News

Test drove the 2023 Harrier: What I think has improved over the old car

Steering is very well tuned now and is not cumbersome to drive in the city. Although it still retains that feeling of driving a macho SUV !

BHPian sapien recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Did a 14kms highway + city test drive of Harrier AT and here are my observations -

Highlight:

Steering is very well tuned now and is not cumbersome to drive in the city. Although it still retains that feeling of driving a macho SUV !

Positives:

  • The engine tuning feels better than before, the response is sharper in normal mode and sports mode feels quite fast.
  • The interiors are wow! Even in the yellow shade, they don't look garish, but my personal preference is the darker shade.
  • AC and ventilated seats work well. The button to activate ventilated seats is placed awkward though.
  • Sound insulation is good, not eerie silent, but traffic noise is cut down significantly. Engine noise is audible in a good way when you rev.
  • The ride felt slightly stiff but enjoyable. Felt cocooned inside the cabin.
  • Mileage on MID hovered around 11-12 with a mix of aggressive highway and calm city drive.
  • The space inside is humongous, including the boot.
  • Adaptive cruise & autonomous braking worked well and are easy to use.

Negatives:

  • The left knee hitting the centre panel issue is still there and somehow they have created a design around the space - causing it it to be even sharper than before. This started bothering me quite a bit towards the end of the test drive. Long drives could become painful. I tried adjusting seats several ways, but no relief. For reference, my height is 5'5 with an average build.
  • If you try to change the AC vent direction the touch panels get triggered inadvertently. This happened 5-6 times in 30 min test drive. Even the hazard signal is operated via touch - this should have been a proper button.
  • Exterior design is not to my taste but it's subjective.
  • I think Tata should fix point 1 on priority, 2 and 3 can be lived with. Somehow I was not able to convince myself of Harrier as compared to XUV700. So waiting game is still on.
  • The dealer experience was excellent, Akash from Dev motors SB Road Pune was very helpful in arranging the test drive at a preferred time, location & duration.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
A helmet will save your life