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Tata Harrier #Jet Edition ownership review: Replaces my 2017 S-Cross

2nd June 2023, 10:17 by Rahul Nagaraj

The first 20 days of ownership have seen 2,300 km. The car munches miles effortlessly, 100 km/h comes at around 2k rpm.

BHPian ike recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello everyone. I have been a member of this forum for quite a while but this is my very first ownership thread. This is something I have wanted to do for my previous car as well however never got around to actually creating a thread.

The old flame

I used to drive an S cross zeta 2017 before trading it in for a Harrier Jet edition XZA+. Though I have let her go, she will hold a special place in my heart as my very first car that took me wherever I wanted without any fuss. During all of the 83k km that she was with me, I could go on 1500 km trips just filling diesel, the reliability was top-notch. She has served me well over the years and I sincerely hope she will still get all the care and love she deserves.

Goes without saying that all the comparisons will be against the former car.

This car is almost the same age as my eldest son, brought my kids home and kept my family safe when I hit a buffalo thousands of KMS from home near Bhubaneshwar. The accident and the support from Maruti after the initial hiccup is documented elsewhere in the forum. Below is the final pic of her that I took just before the Harrier was delivered.

Most of the S cross miles are highway miles (the only city running was Home - Office - Home in Chennai which is 19 km one way and that too had come down post the pandemic). This meant that all the components lasted reasonably well, at 83k the clutch is stuck, the front pads were changed at 50k KMS and have at least another 20k left in them. Rear pads are stock and will need to be changed by 100k according to the mechanic that carried out the 80k service a few months back. I also got the suspension overhauled and changed all the struts, springs and bushes.

In Q1 of 2023, I shifted from Chennai to Thrissur for good since we were required to be in the office only for a week every month. This meant that I had to drive a 1500KMS roundtrip every month

I was not looking to buy a car anytime soon and was not very unhappy with the S-Cross though I was finding the manual tranny to be a pain in the city. Whenever I had the chance, I would ditch the S cross for my brother's Jazz for any errands if the car was available.

When I heard that Harrier/Safari have been facelifted, I wanted to visit the showroom to check the car out, just that I like checking out new launches in person when possible and being in Thrissur presented that opportunity since this is a one-mule town and nothing is really far away from anywhere.

My son and I went to the dealership to check the car out. We went on a working day at around 1100 Hrs. We were attended to immediately and when I mentioned that I'm there to just see the car, the meet and greet staff pointed to where the car was parked and asked me to let her know if I needed an SA, I was also offered water/tea/coffee.

I then learned that the newer models of Harrier/Safari (with ADAS et al) were not on display and that the lone TD car they have was elsewhere. At that point in time, an SA approached us very unobtrusively and told me that the #JET edition variant that was on display was a 2022 model and that there were healthy discounts available if I were to buy it. It was all very polite & professional, there was absolutely no aggressive push to make a booking right away or confirm within x no of days or anything of the sort. I thanked the SA and went home.

I listed my requirements and compared them against what was on offer.

Non-negotiable:

Diesel
Automatic
Safety features – active & passive
Cruise control
Decent boot space (Wife’s requirement, “decent” being greater than the S cross).

Good to have:

Auto headlamps & wipers
Decent ground clearance
Projector headlamps
Automatic IRVM
Android Auto

MEH!

Sunroof
Ventilated seats
In-car entertainment
Wireless charging

After sleeping on it, I visited the showroom again and after two days of negotiating, we shook hands and the car was mine. This was an Aug 2022 manufactured Harrier XZA+ Jet edition. Apparently, since this was a limited-edition model, this could not have been used as a TD car. They mentioned this has been on display since Dec 22. The odo stood at 96 KMS when I did my PDI.

I was offered a good discount of about 12.5% on the OTR, an acceptable buyback for my existing car and finally threw in the extended warranty, underbody coating & 3D mats as well to sweeten the deal.

The dealership experience was very pleasant. My SA Gireesh was prompt with everything and gave proper updates and realistic timelines. He mentioned that he used to work for Maruti before joining Tata. Though the staff were not as sophisticated & suave as Nexa or Mahindra, all people were attentive, courteous and prompt. I received a couple of feedback calls too from the CRM. I did not have much expectations on this front anyway but I have been treated well so far by the dealership personnel. Could they have been better? Yes, there is always scope for improvement. Do I have any complaints – None so far.

Alternatives considered

Tata Safari

There was a 2022 safari 6-seater in tropical mist colour as well that was available at similar discounts. This was vetoed by my wife right away. There was no use case for a six-seater and she did not want captain seats in the middle row. Since the kids are still young, a bench in the middle was non-negotiable. Her criteria also include a big boot. I did not like the color all that much too though I was willing to overlook it.

XUV700

Visited the Mahindra showroom on day 1 of the negotiations to get a feel of the XUV and also check on how much they would offer for my existing S cross. I was met by an enthusiastic SA and test-drove the petrol engine since the diesel TD car was away on another TD. While the ADAS is really impressive and the car was very good overall, it was pricey at INR3.1 million OTR in Thrissur. They had the car in stock (the fully loaded variant as well as the mid-variant 5-seater & 7-seater). I’m wondering why people who booked last year are still waiting for their allotment.

The mid variant that was within reach was woefully under-kitted, after paying 2.6 million INR for a car, I’m expected to retrofit a reverse camera.
Whatever the people who came up with the configuration had been smoking must have been really strong substance and they probably hang out with the team in VAG that introduced Kushaq/Taigun top ends at 2 million+ and gave only 2 airbags. Plus, it did not obviously have cruise control and that was a deal breaker.

Scorpio N

Though I never test-drove the Scorpio, I checked out the display car and felt it was a little too rugged for me. An old-school ladder on the frame does look the part but coming from a monocoque crossover I guess I was used to the soft ride and easy handling and ease of ingress & egress (relative to S cross). Once I mentioned that cruise control is mandatory, the SA tried to steer me to the Scorpio mid variant however I did not pursue it any further.

Innova Hycross

The Toyota dealership in Thrissur is a few hundred metres from the Tata dealership, On day 2 of the negotiations I went to Nippon Toyota to check out the Hycross especially after having heard from a friend that even if there’s no diesel on offer, the hybrid is just amazing to drive and delivers good fuel economy as well. As I had mentioned in the official Hycross review thread, I couldn’t impress them enough to warrant being spoken to, let alone get a TD and evaluation of the current car. Right from the security to people on the sales floor nobody took any interest and I checked the display car out on my own. I also checked out the Fortuner and a Crysta that had a “for sale” board. The only talking I did in that showroom was on the phone, with the SA in Tata telling him that I’d be coming to his place in a few minutes.

This is the total opposite of what I had heard about Toyota both in the forum and by word of mouth. Perhaps it was not meant to be. Or maybe I landed at the wrong time and all their staff were very busy and had no time to spare. Or maybe the Hycross has enough backlog bookings already and walk-in enquiries are not entertained unless you are someone important. Or maybe I should have found someone (who cares about why a lone man is loitering in the showroom) and told him/her that I want a TD or at least a brochure of the Hycross. But that was that, no other Toyota dealers in this part of the world. It may not be correct to eliminate an apparently competent car just basis the dealership experience but I did not see any reason why I should pursue it given that the car has high a waiting period anyway.

Used Innova Crysta/Used Fortuner:

These cars are very competent and last forever given the correct maintenance and would be available at a much lesser price than a new Harrier. While this is great value for money, I have neither the patience nor the competence to inspect & select a used car. I have this in the back of my mind and maybe I might consider getting a used car in the future from organised aggregators like Spinny or Cars24.

The delivery

I drove in my old car (which was being exchanged with the dealer), they took a few signatures and we drove out in the new car. The SA presumed that I’m familiar with all the features and did not want any demo as such. Fine by me, saves some time for everyone involved. We were handed over the keys, took some pics and we were off. No cake, no unveil, no drama. The low fuel indicator was active so filled her up on the way.

Initial impressions

The first 20 days of ownership have seen 2,300 km. This was my monthly Thrissur – Chennai – Thrissur run for work. The onward 611 km was very sedate with the cruise control between 90 & 100 km/h. The car munches miles effortlessly, 100 km/h comes at around 2k rpm. She can cruise all day at sane speeds, I was far from tired after driving for close to 10 Hrs.

The transmission works well, the shifts are noticeable but not a lot of lag. Not comparable to the lightning-fast shifts in a DSG or other multi-clutch gearboxes. A heavy throttle input gets a good response and no hairy moments as such during overtakes etc. so far.

The manual and the iRA app mention that driving in ECO mode improves the fuel economy but my experience is the exact opposite. I tried switching to ECO mode on the highway but the throttle response is close to NIL and any overtake or accelerating back to set speed after slowing down is a pain. Basically, she drives like a pig in eco mode, and I believe I might have given her a heavier right foot to compensate. This button is best left untouched and this mode is best not used. I have had a similar experience with ECO mode in my Ather scooter too.

Stats from her maiden highway run

Sports mode is very nice, she holds on to gears much longer and the response is very good. Perhaps this is how the car should have been by default and the ECO mode should be the current city mode. While in Chennai my home-to-office run is 20KMS one way. The auto-hold function is very useful while in the city and kicks in seamlessly. I shift to N whenever I anticipate a stop to be for more than 30 secs. I'm a little concerned about the brake pads' life with continuous use of auto hold.

The steering feels heavy at slow speeds and I felt it was a touch too sensitive at higher speeds, need to drive a few thousand km more to get used to the set up though it's nowhere near the one-finger light Maruti steering in the S cross. I'm yet to travel in the rear seat but the family is happy with it for city hops. Will need to see how comfortable she will be in ghats but the suspension felt OK to me, bad roads are dismissed with disdain and over long sweeping curves the body roll is not as bad as I expected (I drive rather sedately so that could be it too).

I tried the manual shift with sports mode a couple of times but why intervene when the car itself shifts pretty well, especially in sports mode? Having paddle shifters might have been more convenient but I'm perfectly happy to let the transmission do the shifting while I sit back. That's why I bought an auto tranny in the first place. Overall the city performance is good but I liked the highway performance even more. For someone very sedate like me, cruising at safe and sane speeds is something she does without breaking into a sweat and most of my running would be on the highways too.

I'm also a little paranoid about the DPF clogging, does cruising around 2k RPM get rid of any clogging or do we have to rev harder for the soot to burn? An indicator showing the % of clogging would have been convenient.

The ergonomics for the driver takes some getting used to, especially the driver footwell is kind of cramped. Since mine is an automatic I have no issues with the left leg hitting the dashboard but the dead pedal is just about adequate. I wear UK11 footwear and am 183 cm tall. I think in a manual my leg would be hitting the dash when shifting gears.

Positives:

The engine is very driveable both in the city and on the highway.
Tall seating helps visibility and manoeuvring is not very difficult considering this is a big car.
Looks (understand these are subjective) very butch.
The sports mode tuning is really nice, the throttle response is crisp and it holds on to the gears for much longer than city mode. Maybe this is how the car should have been tuned by default. I haven’t driven much in sports mode as the engine is still new but did not observe any perceptible difference to fuel economy.
I found the sunroof actually helps to dissipate the hot air quickly after being parked in the sun for a long.
Ventilated seats (I know it was Meh earlier) are a game changer. Incredibly useful in our hot & sultry summers.
ICE – Again Meh earlier and I used to drive for full days without playing any music but this one sounds nice and I actually listened to music almost all the way during my recent 9hr highway drive. (Touches wood frantically, the system is known to go crazy without warnings and I sure as hell hope I haven’t jinxed it ).
NVH levels are acceptable, changing to quieter tyres like Michelin may help even further. The stock Apollo Apterra tyres are not very noisy but not exactly silent either.

Dislikes:

No Fore/Aft adjustment for the driver armrest. It is set rather low so absolutely useless.
No memory function for the driver seat though it is powered.
No powered front passenger seat.
The iRA connect app. Though it shows the location of the car accurately, none of the other features work properly and no data is getting synced to be able to generate any useful reports. Free for the 1st yr but I will not be renewing the subscription.
The Ather app (the other connected vehicle I have) for comparison works beautifully and any issues are addressed very proactively.
MID indicated fuel economy is not reliable. The variance of up to 2 to 3 km/l between tankful & MID.
White leather seats! It looks dope however with kids aged 6 and 2 will need to see how it holds up.
A dual-zone Aircon would have been nice.
I hear complaints about the headlamps. Whenever I feel I could use more light I switch to high beams. That seems to be working well.

Small yet significant things:

The cruise control is a little lethargic. If we set CC at say 100 km/h and slow down to 50 due to traffic, pressing the RESUME button will get you back to 100 but not as quickly as I’d like. A press of the throttle does speed it up. In comparison, the S cross use to give everything she’s got to reach the set speed once you hit the RES button and push you back into your seat.
The dashcam wire is exposed and looks ugly. Not sure how to route it to the 12V outlet (located below the driver armrest) as the A-pillars have airbags in them.
AFAIK you cannot book service appointments via the iRA app. There’s yet another app for that.
The ECO mode cuts down on the response and makes the car almost undrivable. I tried using it to cruise on the highway but I think I ended up using a heavier right foot to compensate for the poor response resulting in a poor economy. ECO is best not used at all IMO.
The reverse cam is rather poor in terms of clarity, especially at night. My 6 yr old S cross mid variant had a better camera.
The battery is 78AH and is apparently not available that easily. You have to either depend on TASS for the battery (among other things) or go with an 80AH that is available easily.
I was irritated by the multiple beeps I get while driving without any warnings on the MID. Finally figured out that these are mobile phone notifications. A display on the ICE screen showing the notification would help to figure out what the beep is about. Not sure if this is a setting that I have missed.
The seat ventilation switches are on the side of the seat. If the passenger gets off without shutting it down, the driver may not know about it at all. The switches should have been somewhere on the centre console which has blank switches in any case. See the image, someone who is familiar with the design (there are BHPians everywhere these days) told me that the initial recommendation was to use the two dummy switches (indicated below for seat ventilation, heated seats in cold countries and cooled seats for hot countries. But the switch finally ended up on the seat beside the backrest adjustment switch which is hidden from the driver at all times.

I can’t find a tow hook. I’m sure it is there somewhere (with the number of tatas breaking down we would surely have known by now if there’s no tow hook at all). Service personnel also did not know much about where I could find one. I'm hoping it is on the front bumper (pic below) underneath this panel.

Seems to me that you can’t switch to wet mode while in sports mode. The terrain and drive modes seem to be integrated and switching to wet mode automatically engages city drive mode.
Music volume mellows down when you shift to reverse. Nice touch!
The AC is noisy and the fan speed is on levels 3 or 4 mostly when set to auto.

I do have concerns about the reliability of Tata cars and the ability of the service personnel to fix issues. In fact, a friend and BHPian (Raghav_K) mentioned that I’m incredibly brave (maybe he meant stupid) to go ahead and get a tata despite being a BHPian and a member of the TBHP Chennai WA group. A mod I happen to be friends with thinks I’m in for some hard time after being "pampered" by Maruti service.

I raised this with the SA (he was in Maruti before moving to Tata) and he acknowledged that there were problems but they are being addressed by both Tata and the dealers. According to him, the dealers have now understood that their customer profile has changed and they are not dealing with only cabbies anymore. Dealers across the country have been recruiting service personnel from other OEMs and that apparently is making a difference in both the interactions with the customers and the quality of services provided. He also mentioned that they are selling a lot more cars these days compared to prior years and if the service is as bad as it is perceived to be they would not have witnessed a spurt in volumes. Fingers crossed.
A couple of days after taking delivery, I got a notification on the iRA app saying that the battery connection might be loose and to head to the nearest TASS. The car was behaving normally, no warning lights were active. I wanted to update the ICE software anyway so took her to TASS. They said the battery connection was a little loose and also updated software. No warnings since.

Accessories:

A DDPAI dashcam and an idol, both were carried forward from the old car.
7D mats from Autotech.

Since this is the top end, not a lot of accessories are required and I also like keeping my cars stock to the extent possible.

First Service:

The first service is due at 2000 km or a month, I took it in close to 20 days. Booked the service on the TMSC app and I got a reminder call the day before. I had no issues as such, just that the sunroof railings seemed very dusty & dirty which was cleaned.

The 1st service is nothing major, just an inspection, wash and top-up of DEF. The bill came to 930/- (which was for the DEF). I went in at 0900, the job card was opened and the car was taken in right away. Finished by 1130 hrs.

Both the works manager & the service GM are friendly & approachable and overall it was an OK no-nonsense experience, hope it stays that way.