[Aditya]

Tata Harrier vs Tata Safari

Tata Motors sure has been on a roll of late. Not only have they enjoyed success with their current line-up of cars (Jan 2021 = 27000 cars moved), but even the way that the Gravitas -> Safari rebranding was carried out has been spot on. If only Tata gets its quality right and starts building cars that are free of niggles, problems & rough edges.

Take a look at this wild ad, especially from the 1:20 point & appreciate how the old Safari's theme music has been used. Brilliant stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3LyB-2em-U

The Harrier and Safari are practically the same car, but there are some differences between the two. Which one would you choose and why?





Some BHPians would say that the

Tata Harrier

is the better looking. It's cheaper & that 1 lakh-rupee price difference should take care of your periodic maintenance for a couple of years. The Harrier also gets darker interiors which many BHPians prefer the look of. They are easier to keep clean in India. 17" rims on the Harrier means it has taller tyre sidewalls than the Safari's 18 inchers, and hence offer a slightly cushier ride. And for those BHPians who don't need the last row of seats, why bother with the Safari? Smaller but significant points are that the Harrier's available in 5 colour options (compared to the Safari's 3) and gets 10 mm more GC.

Review Link







Its sibling, the

Tata Safari

, immediately commands more respect because of the iconic nameplate it is wearing. Admit it, there are some bragging rights associated with owning a "Safari". IMHO, the Safari is well worth the ~1 lakh-rupee premium, considering all the extras you get. Those 3rd row seats bring loads more practicality & utility. Fold the last row down and it can carry 4/5 people + more cargo than the Harrier. The Safari gets additional features such as TPMS, e-parking brake, auto-hold, boss mode etc. and has the option of captain seats for the middle row. Then, there are the disc brakes on all four wheels which are a serious mechanical upgrade! Do note there is a good chance that the Harrier will receive these features in the future as it is an equally important product for Tata.

Review Link

[GTO]

Voted for the Tata Safari.

If you add a rupee value to all those extras, the sum total exceeds the 70 – 100k price premium. Heck, the 3rd of seats alone are worth the extra money to me as it would mean taking one car less on family / friends outings (Indians love travelling in big groups). I'd perhaps get the bench seat variant though - more info. Of course, while "Harrier" itself is a nice brand, it simply can't match the sexiness & history of brand "Safari".

I am sure even the market will respond in the same way, and the Safari will outsell the Harrier. Hope Tata shares the sales numbers for the Harrier – Safari separately.

Both are expensive though. The Safari top trim is 26 lakhs OTR which is a lot of money for a Tata SUV. It's way more expensive than the best-selling premium crossovers (Korean siblings, Hector etc.), the new XUV500 can be seen on the horizon and the Tucson / Innova ATs aren't that far away, especially if you factor in discounts. Tata is clearly going for profits with the Harrier / Safari, but I'd love to see a price correction in the quest for higher volumes.

2021 is going to be a heck of a year with some truly interesting cars. Fun, fun, fun . In the recent past, we've had a blast driving this car, the C5 Aircross, S60 and more. And it's only just February!

A from Lonavla:

[moralfibre]

I voted for the Safari for the convenience of having those extra seats at your disposal. The add-on kit in the Safari v/s Harrier game completely justifies the price difference. The only gripe I have with the Safari is the absence of solid roof rails which could help put a roof rack or top box during travel with those extra seats upright. The luggage space is near zero and you are left with 4/5 seat options if you plan to drive this outstation.

[lazy]

Do we really need a poll here?

Safari all the way.
1 lakh is a 5% premium over the Harrier, quite small for someone with a budget of 20L. And we aren't even factoring in the name plate.

In my noob mind, even if TML sold a Safari edition of the Harrier - with some added bits, different colour options, bigger tyres / higher GC, and rest everything same; and charged 1+ Lakh for such an edition, there will be PLENTY of takers.

TML is practically charging cost price delta for this Safari over the Harrier. It is a deal.

cheers
lazy

[EightSix]

Voted for the Tata Safari.

Although I hate the design/color of the regular Safari shown in our Official Review, the Adventure Persona trim fixes all of it! It looks just gorgeous! The unique blue color and the light brown interiors are just the way I like them.

It reminds me of much bigger premium SUVs and all I can say is, Tata knows how to make a great car, with all its features and space and drive/ride.

Thank you for the thread, Aditya. I am sure the tempting >=100,000 difference would definitely confuse buyers if they had to choose between the Harrier and Safari.

Tata just made the sexiest SUV of the year!


Just look at how sexy this thing is! ↑

[sridhar24]

Its Tata Safari any day. For me the Safari looks and feels like a much more complete product than Harrier that is achieved on the OMEGA Arc platform, and what a job Tata has done! Kudos to Tata.
The pricing is again icing on the cake. So for me its an absolute no brainer to go for Safari, simply because it is much more usable and practical.

[VKumar]

I was wondering that why hasn't someone started this thread yet, and here it is.

Tata Safari any day!

Harrier Advantage:

• It comes with a parcel tray! So, you can have your luggage concealed from prying eyes

There is absolutely nothing that Harrier offers over the Safari. The boot space in Harrier is bigger, In Safari you can have even bigger of it with third row folded, and still have the comfort of captain seats.

Safari Advantages:

• The Name!
• Three rows of seating
• Three rows of cooling, try to cool a cabin in peak summer and see what difference it makes for even the middle row passengers
• Rear discs, electronic parking brake and more such minor differences
• More flexibility. In terms of people and luggage carrying capacity. In Safari, you can carry even 6 people (bench row model), and their luggage in half folded third row. Multiple permutations it provides!
• Better car for chauffeur driven. Comes with a smoother AT too

All this comes at a small premium for what it offers.

As already mentioned in Safari thread. Now discounts will come after the sales of Harrier fell, and they will be used in favor of Harrier to widen the price gap. Else I don't see any reason to purchase a Harrier over a Safari.

Additionally, you can treat yourself by feeling good about owning the car in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3LyB-2em-U

[adi.mariner]

Voted for the Tata Safari. For a negligible difference in the price (over the entire ownership period), I get an extra row of seats which I might need sometimes inside the city. I can always use the extra boot space on the outstation trips. Also the rear disc brakes are an added extra.

[Vid6639]

Even though the Safari third row seats are not something I need, I still voted for Safari.

1. The price difference between Harrier and Safari is too small vs the additional goodies for the 70K -1L
2. The Safari brand name and iconic image it commands

The Harrier if priced much lower or maybe rebadged as Sierra might paint a different picture.

[TrackDay]

Voted for the Safari. No doubt there ! I feel the Safari will outsell the Harrier. I predict it will be like the regular iPhone v/s it's mini version in terms of sales.


Here are some videos comparing the Harrier & the Safari.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib2wFwyA_Y0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3D_mXpLYeE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy86QiFpMUQ

[BANDHAV]

I am a simple man, I see a big car, I press like (vote).

I absolutely love vehicles with massive road presence. Safari trumps Harrier in that department.

[himanshugoswami]

as a Harrier owner, IMHO Tata has ruined that gorgeous design while creating the safari. the front and rear just dont gel. So for me, its the Harrier anyway unless one absolutely need 7 seats. Also, I am not a fan of electronic parking brakes, so that's another downer in my book for the Safari.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Voted for the Safari!

Harrier looks brilliant in the Dark Edition - but the Safari has a lot more going for it!

TATA has recently been trying to market the Harrier as the more 'sportier' option among the two cars - which really doesn't make much sense! Harrier was always an extra large vehicle, well above the sweet spot of the Creta/ Seltos/ Compass - so it makes sense to have it in the 7 seater configuration, which the Safari offers.

They should look at offering one of these models in 4WD, preferably the Safari, to increase the price gap and product differentation - or one of them (I believe Harrier!) is going to suffer at the hands of the other.

[Hayek]

Think this pricing is superlative. Tata have done a fantastic job with the Harrier, and surpassed that with the design of the Safari. The manner in which they have fitted a usable third row into the Safari is fantastic - folks like VW who have built a non-usable third row into the Tiguan Allspace should learn from them. If I were willing to buy a Tata car, would have picked the Safari - but I must admit that my wife is not yet willing to consider Tata products - will take 2-3 years to woo customers like her.

[NevGin]

Voted for the Safari because it is large and a steady cruiser with a plush ride and palatable powerplant. Change the powerplant of the Harrier to something punchier, lower the suspension a bit and spring it a little better, I would have taken the Harrier.

I don't know why Tata does not offer engine options. You can easily engineer the same block for different thigs along with different variations of turbo charging and supercharging.