Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors has started taking orders for its new Harrier SUV which is built on architecture derived from Land Rover’s D8 platform on which over 1m SUVs have already been sold worldwide.
Customers can ‘book’ the Harrier with an INR30,000 deposit online or at dealerships in India.
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Toyota has used the Harrier nameplate in Japan for years, initially on a Toyota branded variant of the then export-only Lexus RX SUV and, since the launch of Lexus in Japan (initially excluding SUVs), on a subsequent Toyota branded model derived from an older Lexus RX design.
Mayank Pareek, president of Tata’s passenger vehicle business unit, said: “Since its showcase as a concept at the Auto Expo 2018, the Harrier has made huge waves amongst SUV lovers. With the rising excitement and consistent demand from our discerning customers to book the Harrier at the earliest and be amongst the early ones to receive deliveries, we have taken a conscious decision to open bookings in the festive season.
“With Turnaround 2.0, we have already begun our journey towards winning sustainably in the passenger vehicle business and we are confident that with the introduction of this new class leading SUV, we will only soar higher.”
Tata claimed the Harrier offers “exemplary driving dynamics”, adding the five seat, monocoque body SUV had been extensively tested for a cumulative distance of 2.2m km, “showcasing its mettle to wade through the toughest of terrains”. It will have the two-litre Kryotec diesel engine and “exceptionally refined drivability and performance”.
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By GlobalDataThis first product to use the Impact 2.0 Design language will offer “extraordinary exteriors, intelligently designed luxurious interiors, future ready connectivity and infotainment”, Tata gushed.
According to just-auto‘s PLDB database, two SUVs – one with five seats, the other with seven – were approved by the Tata Motors board in August 2014 and developed with the assistance of JLR engineers. Both models use the Ford-based architecture of the Land Rover Freelander/LR2. This was derived from Ford’s EUCD platform, but JLR calls it D8. Tata Motors calls this platform ‘Omega’.
The first of the two is the Harrier, the model name having been announced in July 2018. This had been previewed by the H5X, a concept revealed at the New Delhi Auto Expo in February 2018. Its development code is said to be Q502.
Tata has renamed Fiat’s two-litre Multijet II diesel Kryotec for the Harrier. This engine is already in production at the Ranjangaon manufacturing complex and is fitted to the Jeep Compass. Q501 will reportedly be aimed at the Hyundai Creta and Renault Captur while Q502, the Harrier, is set to take on the Jeep Compass and other Indian built SUVs of a similar size.
