H5X a.k.a Harrier unveiled by Tata.
Back in 2018 February, when the Auto expo happend, a much talked about car was the Tata’s H5X concept car. It was there to break all the conventional attributions to Tata till now. Going forward the vehicle was sneak peaked being tested at many locations and Tata itself has released many teaser videos to prove it mean business. Now the OEM has officially released images and video footage of the first vehicle to roll out from its new assembly plant in Pune ahead of the launch
First Impressions
Though it was speculated that the production version will be similar to the concept, in reality it truly adheres to it. Probably never before in India a production version was as close to its concept and hence Harrier is infact H5X concept. It retains the sleek, slit DRL’s, wide wheel arches and thick C pillars. The car looks macho in flesh with its bold, upright styling which is aerdodynamic.
Exterior
From the front, the striking feature is its sleek drl’s integrated on the extreme sides of sleek grille. The big but sleek grille has hexagon rings but has resemblance to Discovery sport. The hood is muscular and body lines are well sculpted on both ends.The headlamp cluster is below it in a black enclosure which also houses foglamps. The bumper is dual tone with body colour and black. A bold and wide aluminium finish skid plate runs below.
From the sides, the vehicle looks massive with big panels. The big wheel arches along with black cladding than runs along is striking. The outer mirrors are dual tone in colour. Towards the rear, the roof slopes down, while the shoulder line runs up to give the tapering feel. The C pillar is wide as in the concept and it has a nice chrome insert on its blackened finish which gives the premium feel. A chrome insert runs on the window line too to connect with the C pillar insert.
On the rear, it features a split LED tail lamp between the side panel and the rear door. The lamps on both sides are neatly connecting by a blackened connector giving it a fluent design. The bumpers are also dual tone with the aluminium finish skid plate insert making a perfect spoiler lip . The rear reflectors and exhausts are seen tucked into the bumper itself, A rear spoiler and a short sharkfin antenna sums it up. The rear windshield blends perfectly with the blackened C pillar giving a perfect wrap around feel.
Technology
This 5 seater monocoque SUV is engineered on Tata’s new Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced’ Architecture(OMEGA) which is derived from the legendary Land Rover D8 architecture and developed in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover. The Harrier designed on Tata’s latest Impact Design 2.0 philosophy. It thus needed a completely new approach to product development and manufacturing processes. Hence a new assembly line was built in a time of six months with a majority of the manufacturing practices adopted from Jaguar Land Rover. It boasts of 90 per cent automation levels with over 100+ KUKA and ABB robots. The platform will share a lot of underpinnings from Discovery Sport.
At the Core
Harrier is powered by a 2.0 liter diesel enginel which Tata calls Kryotec, which is infact a retuned Fiat diesel which powers the Jeep Compass as well. It is expected to churn out 140 Bhp. Tata will be offering a 6 speed automatic on this sourced from Hyundai as well as a manual transmission. The car will also feature a 4×4 and will have independent suspension with 18 inch tyres running on them.
Interior
On the interior, it boasts of front and rear AC vents, sunroof, touchscreen infotainment system, steering mounted controls, electric seats with memory function, parking sensors, reverse camera, cruise control and more though the details have not been revealed
Verdict
Tata is getting things right. Harrier is going to be a game changer in the segment, rivalling XUV 500, Creta and Compass. As with Nexon, pricing will be equally competitive.
