Harrier-based Gravitas is Tata Motors’ next BIG thing: Launch timeline revealed

Over the past few months, Tata Motors has been feverishly testing the Gravitas – a 6 seat mid-sized SUV based on the Harrier. The Corona Virus and the lockdown that followed has slowed down the Gravitas, which was due by the festive season of this year. Now though, Tata Motors will launch the Gravitas mid-sized SUV in India during early 2021. The SUV will be Tata Motors’ new flagship, and will sit above the Harrier in terms of price and positioning.

It has already been shown at the 2020 Indian Auto Expo, and the production version of the SUV is likely to be quite similar to the show version. The Gravitas will be Tata Motors’ next big launch, and will be aimed at the MG Hector Plus, the Mahindra XUV500 and the upcoming, 7 seat Hyundai Creta, which also could be launched in India sometime next year.

While the Tata Gravitas will sit on the same platform (Land Rover LS550 called OmegaARC by Tata) as the Harrier SUV, and will use the latter’s mechanicals, it will get a new top hat. Designers at Tata Motors have given the Gravitas a taller roofline, with a kink at the rear. This roofline is specifically meant to give passengers on the third row of the new SUV enough headroom.

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Apart from this key change, the Tata Gravitas looks quite similar to the Harrier. The SUV will be powered by the 2 liter-4 cylinder Fiat Multijet turbocharged diesel engine that makes 170 PS of peak power and 350 Nm of peak torque. A front wheel drive layout will be standard. There will be two gearboxes on offer: a 6 speed manual and a 6 speed torque converter automatic sourced from Hyundai. Both gearboxes are performing quite well on the Harrier, and the same is expected of them in the Gravitas.

The Gravitas is likely to be priced about Rs. 1 lakh more than the Tata Harrier, and fewer variants of the SUV are likely to be launched in comparison to the Harrier, which is offered in over ten variants. The Tata Gravitas is likely to get the same key features as the Harrier, including the highly sought after panoramic sunroof. ABS, 6 airbags, traction control, ESP, reverse parking sensors plus camera, cruise control, cornering stability control, hill hold, electric parking brake, speed alerts, seat belt reminder and multiple terrain modes are the various safety features to be offered on the Gravitas.

Just like the Harrier, the Gravitas is expected to be sturdily built. In fact, the tank-like build of the Harrier is a major selling point, and we expect this attribute to be similar on the Gravitas as well. Tata Motors is also expected to offer various attractive paint schemes for the Gravitas, including matte black and camo colours. Ex-showroom prices of the Gravitas are likely to start from a little under Rs. 15 lakh. Tata is unlikely to offer a petrol engine option on the new SUV.

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