[A_KP]

Hi! All,

Last week, I took my harrier for 3rd service. Following is a brief account of the same:

Facts
1) Date of Purchase: January 2020

2) Mileage: 5200 km (low due to lockdown)

3) Niggles faced: Infotainment lagginess, break whistling noise during slow speeds, rear door pads rattles when playing music even at low volumes, back side suspension thuds, dashboard rattle between 1000-1800 rpm.

4) Service Dealer: SAB Motors, Ghaziabad.

5) Service Advisor: Mr. Paramveer Singh

Personal views on after sales service quality of Tata Motors

I have 10 years of prior experience with Hyundai, hence I will compare Tata ASS with Hyundai's:-
a) Felt better than Hyundai in terms SA pushiness for various accessories/parts. The SA was not pushing anything unnecessarily.
b) Service centre ambience is comparable to Hyundai. Hyundai's are a touch better.
c) Car washing is done with microfiber cloth instead of desi "gamcha" used in Hyundai.
d) Special Mention,"Mr. Paramveer Singh", my service advisor. If you are looking to service your harrier at SAB motors, he is the guy to look for. Thorough professional with more than 18 years of experience. Very knowledgeable in terms of diagnosing the problem as well as following it through the resolution. Very Humble guy. Tata Dealers, please employ more fellows like him. He made sure that I go home with complete resolution of all my queries.

Observation on resolution of niggles

1) Suspension noise was due to loose bolt.
2) After Infotainment update, system is behaving normal.
3) Apparently door pad noise was due to plastic film vibration on rear of speaker. The same was removed and now there is no noise at all.
4) Dashboard rattle was due to Idol placed just above dashboard. The slight vibration of dashboard during 1000-1800 rev range would cause it to vibrate even more causing an irritating noise. I was against removing idol due to ugly adhesive marks, hence the service guy filled some foam material in gap between dashboard & music system. Now the vibration has reduced substantially.
5) Initially, they cleaned the brake pads thoroughly by sand paper, the whistle noise was reduced but not to my satisfaction. However, one day post the service, I got a call from dealer that Tata Motors are offering updates to brakes. It was a nice surprise for me. They replaced the brakes pads with new one having better material. The whistle noise was gone completely. This also proved that the ASS guys were not bluffing about brake pad material quality.

Ownership Experience

1) Initially felt bad when new BS6 harrier was launched just 4 months after my purchase. But after analyzing the price difference vis-a-vis features offered, I became contented with what I have. Mine was Dec 2019 make, hence much better than initial batches.

2) I live in an industrial township where till date the movement is restricted due to covid. As such, I have driven 4000 KM in this car within the township at max. speed of 40 kmph. The balance 1000 odd kms were highway runs. I can say with small experience that I have with this car that it is meant to be driven on highway. The stability and handling is impressive. With old brake pads, braking was good though a touch spongy. After the brake pad update, it has become more progressive with a touch more bite.

3) Sports mode albeit 30 PS less than its 2020 avatar, still puts a smile on your face. However, in city mode, one needs to be careful in 2nd gear as chances of stalling the car is more if you are not used to it.

4) Refinement: In my opinion, the only thing that prevents Tata from beating Hyundai is the overall refinement in their cars. Although they are catching up fast but still the difference can be felt immediately when I compared it with my friend's Creta 2020.

5) I have driven my friend's new Creta and after comparing both the cars, I am satisfied with my car. It has its own USPs which can be felt after driving at least 400-500 kms. Creta felt more car like and Harrier felt more SUVish.

6) Ergonomics & blind spots: ORVM does create a blind spot, but my height and seat adjust helps me negotiating the same to a large extent. I have to remain cautious though.

At last, I am praying that this COVID menace is over and I can go on long road trips with my explorer and form a lasting bond with it.

Thanks & Regards.

P.S. @Mods, please pardon typographical mistakes. Also, please merge this post into suitable Harrier thread if posted incorrectly here.

[Predator_ONE]

Originally Posted by A_KP

Observation on resolution of niggles
1) Suspension noise was due to loose bolt.
2) After Infotainment update, system is behaving normal.
3) Apparently door pad noise was due to plastic film vibration on rear of speaker. The same was removed and now there is no noise at all.
4) Dashboard rattle was due to Idol placed just above dashboard. The slight vibration of dashboard during 1000-1800 rev range would cause it to vibrate even more causing an irritating noise. I was against removing idol due to ugly adhesive marks, hence the service guy filled some foam material in gap between dashboard & music system. Now the vibration has reduced substantially.
5) Initially, they cleaned the brake pads thoroughly by sand paper, the whistle noise was reduced but not to my satisfaction. However, one day post the service, I got a call from dealer that Tata Motors are offering updates to brakes. It was a nice surprise for me. They replaced the brakes pads with new one having better material. The whistle noise was gone completely. This also proved that the ASS guys were not bluffing about brake pad material quality.

Thanks for mentioning the resolutions for the niggles you faced. Harrier still being a relatively new TATA product, your feedback will help current & future owners, especially in the instances wherein the TASS guys are indolent, which they sometimes are.

Originally Posted by A_KP

Ownership Experience
1) Initially felt bad when new BS6 harrier was launched just 4 months after my purchase. But after analyzing the price difference vis-a-vis features offered, I became contented with what I have. Mine was Dec 2019 make, hence much better than initial batches.

Not to taunt you or something, but for me the difference b/w the (initial batches of) BS4 Harrier vis-a-vis the BS6 was day & night. Given the choice I would pick the latter everytime, but that being said, I can fully understand your decision given some major improvements in the later BS4 batches & (hopefully) the additional savings you would have made on taking the 2019 mfg car in Jan 2020 especially when the BS6 launch was imminent. Prudent.

Originally Posted by A_KP

4) Refinement: In my opinion, the only thing that prevents Tata from beating Hyundai is the overall refinement in their cars. Although they are catching up fast but still the difference can be felt immediately when I compared it with my friend's Creta 2020.

Exactly my thoughts verbatim. Though the BS6 Harrier is adequately refined & the automatic even more so, yet TATA is still half a step behind in terms of absolute refinement vis a vis Hyundai. On the flip side, once you get past the minor initial niggles (if any), they are equally reliable in the long term today & at much more VFM propositions, without even factoring in their strong saftey quotient.

Originally Posted by A_KP

5) I have driven my friend's new Creta and after comparing both the cars, I am satisfied with my car. It has its own USPs which can be felt after driving at least 400-500 kms. Creta felt more car like and Harrier felt more SUVish.

It's strictly about use-case-scenarios than anything else at this point, isn't it? Even though less on bling, yet the Harrier feels so much more value at its heart & mechanicals with it's strong & exclusive USPs yet it is equally hard to ignore the Cretas & Seltos' both in terms of practicality & value in heavy urban use-case-scenarios. Praise to the Lord Almighty for the competition today, everyone can have their fill

[The Riddler]

Hello all!

I'm waiting to book a Harrier XZA+ very soon. When will the Harrier get connected car features? Any tentative dates?

It would be stupid for Tata to sell Harrier along with Safari with one having connected car features and the other with none. I'm in a urgent need of a car and I do not want to invest INR 25 lakh + and repent once the updated Harrier is launched.

[Bluengel180]

Do we lose warranty if we hardwire a dashcam? Has anyone done this on the harrier? Want to avoid visible USB cables.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by The Riddler

Hello all!

I'm waiting to book a Harrier XZA+ very soon. When will the Harrier get connected car features? Any tentative dates?

It would be stupid for Tata to sell Harrier along with Safari with one having connected car features and the other with none. I'm in a urgent need of a car and I do not want to invest INR 25 lakh + and repent once the updated Harrier is launched.

If you like the Harrier amongst all the choices, please go for it. Trust me, you will be bored of the Connected Car features in less than 2 months-not to mention you will have to pay more for that version. I'd much rather be driving a Harrier than speaking to it. I have a Bluelink-equipped Creta, and beyond the initial fun of invoking the Sunroof and remotely starting the engine/AC, there isnt much that I'd be interested in. Please enjoy the Harrier for its Core product values. Caveat- this is a mid-forties guy giving his 2c.

[Turbo_head]

I don't know if anybody has noticed, TATA has increased the price of XZA+ CAMO and Dark edition variants by 16k. When I bought it back in December 2020 it was 2030000 and now 2046000

[Venku2015]

Guys, I just test drove the Tata Harrier Top-end Automatic in the signature red dual-tone colour and here are my impressions.

First the positives:
1. Brilliant ride and handling package. The suspension is built for Indian roads, takes everything and anything in its stride and is supremely comfy on highways, expansion joints, rough roads, village roads, etc. The rear seats especially are very good and the comfort is top-notch.
2. The engine and 6 speed Hyundai sourced AT gearbox is a match made in heaven. Shifts are fast and smooth. Drops a gear when demanded and is always in the right gear.
3. NVH is fantastic too, not much tire noise, engine noise. Some wind noise from the A-Pillars can be heard at around 130kmph+ but nothing bothersome.
4. Effortless cruiser. At 130kmph the engine was spinning at around 2.5 to 3k RPM.
5. Loved the massive Panoramic sunroof.
6. Brilliant Audio setup from Harmon and Kardon.
7. The red colour particularly suits the Harrier a lot.

Cons:

1. The biggest issue I found in the 5000kms run test drive car were the poor brakes. The brakes were shuddering and producing vibrations in the entire cabin at almost any driven speeds and everyone could feel the vibrations. When I asked the SA, he said its because the test drive car was abused. But I feel, especially the Harrier which is so well built, shouldn't give such issues in just 5000kms, no matter how hard you brake. I will verify this with another test car in another dealership. Meanwhile, I request all the proud owners of the 2020 Harrier Automatic to please share your thoughts on the braking performance. This is one very important deciding factor for me and I really hope its only the issue with this particular test car.
2. I am 6'2" and the front dashboard lower silver panel was touching my left knee. It was a bit uncomfortable and I couldn't find a perfect seating position in the entire test drive. Need to test it again.
3. Minor rattles from the rear door, but again I think its because of a demo vehicle. The SA himself took us to a rough road and was driving crazy fast to demonstrate the robust suspension setup.
4. That aircraft like handbrake lever is totally non-sense IMO. It's an ergonomic disaster which eats up lots of space. In such a big vehicle, I could hardly find a nice comfortable place for my phone. Its high time Tata gives us an electronic parking brake and all 4 disc setup. When the new Creta has it then why not the Harrier? Most of us won't mind paying another 30 to 50k increment for such improvements.
5. The rubber covering below the handbrake area is so crudely designed, it feels like Tata designers had forgotten to cover that area and later a piece of rubber mat from their 407 truck was cut and fit into the Harrier. I feel Tata should pay attention to such small flaws, overall fit and finish of the Harrier, its a great package but with minor refinements and tweaks, it can be a near-perfect SUV!

Overall, I loved the Harrier, my heart says go for it, but the mind says wait for further improvements.

[rsanthosh]

Originally Posted by Venku2015

Cons:

1. The biggest issue I found in the 5000kms run test drive car were the poor brakes. The brakes were shuddering and producing vibrations in the entire cabin at almost any driven speeds and everyone could feel the vibrations. When I asked the SA, he said its because the test drive car was abused. But I feel, especially the Harrier which is so well built, shouldn't give such issues in just 5000kms, no matter how hard you brake. I will verify this with another test car in another dealership. Meanwhile, I request all the proud owners of the 2020 Harrier Automatic to please share your thoughts on the braking performance. This is one very important deciding factor for me and I really hope its only the issue with this particular test car.
2. I am 6'2" and the front dashboard lower silver panel was touching my left knee. It was a bit uncomfortable and I couldn't find a perfect seating position in the entire test drive. Need to test it again.
.

My advice would be to go for a couple of more test drives with different vehicles, if available. In a previous post, I had given my feedback on the braking experience of my Harrier which is now close to 4000km. I never faced the issues you explained; brakes are spongy, but never felt inadequate in my experience. I think it must be an issue with that particular car.

Given your height, I do think you may have to face the issue of knee fouling with the central console unless you keep the seat really back and low. Try different seating positions, but this is definitely an important point you need to consider while finalizing the decision as the knee rubbing against a hard surface for a prolonged period is not comfortable during long journey.

[Big Smoke]

Originally Posted by Predator_ONE

Do keep us in the loop on what transpires though. Will help building a repository on the thread to which other owners can refer.

I went to the showroom to get the Number Plate fixed day before yesterday ( 27 January 2021). Magically, the MIL was not glowing that day at all! I was actually a bit shocked to see this positive development. Prior to that, the car had been used for about 150 kms on several occasions, but the MIL was glowing then. In fact, on one of the days, the 'Water in Fuel Tank' light was also glowing. But that light turned off after a quick restart ( but it had me really concerned, nonetheless). That light hasn't popped-up since.

Naturally, when I went to the showroom, there was nothing to complaint about the Malfunction Engine Light, since it was not glowing. However, regarding my other complaint, which involved the missing cover of one of the bolts, the SA said that it would be solved during the first service (2 months / 2000 kms, whichever is earlier) and not that day, because that particular part was not available in the workshop.
What I learned for the SA is that the cover is not available as a part separately. The entire plastic assembly of that side of the seat is a single part. That part would be replaced. Since it is a very rare spare part, it was not in stock.

Another thing I had complained about to my SA is the poor fitment of the mud-flaps (given as a complimentary accessory). In each mud-flap, there are 3 drilled holes through which the screws are supposed to be attached to the bumper, in order to hold the mud-flaps in place. However, only 2 bolts per mud-flap were used in my case, resulting in a loose fitting. I showed this to my SA, and he said that although there are 3 holes in the mud-flap, there are only two holes in made for the mud-flap on the wheel-wells. So in order to fic the 3rd bolt, one has to drill a hole on the body of the car. He offered to do the same if I wanted to, I obviously denied. But it is again a strange flaw on Tata Motors' part. After all, they designed both the car as well as the mud-flap ( I assume so, would really be surprised if it's not the case).

I was also told that the Extended Warranty Certificate would be provided to me form the workshop on the 1st service. BHPians, kindly clarify if this is indeed the correct practice or not.

Originally Posted by The Riddler

Hello all!
I'm waiting to book a Harrier XZA+ very soon. When will the Harrier get connected car features? Any tentative dates?

There are no tentative dates as of yet. However, there are talks in the air that it would be introduced soon.

I'm in a urgent need of a car and I do not want to invest INR 25 lakh + and repent once the updated Harrier is launched.

If you need a car immediately, I would recommend you to get the Harrier in it's present form. A connected car feature is not a deal-breaker. The utility of having a car is much more important. And there is nothing to repent about a gizmo of which the novelty value would wear-off faster than you finish the first full tank of fuel.

Originally Posted by Turbo_head

I don't know if anybody has noticed, TATA has increased the price of XZA+ CAMO and Dark edition variants by 16k. When I bought it back in December 2020 it was 2030000 and now 2046000

I believe this is because Tata Motors had increased the prices of all it's cars on 21st January 2021.

Originally Posted by Venku2015

Cons:

1. The biggest issue I found in the 5000kms run test drive car were the poor brakes.

There are absolutely no issues in braking in my car (XZA+ Variant). The TD car has indeed been abused badly resulting in poor braking.

2. I am 6'2" and the front dashboard lower silver panel was touching my left knee. It was a bit uncomfortable and I couldn't find a perfect seating position in the entire test drive. Need to test it again.

As you have correctly recommended, you need to take another test drive to get a hang of the seating position. The panel touching the knee of the driver is indeed a design flaw. But it does not pose great inconvenience in the automatic variants.

3. Minor rattles from the rear door, but again I think its because of a demo vehicle.

The rattles are again due to the abusive driving the TD vehicle has been subjected to. It is not an issue in my car.

5. The rubber covering below the handbrake area is so crudely designed, it feels like Tata designers had forgotten to cover that area and later a piece of rubber mat from their 407 truck was cut and fit into the Harrier. I feel Tata should pay attention to such small flaws, overall fit and finish of the Harrier, its a great package but with minor refinements and tweaks, it can be a near-perfect SUV!

Absolutely correct observation regarding the pathetic execution of the matting under the handbrake. In fact, during my PDI, I thought that it was a defect in my vehicle, only to be corrected later by the SA that I was mistaken. That is the product you have to live with.

And regarding minor execution / refinement flaws, you are going to find plenty of them, my friend. The number of these minor flaws I have noticed in my car has increased manifold throughout the last 22 days of my ownership. But the good thing is, 95% of them do not affect the performance or hinder with the capabilities of the car in any way whatsoever.

Overall, I loved the Harrier, my heart says go for it, but the mind says wait for further improvements.

I would say wait for further improvements, if you have no problem waiting. You will get a better product. And you will end up listening to both your heart and mind (a rare circumstance).

[Predator_ONE]

Thanks for sharing your feedback besides taking the time to adress all other queries. More than the fault, its even more frustrating when it doesn't show up at the service center but it's also a releif at the same time.

Nevertheless, did you told your SA about the incident? He might have offered to hook up an OBD scanner to look for any error/logs (if he didn't already) as the malfunction lights were not for very benign faults. Btw brief ownership review/initial impressions in the future?

[AmitRavi07]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

I was also told that the Extended Warranty Certificate would be provided to me form the workshop on the 1st service. BHPians, kindly clarify if this is indeed the correct practice or not.

Yes, it was the same with me as well, I took it during my 1st service from svc as the EW can be booked till 60 days from date of purchase for the price mentioned earlier in this thread. After 60 days you will have to pay extra for the same EW.

[Big Smoke]

Originally Posted by Predator_ONE

Thanks for sharing your feedback besides taking the time to adress all other queries.

Welcome, and thank you for your compliment.

Nevertheless, did you told your SA about the incident? He might have offered to hook up an OBD scanner to look for any error/logs (if he didn't already) as the malfunction lights were not for very benign faults.

I did tell the SA about the incident. However, he didn't offer to connect the OBD scanner and check.
I believe that there is no facility of OBD scanning in the showroom. For the OBD scanning, I would've had to go to the Workshop. However, since no malfunction lights were glowing, I thought it would be pointless to spend a couple of hours in the workshop.

Just waiting for any potential niggles to be taken care of during the first service.

Btw brief ownership review/initial impressions in the future?

Absolutely; I've been planning to write one since before getting the car. However, at present, I feel it is too early to write one. My ownership experience has been for a mere 23 days. I plan to let a couple of months pass before I pen down anything concrete.

Originally Posted by AmitRavi07

Yes, it was the same with me as well, I took it during my 1st service from svc as the EW can be booked till 60 days from date of purchase for the price mentioned earlier in this thread. After 60 days you will have to pay extra for the same EW.

Thank you for the information.
I have bought the extended warranty at the time of purchase of the car itself. I plan to collect it from the workshop at the time of my first service.

[The Riddler]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

If you need a car immediately, I would recommend you to get the Harrier in it's present form. A connected car feature is not a deal-breaker. The utility of having a car is much more important. And there is nothing to repent about a gizmo of which the novelty value would wear-off faster than you finish the first full tank of fuel.

You are right. Connected car is definitely not a deal breaker. But I'm hoping against hope that Tata provides rear disc brakes and the EPB from the safari to the updated Harrier. If Tata isn't going to provide these anytime soon on the Harrier, I will definitely go ahead and book one.

Maybe I've missed your post, but may I know in which color did you purchase your XZA+? I loved the Sparkle Cocoa but it isn't available anymore. Red is too flashy for my taste though it looks gorgeous and I cannot maintain that shade. Planning to play it safe by getting a Orcus White DT.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by The Riddler

I'm hoping against hope that Tata provides rear disc brakes and the EPB from the safari to the updated Harrier.

I am more than certain that TATA wont be updating Harrier 2021 with any such feature. Besides, it makes sense to have some product differentiation by keeping few features exclusive to the Safari.

TATA is not done with the Safari (post launch and sales are yet to start) and they have HBX on their plate as well. They have just launched Harrier 2.0 less than an year before. Quite a few customers complained about the ICE system having bugs in 2019 model. It would be unwise to install new system from Safari at a time when Harrier just barely sorted out its buggy system.

[Big Smoke]

Originally Posted by The Riddler

You are right. Connected car is definitely not a deal breaker. But I'm hoping against hope that Tata provides rear disc brakes and the EPB from the safari to the updated Harrier. If Tata isn't going to provide these anytime soon on the Harrier, I will definitely go ahead and book one.

Your entire buying decision rests on your definition of the phrase "anytime soon".
How soon is anytime soon? 1 month? 3 months? 6 months or 1 year?

Tata might provide the Connected car feature (which is again, half-baked) within the next 3-6 months. This would be in accordance with their "Forever New" policy, which is basically something new every 6 months (one of the prime reasons why Tata cars aren't fully loaded at launch).

However, regarding the EPB and Rear disc brakes, the chances are slim for them to be available in the Harrier within the next 3-6 months.

I would also like to add that despite having drum brakes at the rear, the Harrier's braking efficiency is more than adequate. Sure, cheaper cars (like Seltos & Creta) offer them, but to me, it is just another gizmotic feature provided to tick a box in the feature list. Sure, the braking efficiency with rear disc brakes would be better. But on real world scenarios, is it a feature that you can't absolutely live without? And coming to the EPB, that again is just a gizmo, with absolutely no increase in efficiency / capability, unlike the rear disc brakes. And all this while, do not forget about the additional price you would have to pay for these features.

Now coming back to the "anytime soon" part, if yoy have no problem to wait for the next 3-6 months, I would strongly suggest you to wait. Maybe besides adding a new feature, Tata may also iron out a few more small niggles.
However, if you are not in a position to wait for so long, I want to tell you that there is absolutely no regret which you will have later. All the features that you are concerned about missing out form a small part of the utility the entire car offers.

Maybe I've missed your post, but may I know in which color did you purchase your XZA+? I loved the Sparkle Cocoa but it isn't available anymore. Red is too flashy for my taste though it looks gorgeous and I cannot maintain that shade. Planning to play it safe by getting a Orcus White DT.

Mine is a Red & Black Dual Tone colour.
One of the reasons I chose this combination of colour is because it ages lesser as compared to all the other available options.
And yes, it sure is a difficult colour combination to maintain. Almost every spec of foreign particle is visible; the car has to be constantly wiped and kept clean in order to get the best look. If you are a working professional, it is extremely difficult to keep the car spotless unless you have a guy cleaning it daily.

Orcus white would be a far easier colour to maintain than the Calypso Red, but the black roof would be a very difficult one to maintain. If you were looking to excuse yourself entirely from being extra busy with the maintanence of the colour, then my friend, you are a bit mistaken.