Home-grown auto major Tata Motors has launched its most-awaited premium mid-size sports utility vehicle (SUV) in diesel, the Tata Harrier, in the domestic market at a starting price of Rs 12.69 lakh. Engineered on Tata Motors’ Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced (OMEGA) Architecture, it is available in four variants — XE (₹12.69 lakh), mid-spec XM (₹13.75 lakh), XT (₹14.95 lakh) and the range-topping XZ (₹16.25 lakh). It will be available with five variants in colors — Calisto Copper, Thermisto Gold, Ariel Silver, Telesto grey and Orcus White.
The Harrier is powered by Kryotec 2.0 Diesel engine paired with a six-speed manual transmission. The Kryotec engine delivers 140 PS power and torque of 350 Nm with an Advanced Electronically Controlled Variable Geometry Turbocharger (eVGT) for low-end torque and linear power delivery with a low-carbon footprint.
“With the launch of Harrier, Tata Motors has rightfully entered the premium mid-size SUV segment. The Harrier is a strong proof point of our turnaround 2.0 strategy, and it is surely going to be a game changer in the market,” Tata Motors chief executive and managing director Guenter Butschek said.
Mayank Pareek, president of passenger vehicle business unit, Tata Motors, said the SUV helped Tata Motors understand how to market a premium product, learning that should help it in selling Harrier. Built around Tata’s Impact Design 2.0 at their new manufacturing line in Pune, the five-seater SUV has a lot of the design features from the concept car, H5X that was showcased at the Auto Expo in 2018.
The new Tata Harrier takes on a range of SUVs from the Hyundai Creta, Renault Captur and the recently launched Nissan Kicks to models like the Jeep Compass and Mahindra XUV500.
“Tata Harrier is our most premium offering yet and will attract all aspiring buyers. Built on the Omega architecture derived from Land Rover’s D8 platform, the Harrier is a testament of our continued efforts to deliver global products,” said Pareek.
Tata Motors will also introduce a petrol-powered version of the Harrier in the near future and will also be equipping the SUV with a Hyundai-sourced automatic gearbox. While the Tata Harrier is currently a five-seater, the upcoming seven-seater version of the car will get a more powerful 170hp version of the same engine.
Tata’s Hexa and Harrier, both fall in the same price bracket. Over the last nine months, Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle business has grown 21 percent by sales volume, beating the industry average and more than doubling its market share.
“The passenger vehicle business of Tata Motors is going through strength to strength on the back of new products and the Harrier promises to further strengthen company’s market presence by surpassing all set benchmarks and paving way for entirely new standards in the country’s SUV market,” Pareek added.
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