[PrasannaDhana]

2024 Tata Harrier 2.0L AT - A Brief User Report

Hello everyone,

This is going to be a brief report on 2024 Tata Harrier 2.0L AT. The car belongs to my brother. It is his first car. As he is in the Middle East, he has asked me to use the car so that the engine gets properly settled in and the car will be taken good care of.



The Need :

My brother's is a family of 4. Two adults and two kids. He stands at 6'2 and the kids are getting tall by the day, my niece standing at 5'9 already in grade 9. It is his first car. He needed a spacious, comfortable car that can accomodate 5 healthy adults. He insisted on Automatic transmission as he is used to driving a Hilux AT in the middle east.

Cars considered :

He started from Honda City, Elevate and then to Hyryder. Though the cars were all good in their own way, they didn't impress him enough to write the cheque. I suggested Innova Crysta, but since he needed an AT, I directed him towards Hycross.

Hycross hybrid was a bit expensive starting at 32L on road for the base hybrid. The 2.0L petrol Hycross did not impress either.

One look at the Dark Harrier, he was absolutely impressed and decided it has to be a Dark Harrier AT. The 5 star Global NCAP rating, solid build, spacious and comfortable interiors, efficient diesel mill and good VFM added to the decision.

We started with a budget of 20L OTR. I chose the variant - Pure Plus S Dark AT. It went over our budget by 4.3 lakhs after all discounts.

Dark is available from Pure variant. Pure Plus was well-loaded for the price and seemed VFM.

OTR price - Rs. 24,82,000
Discounts - Rs. 47,000

I booked the car in Kaveri Tata, Trichy. Kudos to ASM Mr. Saran and GM Mr. Ashok for getting us the car in just 7 days since the billing was done, inspite of it being Diwali festive time

I did a PDI once the car reached the dealership

Effective cost OTR - Rs. 24,35,000









The car was fresh out of oven. Oct manufactured, reached here with just 11 km on odo.



Even the MRF Wanderers were manufactured only in 38th Week of 2024 - Mid September


I checked everything and the car was good. Everything worked and the exteriors & interiors were flawless. The RTO formalities happened the next day.

Accessories added -
1. Sunfilm
2. Full floor mat & boot mat
3. Floor Cut mats
4. Underbody antirust coating
5. Scuff plates - front and rear

[PrasannaDhana]

Delivery Experience :

Delivery experience was as pleasant as always with Kaveri Tata. I have taken multiple vehicles from them and they have always provided a warm delivery experience. We didn't have to wait much at all.

The weather was a bit rainy just prior to the scheduled delivery time, we signed the documents and the delivery was done quick after the customary Pooja.





I kept ogling at the beauty of the dark harrier from my Altroz RVM while heading back home



The Harrier was then driven back to my brother's native, 130 km away from Trichy.



I instructed the driver not to take it over 2000 rpm for the most part unless he wants to overtake. The car was then driven back to Chennai and then was dropped off at my place with odo at 1200 km.

[PrasannaDhana]

My Experience with the 2024 Harrier AT

I have driven quite a few AT cars in the past. But they have always been short stints of less than a hundred kilometres. This is the first time I have driven and lived with an AT car for over 1500 km/2 weeks.

Here is my brief user report of the 2024 Harrier 2.0L AT

Likes

* Stunning looks, black color is gorgeous. It turns heads.

* Solid build quality and 5 star GNCAP rating. 6 airbags and a host of safety equipments make it a trustworthy car

* 2.0L fiat sourced Kryojet 170 offers good driveability, refinement and performance

100 kmph comes at just 1800 rpm in 6th gear. The engine noise is negligible. Road noise is also well controlled. Only slight wind noise can be heard above 100 kmph. Even from outside, at idle the 2.0L diesel isn't loud. 80 kmph comes at just1500 rpm in 6th.

* Spacious and comfortable cabin - material quality is also good.
Spacious all around, nice supportive firm seats, absolute chiller of an AC, panaromic sunroof etc.

* New EPS is much better than the older HPS. Steering is very light in slow speeds and weighs up nicely with speed. Steering is lighter than my Altroz diesel. It is as light and easy to use as my Punch.

* 6 speed TC is very smooth. Paddle shifters are useful too

* Very practical package that makes it a VFM car

* AC is typical Tata, cools the large cabin fast!

* 6 speaker ICE is decent and has good interface. Wireless Android auto works seamlessly

* 12 inch infotainment and 10.25 inch Console are crisp and easy to read. No lag whatsoever.

* Suspension is well tuned for comfort as well as high speed handling. Though it has an inherent stiffness over bad roads at low speeds, it gets very pliant and comfortable with speed and rides flat. The handling is also very good for a big FWD car. High speed stability is exceptional. There is bodyroll around corners but the new EPS and the suspension help us immensely in holding onto the line without much effort. 17 inch wheels add to better ride comfort (higher variants get 18 inch wheels). Good balance of ride and handling

* Impressive Fuel efficiency for a 1.7 tonne, 2.0L AT car. Matches the ARAI claim of 14.6 kmpl

* Light steering, smooth AT, great overall visibility, good low end driveability makes the Harrier AT a very easy to drive car. It doesn't feel like a big car at all.

Dislikes

* Brakes - Tata offers all disc breaks only from Adventure plus trim. Smart, smart plus, Pure, Pure Plus, Adventure get just 2 discs at front and drum brakes at rear. While in manual car we could utilise engine braking, the AT engine braking isn't as useful. Braking is just average.

* Cost cutting practise by Tata - Removal of many essential features in the lower to mid variants like

1. Request sensor on passenger door
2. Parcel tray
3. Lumbar support on passenger seat
4. Soft touch on top part of dash
5. Automatic day light internal rear view mirror
6. Rear armrest
7. Rear defoggers (Pure Plus gets rear wipers)
8. Single horn until Adventure variants - was more pathetic than scooter horn
9. Sunglass holder

Though it is understandable that higher variants get these features, they are essential in my opinion even in lower variants.

Even worse, variants until Pure variant will lose TPMS, spare wheel and third row AC vent (Safari) from November manufactured batches on. This is bad!

* Underthigh support - While seats are wide and offer good side bolstering & back support, but underthigh support is just average, specially for people over 6 ft.

* 6 Speed TC gearbox is smooth, but when you are in a mood to drive aggressively, it just doesn't respond as quickly as you would want it.
ARAI claim for fuel efficiency for Manual transmission is 16.8 kmpl while for Harrier AT, it is just 14.6 kmpl. That is a 2.2 kmpl delta. After driving the AT, I could fully understand why. There are 3 modes - Eco, City and Sport

Even in Eco mode the 6AT holds the gear until 1750 rpm before upshifting. In Harrier MT, we ideally upshift at 1500 - 1650 rpm. Things get worse with City mode where the 6AT upshifts only at 2000 rpm. It specially gets irritating in 1st gear when the car holds the first gear till 25 kmph before slotting into 2nd. I have made it a habit to be in eco mode most of the times.

Same happens while cruising on highways. My driver complained that it won't get to 6th gear at 80kmph, and stays at 5th. I had to show him that he needs to get to 84+ kmph so that the gearbox slots into 6th. After it gets to 6th, we could cruise as slow as 75 kmph and it would stay in 6th.

The 6 speed TC gearbox has made me a sedate driver in comparison to my habits with 2.0MT Harrier and 2.2L storme. Even in sports mode, I don't find the gearbox very responsive. While the steering gets heavier, the gearbox still isn't as responsive as say, XUV7OO AT.

The 6AT TC feels at home when driving style is sedate.

I just miss the manual transmission so much.

* LED projector headlamps are average. Pure plus variants miss out on LED fog lamps also

* Though new EPS is much better than the previous HPS, the steering does feel vague, specially at slower speeds. The feedback could have been better.

* Infamous Tata niggles - Front Wipers stopped working within 4 days from purchase. I got the wiper motor replaced under warranty during first service. Not a confidence inspiring incident, specially if someone is new to the brand.

Pull up your socks, Tata

Overall I would rate Harrier AT a solid 8/10. I absolutely love the car despite the minor shortcomings. My dad who is used to Safari Storme said he loved the back seat of the harrier too.

[PrasannaDhana]

Let the pictures talk

Four spoke steering is nice to hold. The central display shows Tata logo. It can also be used as horn pad. Actual horn pad is placed below the screen



Nice multicoloured display that shows all necessary data. There are three types of views that we can choose from. Initially it took time to read the data, but with time the crisp display feels quite useful



Different layers of the dashboard. Push button start is placed in an ergonomically nice position. Some cars have started stop buttons in their conventional keyhole areas. Higher variants would get ambient lighting over the faux leather area.



There is a lot of piano Black area on the dash. It is a dust magnet and catches minute scratches very easily



Doors are solid and the elbow pads get fabric inserts. Again, they are easily prone to dirt



I personally love the all black theme of the interiors in dark edition





Front seats are very comfortable and offer good back support. Underthigh support could have been better.



I should mention about the fabric seats. They are very firm, in a nice way. That firmness will make long journeys very comfortable.



Driver seat gets lumbar support which actually is very useful. Co-driver seat doesn't get one. My storme has lumbar support for both front seats



Not a fan of touch based AC controls as well as dollops of piano Black treatment. That being said, AC is super effective.



Infotainment touch screen works flawlessly. Such a relief to have wireless Android auto as I am used to wired Android auto in my altroz diesel. Reverse camera quality is also excellent with adaptive guidelines.



Rear seats are wide enough for 3 passengers with ample legroom. The transmission tunnel does intrude into the floor space of middle passenger.



This is the legroom available for me (6'2) with driver seat set to my height (farthest position)



Underthigh support at the back could have been better. I felt that my knees were pointing slightly upwards.

Rear passengers get AC vents in the B pillars



Land rover DNA scuff plates with Omega Arc platform symbol



If you are someone taller than 6', do make sure you do a test drive in the Harrier's driver seat for some time. At some driver seat heights, my left knee rubbed against the central part of the dashboard. At my ideal driving position, the knee doesn't rub, but is very close to the dash



The boot is humongous. Sadly Pure Plus variant doesn't get a parcel tray. I have placed an order with Tata, but it doesn't seem to arrive at all



This was what I had to say after test driving the Harrier AT this September. You can have fun in it, you just have to work around the paddle shifters and be a little patient

[PrasannaDhana]

First Service & First Warranty Replacement

The Harrier was driven 1200 km in 5 days. First service was at 1000 km or 2 months, whichever comes earlier.

I sent the car to Kaveri garage, TV Koil for the first service. General checks were done. I raised the wiper issue. They replaced the wiper motor under warranty.

I wasn't very happy about a part failing so early into the ownership. Anyways it has been working well since then. I urge all Tata buyers to go for the maximum extended warranty available.

I remember reading about huge % of revenue Tata Motors is spending on Warranty replacements. My harrier has contributed to that cost by Rs. 5300.



After the service





I also refilled Adblue oil as they delivered the car with just about 40% DEF tank. I learnt from my friend who took Safari delivery recently that it has been a practise all over Tata dealerships. I refilled 5 liters of Adblue for 700 rs. Now the DEF level is at 80% and might last upto 7500 or 8000 km.



Never have I ever been so fed up of a stock horn. Higher variants get dual horns, while Pure Plus gets this pathetic single horn that won't even be as powerful as a two wheeler horn



I went to my regular FNG and installed Hella TE40 Electronic trumpet horns. No extra wiring, no wire cutting, just plain plug and play



As always I had my heart beating near my mouth when they disassembled the front grill





A few pics with the garage mates

The mighty Storme. Storme does dwarf most cars. Harrier isn't one of them



Or at some angles, it does dwarf the Harrier lol



With the most favourite ride of mine - the Altroz diesel





With the latest addition of my garage - Punch aka mini harrier lol



With the last car that I sold recently - Celerio 1.0



With the segment leader



With the no nonsense choice of 7 seaters

[PrasannaDhana]

Being as wide as my Safari Storme, the Harrier does fill my garage nicely



Black is such a nice color but a pain to own. Becomes dirty super fast



Also the best color to view when clean



Noisy, little but fun with Smooth, big but refined



The expressway, where Harrier truly belongs and shines. It's a terrific mile muncher



Not a big fan of sunroof, but letting in warm sunlight on a rather cool December morning definitely felt great



The grill design may look futuristic and aesthetically appealing, but it's such a pain in the bottom while cleaning. So many creases for the dust to settle and too much effort to clean



Front armrest is set too backwards to be useful for shorter drivers. It can't be adjusted too. It does have a storage with 12V socket

Fuel Efficiency

The car is just 2700 km old. The fuel efficiency will definitely improve further over time as the car clocks more mileage and the engine settles in.


As of now, this is the MID data for approximately 1500 km that I have driven it.

MID FE - 15.9 kmpl



Actual FE - Tankfull to Tankfull method - 14.23 kmpl
With best FE of about 17kmpl and worst being 12.5 kmpl



MID is over-optimistic by 1.5 to 2 kmpl.

I did manage to get 20 kmpl on MID one time



I am impressed that an automatic 2L car weighing 1.7 tonnes could deliver close to ARAI claim of 14.6 kmpl. With time, the FE will only improve.

Harrier MT will easily give 16 kmpl.

Conclusion :

Harrier AT has proved itself to be a worthy car for 25L. It is refined, comfortable, sturdy, safe, feature-rich, totally nice & easy to drive and looks like a million dollars. The 2.0L diesel mill is an absolute workhorse and it makes the harrier a capable mile muncher. I drive 100-130 km everyday and Harrier has been a delight to use. Being a purist, the 6AT may not impress me when I am in a mood for some fast driving, but it is more that sufficient for 95% of our population. The drive modes are effective. Terrain modes work well too. I would definitely recommend Tata Harrier along with Mahindra XUV7OO to anyone who needs a capable, comfortable and safe mile muncher in a budget of 25L.

Since I don't own the harrier, I shared a brief user report of it and not an extensive ownership review. I will send the car to my brother's home when my new car (2024 Dzire in black) arrives. Until then, I get to enjoy this beautiful car. Big thanks to my brother Mr. Palaniyappan Veerappan to have trusted his brand new first car with me.

Thanks for reading the user report. I will share updates periodically whenever I get the Harrier with me.

[KarthikK]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Chitta Pradhan]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Conclusion :

I would definitely recommend Tata Harrier along with Mahindra XUV7OO to anyone who needs a capable, comfortable and safe mile muncher in a budget of 25L.

Very nice and crisp review. Harrier surely is a robust car. Since it is around for a good no of years, one can go for it safely.

-While driving a relative's MT Harrier ( pre-facelift version), I found my left knee uncomfortably brushing the centre console. My Punch AMT has no such problem. How is it in Harrier AT? Did you face any such problem?

- While shortlisting cars, why did you skip XUV700?

Thanks

[ike]

Originally Posted by Chitta Pradhan

-While driving a relative's MT Harrier ( pre-facelift version), I found my left knee uncomfortably brushing the centre console. My Punch AMT has no such problem. How is it in Harrier AT? Did you face any such problem?
Thanks

It is there in the AT as well. However, your left leg is idle since you don't have to work the clutch so it is not that much of a bother (for me). AT also gets a bigger dead pedal as there are only two pedals, that helps as well.

[Vinayjoshi9]

Congratulations on the new purchase. Your pros and cons are perfectly on point. I purchased Pure+ Dark edition in this Oct as well, and I can very well relate to what you have so far put down. Haven't had any major issues yet, except for a few glitches in the infotainment system like media information just disappears sometimes, but then they again appear after I restart my car.

I am a little taken back on the on-road price you got. I purchase this in 21.8 lakhs on road with 5 year extended warranty. I guess Haryana and Tamil Nadu do have a lot of differences in the taxation.

Enjoy your drive. I have driven 4000 kms so far and it is just perfect on highways and city both. The mileage, although it is not a big concern for me since I understand this is a huge car with a 2L automatic transmission, but I was pleasantly surprised. I drove to my hometown, which is 850 kms, in one full tank, with about 6-7 liters still in the 50ltr tank. Which comes about 19kmpl.

Have fun

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by Chitta Pradhan

-While driving a relative's MT Harrier ( pre-facelift version), I found my left knee uncomfortably brushing the centre console. My Punch AMT has no such problem. How is it in Harrier AT? Did you face any such problem?

- While shortlisting cars, why did you skip XUV700?

Thanks

I have specified this in the report. Left knee will rub on the centre console for tall drivers. For me though, it doesn't rub in my ideal driving position, but is too close to the console.

My brother loved the looks of Harrier over XUV7OO. Moreover we didn't want to battle waiting periods of XUV.

Originally Posted by Vinayjoshi9

Congratulations on the new purchase. Your pros and cons are perfectly on point.

I am a little taken back on the on-road price you got. I purchase this in 21.8 lakhs on road with 5 year extended warranty. I guess Haryana and Tamil Nadu do have a lot of differences in the taxation.


Have fun

Thank you!

Tamilnadu government earns more than twice the amount of tax on ex-showroom price than Haryana (18% vs 8%). There is an effective difference of 2.1 lakhs in OTR price between Tamilnadu and Haryana.

[Vinayjoshi9]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Tamilnadu government earns more than twice the amount of tax on ex-showroom price than Haryana (18% vs 8%). There is an effective difference of 2.1 lakhs in OTR price between Tamilnadu and Haryana.

Yeah it does make a lot of difference and also I think since Chennai is more flood-prone, the insurance cost is also about 20% more.