. Else I may have to settle for the xuv500. Your comments and opinions are valuable. Thank you.

A strict no. Think of the safety first. Its not safe for people to sit on such modified arrangements. Please never do such modifications simply for the sake of safety of your loved ones.

Also -

Such modifications are illegal and will always attract fines.
Insurance cover will not work for the occupants there & in fact insurance terms mention such modifications void the cover.
Suspension of a 5 seater is not designed generally for such weight distribution and handling will be impacted significantly with a person in the boot area.

Do drive both vehicles. The XUV500 doesn't feel too dynamically capable in comparison with the Harrier. I have TD'd it just a week back and contrary to what most people said - it handled quite vague & the steering was very slow. If 6 or 7 seats is an absolute must for you above all other aspects - then XUV500 makes sense. Otherwise I'd pick the Harrier over it for its build quality (Yes - latest XUV is quite flimsy) and overall ambience and simple classy layout.

XUV500 can carry 7 people with only handkerchiefs or 5 people with luggage. So factor that in the equation too.

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Originally Posted by Guna (Post 4631013)

Why no Hexa? You even have the option of going for an AWD or AT version as well.

Talk of Hexa being retired is what's scaring me off. Also ladder on frame is getting outdated imho.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reinhard (Post 4630976)

A strict no. Think of the safety first. Its not safe for people to sit on such modified arrangements. Please never do such modifications simply for the sake of safety of your loved ones.

I agree. Safety is most important. clap: no compromise. Was thinking of seat belts added to. But you have explained clearly. Seems not worth it.

My father took delivery of a new Tata Harrier XZ yesterday. He is a septuagenarian. The state in which the vehicle was home-delivered yesterday can be seen in the attached images. He's come to Tata from a Honda car. I, on the other hand, have kept a Tata Safari 4x4 for 10 years now, so have plenty of experience of Tata services. But this confounded even me. Absolute apathy and disrespect for the buying experience of a customer.

I tweeted this to TM. The dealer called my father and said that they would take the vehicle at his convenience, clean it and deliver it back. Resolution apart, the buying experience has been ruined and that can't be fixed. Buying a new car is a landmark event in anyone's life. How they can be so casual and disrespectful is beyond my understanding.

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Originally Posted by volkman10 (Post 4634050)

MG Motors's Hector and Kia Seltos( anticipated) effect takes Harrier July-19 sales figures to a new low.

Attachment 1903131

Source:Auto Punditz

I guess its the half-baking that is costing TML dearly and it will be one of the toughest tasks in the history of mankind to pick this product up that list now.

The perception of hasty release, ignorance towards people's insistance on gimmicks, gizmos and bling in the car are causing a lot of customers to not even consider this vehicle.

The BIGGEST BLUNDER that TML committed was tuning the engine for 140PS when the Hector offers 170 PS - and average people know its from the "same" engine.

While in day to day usage it makes negligible difference due to the different torque curve and "in gear" acceleration is actually better in the Harrier - nobody cares about it.
The brouchure of the Hector reads 170 PS engine & 10" Infotainment with connected car.
These are missing in the Harrier & sales numbers are missing for the Harrier.

It is disheartening to see that a capable brand-new product is now selling ~300 units lesser than even the XUV500 - quite purely due to the gizmos on offer!

The very month the MG Hector was launched they had to give a fight with updated gizmos and sunroof. Be fleet-footed, like KIA. Even now, instead of doing haphazard ads, if they concentrate on the legacy and architecture, make it sound like a bargain at this price, it will help. I still prefer the harrier looks! They need to give it that premium positioning (and not compare with competition saying they're Chinese, that hurts the brand more), and do support brand exercises. A treat for elite customers. Yeah, the higher state of tune will help since mileage figures are similar for both cases.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reinhard (Post 4634065)

I guess its the half-baking that is costing TML dearly and it will be one of the toughest tasks in the history of mankind to pick this product up that list now.