[raghulsudheesh]

Hi BHPians,

I took delivery of my Tata Harrier XZA+ on last Thursday. My father wanted an SUV with panoramic sunroof and automatic gearbox. He was initially inclined towards the Jeep Compass but me being a hardcore Tata fan, pushed him towards the Harrier. Though he was reluctant at first, after the test drive, he was thoroughly impressed. So there was not much confusion on the selection of the car and we decided to go for the XZA+ model. The vehicle came in less than ten days but we needed time to take delivery as my housewarming was around the same time. Finally took the delivery on last Thursday. Many BHPians has observed that this is over-priced but I feel this is totally a value for money product.

This is my third Tata car at home. We had a Zest earlier and we are using a Tiago now. So I am used to the service experience at Tata service centres/ showrooms and have been generally fine with them barring few experiences.

Except a day's delay in kickstarting the temporary registration, there wasn't any issue as such. But the sales team was disappointing to be honest. Not just from the dealership I purchased the car but also with other dealerships from which I enquired about the pricing and other details. We have to call them up and follow up with them about the details we have asked for. It is almost like that they are doing a favour for us. Whenever I have enquired at a Maruti or a Hyundai or any other dealership, they quickly follow up with us. I have heard that staffs are even taught how to speak to customers at MSIL dealerships. No wonder they are selling so much cars. I recently read a thread (How hard is it to buy a Tata Tiago?)in Team BHP itself about how hard it is to buy a Tata Tiago. This is so true!

Tata Motors has been doing very well in the recent times and they have come out with some great products. But if they want to really improve their sales, the customer experience has to be improved for sure. I remember when Hexa was launched, there were select executives to deal with Hexa customers alone and their best executives were given the task. This time when I took the test drive for Harrier, a sales executive opened the sunroof completely and told my father, this is where we should stand and put our heads out. I was shocked about what the executive was telling and gave him an earful on the purpose of sunroof! They have an amazing product and an executive who has no idea about what he is selling. I sincerely hope that they do something about this.



The delivery of Zest, Tiago and Harrier in one picture!

[andafunda]

I test drove the Harrier, Seltos and Creta today.

Background: I've been a sedan man all my life. Started with the Ford Fiesta Petrol (2009), then graduated to the Skoda Rapid 1.5 Diesel (2015) Have been very happy with sedans, however they always feel inadequate for long drives, from a comfort and drive confidence perspective. Make no mistake, the Rapid is a beast, but maybe not build for highway travel as much as a SUV (or pseudo-SUV) may be. Manual transmission is getting a bit of an irritant in Mumbai traffic, so looking for an automatic transmission.

Back to the TD experience.

The Seltos and Creta (Petrol DCTs) felt like toy cars to me. I don't mean any offense, but they just don't hold water against the build quality of my Skoda. While they have a lot of features, I don't see myself using most of them. The quality of interiors was okay-ish, with the exception of the HU which was superb. The ride quality was quite refined, but almost boring as compared to my Rapid 1.5 TDI. I dont think Korean cars are for me.

About VAG, Karoq is out of my price range and TRoc doesn't seem as spacious as the other cars I'm looking at the Compass, will do a TD next week.

Now let's talk about the "Raja Gadi". I only reserve that name for the grandest of cars I've driven (The Ambassador, Fortuner and now Harrier). I absolutely loved the design - the car has a presence. People in my locality got curious when they saw the Harrier. The build quality seems good (maybe not as good as VAG but acceptable). I love what Tata has done with the interiors. They feel so premium. I know it is not an AWD but boy feels like a proper SUV. Loved the driving position, turning wasn't too much of a hassle, although the view through the back windshield is a bit cramped. The MID and HU are elegant. Not flashy, just elegant. I love my Noname 330 and the Harriers' electronics seem to be in a similar vein

A few interesting points to note. The SA told me Harrier has a 4* rating. He said he was told this internally. I asked why Nexon is at 5* while the raja gadi gets only a 4*, but he did not have a clue beyond just the factoid. He also said that the existing HU is esim capable and will get connected features soon. Couldn't tell me about XT+ or XTA+ or the petrol variant.

All in all, I am super tempted to consider the Harrier. Great car, poor marketing and sales strategy and execution.

[Route66]

Originally Posted by ram87pune

Hello bhpians.

Wanted to share some news regarding the Harrier with you.

3. In another exclusive scoop, Tata is expected to launch the connected car platform on the Harrier in the next couple of months. So Harrier will get these features before the Gravitas.

4. As I had mentioned earlier, the production of the XT+/XTA variants of the Harrier has already begun and we can expect a launch by next month.

Thank You for this information.

Do you anticipate any price hike once they roll out connected features?

I am planning to purchase either XZA or XZA+ around Diwali mainly because of discounts offered at that time.

With the launch of XTA, is there a possibility of feature rejig in other variants (XZA)?

Thank You

[omranga98]

https://youtu.be/26LQM-8TJH0

A good indepth review, talks about all fine good details, shortcomings and ugly bits of Harrier. Seems pretty genuine.

[07CR]

Came across the video review by Gagan Choudhary. It seems, there are still many inconsistencies that should not have been present in a near 25L rupee car.

[ramnaresh_2000]

Originally Posted by andafunda

The SA told me Harrier has a 4* rating. He said he was told this internally. I asked why Nexon is at 5* while the raja gadi gets only a 4*, but he did not have a clue beyond just the factoid.

I find this hard to believe, the sales people will promise even moon if we listen to them. Having said that, I am tempted to believe it. Harrier deserves a proper NCAP rating and not the lies, sales pitches and assumptions of public.

There are so many people commenting in this forum, "Harrier is not safe, engine is protruding too much in to cabin etc", with zero proofs, but again Tata not sending Harrier for NCAP is raising eye brows.

[pseudo_coder]

Originally Posted by Route66

Thank You for this information.

Do you anticipate any price hike once they roll out connected features?

I am planning to purchase either XZA or XZA+ around Diwali mainly because of discounts offered at that time.

With the launch of XTA, is there a possibility of feature rejig in other variants (XZA)?

Thank You

My dealer in Pune has promised me 1 lakh discount on any variant except dark edition. I don't think it can get better than that during Diwali.

[andafunda]

Originally Posted by pseudo_coder

My dealer in Pune has promised me 1 lakh discount on any variant except dark edition. I don't think it can get better than that during Diwali.

Hey! Is the 1L discount inclusive of exchange bonus etc or on the ex-showroom price?

[ihrishi]

Went for a drive to Bhor near Pune this weekend to get used to the Harrier. And its growing on me. While it is hard to put things in words, the entire experience of driving is just seamless.

It's like the car is actually taking care of the mundane things and letting you focus just on driving pleasure. While its got no sports car like handling, it is one of the best things in any SUV currently in the market and in its price range. Broken roads are not felt. Its effortless to go off the shoulder and back again while overtaking on narrow roads. Body roll is really well contained on twisties. On the highways no gap is too small once you are in the sports mode.

On steep hairpins, not once did I feel at a loss of power or being in the wrong gear. The hill hold works seamlessly keeping me rooted to the spot. Rough rode mode ensues minimal wheelspin on gravel.On an incline.

The best experience was while coming down an especially gravelly section with a high gradient. That's when I tried out the hill descent control and boy what an implementation!
Not only does the car control how you are coming down the slope, but it also changes the speed based on the gradient. You can actually feel different braking at different corners of the car to ensure that its descending totally in a straight line.
And all the while, the auto wipers and auto headlights take care of keeping the visibility great.

Absolutely loving the experience!

[pseudo_coder]

Originally Posted by andafunda

Hey! Is the 1L discount inclusive of exchange bonus etc or on the ex-showroom price?

It's on the on-road price. I mean, insurance must be taken from them. But I don't have exchange car, nor am I eligible for corporate discount.

Today I took a long test drive of XZA+.
Experience:

1. Power driver seat: backrest adjustment button was broken. I think someone else has also reported the same issue. May be the same car. If not, then two cars having the same issue is a very bad sign. Almost decided against getting the XZA+ variant.

2. Opened the sunroof to check if it's worth the money (kept the glass closed). Didn't even realize that it is open. Later opened the glass, but soon it started raining. It looked like the sunroof is like a society swimming pool - we all want one while buying a flat, but hardly anyone ends up using it. Even the salesman advised against taking the top variant if I am not going to use it much.

3. In my earlier drive, I felt like something was pulling the car back at low speeds. That wasn't the case this time. He said the car was serviced after my feedback.

4. Tried the three driving modes. City and Economy modes felt the same (I switched to economy in the running car). May be take off would be slower in Eco mode. Sports mode was noticeably different. Pickup was better, as expected. But the refinement was reduced, more noise and vibration.

In regular practice, I think I may use sports more for take off, and then more to city mode.

5. Tried the manual mode. Switching to manual, car says it switched to 'sports mode'. This felt odd. But driving experience was good. Response to gear shifts was quicker. I think it is better to use manual mode than sports mode when you want to overtake.

6. Ride quality: Suspension is firmer than Hexa's. So low speed ride is bumpy over speed breakers. But good on potholes. After 30kmph or so, it gets much better.

I also sat on the rear seat to check ride quality. I felt more sideways movement (I sat on one side, as most passengers would do, and not in the middle). This should be improved.

7. Handling: Handled like a champ. I zipped through the traffic, changed lanes in small gaps at 60k speed. (I don't do this normally, did it for testing). Car felt like a hatchback. I forgot to try cornering though. May be because I never take turns at high speed.

8. Ergonomics: Found these issues.
1. Dead pedal: It's not full size. Toes didn't get support. I don't understand why so few cars get such a simple item right.
2. Driver side window switches: They are positioned closer to the body. So they don't fall at the rest position of the palm. Need to really move back the arm to operate them. It also makes it difficult to see the buttons while driving. So at least initially, there is chance of operating the wrong button.
3. Rear seat recline should have been adjustable.

Overall, the impression was that Tata got the difficult things right, and goofed up on the easy stuff.

I have almost decided to book the XZA, dark edition.

[A.M.]

Received the CSD prices of Harrier (as on date). Only the following variants are offered at the moment-

XE : Rs. 1223954
XM : Rs. 1340627
XMA: Rs. 1451804
XT: Rs. 1451804
XZ (Dual tone) : Rs. 1572069
XZ : Rs. 1563384

All prices are ex-showroom Kolkata.

[akj53]

Tata Harrier Sales Grow 167% in Aug 2020 – Highest in 15 Months

August 2020 sales - 1694, August 2019 - 635,

Copyright (C) 'RUSH LANE' Read more at... https://www.rushlane.com/tata-harrie...-12374276.html .

[rsanthosh]

Very true, especially for the prospective buyers these numbers are really reassuring. I have almost finalized on the XZA model and will mostly buy during festival season. The only point of concern is the lack of clarity on safety rating. I came back really satisfied after two test drives, though the customer service and follow-up left lot to be desired.

[andafunda]

Originally Posted by ram87pune

Hello bhpians.

Wanted to share some news regarding the Harrier with you.

1. First let's talk about the elephant in the room I e. the safety rating of the Harrier.

Did some additional digging with the help of my sources and found that the real culprit for the Harrier not meeting the front crash test norms lies just behind the ABC pedals in the engine compartment. Oil filter for the 2.0 Multijet engine is located in that place. Now according to my sources during frontal impact this oil filter and some other associated parts intrude through the firewall and push the ABC pedals inwards. This in turn results in leg injury to the driver and thus the Harrier loses some crucial points which ultimately results in it being unable to get a 5 star rating.

Now this issue is exclusive to RHD SUVs because the Jeep Compass tested by Euro NCAP which got a 5 star result is an LHD model and according to my sources the Indian Compass which is RHD will also have the same above mentioned issue resulting in it also being a less than 5 star car. This is because in LHD configuration the location of the oil filter remains the same I.e. behind the firewall at the right portion where there are no pedals in LHD configuration to have any impact on the score.

A sincere request to fellow bhpians who do not agree with what I have said above to not bash me or Tata Motors because I cannot prove what I have mentioned even though I have utter faith in my sources and neither can Tata prove otherwise unless they send the Harrier to GNCAP. So let's hope that Tata quickly sorts out this issue and comes out with a 5 star rated Harrier since it is the only product in its lineup which has not been tested.

2. Regarding the Harrier petrol, according to my sources the firing ceremony of the Harrier's petrol engine took place a couple of months back and it will be at least a year till we see actual prototypes running on our roads. So till then please do not believe in any clickbait articles published by other media houses showing a diesel camouflaged Harrier and claiming it to be a petrol one.

3. In another exclusive scoop, Tata is expected to launch the connected car platform on the Harrier in the next couple of months. So Harrier will get these features before the Gravitas.

4. As I had mentioned earlier, the production of the XT+/XTA variants of the Harrier has already begun and we can expect a launch by next month.

Hi Ram, just following up to check if you’ve heard anything more from your source about points (3), (4) and on any upcoming offers. I am looking to finalize my Harrier buy but waiting to see if the connected platform comes to the old cars, for any new model and for any good company discounts.

[andafunda]

Originally Posted by pseudo_coder

It's on the on-road price. I mean, insurance must be taken from them. But I don't have exchange car, nor am I eligible for corporate discount.

Today I took a long test drive of XZA+.
Experience:

1. Power driver seat: backrest adjustment button was broken. I think someone else has also reported the same issue. May be the same car. If not, then two cars having the same issue is a very bad sign. Almost decided against getting the XZA+ variant.

2. Opened the sunroof to check if it's worth the money (kept the glass closed). Didn't even realize that it is open. Later opened the glass, but soon it started raining. It looked like the sunroof is like a society swimming pool - we all want one while buying a flat, but hardly anyone ends up using it. Even the salesman advised against taking the top variant if I am not going to use it much.

3. In my earlier drive, I felt like something was pulling the car back at low speeds. That wasn't the case this time. He said the car was serviced after my feedback.

4. Tried the three driving modes. City and Economy modes felt the same (I switched to economy in the running car). May be take off would be slower in Eco mode. Sports mode was noticeably different. Pickup was better, as expected. But the refinement was reduced, more noise and vibration.

In regular practice, I think I may use sports more for take off, and then more to city mode.

5. Tried the manual mode. Switching to manual, car says it switched to 'sports mode'. This felt odd. But driving experience was good. Response to gear shifts was quicker. I think it is better to use manual mode than sports mode when you want to overtake.

6. Ride quality: Suspension is firmer than Hexa's. So low speed ride is bumpy over speed breakers. But good on potholes. After 30kmph or so, it gets much better.

I also sat on the rear seat to check ride quality. I felt more sideways movement (I sat on one side, as most passengers would do, and not in the middle). This should be improved.

7. Handling: Handled like a champ. I zipped through the traffic, changed lanes in small gaps at 60k speed. (I don't do this normally, did it for testing). Car felt like a hatchback. I forgot to try cornering though. May be because I never take turns at high speed.

8. Ergonomics: Found these issues.
1. Dead pedal: It's not full size. Toes didn't get support. I don't understand why so few cars get such a simple item right.
2. Driver side window switches: They are positioned closer to the body. So they don't fall at the rest position of the palm. Need to really move back the arm to operate them. It also makes it difficult to see the buttons while driving. So at least initially, there is chance of operating the wrong button.
3. Rear seat recline should have been adjustable.

Overall, the impression was that Tata got the difficult things right, and goofed up on the easy stuff.

I have almost decided to book the XZA, dark edition.

On (1), broken electronic seat adjustment lever - my TD car in Mumbai had the same issue. Seems like a QC problem.

Did you feel the rear view was compromised especially for city driving / narrow lanes. My TD was at 9 in the night with heavy rain so I couldn't judge for myself.