Tata Harrier XZ: Ownership Review


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The Hunt Begins ..

After selling my Safari 3.0, I was looking out for a big vehicle, mainly for highway driving. Though I have Grand i10 and I did go for few long journeys in this car, still was missing the feel of Safari.

First choice ..

Initially I thought of buying a Toyota Fortuner though I was aware that it could be out of my budget. Still, I called and enquired about the finance options. Even for base model without accessories, the down payment was Rs.5.5 lac with EMI of almost Rs.50k. No way I was going to afford that at this moment.
Thereafter, spent few days browsing the net but just could not decide on any particular vehicle. I just wanted a big vehicle that would give me a sense of comfort and safety, along with driving pleasure, especially at nights, as I love long drives / journeys in the dark.

Second choice ..

On March 8th, visited Mahindra showroom to check out Marazzo M8. Took the test drive the same afternoon and no doubt it was very easy to drive with extremely light steering and clutch. Interior space was good too, but it still lacked the class that I was expecting. The infotaintment system and other buttons didn’t really impress me. Even AC was not that effective on driver’s seat though it was pretty chilling for 2nd and 3rd row passengers. On a positive side, almost 100% finance was available on on-road price of around Rs.17 lac and the EMI too was below Rs.30k.

Interestingly, the showroom I visited had Alturas G4 parked outside (in fact, right behind the Marazzo) and it's massive looks just blew my mind. Requested executive there to allow me to look inside and it was indeed a royal feeling.

After returning home, read multiple reviews and also saw videos of Marazzo. Lot of positives were mentioned but still it all boiled down to one thing - that it's a people mover. On top of it, after looking at Alturas G4, I just couldn't convince myself that I should go for Marazzo.

What next?

Third and FINAL choice ..

My son suggested me to have a look at Tata Harrier. So the next day (March 9th) I visited Tata showroom near my house to check out Harrier and Hexa as well. The Harrier was on display and the very first look made me fall in love with it. Interiors were cool & classy, tall and wide tires, big length and huge boot space, and of course, a powerful 2 litre engine - everything seemed just perfect. The price of Harrier XZ (top end) was almost Rs.20 lac and luckily 100% finance was available through SBI.

Also, had a look at Hexa, but Harrier seemed just too good. Requested executive for a test drive and he agreed to bring the vehicle to my place later as it was not immediately available.

Test drive ..

The executive came with Harrier to my place around 7 in the evening and we went for a short test drive. The first time I started, the vehicle almost lunged on 1st gear. I was on city mode but could still feel the immense power. Feeling inside the cabin was awesome, steering pretty light and responsive. The pedals were pretty dip and I had to pull seat close to the steering so that I could engage the clutch fully. I took a drive on a plain road and it was definitely a cool experience. At one point, I initiated sports mode and I was at 100 km/h within few seconds. The power was simply awesome. The cabin was not that silent, I could hear engine noise but that wasn’t a major factor for me for rejection. The sound quality with JBL speakers was great, AC was cool, and the boot space was good too. Plus considering all the other features that the top variant was loaded with, I made up my mind to go for Tata Harrier.

So, that was it. This was the vehicle I wanted and I just booked it as soon as I was back from the test drive. Handed over a cheque of Rs.30k to the executive and very next day forwarded all the documents to him to check loan eligibility.
Also, requested the executive to bring the vehicle for one more test drive during the day time and he agreed.

But unfortunately there wasn’t any positive response from the sales executive and it was I who was calling all the time and enquiring about availability of vehicle for one more test drive. Finally, after 4 days I realized that this is not the dealer I would prefer to buy the Harrier from. So I called the guy and told him to cancel the booking and refund the amount. Surprisingly, even he readily agreed and didn’t seem interested in pursuing the deal. Don’t want to get into details, but I did receive few calls from that dealer for the next couple of days to go ahead and buy the vehicle from them. But I just politely refused.

The hunt continues ..

On Thursday, March 14th, I visited Rudra Motors (on Pune-Ahmednagar road, near Wagholi) along with my colleague from the office and was greeted warmly by SA Chandan. Initially, I did not tell him about my earlier experience related to Harrier. He provided all the details and we again took the test drive. He seemed very interested in explaining and showing all the features about the vehicle.

After returning home that evening, though I liked Harrier, but just due to bad experience earlier, thought of exploring Hexa also. I just called Chandan and told him that I want to consider Hexa as well. Next day, he forwarded Hexa details along with price list over WhatsApp and I called and informed him that I would visit the showroom again on Saturday to discuss things further.

Eureka ..

Visited Rudra Motors on Saturday (March 16th) and the first question was if I had finalized on the vehicle. I was not sure and the discussion continued for some time. Soon there were more people (of course, staff from the showroom) around me trying to discuss and help in deciding between Harrier and Hexa. Finally, it was back to Harrier XZ again - Calisto Copper, signature color for this SUV. As I had all the required documents with me, we all decided to move quickly and close the deal.

Again, avoiding details, the loan was processed quickly (certainly took half a day for completing the formalities) and as the vehicle was available, I was even given the chassis number by end of the day. Three to four months of waiting period coming down to ZERO. No words to express my excitement :)

About registration of vehicle, I was told on Saturday itself that the vehicle would be registered with PCMC RTO as my address was from that area. But I was bit confused as the pin code of my area came under PMC and I thought that, may be, I could get the Harrier registered with Pune RTO. I called the showroom again on Monday morning to verify the same and they re-confirmed that it would be PCMC RTO.

As the vehicle was available in their stockyard I just thought of having a look at it hence visited the dealer one more time on March 18th afternoon. Had a quick discussion with executives there, re-verified the accessories that I had finalized and requested them to take me and my son to their stockyard to have a look at OUR Harrier.

Took some snaps of the vehicle without accessories as the looks were surely going to change at the time of delivery. The insurance was filed and done the same evening by them (got an SMS) and the Harrier was all set for registration.

The wait begins ..

THE HARRIER

So, after waiting for another 10 days with continuous follow ups with dealer regarding the progress on RTO registration, the delivery was confirmed at 4pm on March 29th, which also happened to be my son’t 18th birthday. The RTO tax was paid on same day by the dealer and coincidently got an SMS about registration number being allotted while we were at the showroom to collect the Harrier.

First look - it was just looking awesome. I had opted for base pack of accessories which included few chrome fittings and it only made the Harrier look more beautiful. The ODO read 138km - I asked about the same and they said that the vehicle was driven to conduct few tests. Got a coupon for 5 ltr of diesel which I immediately utilized so that I could drive home without any worries.

Without going into details here, we drove home our Harrier the same evening. The dealer promised to deliver number plates the next day.

First drive after reaching home - went to pick up my daughter from her friend’s place at 10 in the evening and also got tank full at Shell. Frankly, I still wan’t comfortable with the seating position as my left knee constantly touched the lower part of dashboard. Also, due to incorrect driver seat’s height, I wasn’t that comfortable using pedals. But all in all, it was good first day of Harrier.

Next day, I lowered driver seat position to it’s minimum and then all was good. My knee was comfortable and also using clutch / brake pedals was as desired. As I was driving Safari till last month, lowering seating position in Harrier didn’t affect the driving judgment as such. I could still maneuver easily through the city traffic. Big ORVMs were and are still a big risk and they seriously create blind spots. The only option I see here is to be extra careful and consciously make efforts to check for approaching two-wheelers and other road users from the side lanes.

Called the dealer on Saturday on status of number plates, they were ready but guys were busy so could not deliver them. Finally, collected my number plates on Sunday and I am all set now for new adventures.

What I think about Harrier ..

Looks - definitely “OWNER’S PRIDE”
Steering - pretty light considering the size of the vehicle and very responsive. But this again may need extra precaution while driving at high speeds
Clutch - it’s light but has a long travel, a lot of play and may take some time to get used to it
Brakes - a bit of play which I don’t enjoy but very effective. The stopping is quick and confident
Cabin noise - it’s not very silent but still ignorable. The noise inside does increase considerably when the AC is switched ON and especially when the blower is on high speed
Suspensions - seems a bit hard, usually feel it on bumps. Might prove more effective when the vehicle is fully loaded
AC - it’s good but blowers make too much noise

Driving modes:
  • Eco - just right for driving school candidates
  • City - just perfect for city driving with right amount of power and pickup
  • Sports - just what every Harrier owner would love to use all the time

Space & comfort - very spacious and one has to seat inside to feel it. Back seat passengers are sure to enjoy long journeys in Harrier
Infotaintment - yet to explore fully but it looks good though screen touch response is not as desired. Also, no support for Apple car play yet. The 7” screen on instrument cluster is pretty informative and useful, provides tons of information. Haven’t tried navigation yet

Anyway, this is just the beginning and hope to create lots of beautiful memories with my HARRIER. Will post more details and snaps soon.

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-30 at 12.14.02 PM (1).jpeg

Pre-delivery

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-18 at 6.30.36 PM.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-18 at 6.30.40 PM (1).jpeg

Post-delivery..intend to do a nice photo-shoot with Harrier over the coming weekend.

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-30 at 12.14.02 PM (1).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-30 at 12.14.02 PM (3).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2019-03-30 at 12.14.02 PM (5).jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2019-04-01 at 5.31.16 PM (4).jpeg

beast eyes.jpeg
 
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Wow! Many congratulations on your purchase! Seems this is the first Tata Harrier owner review in TAI. [clap]
I'm also from Pune and I had a chance to check Harrier from inside during Tigor owner's meet couple of months back. Everyone was highly impressed with the look and feel of it. Just loved those beast eyes!
Wish you many happy miles with it. [thumbsup]
 
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Congrats so much sir. Very nice short review. Harrier has stunning looks and is one what I call an SUV. I feel its the only car which competes with Endeavour when it comes to road presence. I am seeing good number of Harriers in Bangalore.
 
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Congrats on getting the "First Harrier in TAI" , it will serve you for lakhs of kilometers.
Go on a long drive with it, knock everyone off the highways and post the pics of your drives here.
Again, congratulations.
 
Thread Starter #6
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Thanks all. So here's the first highway drive experience ..

Though I got the delivery of Harrier on March 29th, it was only on April 3rd that I got a chance to take it for a highway drive. Of course, it was a short trip of around 130 km.

We started around 11 in the evening and went upto Lonavala via old Pune-Mumbai road. Most of this 50-60 km stretch was done in 5th gear (around 80 kmph) and I could engage top gear just a couple of times - mainly due to traffic and also as I am not yet completely familiar / comfortable with Harrier yet. The very first feeling was - this is what Harrier is meant for - HIGHWAY DRIVING.

The gear shifting was not hard but it wasn't smooth either, guess because it's a new vehicle. Steering was light & highly (shall I say dangerously) responsive, and the grip also needs a thought. It's leather, pretty premium but very smooth, which makes it a bit risky as there are chances of losing a grip, mainly while taking turns using one hand.

Headlights - the focus seems adequate for driving under 100 kmph. Driving above that speed at nights is risky anyway and then you definitely need a set of powerful aux lights for longer visibility, irrespective of the vehicle.

Seating comfort - I am still experimenting with driving position, but it's a complete luxury for passengers. Ample amount of space from all sides plus very good interiors. But still, I would rate Safari higher than Harrier when it comes to driver's seating position & comfort.

Turning radius - I am in love with this. After driving Safari for 5+ years, I know the pain of taking U-turn on small roads. For Harrier and even for Marazzo (took it's test drive earlier), taking U-turn was fun. Of couse, it does need sufficient space, but still much better than Safari.

I was driving in City mode and the power was still sufficient for highway driving. I am not a aggressive driver hence never felt a need to go for Sports mode.

Came back via Expressway and tried cruise control - first time in life. Just enjoyed increasing / decreasing speed with steering-mounted buttons. Even at around 100 kmph the Harrier was gliding smoothly, confidently over-taking so many vehicles.

Hoping to do some more driving over the weekend, will definitely post pictures (of interiors as well) and other updates.

Thanks again to all.
 
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Wow didn't know Harrier has increase/decrease of speed in cruise control. I didn't even know this exists. I have used cruise control only in Honda City (P) but no speed increase/decrease option was there.
 
Thread Starter #9
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Another short drive today at 5 in the morning with a short photo session. Plus few interior photos. Though I just crossed 500 km on ODO, but it seems that the engine is getting smoother, I can feel the difference.
 

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Thread Starter #12
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Congrats on getting the TATA Harrier. My best wishes to clock many miles with utmost happiness. One question though, how is the feel compared to the TATA Safari?

Regards,
VaishaK MurugesaN
Thanks. Undoubtedly Harrier is based on new technology hence better than Safari in many aspects. But as I said earlier, I found driving seat comfort & convenience much better in Safari, but passengers are going to love Harrier. Harrier has deadly blind spot issue due to big ORVMs plus it has minor issues which I hope would be sorted out over the time. But overall, Harrier is indeed a fun to drive with tons of features. Planning a 1000 km trip next week, let's see how it performs. Will post an updates here.

Still, as I had owned and have driven Safari over 60k+ km, I would say that it's simply MATCHLESS. It has it's own class :)
 
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bhvm

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Congrats on the beast!
Steering was light & highly (shall I say dangerously) responsive,
Yes, That Happens when one comes from Truck like Steering of the Safari!
powerful aux lights for longer visibility, irrespective of the vehicle.
Harrier comes with projector lamps. Do stuff in some nice HID kits before venturing out to Aux lamps.
In my view Aux lamps do not gell well with Sleek & Suave looks of harrier.
But still, I would rate Safari higher than Harrier when it comes to driver's seating position & comfort.
Still, as I had owned and have driven Safari over 60k+ km, I would say that it's simply MATCHLESS. It has it's own class :)
[;)][glasses]
Words of True Safari Lover.
After driving Safari for 5+ years, I know the pain of taking U-turn on small roads.
Yes. Usual 3 & 5 point turns.
Wow didn't know Harrier has increase/decrease of speed in cruise control. I didn't even know this exists. I have used cruise control only in Honda City (P) but no speed increase/decrease option was there.
I think this is pretty common. It comes with XUV too. There are + & - Buttons to change speed. Feels like riding a futuristic spaceship than a car!
 

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