2020 Tata Harrier Automatic : Official Review

ishan12 · 21st March 2023, 11:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishan12

I guess you totally forgot to mention about your ECU remap fiasco that had caused this. Linking it here for other readers of the forum.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...a-harrier.html (Terrible experience tuning my Tata Harrier.)

This was picked by cartoq, article published today.

https://www.cartoq.com/harrier-ecu-f...nder-warranty/

loneagl09 · 27th March 2023, 07:17

Just got the XZA PLUS OPTION delivered yesterday and would like to post initial impressions.

Options considered before getting the Harrier -

XUV700 - the most obvious comparison. But a few things steered me away –

a) The digital instrument cluster being too ‘in the face’. I like the traditional cowl with the cluster some distance away.
b) Not a fan of the white interior aesthetic
c) No ventilated seats
d) The biggest one for me – the whole software experience was unsatisfactory – laggy touchscreen, the Alexa would not work during TD and the biggest one for me – the cameras are laggy- stuff on the camera seems to be moving at 10fps! This, I thought, was unforgivable in any car.

HECTOR –

a) Thought all that chrome looked gaudy
b) A touchscreen for all functions is a big no to me
COMPASS – excellent driving, great safety across all variants and a premium experience but
a) The new ‘club’ edition that I got an ad for is basically the base version
b) The base edition is pretty expensive as is and features gate-walled to higher versions ( eg sunroof)
c) Understated road presence (my opinion)

SKODA, KIA AND VW – steered clear because of all the horror stories on this forum. Also no Skoda and Kia where I live. I did TD both the 1l and 1.5l Virtus and loved the drive. My brother has a Venue and remarked that the VW 1l turbpetrol seemed smoother and better than the Hyundai 1l turbopetrol. Don’t know how that works out. But the red interiors were not great to me. The red, especially, seemed garish, too bright. The AC also seemed underwhelming.

TOYOTA HYCROSS – looked too MUV-ish to me, plus the interiors failed to impress (personal opinion).

GRAND VITARA – have a friend’s relative who works in Nexa and he advised against getting one, as it was full of niggles and rattles. I did still go and take a look –

a) The interiors look great and the stitched parts look premium.
b) The HUD is a really great feature that I would love to see expanded across other brands.
c) Ventilated seats and 360 degree camera make for useful additions.

However the underwhelming 3 pot review in this forum made think about spending 20 lakh plus. Also personally, the exterior did not impress me. Maybe larger wheels would have helped?

TATA HARRIER – I only mention this at the end because I ended up buying it. I actually TD it around the VW visit and the drive quality and new interiors still stood out to me after Virtus and Compass TDs. Things I loved –

a) The interiors are beautiful in person. The red is much more ‘denatured’ than the Virtus. Closer to Astor but more understated. The ventilated seats are a joy to use and firmly in the ‘did not know I needed them till I used them’ category.

b) The infotainment system in TD a breeze to use, and the one in production model is even smoother. The infotainment is mostly brown and yellow and is maybe a bit too understated. But I am not complaining and love this direction Tata has taken. In fact, it maybe the best-looking system (UI-wise) amongst Suzuki, Mahindra, VW and MG. Hyundai also has a great looking infotainment, and I believe at this point it comes to personal choice. I just loved the layout and colours of Tata more. Never thought I’d say that. I mean, I have seen videos of the old Harrier infotainment.

c) The digital dial has a proper cowl and with pleasing colours (think yellow, brown umber, shades of light green). It’s an unusual combination of colours for a car system. It’s very understated and am surprised Tata actually went ahead with it. The centre part has all sorts of scrollable features like trip, live mileage etc. and even a cool graphic of power and torque. In fact, there’s so much symbols and alerts (all with different notes) that I am still working through their meanings. Even Tata SA does not seem to know all about the ADAS.

d) The ADAS features are basic and definitely not level 2, as some videos seem to claim. For instance, there’s no adaptive cruise control. But the ‘car protective’ functions are pretty good – and do work flawlessly. Except autonomous emergency braking, I’ve tested all the functions (touch wood). I’ve seen discussions regarding their efficacy, and can say they definitely have their place even in Indian conditions. Rear cross traffic alert, door opening alert (radar checks oncoming traffic and alerts if its safe to open door to exit) and overtaking alert have all been very useful. Headlight assist, in particular, automatically makes me a better driver. ADAS features can be individually switched off and if on, their volumes and sensitivity can be tweaked. Lane departure warning will remain switched off, which is honestly useless in city and most highway conditions.

e) The 360 camera is again a useful addition and the quality of the image is surprisingly great. Each camera can be individually switched on. Helped me in a couple of tight spots. Eg – bikes parked on both sides of a narrow road with some sticking out. No longer do I have to rely on the judgements of random people guiding frantically through a maze of ill-positioned vehicles. The 3d camera is a cool addition but more a gimmick. Switch on the right or left indicator and the corresponding camera will display on the infotainment. This is much better in my opinion than say, Alacazar, which displays on the torque/speedometer dial according to direction. In my TD of Alacazar I found that the turning steering wheel often blocks the camera view.

f) I won’t say much about exterior looks, as these are basically unchanged except for minimum red accents. I absolutely love the butch looks, and they played a major factor in making the choice.

g) Again, the engine, steering has been exhaustively discussed and are basically unchanged. The hydraulic steering does come across a bit heavy though.

Some misses –

a) Haven’t figured out a way to start phone app directly from the steering buttons.
b) Wish they had a dial which displays temperature continuously like Hyundai. For now, the temperature is only briefly shown when I turn the climate control dial. This can be easily made a part of the display - in the status bar for example.
c) No volume control knob – seriously Tata?
d) Did not find a way to switch off infotainment display. Swiping left brings up a screensaver like display with a clock. I guess this is it?

fusionbang · 27th March 2023, 17:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by loneagl09

Just got the XZA PLUS OPTION delivered yesterday and would like to post initial impressions.

Congratulations on the car

When I test drove recently, I did not see the car play option in the new infotainment. It is just the Android Auto option. If you don't mind, can you please look at the manual and let me know how to connect to an iPhone. It would be helpful if you can post some pictures. Appreciate your help

anshurao · 28th March 2023, 16:34

Hey, just took delivery of my Harrier, the CarPlay option is available via a software update. This update was made available to the dealerships on 25-March.

fusionbang · 28th March 2023, 16:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by anshurao

Hey, just took delivery of my Harrier, the CarPlay option is available via a software update. This update was made available to the dealerships on 25-March.

Thanks for confirming. And yeah Congratulations on your Harrier

rahulcmoulee · 28th March 2023, 17:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by anshurao

Hey, just took delivery of my Harrier, the CarPlay option is available via a software update. This update was made available to the dealerships on 25-March.

Was the car delivered with the update or did you have to go to the SC to get it done? I am getting delivery of my car tomorrow and wanted to ensure that Carplay is available and working from the off.

anshurao · 28th March 2023, 17:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by rahulcmoulee

Was the car delivered with the update or did you have to go to the SC to get it done? I am getting delivery of my car tomorrow and wanted to ensure that Carplay is available and working from the off.

I took delivery on 22nd and it came with just Android Auto, got the update done yesterday. You can call your dealership and ask them to update. It is a quick process. Cheers!!

loneagl09 · 29th March 2023, 21:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Congratulations on the car

When I test drove recently, I did not see the car play option in the new infotainment. It is just the Android Auto option. If you don't mind, can you please look at the manual and let me know how to connect to an iPhone. It would be helpful if you can post some pictures. Appreciate your help

Sorry for the (very) late reply, and yes, as the other replies say, I also got the new update which includes Carplay. Note however, I've not gotten it to work yet. Android auto works fine, but couldn't get iPhone to connect

fusionbang · 29th March 2023, 21:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by rahulcmoulee

Was the car delivered with the update or did you have to go to the SC to get it done? I am getting delivery of my car tomorrow and wanted to ensure that Carplay is available and working from the off.

Which dealer did you book it with? In how many days was the car allotted to you? Also, did you buy insurance outside or the dealer matched the insurance premium?

rahulcmoulee · 30th March 2023, 08:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by fusionbang

Which dealer did you book it with? In how many days was the car allotted to you? Also, did you buy insurance outside or the dealer matched the insurance premium?

Booked the car at KHT Domlur. Car was allotted within a week of booking. But it has been nearly a month since allotment and they are still not able to deliver

. Was about to leave to the dealership to collect the car tomorrow when they called saying that some of the accessories just arrived and they cannot install it in time. Hoping to take delivery on saturday now. Car is being bought with company car lease, so insurance is taken care of by the leasing company.

I would suggest going with some other dealer as our experience with KHT has been pretty poor once the booking was done.

rahulcmoulee · 1st April 2023, 14:42

After endless delays and postponements, the Harrier is finally home. Have only done the 12km distance from the showroom to home. Will post a detailed ownership thread after getting some miles under the belt.

2020 Tata Harrier Automatic : Official Review-img_2972.jpg

2020 Tata Harrier Automatic : Official Review-img_2958.jpg

Vandit · 1st April 2023, 17:43

Question for all you Harrier buyers out here - what's the deciding factor for you'll over the Safari? From what I understand - the Safari gets slightly better kit (front pax powered seats etc) for almost the same price? If I'm not wrong, both the Harrier and the Safari top models retail almost around the same price mark - give or take 50k odd, so wouldn't a Safari be more of a VFM option?

rahulcmoulee · 1st April 2023, 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vandit

Question for all you Harrier buyers out here - what's the deciding factor for you'll over the Safari? From what I understand - the Safari gets slightly better kit (front pax powered seats etc) for almost the same price? If I'm not wrong, both the Harrier and the Safari top models retail almost around the same price mark - give or take 50k odd, so wouldn't a Safari be more of a VFM option?

For us it was purely because we had absolutely no use for the extra seats. The added length was not worth the marginally higher boot space. It would only make things like finding parking more difficult.
Plus the white interiors of the Safari are a pain to maintain. Every display/demo vehicle we ever saw had filthy seats after just a few months.

steadfast · 2nd April 2023, 10:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vandit

Question for all you Harrier buyers out here - what's the deciding factor for you'll over the Safari? From what I understand - the Safari gets slightly better kit (front pax powered seats etc) for almost the same price? If I'm not wrong, both the Harrier and the Safari top models retail almost around the same price mark - give or take 50k odd, so wouldn't a Safari be more of a VFM option?

For me rear parcel tray and a non split rear bench of Harrier being more comfortable than spilt 2nd row of Safari were deciding factors to buy a Harrier. Further Harrier had a better tyre side wall being 17 inches when I bought it.

Kosfactor · 2nd April 2023, 11:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vandit

Question for all you Harrier buyers out here - what's the deciding factor for you'll over the Safari? From what I understand - the Safari gets slightly better kit (front pax powered seats etc) for almost the same price? If I'm not wrong, both the Harrier and the Safari top models retail almost around the same price mark - give or take 50k odd, so wouldn't a Safari be more of a VFM option?

Case for Harrier -

Looks better.
Easier to drive.
Better road manners - very similar to a Duster, Safari is elephantine.
Feels lighter and gives better FE. There is significant difference between them in Bangalore traffic atleast.
Spacious second row, can seat three.
Audio system sounds better.
Good boot space.

Safari is certainly more VFM no doubt but Harrier is a better product.

27th March 2023, 07:17	#1682
loneagl09 BHPian Join Date: Jun 2021 Location: Satara Posts: 45 Thanked: 133 Times	Re: 2020 Tata Harrier Automatic : Official Review Just got the XZA PLUS OPTION delivered yesterday and would like to post initial impressions. Options considered before getting the Harrier - XUV700 - the most obvious comparison. But a few things steered me away – a) The digital instrument cluster being too ‘in the face’. I like the traditional cowl with the cluster some distance away. b) Not a fan of the white interior aesthetic c) No ventilated seats d) The biggest one for me – the whole software experience was unsatisfactory – laggy touchscreen, the Alexa would not work during TD and the biggest one for me – the cameras are laggy- stuff on the camera seems to be moving at 10fps! This, I thought, was unforgivable in any car. HECTOR – a) Thought all that chrome looked gaudy b) A touchscreen for all functions is a big no to me COMPASS – excellent driving, great safety across all variants and a premium experience but a) The new ‘club’ edition that I got an ad for is basically the base version b) The base edition is pretty expensive as is and features gate-walled to higher versions ( eg sunroof) c) Understated road presence (my opinion) SKODA, KIA AND VW – steered clear because of all the horror stories on this forum. Also no Skoda and Kia where I live. I did TD both the 1l and 1.5l Virtus and loved the drive. My brother has a Venue and remarked that the VW 1l turbpetrol seemed smoother and better than the Hyundai 1l turbopetrol. Don’t know how that works out. But the red interiors were not great to me. The red, especially, seemed garish, too bright. The AC also seemed underwhelming. TOYOTA HYCROSS – looked too MUV-ish to me, plus the interiors failed to impress (personal opinion). GRAND VITARA – have a friend’s relative who works in Nexa and he advised against getting one, as it was full of niggles and rattles. I did still go and take a look – a) The interiors look great and the stitched parts look premium. b) The HUD is a really great feature that I would love to see expanded across other brands. c) Ventilated seats and 360 degree camera make for useful additions. However the underwhelming 3 pot review in this forum made think about spending 20 lakh plus. Also personally, the exterior did not impress me. Maybe larger wheels would have helped? TATA HARRIER – I only mention this at the end because I ended up buying it. I actually TD it around the VW visit and the drive quality and new interiors still stood out to me after Virtus and Compass TDs. Things I loved – a) The interiors are beautiful in person. The red is much more ‘denatured’ than the Virtus. Closer to Astor but more understated. The ventilated seats are a joy to use and firmly in the ‘did not know I needed them till I used them’ category. b) The infotainment system in TD a breeze to use, and the one in production model is even smoother. The infotainment is mostly brown and yellow and is maybe a bit too understated. But I am not complaining and love this direction Tata has taken. In fact, it maybe the best-looking system (UI-wise) amongst Suzuki, Mahindra, VW and MG. Hyundai also has a great looking infotainment, and I believe at this point it comes to personal choice. I just loved the layout and colours of Tata more. Never thought I’d say that. I mean, I have seen videos of the old Harrier infotainment. c) The digital dial has a proper cowl and with pleasing colours (think yellow, brown umber, shades of light green). It’s an unusual combination of colours for a car system. It’s very understated and am surprised Tata actually went ahead with it. The centre part has all sorts of scrollable features like trip, live mileage etc. and even a cool graphic of power and torque. In fact, there’s so much symbols and alerts (all with different notes) that I am still working through their meanings. Even Tata SA does not seem to know all about the ADAS. d) The ADAS features are basic and definitely not level 2, as some videos seem to claim. For instance, there’s no adaptive cruise control. But the ‘car protective’ functions are pretty good – and do work flawlessly. Except autonomous emergency braking, I’ve tested all the functions (touch wood). I’ve seen discussions regarding their efficacy, and can say they definitely have their place even in Indian conditions. Rear cross traffic alert, door opening alert (radar checks oncoming traffic and alerts if its safe to open door to exit) and overtaking alert have all been very useful. Headlight assist, in particular, automatically makes me a better driver. ADAS features can be individually switched off and if on, their volumes and sensitivity can be tweaked. Lane departure warning will remain switched off, which is honestly useless in city and most highway conditions. e) The 360 camera is again a useful addition and the quality of the image is surprisingly great. Each camera can be individually switched on. Helped me in a couple of tight spots. Eg – bikes parked on both sides of a narrow road with some sticking out. No longer do I have to rely on the judgements of random people guiding frantically through a maze of ill-positioned vehicles. The 3d camera is a cool addition but more a gimmick. Switch on the right or left indicator and the corresponding camera will display on the infotainment. This is much better in my opinion than say, Alacazar, which displays on the torque/speedometer dial according to direction. In my TD of Alacazar I found that the turning steering wheel often blocks the camera view. f) I won’t say much about exterior looks, as these are basically unchanged except for minimum red accents. I absolutely love the butch looks, and they played a major factor in making the choice. g) Again, the engine, steering has been exhaustively discussed and are basically unchanged. The hydraulic steering does come across a bit heavy though. Some misses – a) Haven’t figured out a way to start phone app directly from the steering buttons. b) Wish they had a dial which displays temperature continuously like Hyundai. For now, the temperature is only briefly shown when I turn the climate control dial. This can be easily made a part of the display - in the status bar for example. c) No volume control knob – seriously Tata? d) Did not find a way to switch off infotainment display. Swiping left brings up a screensaver like display with a clock. I guess this is it? Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Aditya : 31st March 2023 at 15:55. Reason: Spacing added
	(24) Thanks

28th March 2023, 16:34	#1684
anshurao BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Panaji, Goa Posts: 284 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	Re: 2020 Tata Harrier Automatic : Official Review Hey, just took delivery of my Harrier, the CarPlay option is available via a software update. This update was made available to the dealerships on 25-March. Attached Thumbnails
	(14) Thanks

1st April 2023, 14:42	#1691
rahulcmoulee BHPian Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 297 Thanked: 964 Times View My Garage	Re: 2020 Tata Harrier Automatic : Official Review After endless delays and postponements, the Harrier is finally home. Have only done the 12km distance from the showroom to home. Will post a detailed ownership thread after getting some miles under the belt.
	(6) Thanks

1st April 2023, 17:43	#1692
Vandit BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: VABB \| BOM Posts: 367 Thanked: 322 Times	Re: 2020 Tata Harrier Automatic : Official Review Question for all you Harrier buyers out here - what's the deciding factor for you'll over the Safari? From what I understand - the Safari gets slightly better kit (front pax powered seats etc) for almost the same price? If I'm not wrong, both the Harrier and the Safari top models retail almost around the same price mark - give or take 50k odd, so wouldn't a Safari be more of a VFM option?
	() Thanks