Tata Harrier to get Land Rover's driving dynamics, quietness

It’s an established fact that the upcoming Tata Harrier SUV will have plenty of commonalities between expensive Land Rovers. In fact, the Harrier uses the localized version of the Land Rover D8 platform, which is expected to give the SUV many benefits. For one, the platform has been engineered by Land Rover for quietness, and great performance off the road. Both these qualities will come through on the Tata Harrier as well.

Talking of good off-road performance and driving dynamics, the Harrier will share the floorpan, steering gear, and an all-independent suspension with the Land Rover through the D8 platform. This is expected to result in some really impressive levels of performance.

To keep costs low, Tata Motors will replace the aluminium bits that are standard on the Land Rover D8 platform with steel bits. Also, the D8 platform has been renamed OMEGA for use in cheaper Tata SUVs such as the Harrier, and its upcoming 7-seat sibling, the H7X.

The word OMEGA expands into Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced Architecture, or in other words, an Indianized version of the Land Rover D8 platform. Meanwhile, a high level of quietness will be achieved on the Tata Harrier through the usage of auxiliary isolation panels, a technology generally seen on more expensive cars.

The Harrier will also be one of the safest new SUVs from Tata Motors, with extensive use of high strength steel and efficiently designed crumple zones. The SUV will be offered with twin airbags, ABS, ISOFIX child seat mounts, seat belt indicator and reverse parking sensors as standard fare.

The Harrier sold in India will be powered by a 2 litre Fiat Multijet turbocharged diesel engine with 140 Bhp-320 Nm outputs. This motor will get a 6 speed manual gearbox as standard, and a Hyundai-sourced 6 speed torque converter automatic gearbox as an option. A petrol engine could be offered in the future.

Tata Motors will launch the Harrier in early 2019, and the official preview of the production version of this SUV will happen later this year. The Tata Harrier will take on the likes of the Hyundai Creta and the Jeep Compass, and will be Tata’s new flagship SUV. Expect prices to start from above Rs. 12 lakhs.