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Tata introduces sunroof for Harrier as an official accessory

Existing customers can also have the sunroof - manufactured by Webasto - fitted to their Tata Harrier at their nearest Tata dealership for Rs 95,100, plus installation charges.

Link

Yeah, saw this just yesterday! Its huge alright. But something is wrong with the proportions/angle of the car in that hoarding. Doesn't look good to me at all. Quite disproportionate - which is so unlike the real Harrier!
Or maybe they should have picked a different colour for the hoarding rather than the signature orange one. Perhaps black given that its coming!? The car really has a short list of colour options.

Jeep has got it just right with the Compass. One has got the hoarding right, the other has got the sales numbers better in comparison.

Its actually quite old. Already discussed quite a bit on this thread (or another one in Indian car scene) for a couple of pages. I have seen this in person when I was taking the delivery of my Nexon 3 weeks back. The finish is acceptable. Size isn't. Its not large & is just about similar to those on the XUV500/Verna etc. Doesn't hold a candle to that on the Compass or Hector. Certainly not given the Harrier in itself is a large imposing vehicle in comparison.

The motion of the sunroof is not smooth visually. Its smooth mechanically - no screeching sounts etc. It is silent. But it moves a bit in steps rather than a single action. Takes little halts every 2-3 seconds. And it pops out and moves back. Doesn't go flush inside the roof in some housing (no surprise given its an aftermarket fitment).

WEBASTO used to offer sunroofs as OE fitment for the Zest and for the Nano Gen X as well. Both were pop up type, not sliding.

The critical point is the skill of the dealer's body shop guys in fitting it. One friend of mine who had his Zest kitted out with a sunshine roof had a lot of issues with respect to water leakage during the rains, warping sunroof beading etc. While another person I knew had no issues whatsoever, that too was a ZEST, in the same city as the other friend , but a different dealer.

As far as I know, the sun roofs are fitted by Webasto themselves at the dealer premises.

I had queried the same for my Nexon and they said that after placing the order with advance, the date for fixing it will be scheduled by webasto based on their technicians availability.

Tata is typically solving a basic concern here. However, how does fitting a Sunroof affect the structural integrity of the car? Essentially an area of the roof is going to be cut out and a Sunroof is going to be placed. I have my own doubts on this.

No, the sunroof - (with its location at the top) - is in a spot that will not affect structural integrity. The roof rails, doors, and windshield pillars are going to tie the car together. The roof strength is compromised during a roll-over since you have cut the roof and hence weakened it.

A car the size of the Harrier need a panoramic sunroof. This is more like a checkbox initiative to fill the spec. sheet for me.

Tata is making great cars but they take too long to react to market needs and invariably end up being late to the party.

You Sir, stole the words right out of my mouth. This a case of too little, too late. This size sunroof looks small even on the Nexon. If not a panoramic sunroof at least those almost panoramic Škoda like sunroof should be provided. Having cars like the MG Hector and Kia Seltos providing massive panoramic sunroofs, this after thought by Tata looks like a sad excuse for one :Frustrati

This will look tiny for that size of the vehicle. They would have gone ahead and offered the panoramic one. I think this might be the brochure filling exercise than a roof filling to keep up with Seltos and Hector until they get the apt one.

:OT When I checked Webasto guys couple of days back for installing sunroof for my Skoda Rapid, they quoted whooping ~1.8L. Then I thought, whenever I want to look at the sky, I look from the side window instead.

I had the same experience when I visited Renault show room on mysore road, Bangalore. I typed renault mysore rd and google gave me address and phone number. When I dialed that number, the call went to some andra village and some one else was talking in Telugu. No Renault person. I visited Renault showroom on Mysore road, forcefully grab hold of a sales guy and told him, that the contact number is not working. He was not even bothered. Just said OK sir. Thanks.

I visited mahindra show room in Shimoga, looking at TUV300 when it was launched. There were 5 or 6 sales persons or employees with girls sitting near reception table. No one even bothered to ask who we were and what or why we are there. When we asked them about TUV300, we got response that it was lunch time and they cannot attend. Finally, we managed to look at the car ourselves which was outside show room, probably for delivery.

Tata experience is the worst. They openly tell on your face that they are bad. Concorde motors, Bangalore. Needed loan for Zest and the sales guy had to send the quotation to Bank manager directly for loan purpose. That person did not do it. So, when asked in person, why quotation was not sent to Bank, the sales person says, it is not his job. Went and asked the Manager, thinking he will take some action, rather was surprised. The manager says he is helpless and cannot ask his employee to do the job. This is how they work.

Tata has excellent products, but always late to market and then very very poor customer service.

Almost all show rooms are same, but it is surprising to know that even show rooms with poor sales have very bad work ethics.

One good part is that since the sunroof comes as an accessory, no added Road Tax or any other charges, although GST may be applicable. I always have this in thoughts as some of the parts like the infotainment, Cameras, and some more accessories should not be part of Ex Showroom and should be shown as in a different section which may save some money on road tax and is logical as well. Just in my humble opinion.

This is just a ridiculous excuse of a sun roof. And that too at an extra 95K! Looks like this time I will have to overlook the heart and go with the head.
The Harrier just does not make any sense at the moment!

Hello KIA! Pls. arrange for a TD of the automatic, if you are listening!

Seltos doesn't come with panoromic sunroof.

This "accessory" costs some 95k+installation charges +taxes. So I don't think anything is saved at all.

On the contrary talking about all the other items you mentioned, adding an aftermarket accessory has its own little gremlins. Especially since its not via standardized installation procedure on a trained assembly line and at the mercy of local folk based on their experience (or lack theirof) & its a bit of a gamble unless you already know a good reliable place.

Then there is the risk of warranty/insurance issues due to making modifications. I'd rather live without gizmos but I want a bullet proof untouched warranty on a car for 4 years - especially a brand new car that is not yet fully baked.

I was never thinking of an aftermarket accessory, however idea was to provide a plug and play types which would allow more options for customer. Be it from the OEM or maybe aftermarket if at all. Also never in the interest of breaking any warranty.

The more features a model has, higher the road tax is, as all these add up to the Exshowroom price. The road tax of a vehicle in my opinion should be based on only certain factors of the vehicle but not on the entire cost of the vehicle. GST alone makes sense on certain features and I still refer these from OEM themselves. But not GST + Road Tax. Maybe a lower end model has one 12v socket, and higher has one more in the rear. But this also adds up a small additional amount to the road tax. Likewise we can list down a lot of features which may add very less additional weight to the car which would really make any impact to the road.

Car manufacturers should see this as an opportunity to make the cars cost a little less since they nor the customer benefit by paying some more taxes for the road. GST alone should be good.