Tata Harrier Pros & Cons

Check out pros and cons about the Tata Harrier that are worth highlighting for a potential buyer. Here are some of the highlights of the benefits of buying the Tata Harrier. We'll also list out the Harrier drawbacks to help you make an informed buying decision.

Harrier Advantanges

• Best-in-class Ground Clearance With Drive And Terrain Modes

  The Tata Harrier offers a best-in-class ground clearance of 205mm. In addition to that, the Harrier also offers Eco, City and Sport drive modes. Tata also offer ESP-based terrain modes with the Harrier to improve its off-road ability.

• Only SUV In Its Class With Claimed Fuel Efficiency And Diesel Automatic

  The Tata Harrier is the only SUV in its class to offer a diesel-automatic option as well as a claimed fuel efficiency figure. Speaking of its rivals, the MG Hector doesn’t offer a diesel automatic option. The Mahindra XUV700, on the other hand, does get a diesel-automatic option. However, Mahindra are yet to announce its certified fuel efficiency. In addition to that, the automatic transmission of the Harrier is available in all variants, save for the Smart and Pure variants.

• Aggressively Priced Base Variant

  The Harrier Smart base variant is priced aggressively when compared to its rivals. The equivalent variants of the MG Hector and Mahindra XUV700 5-seater are priced a lot higher than the Tata Harrier Smart. It is worth mentioning that the Mahindra XUV700 MX diesel is cheaper than the Harrier Smart and Smart (O). However, it misses out on a lot of features and also gets a lower state of tune.

• Automatic Transmission Available With Most Variants

  Apart from the Smart, Smart (O), Pure and Pure (O) variants, the Harrier’s mid and top variants are all available with an automatic transmission option. The automatic transmission costs Rs. 1.40 lakh more than the manual except in the case of the Pure Plus where the automatic is Rs. 1.30 lakh pricier than the manual. The Harrier diesel-automatic range costs between Rs. 19.99 lakh and Rs. 26.44 lakh.

• More Accessible ADAS-Equipped Variants Than Before

  Earlier, only the XZ+ variant of the Tata Harrier offered ADAS features. However, with the latest update, ADAS is now available with the Adventure A mid-variant and Fearless Plus top variant. These variants of the Harrier offers ADAS features such as forward collision warning, forward collision avoidance assist, rear cross traffic alert, rear collision warning, blind spot detection, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, driver drowsiness detection, adaptive cruise control with stop-&-go (auto only), auto high beam, and lane change alert.

• New Styling Gives The Harrier A More Imposing Road Presence

  The Tata Harrier was always a good-looking SUV. But the new design update takes the game forward and gives the Harrier facelift a more imposing road presence.

Harrier Disadvantanges

• New Tata Harrier Feels Overpriced

  The Adventure and Fearless variants of the Tata Harrier are overpriced whereas the Pure and Smart variants are stripped down for the asking price. In addition to that, no variants above the Adventure justify the incremental cost for the features they offer.

• No Petrol Engine Option

  Tata do not offer the Harrier with a petrol engine option. If you are living in Delhi-NCR and looking to keep your car for long, you will have to look at the MG Hector or the Mahindra XUV700 with a petrol engine. However, the Harrier is likely to get a petrol engine option in 2024.

• Multi-terrain Modes In A Front-Wheel-Drive Monocoque SUV Doesn’t Help

  The Harrier sits on a monocoque chassis which carries its architecture from the Land Rover Discovery Sport. While the platform itself is capable of holding 4-wheel-drive hardware, Tata Motors decided to offer only 2-wheel-drive drivetrain. Hence, the multi-terrain modes in the Harrier serve little to no purpose in treacherous conditions.

• Mid Variants Poorly Equipped

  The Harrier base model itself is poorly equipped and the feature distribution throughout the variant lineup is terrible. While we get alloy wheels in the base variant, we don’t get must-have features like power mirrors and height-adjustable driver seat. Even higher variants miss out on several must-have features we expect from a car at this price. Instead, Tata have given these variants several good-to-have features to justify the incremental cost over the lower variants.

• Confusing Variant Segregation

  Tata offer the Harrier in XE, XM, XZ (S), XT+, XZ, XZ+ and XZ+ (O) variants. These variants are further segregated into Dark and Red Dark editions. These variants create confusion among buyers and makes the buying process a lot more difficult, owing to the closely priced and specced variants. Although Tata have resolved the confusing list of variants by giving them names such as Pure, Adventure and Fearless, there are still 15 variants to choose from including Dark editions.

• Adaptive Cruise Control Not Available With Manual Transmission

  While the Harrier facelift offers a better set of ADAS features than before, it crucially does not offer adaptive cruise control with the manual transmission.

• Crucial ADAS Features Missing

  While the Harrier finally offers ADAS features, it feels like a half-cooked implementation owing to the lack of adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist. Both features are offered by the Harrier’s rivals and come really handy while driving on the highways. Fixed in October 2023 update.