The Indian car market is well dominated by SUVs. Since the past few years a lot of SUVs were launched and almost all the brands have at least one SUV in their portfolio. But if we go back in time, we will realise that it was actually Tata Motors to make Indians crazy for SUVs. It all started with the Sierra and today they have one of their most advanced SUVs ruling the Indian roads. We are talking about the Harrier which was launched back in 2019 and took the market with storm. Based on the Land Rover’s D8 derived platform, the Harrier is a stunning looking SUV! It all started with the concept H5X and today we have the most recent avatar, the Harrier Facelift. Initially the SUV lacked features but Tata Motors kept updating the SUV by introducing special editions. It is needless to say that the Harrier facelift has come a long way since the SUV was first introduced in 2019. It has been a tough journey for the Harrier. But thanks to Tata’s dedication to offer the best for the buyers, the Harrier is expected to boost the sales. So today, let’s take a look at how it all started – from H5X to Harrier to some special editions to the facelift.
Attention Readers! Join us on Whatsapp Community for daily auto news updates.
Tata H5X
It was the year 2018 when Tata Motors first showcased the Harrier as the H5X concept SUV. The design wowed many of us and it looked like the SUV came straight from the desk of Land Rover’s designers. It looked sharp, butchy, aggressive and ready to take on its challengers. Upfront, the concept H5X got a wide stance with bulging wheel arches. The styling was unique with LED DRLs on the top and headlamp units at the bottom.
From the side, the SUV was sitting on huge and attractive alloy wheels and it was having a sloping roofline to give it a coupe-like SUV design. From the rear the H5X was looking very sharp. The rear windshield was smaller and the LED tail lamps were sleek and sharp. The design gave the SUV an amazing stance and a hint of Land Rover design language. Also, it was not just the design to be inspired from a Land Rover. See, unlike its predecessors, the Tata Harrier is based on the modern monocoque platform.
The chassis is a derivative of the Land Rover’s D8 platform. However, to keep the cost in check, Tata Motors swapped the aluminium elements of the original platform with high strength steel. Well, it was not just the exterior design which impressed us but even the interiors on the H5X were very unique to any Tata cars. They looked modern and had a premium quotient to it and a hint of what the future Tata cars will have to offer. Overall, the concept H5X was a premium looking SUV with sharp and futuristic design elements. What raised the bars of expectations was the promise Tata Motors made. They announced that the production model of the H5X will carry about 90%-95% of design cues of the concept car. Now it was time to wait for the official unveiling of the production model of H5X or the Harrier.
Tata Harrier
A few months later as the year was about to end, Tata Motors finally unveiled the most anticipated car, the Harrier. And as they promised, the production model was very similar to the concept model. The front design would easily scare anyone who watches the Harrier coming behind through the ORVMs. The Harrier is wide and gets a strong and bulky bonnet. As seen on the H5X, the Harrier had LED DRLs placed on the top and the main headlamp units were sitting on the bottom. The front was flanked with a 3D honeycomb mesh grille.
The side however was revised and to offer headroom to rear passengers, the sloping roofline was not as aggressive as it was on the H5X. The Harrier was equipped with 17-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels and they were not doing justice to the rather stylish looking SUV. The rear design was as impressive as it was on the concept. It got sleek LED tail lamps which were connected with a piano black plastic bar.
The Harrier was stunning but its rear quarter angle was the most attractive angle to look at. The story was completely different on the inside and the design was something we never seen on any Tata cars. It came with a simple yet elegant designed dashboard with a faux wooden insert to give a premium appeal. The top part of the dash was covered with an anti reflective Nappa grain soft-touch layer. Also, thanks to the Land Rover’s D8 platform, the Harrier came out to be a spacious SUV for rear passengers as well. Under the hood, the Harrier was equipped with the Fiat sourced multijet engine which Tata called as the Kryotec engine. It is a 2.0-litre unit which was originally capable of producing 168bhp and 350Nm of torque.
However, Tata detuned the engine and it produced just 138bhp on the Harrier and not many were impressed with that. At the time of launch, Tata offered a sole 6-speed manual gearbox with the Harrier. In terms of features, the Harrier came equipped with – 8.8-inch touchscreen system, auto headlamps, rain sensing wipers, 6 Airbags, 7-inch TFT MID, 9 JBL speakers, reverse camera, Xenon HID projector headlamps, LED tail lamps, and a few more. The Harrier clearly lacked in terms of features. So in terms of design, road presence, and even the equipment list for that matter, the Harrier was at par to what the past Tata SUVs had to offer. But did it drive well like its predecessors?
Well, it did felt even better! Thanks to Land Rover’s D8 platform, the Harrier offered brilliant ride quality. The SUV feels stiff on low speeds but it gets smoother and smoother as you pick up the pace. Also, the SUV stays planted on high speeds and can cruise on triple digit speeds effortlessly. The steering wheel was a hydraulic assisted unit which lacked confidence around the corners while the chassis felt eager. Overall, the Harrier came out as a strong product with excellent ride quality and build quality but it definitely lacked features and an option of automatic transmission was also a major miss out.
#Dark Edition
Months later, Tata decided to give the already meaner looking Harrier a stealthy look. They launched the Dark Edition of the Harrier in August 2019. It was a welcome addition as it boosted the sales of the SUV. For the dark edition, Tata Motors offered the Harrier with Atlas Black exterior paint, complemented with R17 Blackstone Alloys. All the chrome elements like the chrome door handles, chrome strip on the window line and Harrier badging and Tata logo were blacked.
The changes were made inside too. The brown upholstery for the seats was replaced by the Premium Benecke Kaliko Blackstone Leather upholstery. The faux-wood insert on the dashboard was replaced by textured Blackstone Matrix painted panel with matte finish. Overall, Tata Motors made a total of 14 design enhancements to make it a perfect blend. With the Dark Edition, Harrier was not offered with extra features but the blacked out Harrier was a stunning looking SUV.
Tata Harrier – The 2020 BS6 Update
Although Tata Motors tried to enhance the looks of the Harrier with the Dark Edition, the fact that the SUV lacked features didn’t let the sales last long. It faced tough competition from the new launches of the MG Hector and Kia Seltos. Both the competing SUVs were miles ahead in terms of features. To address this issue, Tata Harrier received a significant update in the year 2020.
The updates not only included additional features but got updated mechanically as well. Talking about the features first, the 2020 Tata Harrier received – 6-way electrically adjustable driver seat, auto dimming IRVM, and a panoramic sunroof. For design aesthetics the BS6 Harrier was equipped with new dual-tone diamond-cut R17 alloy wheels that were way better than the previous single tone 5-spoke alloys. Also, the ORVMs were also redesigned and made shorter with interest in improving the visibility. However, with the redesigned ORVMs, Tata eliminated the Harrier projection feature that projected the outline of Harrier from the ORVM.
In the mechanical department, Tata increased the power output of the Harrier. As mentioned before, Tata Harrier came with Fiat sourced 2.0-litre (168bh and 350Nm) diesel engine. But they detuned the engine for Harrier with the power output of 138bhp. However, with the BS6 update, Tata re-tuned the engine again to increase the power to match the original figures. It was increased by 30bhp with a total power output of 168bhp. The torque remained the same at 350Nm. Also, they introduced an all new automatic transmission for the BS6 Harrier. It was a 6-speed torque converter unit which was sourced from Hyundai. With BS6, Tata made much needed improvements for the Harrier and the SUV was well packaged. The result, Tata Harrier once again started selling well against the prime competitor like the MG Hector.
A Series of Editions
The Camo Edition –
In November 2020, Tata Motors introduced another edition for the Harrier, the Camo Edition. With Camo edition, the Harrier received a military green shade on exterior which was similar to Nexon’s Foliage Green colour. As a part of accessory, the Camo Edition was equipped with Harrier lettering on the bonnet, a side step, roof rails, and front parking sensors. The interior was completely blacked out and received the similar treatment like the Dark Edition. However, the black leatherette seats were complemented by contrast green stitching. The added accessories on the interior were 3D moulded mats, 3D trunk mats, anti-skid dash mats, sunshades, OMEGARC scuff plates, and forest camo themed back seat organiser.
#Dark Edition Tweaked –
In July 2021, the dark edition of the Harrier was updated. It received a new exterior paint – the oberon black. The alloys got a new Blackstone colour instead of all-black for a better contrast, and even the size was up at R18. However, the 18-inch alloy wheels were restricted on the Dark Edition as other variants continued with 17-inch wheels. The interiors got a minor tweak and the seats and door armrests received a blend of blue accents in Tri-arrow pattern.
Kaziranga Edition –
In February 2022, Tata Motors came up with another edition of the Harrier, the Kaziranga Edition. It was inspired by the Kaziranga National Park which is known for one-horn rhinos. Drawing the inspiration from the Kaziranga National Park, Harrier Kaziranga Edition received Grassland Beige exterior body colour with a dual-tone roof finished in piano black. Also, a satin black rhino mascot was placed on the front fender. The Kaziranga scheme was continued inside too.
The interiors got dual-tone earthy beige leatherette upholstery and tropical wood dashboard, along with several earthy beige coloured inserts. Also, the front headrests featured an embossed outlined torso of a one-horn rhino. However, this time around Tata Motors also introduced some new features for the Harrier. The list include – air purifier, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity via on-board WiFi, Tata’s iRA connected car tech and ventilated front seats.
Jet Edition –
In August 2022, Tata decided to add more features to the Harrier which came in the form of Harrier Jet Edition. The theme was inspired by business Jet Aircraft and offered luxury oriented features. Firstly, the Jet Edition Harrier received a Starlight dual-tone paint with earthly bronze body paint and platinum silver contrast roof with black alloy wheels.
For interiors, it received Oyster white and Granite black dual-tone interior colour theme. It also received a techno-steel bronze finish mid-pad along with bronze accents on the doors and the floor console. What was also new were the Tri-Arrow perforated Oyster white – Benecke-Kaliko leatherette seats and exquisite bronze inserts. The new set of features included – wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, air purifier, wireless charger, driver doze-off alert, panic brake alert, after impact braking, USB Type-C ports, electronic parking brake with auto hold, and all four disc brakes.
#RedDark Edition –
In February 2023, pre-facelift Harrier received the Red Dark Edition which was the last edition for the pre-facelift Harrier. With this edition, Harrier received a much needed significant update in terms of technology. For starters, the Red Dark Edition of the Harrier got the Oberon black exterior paint which was similar to the Dark Edition. It came with blacked out alloy wheels and subtle red inserts inside the grille. Also, the brake callipers of the Red Dark Edition were completed in Red to complement the sporty character of the SUV.
For interiors, the Red Dark Harrier got dual-tone interior with black and red combination. It got Carnelian Red leatherette upholstery which helped to enhance the ambience of the cabin and increased the sporty appeal of the SUV. In terms of features, the Red Dark Harrier was equipped with an all new 10.25-inch touchscreen system which was a major upgrade over the outdated 8.8-inch unit. It was a bright and responsive unit and offered a long list of features.
Even the instrument cluster was updated as it received an all new 7-inch digital instrument cluster. Other important features included a 360-degree surround view camera setup and the addition of ADAS. With the Red Dark Edition, Tata Harrier became a complete package with a very few niggles. It was now pretty close to the competition.
Now although Tata introduced an array of limited editions, they quickly made the equipment list of these editions available to other top variants of the Harrier line-up. Later, except the Dark & Red Dark Edition, they discontinued the rest one-by-one. However, if these editions were not discontinued, Tata Harrier would have offered the buyers various options for interior. This would have been an advantage as such options can be seen only on high end luxury cars.
Tata Harrier 2023 – The Facelift
After introducing a bunch of new features, Tata Harrier became an advanced SUV than what it was when first launched in 2019. Taking a step, or rather few steps further, Tata Motors launched the Harrier facelift. On 6th October 2023, the brand released the press release of Harrier facelift which included the image gallery and brochure. That press release made everyone crazy as the facelift changed the avatar of the SUV and came loaded with a long list of features.
With facelift, the overall approach of the SUV was shifted from butchy to sharp and futuristic design language. On the design aspect, the new Harrier received a completely new front fascia. The standout element happened to be the new front grille. The front bumpers are also new and the design of the grille and the air dam design on the bumpers were designed smartly to make it look like the hexagonal grille. It got some modern touches like connected LED DRLs with welcome and goodbye animations. Gone are those large headlamp units from the previous model which were replaced by sharp and sleek LED projectors. The headlamps are now placed vertically with fog lamps placed in the same housing. Overall, the setup on the facelift looks much cleaner and appealing than the older model.
The side profile largely remains unchanged as it always looked striking from the side. The only visible changes were the new alloy wheels. They were not only different in design but also got bigger at 19-inches with tyre profile of 245/55. Harrier badging was now added on the lower section of front doors. Changes were done on the rear too. New elements included redesigned bumpers with vertical housing for the reflectors, reverse lights, and rear fog lamps. The major change on the rear includes the all new connected LED tail lamps which also features the welcome and goodbye animation. Overall, Tata has given the Harrier a much modern and sporty design language. It looks sharp and aggressive and what compliments the design cues is the sheer size!
The changes for the facelift are not just limited for the exteriors. The Harrier facelift gets a revised dashboard with major changes done to the centre console. It now gets a more advanced, 12.3-inch touchscreen system along with a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. They are not only advanced but are also pretty bright units. The graphics of the instrument cluster looks pretty nice and less cluttered.
Another major change is the touch control for AC controls and an all new 4-spoke illuminated steering wheel. Now, talking about the steering wheel, Tata Motors has finally managed to get rid of their heavy hydraulic power steering wheel. The Harrier facelift is now comes with an electric power steering wheel. The new steering wheel is light and does justice for the SUV like Harrier which offers impressive drive quality. Coming back to the interiors, the Harrier now gets new colour themes which vary upon the variants you choose.
Tata Motors has also added some missing features in the Harrier facelift. The exclusive list if features include – Welcome and goodbye animation on LED DRL and connected tail lamps, LED headlights, LED fog lamps, Knee Airbag, 10 JBL Speakers with Advanced Harman AudioworX, 12.3-inch infotainment system, Dual Zone climate control, Touch control for HVAC, E-Shifter for automatic variants, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, Rear door sunshades, ambient lighting, Bejeweled rotary selector with display for terrain response modes, 45kW USB charger, Multiple ambient lighting options on sunroof & midpad, Gesture Controlled Power Tailgate.
Recently, Tata Harrier facelift was crash tested by the Global NCAP and the SUV secured 5-star rating. Well, 5-star rating was expected but what Harrier managed to achieve is the impressive individual scores for Adult and Child safety ratings. With the adult score of 33.05 out of 34 and child score of 45 out of 49, Tata Harrier has scored the maximum safety ratings out of all the cars ever tested by the Global NCAP. A true Tata trait right?
What remains unchanged is the powertrain of the SUV. The Harrier facelift continues to get the same 2.0-litre diesel engine. The unit produces 168bhp and 350Nm of peak torque and comes mated with a 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmission. The engine not at all feels underpowered and also returns decent fuel economy. The manual variant of the Harrier facelift gets a claimed mileage of 16.80kmpl while the claimed mileage for automatic variant is 14.60kmpl.
Overall, Harrier is an advanced SUV which comes loaded with features and technology. It gets a powerful diesel engine with options for manual and automatic transmissions. However, the petrol engine is a major miss out for some potential buyers and the fact that a Tata SUV without 4WD or AWD capabilities is a deal breaker for a few. Well, there’s good news!
A 1.5-litre TGDi Engine in Works!
Tata Harrier, ever since launched, is powered by the same 2.0-litre diesel engine. However, in a recent interview with Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors, confirmed that Harrier will be soon equipped with a turbo petrol engine. The unit will first debut with the Curvv ICE variant and later make its way to Harrier SUV. The brand has already displayed the new engine in the 2023 Auto Expo and the power figures were also announced. It is a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces 167bhp and 280Nm of peak torque. However, it will be interesting to see if they bump the power or not. With the 1.5-litre TGDi engine we also believe that Tata Motors could pair the engine with a 7-speed DCA transmission. Now the launch of Harrier Petrol will happen by late 2024 or early 2025, after the launches of the Curvv EV and the Curvv ICE.
Tata Harrier EV Coming Soon
Another big update for the Harrier will be the launch of the EV avatar of the SUV. It will soon launch and the concept of the Harrier EV was already showcased in the 2023 Auto Expo. Talking about the design, the facelift Harrier is heavily inspired by the Harrier EV concept. And so we believe that the production model of the Harrier EV will continue with similar design cues. However, for the EV version, Tata Motors could tweak the design and add some EV specific elements like closed-up grille and aerodynamic alloy wheels for better range. Talking about the range, we are expecting the claimed range for the Harrier EV to be around 500-550km.
What’s interesting is the fact that the Harrier EV will offer AWD, thanks to dual motor setup with each on front and rear axle. So with the AWD capabilities and the Land Rover derived platform, Harrier EV is expected to be a highly capable off-roader. To buy one, you may not need to wait for a long as the Harrier EV would launch anytime in 2024.
What are your thoughts about the journey of the Tata Harrier? Do let us know in the comments.
Also Read
New Tata Harrier Unveiled – New Design & Feature Loaded
New Tata Harrier and Safari crash test scores out! Safest cars in India!
If you have car-buying doubts click here to ask! To get all the news updates you can join our Whatsapp community, by clicking here. For more such content stay subscribed to MotorOctane Youtube, Google News, Facebook, and Twitter.
2019 H5X to 2023 Harrier Facelift – An exciting journey of Tata Harrier read on MotorOctane.