Tata Harrier Petrol SUV in the works

Tata Harrier has been finally completely revealed in the Indian market and it has gained quite an applaud from the market. Tata is yet to reveal the prices of the all-new SUV but other details like engine and transmission have been officially announced by the manufacturer. Tata is now currently working on the petrol version of the Harrier and here are all the details.

The Tata Harrier is the first ever vehicle built on the OmegaArc platform that has been derived from the Land Rover’s D8 platform. Tata is planning to launch 12-14 products based on the new platform in the coming times. For the near future, an extended version of the Harrier is in works, which has been internally code-named as the H7X and Tata is also working on a petrol model of the Harrier.

Currently, all the four variants of the Tata Harrier are powered by an only diesel engine and get a manual transmission. The 2.0-litre diesel engine is sourced from Fiat and is the same unit that powers the Jeep Compass in the Indian market.

The 2.0-litre Multijet engine has been renamed as the Kryotec 2.0 and it generates a maximum of 140 PS of peak power and 350 Nm of peak torque in the Tata Harrier. Also, it only gets a 6-speed manual transmission. In coming times, Tata will launch a petrol-powered Harrier but the engine details are now known yet.

It is possible that Tata sources the 1.4-litre MultiAir turbocharged petrol engine units from Fiat to power the Harrier. The 1.4-litre turbocharged engine also powers the Jeep Compass in the Indian market and will perfectly fit the Tata Harrier’s requirements.

Tata Harrier would compete with the likes of Jeep Compass, Mahindra XUV 500 and even Hyundai Creta in the Indian market and all of the competitors offer petrol engines. Also, the stricter BS VI norms and limitations on the use of diesel vehicles in the national capital of India would create a demand for the petrol-powered Harrier in the future.

Tata is yet to announce the price of the Harrier but it is expected to price the vehicle at around Rs. 12 lakhs, ex-showroom. The use of petrol engine would bring down the cost of the vehicle and will allow Tata to price the Harrier much more competitively.

Also, in the lower segments, the petrol engine has been gaining popularity and the same trend can be expected to be seen in the higher segments in the coming times as the price of the petrol and diesel fuels have almost become similar in India.

No definite timelines have been given on the launch of the petrol-powered Tata Harrier in the Indian market but it can be expected by mid-2019. Tata may also introduce an automatic transmission with both petrol and diesel engine options as the demand in the market has seen a rise in recent times. A hybrid version of the Harrier is also under consideration for launch in future.

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