Tata Harrier shows off its street presence next to a Renault Duster

The Renault Duster is a butch, wide SUV. But just see how the recent upstart in the SUV segment – the Tata Harrier –  simply manages to look a lot more imposing than the Duster. And it’s not the design alone that gives the Harrier its  imposing stance. In terms of dimensions, the Tata Harrier is a lot larger than the Duster (4,598 mm vs 4,341 mm), and  the extra width you see in the pictures is actually what you get (1,898 mm vs 1,804 mm). And it’s a taller SUV than the Duster (1,714 mm vs 1,795 mm). The pictures below underscore these points.

Images courtesy Samba

Now, it’s obviously not fair to compare the Tata Harrier with the Renault Duster because the Harrier is a lot more  pricier (prices start from Rs. 12.69 lakhs) when compared to the Duster (prices now start from just Rs. 7.99 lakhs).  However, there’s a slight overlap between the top-end Duster Diesel RxZ and the base Tata Harrier, which means that some Duster buyers may be tempted to upgrade to the Harrier. In terms of specifications as well, the Harrier and Duster are quite distinct.

The Tata Harrier is powered by a 2 liter turbocharged diesel engine that puts out 140 Bhp-350 Nm. The gearbox is a  six speed manual unit driving the front wheels of the SUV. The Duster offers many more engine options – a 1.6 liter  petrol with 104 Bhp and 140 Nm, with 5 speed manual and CVT automatic options, a 1.5 liter turbo diesel in 84 Bhp 200 Nm state of tune and a 5 speed manual gearbox, a 1.5 liter turbo diesel engine in 108 Bhp-240 Nm state of tune with 6 speed manual and AMT options, and finally an all wheel drive option on the top-end diesel.

So, if you’re looking for various engine and transmission options, the Duster clearly has the Harrier covered, and at  a much cheaper price tag. But then the Harrier does have the novelty value going for it, along with its imposing stance, and as you go higher up the variant, massive levels of equipment. The Harrier is easily the most well  equipped car that Tata Motors has ever produced and even the larger, more expensive Hexa pales in comparison when it comes to equipment levels.

The Tata Harrier’s top-end trim is offered with automatic projector HIDs, cornering fog lamps, LED DRLs, rear parking  sensors, rear wiper, rear washer and defogger, electrically adjustable ORVM, four disc brakes, front console with sliding armrest, rear center armrest with two cup holders, six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability program  (ESP), ISOFIX anchor points, traction control, 17-inch alloy wheels, power-folding wing mirrors, puddle lamps, rain  sensing wipers, cruise control, hill hold and descent control and rollover mitigation, rear parking camera, leather  seats and soft-touch leather for the dashboard, 8-way adjustable driver seat, 8.8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 9-speaker JBL system with amplifier and a 7-inch TFT screen for the instrument cluster.

Clearly, the Harrier is a much better equipped car that also commands a Rs. 16.25 lakh price tag, which is a Rs. 3 lakh price premium over the top-end Renault Duster.