I have been waiting for this car since AutoExpo 2018. And I have become the 75th customer in entire country (and obviously in entire world) to buy this vehicle.
But I have made inquiries into other cars in this segment. That is the competitors of Harrier. They are Jeep Compass and XUV 500. I have removed Hyundai Tucson from this list as it is heavily priced for the performance and features it provides.
First I have eliminated XUV500. The car is extremely spacious and extremely light to handle easily. But I did not like
1. The looks of XUV500 W11, both exterior and interior compared to Harrier or Compass.
2. Sound system is pretty ordinary too, compared to Compass and Harrier.
3. The horse power is bit higher for XUV500 compared to Harrier (comes into play after a speed of 120kmph - which I have no intentions of crossing on Indian road conditions).
4. And it has got sunroof (which is awkwardly placed between the front and rear seats inaccessible to either row).
5. And it has got disc brakes for all wheels (which is not a necessity to me, until the braking does the sudden halts for me efficiently).
Then I have had tough time to eliminate Jeep Compass. Because the built and looks of Compass are exceptionally great. The quality reminded me of Benz, BMW premium cars in terms of drive quality, NVH levels in cabin, suspension, heavy and safe feeling inside the car. Overall there are lots of premium touches for Compass.The reasons for eliminating Compass are:
1. The base variant Compass Sport on road price is 20.5 lakhs - the same price as top variant of Harrier XZ.
2. The safety features provided in Harrier like ESP, Corner stability, Roll over mitigation control, 6 air bags are provide in compass starting from Compass Limited 4x4 edition which is priced at 27 lakhs on road.
3. Even if I go with Compass Sport, basic requirements like good leather seats, reverse parking camera, reverse parking sensors, fog lamps, projector headlamps etc should be bought as additional accessories - despite shelling 20.5 lakhs.
4. Space of Compass is enough for 5 people, but the rear seats are uncomfortably vertical, causing pains and cramps in abdomen for a bit fat people on long drives.
So I bought Harrier XZ and got it delivered on Feb 10th 2019 and roamed more than 5000 kms till date. The following are pros and cons I have observed.
Pros:
1. The turning radius is very good.
2. The hydraulic steering gives wonderful control on the car. Even at low speeds, the steering is not heavy.
3. Very comfortable seats even for a huge person. For long drives these are very apt.
4. Excellent infotainment system. Sound system is extraordinary. The touch panel is very responsive and feather touch. Android Autoplay works brilliantly. The dashboard just behind steering is very helpful to check distance to empty, mileage the car is returning.
5. Air conditioning for both front and rear is brilliant.
6. Braking is excellent and adequate even in high speeds (though rear brakes are drum cylinder brakes). Had an unfortunate chance of testing Corner stability Program. A sudden turn by a biker on highway made me steer hard right. CSP immediatley kicked in and safely did the turn in opposite direction and turned me on to highway after crossing the obstacle.
7. ESP programs all are efficient and highly useful. Because of the drive modes, I have an experience of driving 3 different cars as economy mode converts the car engine power to 110 PS, city mode to 125 PS and Sport mode to 140 PS.
8. Enormous boot space - I have literally packed my family's (consists of 5 adults) entire clothes packed into the boot. Nothing more to say.
Cons:
1. Front view of the car is bit dull and not so eye catching. The tata logo doesn't help much either to cotradict. The car catches eye only when the side or back of the car comes into view.
2. The right side ORVM clubbed with the A pillar creates a huge blindspot. Twice I almost had an accident, and once I gave a slight nudge to a scooterist.
3. The Xenon HID projector headlamps are very bright, but when faced with beam lights of opposite vehicles, some blindspots are created. Need extra LED lights to be installed if you are regular in driving on highways, which don't cover opposite vehicle beam lights.
Overall Performance:
The handling of the car in any road conditions is excellent in this price range. Whether it be braking, suspension or steering control, everything is exceptional about this car. Talk about comfort, and there is no better seating than Harrier (except of middle person in rear seat). The pickup of the car is magnificient in sport mode. Not so exciting in other driving modes. And coming to mileage, I have travelled from Vijayawada to Tirupati a distance of 450 kms and it cost me 30 litres of diesel at speeds of 120 kmph on highways. This care is built for long drives and it shows.
After sale services:
Surprised to say this, but the after sale service of Tata is very good. Very good is a huge leap from very bad in terms of servie of Tata in passenger vehicle segment. The approach to customer and his concerns has changed a lot. They have been provocative all the time in resolving small issues I had initially. And door delivery service, suggestions of what kind of service is apt for the car condition has been excellent so far. Overall, I am happy with customer service till date.
EV
