Tata Harrier SUV vs Tata H5X Concept: What has changed?

Tata Motors unexpectedly revealed the exterior design of the much-awaited Tata Harrier in the Indian market. Tata said that the production version of the Harrier would be very similar to the concept model and they certainly have delivered that.

Even though Tata has done a commendable job in keeping the production version of the SUV close to the concept version, there are a few changes from the H5X concept. Which are these changes? Let’s find out.

Gets headlamps!

The concept H5X showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo only came with sleek LED lamps positioned on the extreme ends of the front grille. The production version gains a headlamp cluster that has been positioned in the bumper where a design element was present in the H5X. The headlamps cluster is inside a black enclosure that also gets the fog lamps. The LED element has become DRL and the whole set-up looks very similar to the concept version.

Toned down front-end

While keeping the overall look inspired by the H5X concept, Tata has toned down the extremely eye-catchy design. The skid plates remain silver in colour but they look much subtler than the concept. Even the bumper has been redesigned with more black cladding to give it a rugged look. It also gets more vents and air dams to feed fresh air to the engine and keep it running cool.

New grille design

The production version’s grille gets a similar shape to the concept. It has been designed with the Humanity Line, which is one of the most prominent highlights of the IMPACT 2.0 design language used in the Harrier. However, the size of the grille has become bigger and gets a different design than the concept version.

Alloy wheels

The alloy wheels are probably the parts that get the most drastic change. The H5X concept came with gorgeous 21-inch alloy wheels that made the SUV look stunning! The production version comes with 17-inch or 18-inch alloy wheels and they do not look nearly as good as the concept version. Alloy wheels are expensive and increase the price of the vehicle. One can always get them from aftermarket stores.

Updated roofline

The H5X came with a swooping-down roofline that gave it a coupe-inspired look. However, such roofline eats up the rear headroom and are not very practical in the production version. The Harrier gets a straighter roofline that ensures plenty of headroom for the rear passengers.

Body creases

The H5X came with deep, aggressive, fresh out-of-gym creases on the body. The prominent creases and the wheel arches have been toned down in the production form. The creases remain quite similar to the H5X though.

ORVMs

Concept models get some extremely swanky goodies. The H5X concept also had these amazingly contoured and sharp Outside Rear View Mirrors (ORVMs). They have been replaced with ordinary looking dual tone ORVMs in the production version.

Rear bumper

Most of the H5X concept’s rear design has been retained in the production version Harrier. The rear bumper in the concept came with integrated exhaust muffler and a silver skid plate underneath. The Harrier retains the bumper-integrated twin exhaust mufflers in the rear but the skid plate and the bumper itself have been changed by a bit and have been toned down in the production version.

Tweaked tail lamps

Tata has retained the overall tailgate design with a sharp kink in it. Even the tail lamps look very similar to the H5X concept. However, in H5X, they were elongated and extended by quite a bit. The LED tail lamps in the Harrier get a black element that joins both the lamps together, giving them a unique look.

C-Pillar

The Harrier gets a thick C-Pillar that has been shrouded in a design element that gives the Harrier a floating roof effect. In the H5X concept, the design itself was much deeper and was much more aggressive than the one we see on the Harrier!